We made it across the finish line – a wild year comes to an end in the job that pays the bills. The Significant Other and I are officially on Christmas break, and will be off until January 8th. Visiting our local professional soccer team’s last home game of the year was the perfect Segway into the holiday season. The team of the 1. FC Nürnberg was on fire, winning the night game 1:0, and also the fan curve did not disappoint, putting up a memorable pyrotechnics show all game and singing their hearts out.
I took the image with my iPhone 14 Pro. It was a lot of hit and miss, but in this photo its all came together, with backlighting from the pyro devices, the shape of the flags, the faces of the fans that were truly on fire. Also photographically a worthy start into our break.
With December 1st upon us we are now officially in the festive season. In Nuremberg, the famous Christkindlesmarkt, our historic Christmas market on the main square in the Old Town, opens Friday before the 1st Advent. Sure enough I ventured into town to watch our Christkind speak the famous “prologue” from the balcony of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady).
The Christkind became the face of our Christmas market in the mid-20th century. Every two years, a local teenage girl is chosen to embody the Christkind. She wears a shimmering costume of white and gold with a distinctive golden crown and long blonde curls. Her role is to spread the spirit of Christmas and officially open the market with a heartfelt prologue from the balcony of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). She visits schools, hospitals, and nursing homes, spreading holiday cheer to all. Her iconic presence at the Christkindlesmarkt makes her a beloved symbol of joy and hope.
Nelly, in her second year, did a wonderful job opening the market with the famous words “You men and women who once were children, too, be happy that Christkind has come to you!” After the opening ceremony she posed for selfies with the many little kids admiring her with big eyes, and also threw the passing street photographer a royal smile.
Taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M1X and the mZuiko 12-100mm F4 Pro Zoom. Image specs 1/30 sec @ f/4 and ISO 3200 with 100 mm focal length. Post processing in Lightroom Classic.
The Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi celebrates the beauty of perfect imperfection, impermanence, and the natural state of things—an ideal philosophy for photography. Instead of chasing perfection, Wabi-Sabi encourages finding beauty in flaws: the cracks of a weathered wall, the softness of blurred motion, or the fleeting golden hour light.
This mindset frees us photographers to embrace authenticity, valuing the raw and unpolished over the artificial. A blurred motion shot, for instance, may evoke more emotion than a sharply focused one. A grainy texture or an uneven shadow can add depth and character to an image.
By adopting Wabi-Sabi into our photography, we not only can expand our creative vision, but also connect more deeply with the subjects we capture. It’s a reminder that life, with all its imperfections, is inherently beautiful—just waiting to be captured through the lens.
If you feel inspired, pick up your camera (or smart phone), head into the streets and find your own way of capturing the beauty of perfect imperfection.
As avid street photographer, I’m always looking for those stories of the street happening in front of my lens. Like during this nightly encounter in the streets of Vannes in Brittany, France. Look at the image and let it tell you a story of everyday live. Maybe a bit of an unusual story, happening at 11pm in the evening.
Taken with thy Olympus OM-D E-M1X and the mZuiko 12-100mm F/4 Pro Zoom.
If you feel like picking up your camera to go out and capture the stories of the streets yourself, check out the tips and inspirations around street photography in my free Learning Center.
Thought I throw in a monochrome street photo from last weekend’s walk through Genoa’s Centro Storico. The guy thought I was a funny break in whatever conversation he was having, maybe he was phoning home? A snapshot talken with my iPhone, converted to monochrome in Lightroom Classic.
Talking about LRC, I’m having troubles with my catalogue (have I mentioned there are almost 200.000 images stored there?). After upgrading to version 13.4. I was asked also to upgrade the catalogue. Initially it worked fine, then somehow it became corrupt. It opens and closes fine, it shows the images in the library, but does not take any commands. I’ve been browsing through forums and help advice, tried everything suggested, so far without any success. The last backup works fine, so the catalogue must have taken a hit. Too bad my last backup was done beginning of June, my bad. Make sure you all do your weekly backups, that’s my learning from this. I’m not ready to give up yet on two months worth of editing…
Strolling through Genoa’s Centro Storico the other night I took this street photograph with my Fuji X-T2 and the Fujinon XF 1:2.8-4/18-55mm R LM OIS. I like this shot, for the composition, color balance, light, gesture and the story. I tried a monochrome conversion, but stuck with color. You might note, that the neon sign of the little Trattoria is inverted, as it is transparent and shows the “right” side uphill to were likely more potential customers come from when walking down Via San Bernardo towards the port area. So when doing post production in Lightroom Classic, I mirrored the image horizontally, so the sign reads the right way. But with that, I think, the photograph lost its visual balance. Check for yourself after the jump….
One blog post per month does not meet my own expectations for myself. But this is how it has been lately. Not much more going on in my photography. Also not doing my own expectations and aspirations justice. But this is how it has been lately. But this is how life is sometimes. There are too many things going on in parallel, in the job that pays the bills as well as in personal life. So something that, for many years, has been in the spotlight of my activities, has been relegated to a place in the far corner of daily life. Sometimes I feel bad about it, sometimes I don’t, because the other things are just as fun. But when out in the streets, these days hardly with a camera around the neck, but always with the iPhone in hand, I’m always looking around. Consciously or subconscious scanning my surroundings for the stories of the street, or the faces of the street. It’s wired into me, and it’s always fun. And when I get this one shot taht makes me smile at the end of the day I’m totally happy.
So my promise to myself is to do better. In my photography. And in my writing about it.
It was the purple attire of the lady sitting on a bench in front of the Genoa-Pegli train station that caught my eye. That there was the little dog playing hide and seek behind her boots I realized only with the second glance while passing her and snapping this colorful street shot with my iPhone 14 Pro. Proof once ago that the streets are full of little stories waiting to be discovered and captured. There are a few articles in my Learning center about this, like Instant Inspiration (23) – Hidden Street Portrait and Street Photography Quick Tip 5 – Composition – the hidden subject. Most important, take you camera, hit the streets and have fun capturing the stories of the streets.
The new year is upon us, and the “Streets of Nuremberg” are back on the streets. Albeit on the streets and in the alleys of Genoa, our Home (South), where The Significant Other, Big Boy and I have spent the first week of 2024. Here are a couple images from my inaugural street photography outing of the new year, taking my vintage Fuji X-M1 for a spin….
Wish all my friends a blessed, happy, marvelous, successful, beautiful, inspirational, creative, wonderful and healthy 2024! May there be more love & peace around the world. And let’s all do whatever we can to keep our big blue marble alive and afloat for the sake of our children and all future generations! May there be always a Guardian Angel watching over you!
Running the corporate rat race until the very last moment, last night’s visit to the Christkindlesmarkt on Nuremberg’s Main Square in the Old Town felt like finally passing the finish line into a hopefully relaxing Christmas break. There were the beautiful sound of The Significant Other’s trombone choir playing Christmas chorals on the stage in front of the Church of our Lady. Then there was the sight of the Nuremberg Christkind Nelli Lunkenheimer passing by (and me having the Leica ready and getting a snapshot of her).
To everyone out there, but particularly to all the many magic people I’ve had the blessings to meet through my blogging on the “Streets of Nuremberg” I wish a peaceful and merry Christmas and much love and laughters together with your family and friends.
Two girls taking a break in a Nuremberg coffee shop, or rather in the window of the coffee shop. Ignorant of the fact that they might be an attractive motive to the passing street photographer. Only that the photographer was by no means attracted by the human patrons of the Cafe. It was the rather hidden subject that did catch his eye. You see it looking over the edge ? This is why I love street photography.
Taken with the the Leica SL2-S and the Leica Vario Elmarit F/2.8 24-70 ASPH. Postprocessing with Adobe Lightroom Classic.
If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center.
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