November is upon us. And with it the obligatory November blues. Many persons I know are dreading this month, as it is the month of remembrance of the dead, the month of grey, wet, foggy, cold dull days. There is lots of work in the garden to prepare it for winter. With the change of the clock to winter time this past weekend it is practically dark by 5pm. It is also the transition month between the last warm days of the year with the explosive colors of autumn and the happiness and joy of the upcoming festive season.
A pumpkin patch in Germany is definitely nothing native. Sure, we grow pumpkins, we eat pumpkins, but buying pumpkins is something we typically do in a grocery store. Not so in a village south east of Nuremberg. Jerry is a farmer from the US who moved to Germany a few years ago. Unable to find the familiar huge pumpkins, he started to grow them himself on his farm. Then he turned it into a business. “Best Darn Pumpkins on this side of the Ozarks!” is his claim. His clients are mostly US citizens living in Frankonia and Upper Palatine, English was the most spoken language of the families collecting the pumpkins. And they sure have fun roaming the patch and taking home one (or two of three or four) giant pumpkins. For those families something ordinary like a pumpkin patch is special, it’s a piece of home away from home.
Haven’t I said it in yesterday’s post? October weather has taken a turn for the worse, the weather changing hourly between heavy rain and light rain. Time to go into hiding….pardon the pun. Standing in front of the flower shop in city center Nuremberg, it was just a matter of waiting before an appropriately clad lady walked in front of the flowers on sale.“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women, merely players”, as William Shakespeare has rightly put it.That’s what I call perfect camouflage.
It also works in color. Check it out by clicking below..
Life’s been wild lately, not only for us, but also for the rest of the world. “Looking at you” I dubbed this shot of The Significant Other looking at a Steve McCurry portrait of an Afghan mujahideen. The world famous documentary photographer, known for his intense portraits, took this image in Afghanistan back in 1979. We are in Zurich for the weekend and took the opportunity to visit the Steve McCurry exhibition that’s currently on display at the Maaghalle. Over the years, McCurry has been multiple times to Afghanistan, and some of his most iconic images are from there. On display at the exhibition, they now emit a strange sense of actuality, given the current sad events.
You know I like to shoot street photography in exhibitions and museums, and this beautiful curated and presented display of McCurry’s work provided an awesome background. For tonight I leave you with this initial image and get now busy with more editing from this afternoon’s photographic outing.
Image taken with my iPhone 12 Pro Max, post processed with iOS photo app.
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.
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.
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.
With the daily infection rate on the rise again here in Germany, Covid is still dominating our lives, and somehow also my blogging. A couple of days ago, The Significant Other and I visited the Documentation Center of Nuremberg’s historic Nazi Party Rally Grounds. Our first trip to a museum since the start of Covid was the opportunity for some photographic, distanced obervations…
After yesterdays moody Christmas tree image I felt the need to post some real Nuremberg Christmas romance. It shows the Christmas tree on historic Tiergärtnertorplatz, once more with the birth house of Renaissance Super Star Albrecht Dürer in the background. Definitely one of the more romantic views of my city.
Last night, The Significant Other and myself went to see one of the world’s best trombone players, Swedish jazz musician Nils Landgren. He is nicknamed “Mr. Red Horn” because of his red trombone. His most famous formation is the Nils Landgren Funk Unit. But last night, he played a concert in a little barn 25 km outside Nuremberg. And he teamed up with the teachers band of the local music school. It was an awesome night with the master….
Färdder Kärwa – a difficult term for my English speaking readers. It is the local name of the Michaeliskirchweih in Nuremberg’s neighboring city of Fürth, a city fair that annually starts on the Saturday following the name day of Archangel Michael, typically at the end of September. A great opportunity to head over to Fürth and take my 17 and 25mm F/1.2 prime lenses for a nightly spin….
