We’ve been living a happy life these past two weeks, as The Significant Other and I had managed to escape into the Austrian Mountains for a dearly needed break from our daily routine and Covid-19.
Continue reading “Happy Life”Happy Life
Isolation
“Isolation is not good for me” – remember the line from the 1995 song “Lemon Tree” by the band “Fool’s Garden”? Well, despite the loosening up of the Covid-19 restrictions everywhere, we are still far from life as we knew it from before Corona.
Continue reading “Isolation”Past Memories
There are those days where you think about past memories. Good or bad, joyful or sad. Happy or frightful. Memories are something that define us, that we live on, that no one can take away from us.
This photograph was taken at Värska Farm Museum near Tallinn during our visit there a year ago. The scene had black and white written all over it when I saw it. Taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1X with the mZuiko 12-100mm F/4. I was spot-metering on the midtones on the wall, in order to capture the best dynamic range. Postprocessing in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop (I had to clone out a rope that blocked the entrance to the door).
For tips and inspirations around photography head over to my free Learning Center!
Wish everyone a great Tuesday
Marcus
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Weather Check
I have no idea if the guy staring into his cellphone was checking the weather. But a weather check for the Streets of Nuremberg would have shown a cold front passing through today, with heavy rains and a significant drop in temperature. Was definitely time for a warm jacket for everyone out and about.
I was playing around with my Elmarit F/2.8 90mm on the Leica M. Image specs 1/125 sec @ f/4 and ISO 3200. The high ISO is not a problem for the M, and the monochrome images directly out of camera are quite beautiful. The backdrop shows the historic Heilig-Geist-Spital with the River Pegnitz passing underneath.
Hope you’re having a great weekend.
Marcus
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Mayday
Happy Mayday from the Streets of Nuremberg. A strange first day of May it was. Covid-19 lockdown, stormy weather, empty streets – far away from the usual cheerfulness at the start into what we Germans call the “Wonnemonat”. Dearly in need to see something else than our home and the supermarket, The Significant Other and I headed downtown to the Wöhrder See, where the Pegnitz River is dammed to a lake just before entering the city walls.
Continue reading “Mayday”Spring Cleaning
March is upon us, and spring is coming to the Streets of Nuremberg. And it’s really time for it. Albeit, how much we will be able to enjoy it will also depend on how things will continue with the new coronavirus. And it doesn’t look good these days. The latest company directive is to avoid all travels, and everyone who can work from home should work from home for the time being (affecting me as well). And I just learned from TV news that Italy has put the entire nation under lockdown, that means 60 million people. And who’s to decide if that’s insanity or necessary precautions. But, coming back to the Streets of Nuremberg, well into the fourth year of existence of this blog, I thought it was about time for some needed personal spring cleaning.
Continue reading “Spring Cleaning”The Rangefinder effect
Shooting street photography with a Leica produces what I call “the rangefinder effect”. While people in the streets have a tendency to find it disturbing having a big ass DSLR pointed at their faces, their reaction is definitely quite different when they see the casually wandering photographer working the manual focus and the aperture ring of an almost anachronistic looking small black camera.
Obviously, shooting with other retro looking cameras like the Olympus PEN-F or the Fuji X100F is also much less intimidating than using a big DSLR with a huge lens attached. But those cams use autofocus and thus the process is often reduced to a simple point and shoot. The point and shoot approach would also work on a rangefinder using zone focusing (the systematic pre-focusing of a lens at specific distance and aperture to achieve a sharp image), but to get the hang of using a rangefinder I mostly take the time to set up the shots individually. Which, as totally unusual these days, draws curiosity and often a (probably pitiful) smile, the rangefinder effect. Especially when you are close to your subjects, what you have to be when you shoot street photography using a 35mm lens.
If you are looking for tips and inspirations around photography, be sure to check out my free Learning Center.
Wish you a great Monday!
Marcus
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Into the Light
Yesterday was my first day back shooting on the Streets of Nuremberg after the passing of my mom. The past four weeks have been tough, both emotional and physical. The two weeks being daily at her side, when it was already clear that her life will come to an end. Sitting at her bedside the last hours. Then, coping with the loss and with all the tasks that come with it. I didn’t feel like picking up a camera. Neither I was up to do any blogging. But now it is time to get back into the light. I missed going out to play with the light. It’s the best therapy one can ask for.
Continue reading “Into the Light”All that remains
All that remains are the memories of your love, your laughter, your smile, your warmth, your kindness, your protection, your comforting, your humor, your generosity, your braveness, your many amazing talents. And the light you brought into all our lives.
And now you are our brightest star in the sky!