What looks like a scene from the arctic is actually just a few kilometers from my house, on the Dillberg. With 600m (2000ft) above sea level it is one of the higher elevations in the area. A perfect place to for some sportive activities in the snow, properly socially distanced. Or as I call it, snowsolation.
Once in a while I do stray away from my usual street-, urban- and travel- photography and do some commissioned work. Like yesterday, when I did my first ever pregnancy shooting. While I’m still busy editing a load of images, this is the one The Significant Other liked the most. Belly in Red – remember the Chris de Burgh song from the 80’s with a very similar title?
The photograph was taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1X with the mZuiko 12-100 F/4. Image specs 1/250 sec @ f/5.6 and ISO 200, 31mm focal length. Shooting indoors (it was a home shooting), those settings (I was using manual mode) eliminated all ambient light in the living room. The only light source was a Godox AD200Pro strobe on a lightstand to the right, firing through a large strip light softbox at 1/8 power (also in manual mode). The strip light prohibited stray light from the flash falling on the background, illuminating only the front of the lady in red. Another perfect example that photography is essentially playing with light and composition.
Once I’m done with editing I’ll do a post with my faves and my approach.
I was very much looking forward to this, shooting with a 60 year old lens. My Dad gave me a vintage 90mm Leica Summicron F/2 for Christmas (thanks, Dad, for the awesome present). The beauty of the Leica M system is that you can attach any lens from the Leica (M)esssucher (=rangefinder) system introduced back in 1954 to modern Leica digital cameras with an M-Mount. And as I have acquired a (for digital camera standards also vintage) used Leica M (Type 240) about a year ago, the 90mm is a great addition to my small collection of Leica prime lenses.
This is my last street photograph of 2020. People passing through the old city gate under the Imperial Castle. Like castle ghosts. Using my Olympus OM-D E-M1X and the mZuiko 12-100 with a long shutter speed of 2.5 sec to create the ghosting effects through intentional motion blur, both of the moving subjects as well as light intentional movements of the camera (ICM) to blur the old stones in the ancient tunnel.
“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept” is one of my favorite photographic quotes, said by the godfather of street photography Henri Cartier-Bresson. Always be open minded when you are out and about shooting. Experiment with whatever comes to your mind. You digital camera (or your smartphone) is just like the shovel that you used to play with in the sandbox when your were little.
Make 2021 your year to be more creative with your camera! If you are looking for tips and inspirations, check out my free Learning Center.
I never did post some images I took during our last trip to a museum, at least for the foreseeable future, as all museums are closed due to the Covid lockdown. While I brought the Olympus OM-D E-M1X with the mZuiko 12-100 F/4 for the tour through the exhibitions of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, I never really got into the flow that evening, so the yield was rather limited, but there are a few shots that are worth sharing.
“Instant Inspiration” is my series for you if you look for something to overcome “Photographer’s Block” or simply want to shoot something that you have never tried, or at least not recently.
Sunday late afternoon I took The Significant Other and her Mom on a walk on the Streets of Nuremberg to look at the christmas lights in the city. A perfect opportunity for some blue hour shooting.
Finally Friday, with both The Significant Other and myself having had a rough week from the jobs that pay the bills. Normally, this time of the year, we would head out to our local christmas market for fried sausages and some mulled wine to wind down and prepare for the weekend. Only that the Covid-lockdown has shut the door on all public events this December.
So I decided to have an alternative xmas market, right in our back yard, just for the family. I barbecued Franconian sausages, The Wife made the dough for some bread on sticks we fried above the fire bowl. Add some hot mulled wine and a Spotify christmas music list playing from a mobile speaker. The recent snow in the garden provided the perfect backdrop. And so we had our perfect start into the weekend anyway.
Image shot with the iPhone Xs, B&W conversion in Lightroom Classic.
Have a great start into the weekend yourself! And stay safe!
Chances are that you are sick and tired of hearing about polling these days. But I have another one for you – a preset poll. I’ve been playing around with Lightroom putting together some new presets.
It’s been literally weeks that I was downtown with a camera, but today The Significant Other an I visited the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, one of our last outings before Germany goes back into a 4 week Covid lockdown coming Monday. Nuremberg is already a hotspot with new cases spiking, so the city imposed mandatory mask wearing for everyone inside a public building or shop and out on the streets. After exiting the Museum, I used the opportunity for some street shooting around the entrance to the Way of Human Rights, one of my favorite photo locations in the city.
Fair enough – this is an older street photograph, but one I never posted. But doesn’t it fit perfectly into these crazy days? I guess the space suit works just as well for virus protection. But who wouldn’t want to beam up these days?
“Ground Control to Major Tom Ground Control to Major Tom Take your protein pills and put your helmet on Ground Control to Major Tom (ten, nine, eight, seven, six) Commencing countdown, engines on (five, four, three) Check ignition and may God’s love be with you (two, one, liftoff)”
Just a quick post today, with a photograph I took when The Significant Other and I visit the Old Town Fair that the city has organized on Nuremberg’s Central Market, as kind of compensation for the two big city fairs that had to be cancelled due to Covid this year. Does it then make sense to still have fair with a ferris wheel, a rollercoaster, an auto scooter and a carousel when cases are still raising with all the people returning from vacation? I’m not sure, but it sure was fun. Fully masked though….