Travel Photography

NYC Experience – Top of the Rocks
1 sec @ f/4 and ISO 200

View South towards mid-/downtown | 1.6 sec @ f/4 and ISO 200

In this episode about our week in NYC I want to take you up to the observation deck of the Rockefeller Center, called “Top of the Rocks”, just a few blocks to walk from Times Square. At 10:30pm there was no waiting line, so after showing our vouchers from the New York City Pass we could directly take the elevator up to the 67th floor, from where we enjoyed first views through glass panels (a bit protected from the cold winds), but then continued on to the open air viewing platform on the 70th floor. For a bit more info and some more photos continue after the jump…. (more…)

NYC Experience – Times Square
Times Square

1/8 sec @ f/8 and ISO 200

A great way to start a New York City experience is to visit the ever-bustling Times Square.  We started our evening with a great dinner at Tony’s Di Napoli just off Times Square, then headed to the New Amsterdam Theater at 42nd Street to see a splendid performance of Disney’s musical “Aladdin” (a present from the kids for The Signifcant Other). I was a bit concerned bringing my camera into the theater, but it turned out to be no problem whatsoever, as long as the cam stayed in the bag during the show, where photography was obviously not allowed. I needed to have it with me, as after the show we wanted to have our Times Square experience with a chance for me for some night photography. For the images continue after the jump… (more…)

Life in the Big Apple
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Red Tie |New York City | 2018

The post should be titled “Sign of Life from the Big Apple”. We’ve been roaming the streets of New York City for 5 days now. Initially I intended to blog each day, but gave up on it on day 2. Anyone surprised? The SD cards are filling up nicely now. You will get to see it eventually, promised! Also please bear with me not answering to comments or reading other people’s blogs, I will catch up on both once back home. So I will leave you just with a few street shots, as those need not much curating or processing. For a few more shots, what we saw so far and how happy I am with the gear I brought, continue after the jump… (more…)

My New York City Eye Opener
Eye Opener

Eye Opener | New York City | 2018

This is my New York City eye-opener from this morning, in the truest sense of the word. When I opened my eyes at 6:05am this morning, this is what I saw from my pillow. Our hotel room has floor to roof glass windows, and sure we slept with the curtains open, with the view of the downtown Manhattan skyline. I grabbed my E-M1 and squeezed off a shot through our windows at 1/5 sec, f/4 and ISO 200, to capture the magic of the pre-sunrise blue hour.

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Empire State Building | New York | 2018

The debate was not really a debate. We threw some clothes on and took the stairs from the 12th floor (where our room is) to the rooftop on the 19th floor of our hotel in the Meetpacking District directly above the Highline Park. In the midst of a freezing morning (it was 32F / 0C) we enjoyed, all by ourselves, a magic Manhattan sunrise.

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Rooftop Reflections | New York City | 2018

The rooftop has also a glass wall, in which I captured the reflections of the sunrise behind the midtown skyline (behind us) and the downtown skyline with the new World Trade Center. No double exposure, a single shot. 1/320 sec @ f/7.1 and ISO 200. Lens was the 12-100mm F/4 I brought along with my OM-D E-M1.

NYC Sunrise 6

Room with a View | New York City | 2018

I took this panorama with my iPhone from the roof, this is practically the same view we enjoy from our room, only without any window reflections. Isn’t this a million dollar view? Life is good! Today we head downtown to World Trade Center and the 9/11 memorial and museum.

Have a great Monday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

NYC High Contrast Monochrome

Travel Day (12)

StoNur on the Road – Shibuya Crossing

Around the World in 12 Days – Home again

Travel Day (12)
White Whale

White Whale | Frankfurt | 2018

Travel Day once again, but this one is special. To find out why, continue after the jump… (more…)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Rise/Set
Etosha Sunset

Etosha Sunset | Etosha | 2017

“Rise/Set” is the theme of this week’s WPC from Word Press’ “The Daily Post”. This is a perfect challenge to send us all into a (hopefully) sunny Easter weekend. In Germany, Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays, so we have a long weekend ahead. Time to spend with friends and family, time for some photography. To see some sunsets (and a sunrise) from my travels around the world, continue after the jump…. (more…)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Favorite Place
Lanterna di Genova

Lanterna | Genova | 2004

The Weekly Photo Challenge calls to depict a “Favorite Place“,  an image of a happy place  or a faraway location you return to again and again.

The city that has a special place in my heart, a city I return to again and again, is Genoa. “La Superba”, as the city on the Ligurian Riviera is also called, was our home from 2001 to 2005, and where we have many very good friends.

Typically the first place we head to, when visiting, is the “Porto Antico”, the old port, that dates back to Roman times. Towering above the harbor basin is “La Lanterna”, the historic lighthouse, and the principal landmark of Genoa.

For centuries the tallest lighthouse in the world, it is, at 249 feet (76 m), still the fifth tallest lighthouse.  Considered as a whole with the natural rock on which it stands, its height is even 383 feet (117 m), making it the second tallest lighthouse in the world. Originally constructed in 1161, it was rebuilt in 1543 in its current structure, making it the world’s third oldest existing lighthouse. One of its keepers was Antonio Colombo, uncle of explorer Christopher Columbus, who was born in Genoa in 1451.

Sitting in on of the bars at the Porto Antico, looking at the Lanterna, sipping a cocktail and enjoying a warm sunset, there are not many places on this planet that mean more to me than this one.

Have a great Thursday!

Marcus

Related Posts:

StoNur on the Road – Portofino

StoNur goes Sub Sea

StoNur on the Road – Italian Sunset

StoNur on the Road – Blood Mountains

Monday Mountains (8)
Snowcapped Pyramid

Snowcapped Pyramid | Washington | 2018

I haven’t done a “Monday Mountain” in quite a while, but I thought I show off this photograph of a rugged, snowcapped peak in the Northern Cascades. Unless previous episodes, where I wrote about particular mountains, I have no clue how this peak is called. If anyone recognizes this quite distinctive shape and has an idea, please leave the name in the comment section.

Image specs are 1/800 sec @ f/7.1 and ISO 200, focal length was 100mm (200mm focal length full frame equivalent). The photo was taken with my OM-D E-M1 and the mZuiko 12-100mm F/4 Pro Zoom a few minutes after takeoff in Seattle, on our way towards Canada, while we were still climbing to cruising altitude.

Raw- and monochrome conversion in Lightroom CC Classic

I finally got home from Portland at Saturday evening, in the middle of a little snow storm. And I made the birthday party with only one hour of delay.  Next time I set a foot into an airplane it will be for a week of vacation in NYC with the Significant Other. Less than three weeks to go. Life is not too bad 😉

Wish you all a great week!

Marcus

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Monday Mountains (7)

Monday Mountains (6)

Monday Mountains (5)

Monday Mountains (4)

Kissed By The Light And Happy
Aurea Borealis

Aurea Borealis | Northern Atlantic | 2018

I made it safely to Amsterdam, where I will be stuck for the next eight hours due to my canceled flight to Nuremberg. I tried various options to get home earlier, but nothing worked out. I hope that at least my 16:45 flight is on time so I make it to the birthday party of  a good friend the Significant Other and I are invited to.

But at least the heaven tried to cheer me up, and this with much success. I was kissed by a magic heavenly light show high above the Northern Atlantic, just as the Delta Airbus left North Western Canada (Baffin Island) for Greenland. And this time I saw the inflight Northern Lights sitting on the right side of the plane, the window facing south. For my how-to and more photos continue after the jump… (more…)

Hiking on the Oregon Coast
Cascade Head Trail 09

Panorama from Cascade Head | Oregon | 1/500 @ f/11 and ISO 200 – 29mm focal length

My free weekend in the Pacific Northwest was kissed by an unusually warm spring sun, that brought record temperatures for this time of the year (we hit 70F today). Around 10am I left Portland for the 75 mile drive to the Oregon Coast near Lincoln City, arriving just after noon. The trail I selected for my Sunday hike was the Cascade Head trail. The trailhead is at a parking just three miles north from the intersection of OR18 with US 101, at the mouth of the Salmon River. For the photographs and some descriptions continue after the jump… (more…)