The Top of the World

Mount Everest from EBC
Mount Everest (8848m)

I wanted to do this post for quite some time now, but decided to save it for the last day of 2023. Because it means a lot to me. As a proud dad! Not that I didn’t embark on some nice trips myself this year: Seville and Dubai with The Significant Other. New York City together with Big Boy. But the families undisputed travel queen of 2023 is Big Girl. Because back in October she went to see the top of the world. No, she didn’t climb Mount Everest. But, fulfilling a dream, she went on an epic Three-High-Passes-Trek to the Everest Base Camp. Continue after the jump to see more of her trip of a lifetime to beautiful Nepal…

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Believe

A man walking in front of a cannabis club with a cartoon on the door and an alien saying believe
Believe | Brooklyn | 2023

To believe in what you do should give you a clear direction to pursue your dreams. Smoking weed, though, might just leave you circling the parking lot wondering where you parked your ambition 😉

It seems this Brooklyn weed shop seems to take it with humor….a street shot captured the other week with my iPhone during a short father/son trip to the Big Apple.

Have a great Tuesday!

Marcus

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Go out and shoot

Lady in a backlit orange dress walking in genoas Porto Antico
1/160 sec | f/22 | ISO 400

Go out and shoot – something I need to keep telling myself these days. Which is totally ok, I guess, as photography doesn’t always have to take center stage in life. But then there is the sudden itch to grab a camera. In this case my vintage Olympus PEN-F with the mZuiko 25mm f/1.8 prime lens (50mm full frame equivalent with the m43 crop factor of 2). And heading out into the streets for a late afternoon stroll, capturing life that happens in front of my lens.

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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…

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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…

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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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