Contrasts

Life contrasts
Contrasts | Verbania-Intra | 2023

Yesterday I was doing some street photography while strolling through the alleys of Intra at Italy’s Lago Maggiore. It was really too hot and humid to get the creative juices flowing. This is the only shot that is a keeper from the outing. I saw that mural and what message it seems to convey, and the luxury coffee store across the street. Then I saw the approaching sunlit family of casual Saturday shoppers. More contrasts. I snapped away with my iPhone.

In post I debated whether to convert to monochrome. But I like how the colors work together in this image. One photograph I like is enough to be happy with a day of otherwise energy-less shooting.

If you feel energized to head out with your camera (or smart phone) to capture some street photography, check out my free Learning Center for lots of tips and inspirations around shooting in the streets.

Have a great Sunday

Marcus

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More Curly Hair

Italian girl with Curly Hair
1/800 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 200 | 70mm

To add to my last post, here is more curly hair. Once more taken with the Leica SL2-S with the Vario Elmarit F/2.8 24-70 ASPH. Jpg out of camera (taken with the Leica’s high contrast monochrome profile). Have I mentioned before how awesome the Leica plays with the light?

After one of my last post the question came up whether I ask people in the streets whether I can take their photo. The honest answer is not always. But often enough. I wrote about it in my post “A Street Photographers Dialogue”.

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

Have a great Sunday

Marcus

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Friend or Foe?

Bourtzi (Nafplio) at sunset with silhouettes of a fishing boat and flying seagulls
Bourtzi | Greece | 2021

A few days ago, Adobe released a new beta version of its popular Photoshop application. With it came the launch of its new artificial intelligence (AI) Generative Fill tool, that has the photographic community humming with excitement. While the web is already full of examples of the incredible power of this tool, I thought I give it my own little try. The result you see above. For the “how” and whether I consider the new AI based feature a photographer’s friend or foe, continue after the jump…

Continue reading “Friend or Foe?”

Marble Magic

External view of the Pisa Baptistry with tourist looking at it in awe
Baptistry | Pisa | 2023

It’s been super busy these past weeks, mainly due to the job that pays the bills. Not much time to take a camera for a spin, and neither time to write about it on these pages. But with things slowly getting back to normal, let me share the results of some recent photographic outings I managed to squeeze in none less. Like these couple of black & white images from a day trip to Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli we did the other week while spending time at our “south” home in Genoa. Continue after the jump for some history and photographs of this 13th century marble magic …

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Seville Explored – Real Alcázar

Real Alcazar Seville
Real Alcázar | Seville | 2023

Seville explored – Real Alcázar introduces you to the Royal Palace of Seville, Spain. The palace was originally constructed as a fortress during the 10th century by the Moors and has since been expanded and modified by various rulers and monarchs. An UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is considered one of the most important cultural landmarks in Spain. It has been used as a filming location for several movies and TV shows, including “Game of Thrones,” which featured the palace as the setting for the Water Gardens of Dorne. For its history and more photographs of its splendor, continue after the jump…

Continue reading “Seville Explored – Real Alcázar”

Camouflage

Camouflaged Peacock
Camouflage | Seville | 2023

A rainy day in Genoa gives me time to edit my photographs from our recent trip to Seville. I came across this one of the peacock already featured in this previous post. Not only shows this image the prefect camouflage its plumage provides to this magnificent bird in its natural habitat, rainforests. But the photo also demonstrates the things my eyes are constantly scanning for when roaming the streets. I’m always on the lookout for interesting combinations of light and shadows, colors and textures. I’m doing this also when I don’t even carry a camera (which practically never happens, as at least the iPhone and its camera is always with me). This is what I call my daily visual push-ups. In this photograph, it all comes together. Bringing home an image like this after a day of shooting gives me great satisfaction.

Taken with my Leica SL2-S with the Vario-Elmarit-SL 1:2.8/24-70 ASPH. Image specs are 1/400 sec @ f/8 and ISO 200, 70mm focal length. Post-processing (brightening up the shadows) in Lightroom Classic.

If you are looking for tips and inspirations to improve your photography, check out my free Learning Center.  

Have a great Wednesday

Marcus

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Hanging in there

Seville Explored – Setas de Sevilla

Setas de Sevilla
Setas de Sevilla | Seville | 2023

Seville explored – Setas de Sevilla (Mushrooms of Seville) is yet another post about a stunning architectural masterpiece located in the heart of Seville, Spain. Only this time, it is a rather modern structure. Also known as “Metropol Parasol”, it supposedly is the largest wooden structure in the world. Located at La Encarnación square in the old quarter of Seville, it was designed by the German architect Jürgen Mayer and completed in April 2011. For more about the Setas’ history and some more photographs, continue after the jump….

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Seville Explored – Plaza de España

Plaza de Espagne, Seville
Plaza de Espana | Seville | 2023

Seville explored – Plaza de España is a post about a stunning architectural masterpiece located in the heart of Seville, Spain. Built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, the plaza is a fusion of Spanish Renaissance and Moorish architectural styles, designed by the architect Aníbal González. More than a thousand workers worked on its construction at the same time. Constructions began as early as 1924 and were completed by architect Vicente Traver in 1928, after Aníbal González resigned as the Exposition’s chief architect. For a mix of more color and monochrome photos, architectural and street shots continue after the jump…

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Symmetry

Symmetry
Symmetry | Nuremberg | 2023

Sometimes the best view is the one looking up. Standing inside Nuremberg’s magnificent St. Sebald Church in the historic Old Town, you see..symmetry. The vaulted ceiling goes back into the early 14th century.

A snapshot taken with my iPhone 14 Pro, post-processed in Lightroom Classic.

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

Have a great Sunday

Marcus

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My Seville camera bag

My Seville camera bag

This was what I carried in my Lowepro Passport Sling for a week of street- and travel-photography in Seville. Besides my Leica SL2-S and the Vario-Elmarit-SL 1:2.8/24-70 ASPH standard zoom I brought two additional primes: The TTArtisan 50mm .95 M-Mount (with a Novoflex M to L adapter) “Nifty Fifty” and as telephoto lens a vintage (Made in the GDR) Pentacon auto 2.8 / 135mm MC (with Novoflex M42 to L adapter). Add a spare battery, my cleaning kit and a few of my Street Photographer’s Business Cards. To find out which lens never made it onto the camera and why I didn’t carry a backup-body im my Seville camera bag, continue after the jump….

Continue reading “My Seville camera bag”

What an iPhone can’t do

Setas de Sevilla with a sunburst - what an iPhone can't do
Setas de Sevilla | 2023

I’ve received quite a few comments why I’ve been using my iPhone 14 Pro a lot lately, and not the Leica. Well, for one, because it has a great camera and a sensor that captures awesome images, and it is the camera that is always with me. But make no mistake. An iPhone (or any other modern “camera-phone”) will (at least with today’s technology), never be able to compete with a full frame sensor. When walking the streets of Seville I carry the iPhone and the SL2-S. And there are scenes like the one in the title image where I know it was worth lugging a 2 kilo camera/lens combo around. To capture the full tonal range of this magnificent building. And a sunburst to go with it. That’s what an iPhone can’t do.

Have a great Friday

Marcus

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Thirsty

Thirsty Dog drinking from fountain in Cordoba, Spain
Thirsty | Cordoba | 2023

The Significant Other and I are drinking plenty water while roaming the streets of Sevilla, or in this case during a side-trip to Cordoba. I’m much too busy with sightseeing and photography to write long posts about the splendor of Andalucia. This will come when we’re back home. For now a quick snapshot of a thirsty dog, captured with my Leica SL2-S in the city center of Cordoba. Image specs 1/640 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 200 and 70mm focal length. The triangle between the two dogs on the leash with their owner in the middle contributes to a harmonic composition. The gesture of the dog drinking adds interest as well.

For more tips and inspirations around street photography check out my free Learning Center.

Wish you all a happy Thursday

Marcus

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Keep warm !

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