Tag: Nikon Zf

Genoa Christmas Lights

Genoa Christmas Lights - Via Luccoli
Via Luccoli | Genoa | 2026

Today is Befana, as the Feast of Epiphany is called in Italy. Traditionally observed on January 6, it commemorates the visit of the Wise Men in Bethlehem, celebrating the moment Jesus is revealed to the world. Across many cultures, the day is marked with festive customs, special foods, and local celebrations that reflect its message of revelation and unity. Here in Italy, the children get their presents from the Befana, a friendly old woman depicted as a witch. Befana also marks the end of the Christmas season. And for Genoa, this is the last day the Christmas lights are turned on in the evening. Traditionally, The Significant Other and I spend the first week of the new year in our Southern Home at the Ligurian Sea. And over the past days we have enjoyed strolling through the medieval city center and the harbor, enjoying the decorations. Join us for some impressions of the Genoa Christmas Lights….

Continue reading “Genoa Christmas Lights” →
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Next Gen Photographer

Next Gen Photographer
Next Gen Photographer | Genoa | 2026

There is nothing to worry about – the young talents are already roaming the streets. I captured this image of a next gen photographer the other day on the streets of Genoa.

The photograph was taken with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR. Specs are 1/400 sec @ f/6.3 , ISO 450 and 200mm focal length. Jpg out of camera.

Have a great Monday

Marcus

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Into Town

Guy in a striped shirt riding the Berlin subway into town
Into Town | Berlin | 2025

The Significant Other and I took the metro train into town today, heading to the Humbold Forum in the center of Berlin. The first photo I took on this week’s trip to our Nation’s capital. I just love the striped hoodie and its reflection in the train’s window. I shot this image from the hip using zone focusing on my Nikon Zf. Easy to do as I had a manual M42 mount lens attached via an adapter, the roughly 60 year old Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.8/35. Image specs 1/400 sec @ f/4 with ISO 1400. Setting an f/4 aperture, the aperture/range markings on top of the Flektogon told me that the guy staring into his cell phone had to be in focus. Post-processing in Lightroom Classic.

Have a great Sunday

Marcus

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Summer in the City

The silhouette of a lady in front of a fountain, enjoying the summer in the city
Summer in the City | Genoa | 2025

What is the best way for the street photographer when the summer in the city gets too intense? Right, then it is the time for some high contrast monochrome photography. The monumental circular bronze fountain in Genoa’s Piazza de Ferrari, built in 1936 by the architect Cesare Crosa di Vergagni and donated by the Piaggio family, provides the perfect background. To see more images taken on this beautiful Piazza in the heart of Genoa, continue after the jump…

Continue reading “Summer in the City” →
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Fly me to the moon

A plane flying across the full moon
Fly me to the moon | Genoa | 2025

I have always admired photographers that have managed to capture a plane flying across the moon. And always dreamed about one day doing it myself. And then, as most often in life, things just happen. The Significant Other and I were sitting on the balcony of our Southern Home, enjoying dinner and the moon rise over the roofs, towers and domes of Genoa. The admittedly not completely full but rather large disc of the moon was rising quickly into the sky.

I had the Nikon Zf out with the Nikkor 24-200/4-6.3 attached to capture some close ups of the moon behind the historic skyline. Then, a bit later, the evening flight from Munich was coming in, also from behind the city, flying along the shoreline for landing at Cristoforo Colombo Airport. And I thought….this might just work out. And so it did. I squeezed off two shots, and the first one nailed it. Fly me to the moon….

As the saying goes…luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Although I nearly screwed up. As I should have switched the camera to burst mode, but completely forgot to thing about in this moment. Maybe because the Nikon has no lag at all and I completely trust that I can nail the exact moment. In my second shot, the plane was already half out of the moon.

I took the shot handheld, image specs 1/400 sec @ f6/3, ISO 500, 200mm focal length and -1 exposure compensation, retaining details in the moon surface. The image above is heavily cropped in. Postprocessing in Photoshop and Lightroom Classic.

Have a great Saturday

Marcus

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Uzbekistan explored – People of Khiva

Girl in Khiva Uzbekistan showing me a heart with her hands

“Uzbekistan explored – People of Khiva” is the first in a series of blogposts about our recent journey through beautiful Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is an amazing place for street photography, the people super friendly and open to be photographed. Continue after the jump to see more street images from Khiva, our first destination in Uzbekistan.

Continue reading “Uzbekistan explored – People of Khiva” →
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Klainguti

Pasticceria Klainguti Genova
Klainguti | Genoa | 2025

Pasticceria Klainguti in Genoa has recently reopened after a long renovation. It is a historic pastry shop in Piazza di Soziglia in Genoa’s Centro Storico. The founders were four brothers — Giuseppe, Gioacchino, Adolfo, and Agostino Klainguti — who came from Pontresina, a town in the Grisons (Graubünden) canton of Switzerland.

They originally traveled to Genoa in 1826 with plans to sail to America, but instead decided to stay and open a pastry shop. In 1828, they founded Pasticceria Klainguti, which quickly became popular in the city. The shop is known for its traditional sweets and long history in the old city center.

I loved the warm lights from inside the shop. In the window, you can see The Significant Other selecting a few sweets we took home. The passing people invited for a street photo, the red outfit of the passing pedestrian harmonizing with the yellow of the shop’s lights.

Taken with my Nikon Zf with the vintage Russian Zenit Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 manual prime lens. Image specs 1/400 secs @ f/5.6, ISO 3600. Post-Processing in Lightroom Classic

Have a great Tuesday

Marcus

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Big Day

A bride righting her vail on her big day while her bridesmaid smiles
Big Day | Samarkand | 2025

Uzbekistan is not only colorful. It super friendly to the traveling street photographer. I‘ve never visited a country before where people are so easygoing about being photographed. They see a camera directed their way, they generally flash a smile! The Significant Other (the iPhone shooter) even observed, the bigger the camera the easier they agree to a photo. So photographing the bride and her friend during a quiet moment on her big day’s wedding photography session near Samarkand‘s Registan Square was easy. When the friend saw me aiming the Nikon, she started smiling. Amazing! 

I took the photograph with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR. Image specs 1/400 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 180 and 190 mm focal lenght. Jpg straight out of camera, no postprocessing.

Have I mentioned what a fantastic monochrome camera the Nikon Zf is? Even with a budget travelzoom attached.

Have a great Sunday

Marcus

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Life is colorful

2 girls holding a bunch of balloons in front of Buchara‘s Mir-Arab Madrasa
Life is Colorful | Buchara | 2025

Life is colorful in Uzbekistan. That‘s were we are since last weekend. The Significant Other and I are touring the magical cities of the historic Silk Road. After starting off in Tashkent, we continued on to Chiwa, then Buchara, and arrived today in Samarkand. Uzbekistan is a great place for photography. Colorful, vibrant, full of historic places. And especially great place for street photography. The locals are super friendly, generally smile when you signal you want to take a picture and many want to talk to you. They are curious to talk to you, living in a country that has just started to open up to tourism.

The cities, all of them more than two thousand years old, are full of life, especially at night, when the temperatures drop to comfortable levels. The two girls holding the balloons are standing in front of the Mir-Arab Madrasa of Buchara, an active university founded and built in the 16th century. The buidling is part of the Poi Kaylan complex, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I will share photos from this achitectural marvel in a later post.

I took the photograph with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor 40mm f/2. Image specs 1/50 sec @ f/8, ISO 6400 and 40mm focal lenght. Jpg straight out of camera, no postprocessing.

Have a great Friday

Marcus

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Bite the state

Man sitting in a lit shop looking into his cellphone next to a graffiti that translates to bite the state
Bite the state | Genoa | 2025

Sometimes a street image demands color. Like this one, taken in Genoa’s medieval old town near the Genova Piazza Principe railway station. The warm glow from inside the shop juxtaposes perfectly with the dark street and the bold statement on the wall that translates to “Bite the State”. The color contrast captures the mood of the image, the contrast between public dissent and tranquil private life on a quite late evening. The warm light inside feels safe and calm, very different from the dark and gritty street outside. Things like the tilted street sign, worn walls, and wet pavement suggest a place that’s been a bit forgotten or ignored. A scene that I saw and immediately felt drawn to capturing it.

Images specs are 1/60 sec @ f/2 and ISO 500. I took the photograph with the Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 40mm f/2. Postprocessing in Lightroom Classic (increasing the contrast and adding a vignette).

If you are looking for more tips and inspirations around street photography tips, check out my free “Learning Center”.

Wish you a great Monday!

Marcus

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Frosty Ice Cream

Family eating ice cream one a rainy day
1/250 sec | f/6.3 | ISO 6400 | 175mm

Are you kidding me? Eating a frosty ice cream on a cold and rainy day? Not for me, anyway! Spending the last week in our Southern Home in Genoa, The Significant Other and I were not blessed with the sunny and warm Spring weather you would expect from Italy. In fact, back in Nuremberg the weather was great all week with summer like temperatures.

Despite the wet weather, we headed into town a few times to run errands and treat ourselves to some great food. Having taken the Nikon Zf with me, I captured this mother and her kids enjoying some Italian ice cream, albeit a frosty one. Maybe they were visitors coming to town from one of the Cruise ships in the harbor. And felt they had to do it. At least they provided an awesome street photo subject, matching perfectly the image visible behind their backs. Quoting Shakespeare once again: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women, merely players”

Tonight, we will return to the Streets of Nuremberg to celebrate Easter with the family.

If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, head to my free Learning Center.

Have a great day Saturday

Marcus

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I, Robot

I robot - monochrome photograph of three little robots
I Robot | Nuremberg | 2025

I, Robot was a 2004 Alex Proyas movie set in 2035. Highly intelligent robots serve humanity but must follow three strict laws to prevent harm. Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) investigates a murder seemingly committed by a robot. But he uncovers a deeper conspiracy that threatens human freedom.

Today, The Significant Other and I went to the Leisure Trade Fair in the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. Part of the fair was the RoboCup German Open 2025.

There I photographed these cute little soccer playing robots taking a charging break. ​Competing are teams from more than 50 nations. The RoboCup is the world’s largest and most important competition for intelligent robots. I took quite a few photos and will do a separate post about the fun and super interesting event.

The Robots are of the latest technology, as is the camera I used to photograph them (my trusted Nikon Zf). The lens attached to the modern mirrorless via an adapter was quite the opposite. I used an M42 mount Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8/35mm manufactured around 1970 in former East Germany. An amazing manual focus lens with an amazing image quality, as you can see from this monochrome image. Which by the way is a JPG straight out of camera without any post processing using the Nikon’s B&W mode.

Images specs are 1/250 sec @ f/8 and ISO 6400.

Have I said I love attaching vintage glass on my Zf?

Have a great Saturday

Marcus

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