Tag: Travel Photography

Heading Home

Cyclists heading home late afternoon in Atlanta Midtown
Heading Home | Atlanta | 2025

While heading to a quick dinner in Midtown Atlanta this week, I enjoyed the late afternoon warmth and the beautiful light. The golden glow of the setting sun cast long shadows on the sidewalks, adding depth and character to the Midtown streets. It was the perfect time for some quick street photography using my iPhone 16 Pro Max, capturing the energy of the city as people made their way home. By bike, on foot, and in their cars, each with their own story. Some rushed with purpose, others lingered, caught in quiet moments. The reflections in glass buildings, the flicker of neon signs coming to life, the movement at crosswalks — it all made for an ever-changing canvas for the stories of the street, just waiting to be framed. For a few more images, continue after the jump…

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Airy Sunrise

Fine Art Airy Sunrise out of a plane window
Airy Sunrise | Netherlands | 2025

Isn’t it nice when a day starts full of color? This is especially true after having spent the night in an airplane seat crossing the Atlantic Ocean eastbound in a KLM Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I opened the shades, and there it was, the colorful airy sunrise. Playing round with my iPhone, it switched to macro mode when I zoomed in and focused on the ice crystals on the outside of the window. I really love the effect it generated. Kind of artsy…

I love these things, playing around with the camera (or the smartphone) and see what I can get out of interesting things I see. This is what I call my visual push-ups. Photography stands for “painting with light”. But it is also “playing with light”.

Get your creative juices flowing. Grab a camera (or phone) and try things out. As the saying goes: One good photo a day keeps boredom away 😉

For more tips and inspirations around street photography, head to my free Learning Center.

Have a great Friday

Marcus

Related Posts:

Instant Inspiration (24) – Fine Art Wildlife

Playing with light and lines

Business Travel Reality – A Day in a Picture

My New York City Eye Opener

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Travel Day (19)

Silhouette of a woman sitting in a window seat on a travel day
Always on | Above Germany | 2025

I’m back in the air this morning. Hard to believe it is the my first intercontinental business trip since 2019. Thanks to Covid. I’m flying from Nuremberg via Amsterdam to Atlanta. Weather wise I will improve, leaving the freezy streets of Nuremberg for the, according to my iPhone weather app, almost summerly warmer ATL. Not that I will get much out of it, as I’m staying only a few days and it will be all work (plus maybe a dinner or two). And a travel day is always a great opportunity for some street and travel photography, usually by doing snapshots with my iPhone. The one above is a prime example for the beautiful black and white images that can be produced with a modern smartphone camera. To see more images from my travel day, click to continue….

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Sunday Walk with a Vintage Lens

Vintage Lense Photography with the Pentax Asahi SMC Takumar
1/125 sec | f/8 | ISO 100 | 50mm

Spring has finally arrived with sunshine and warmer temperatures. No doubt The Significant Other insisted we go on a hike through the Franconian countryside outside Nuremberg. I didn’t argue at all, as this was a great first opportunity to screw (literally) a 50 year old “Nifty Fifty” on my Nikon Zf for a first test of its legendary optics – the Pentax Asahi SMC Takumar 1.4/50. Join me on a Sunday walk with a vintage lens….

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White Giant

White Giant - a stuffed white Tiger in Genoa's Museum of Natural History
White Giant | Genoa | 2025

There is more from the last weekend’s visit to Genoa’s Museum of Natural History. In my last post I have mentioned juxtaposition as compositional element. Now how about this juxtaposition? This white tiger was by far the largest tiger I ever saw, dead or alive. Crazy big. The card in the display said the animal died in 1758 in a Circus, was subsequently stuffed and eventually ended up in the museum for everyone to simply admire. The Tiger was huge by my standards. How must that little girl feel looking up to this white giant?

A street photographer can apply many compositional elements to the images to generate a viewers interest. Leading lines guide the eye through the image, creating a sense of depth and direction. The rule of thirds divides the frame into a grid, helping to position subjects in a way that feels balanced and engaging. And, like in this example, Juxtaposition places contrasting subjects or elements side by side to create visual tension or highlight differences. Like the white giant and the little girl.

Taken with my Nikon ZF and the Nikkor Z 40mm 1:2 SE, image specs 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 and ISO 6400, 40mm focal length. Jpg out of camera using the Zf’s default black & white mode that can be quick-selected by a dial on top of the camera.

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

Have a great Thursday

Marcus 

Related Posts:

Instant Inspiration (24) – Fine Art Wildlife

Instant Inspiration (4) – Juxtaposition

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A Whale of a Day

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Ghosting

Skeletons looking over the shoulders of museum visitors doing Ghosting
Ghosting | Genoa | 2025

Another one from the last weekend’s visit to Genoa’s Museum of Natural History. Wouldn’t these scene be considered ghosting? Maybe the skeletons noticed the Street Photographer behind the glass of a display with stuffed primates. Musesums or exhibitions are great places for some inconspicuous “street” shooting, as people with cameras (or smartphones) would not stand out much. And there are always funny juxtapositions to be captured.

Taken with my Nikon ZF and the Nikkor Z 40mm 1:2 SE, image specs 1/800 sec @ f/2 and ISO 6400, 40mm focal length. Jpg out of camera using the Zf’s default black&white mode that can be quick-selected by a dial on top of the camera.

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

Have a great Tuesday

Marcus 

Related Posts:

Street Photography Quick Tip 2 – Another way to shoot inconspicuously

Street Photography Quick Tip 10 – Using Photographic Obstacles

Instant Inspiration (13)- Pictures in an Exhibition

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Casual Observation

Mom looking into a stroller in front of a museum showcase of skeletons seemingly on a casual observation
Casual Observation | Genoa | 2025

Regular readers should know that I have a hang for street photography in museums. And that where I run across skeletons on display, try my best to have them “interact” with the visitors in front of the displays. Like in this snapshot taken yesterday, when The Signifcant Other and I visited Genoa’s Museum of Natural History. Creepy? No, not really. Come one, after all they are just a bunch of skeletons on a casual observation of people passing in front of the glass cases. Or not? Well, as long as it is not yet Night in the Museum 😉

Taken with my Nikon ZF and the Nikkor Z 40mm 1:2 SE, image specs 1/30 sec @ f/13 and ISO 6400, 40mm focal length. Some post-processing (mainly cropping) in Lightroom Classic.

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

Have a great Monday

Marcus 

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Castle Ghosts

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Fearless

Man looking fearless at a grinch mural
Fearless | Genoa | 2025

We are living in a crazy world. There are plenty of things around us that cause anxiety. But at least we all should do the things we can do to make things better, safeguard democracy and keep the planet afloat for our children and future generations. Like casting our votes in general elections. It won’t help to stick our heads into the sand. Germany is voting today. Let’s keep the faith that everyone has realized what’s on the plate.

This is the first street photo I have taken with my new Nikon ZF and the Nikkor Z 40mm 1:2 SE on a walk through Genoa’s historic center yesterday. It is a jpg straight out of camera, only some cropping in Lightroom Classic. Images specs 1/1250 sec @ f/4 and ISO 6400, 40mm focal length. I love my new camera more every day!

If you feel like picking up your camera (or smartphone) for a Sunday walk and are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center. 

Let’s all be fearless!

Have a great Sunday

Marcus 

Related Posts:

Street Photography Quick Tip 1 – A way to shoot inconspicuously

Street Photography Quick Tip 15 – Get close for more intense street portraits

Instant Inspiration (4) – Juxtaposition

Instant Inspiration (30) – Look for that different face

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Divine Observation

Under divine bbservation are visitors to Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola in Genoas Via Garibaldi
1/8 sec | f/5.3 | ISO 1600 | 70mm

Visitors of Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola are under divine observation by this antique marble statue of a roman god. The palace of a Genovese noble man was completed in 1576 and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage, together with the other magnificent palaces in Genoa’s Via Garibaldi.

I took this street photograph with the Fuji X-T2 and the Fujinon XF18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR. RAW processing and conversion to high contrast monochrome in Lightroom Classic. 

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

Have a great Sunday

Marcus

Related Posts:

Street Photography Quick Tip 9 – Motion Blur

Street Photography Quick Tip 6 – Shoot in a station

Instant Inspiration (3) – Silhouettes

Instant Inspiration (4) – Juxtaposition

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Liguria Explored – Bellissimi

Bellissimi Church and Balloon Mural
Bellissimi | Liguria | 2025

As promised in my last post, today I will take you along on a walk through a little village in the Ligurian Appenin mountains that run along the coast of the Mediterranean. What ties this little mountain village, called Bellissimi, to the balloon vendor I photographed in Genoa’s Porto Antico the other day, are well…balloons. Bellissimi (which means “the most beautiful”) is full of murals of balloons. To see a selection of the artworks, find out why Bellissimi’s claim to fame are balloons, and last but not least see a picture of the four Bellissimi who visited this village, click below for the full story of “Liguria Explored – Bellissimi”

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Up

Up | Genoa | 2025

Up was the motto of the day! We went up the map, driving from Genoa north (up the map ) back to Nuremberg. The drive was uneventful, and even going up San Bernardino pass in Switzerland while crossing the Alps was on clear roads under a blue sky through snow capped mountains.

“Up” is also the name of the heartwarming Pixar movie about an elderly widower, Carl Fredricksen, who ties thousands of balloons to his house to fulfill his late wife’s dream of adventure.  Obviously the four balloons of the “balloon man” in Genoa’s Porto Antico are not enough to make him levitate. But the balloons will be the perfect segway into my next post, that will be about a little mountain village on the Ligurian coast that has made balloons its claim to fame.

This street photograph is a snapshot taken with my iPhone 14 Pro with some post processing in Lightroom Classic.

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

Have a great Tuesday

Marcus

Related Posts:

Around the World in Twelve Days

Oregon International Air Show (and how I photographed it)

StoNur on the Road – Vintage Propliner

PNW Explored – Olympic Peninsula

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A nightly view of our city

Genoa by Night
Genoa | 2025

Last night, The Significant Other and I have enjoyed a fancy dinner. We’ve cooked the handmade pasta (flavored with Red Beet) that Big Boy has produced as Christmas gift for parents, sister, grandparents, aunts and cousins. It was really yummy. We added some ricotta cheese, lemon zests and olive oil and had a bottle of Barbera d’Asti Riserva to go with it. Sure enough we needed to go for a walk after dinner. It was helped by the fact, that the heavy rain that had plummeted on Genoa all day, had subsided to a light drizzle. Taking the Fuji X-T2 with the Fujinon XF18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR along, we walked over to the nearby Belvedere San Rocco di Principe for a nightly view of our city. Aside from an unobstructed full view of the Old Town and the inner harbor, called Porto Antico, the little Belvedere also features a little wall to put the camera on for the long exposure night shots. For a couple more detailed images and to see our 500 year old lighthouse at work, continue after the jump….

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