Walking through a door | Samarkand | Uzbekistan | 2025
Life is a journey that ends not with fear, but with curiosity. In the final moment, we are walking through a door, leaving behind everything we have ever known. No one can tell us what lies beyond, yet the unknown has always been where new discoveries begin. Perhaps there are wonders we cannot imagine, familiar faces, endless peace, or something greater than words can describe. Until that moment comes, all we can do is wonder—and when the time arrives, step forward with quiet curiosity to see what waits on the other side.
Life has its challenges at times, and these days it is difficult for me to find time to care for this blog. But at least I want to keep the series of 126 straight months of posting alive 😉. By leveraging a post I did the other week over on monochromia.blog where I have the honor of being a regular guest contributor. If you are into black&white photography, check out this blog as it features daily the work of some truly amazing photographers.
This street photo I took in Egypt last month. A woman sits in the doorway of her house in a Nubian village on the banks of the Nile in Upper Egypt. Wearing a light-colored traditional dress and headscarf, she holds a glass in her hands and enjoys a moment of silent observations. The photograph was made using the available late afternoon light. Sunlight falling across her face and clothing while the interior behind her remains in shadow. Shooting in monochrome was the easy choice. It emphasizes the contrast between light and dark, drawing attention to her expression and the everyday scene of village life.
Taken with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR, image specs 1/800 sec @f/6.3 and ISO 2000, 200mm focal length.
Have a great Monday
Marcus
Photo Notes Camera: Nikon Zf Lens: Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR Image specs: 1/800 sec @f/6.3 and ISO 2000, 200mm focal length
Street Photography is also about capturing juxtapositions. Like a girl having too many legs. I snapped this image with my iPhone 14 Pro one the steps of San Lorenzo Cathedral in Genoa. Click “read more” to see it from your slightly different angle.
More monochrome photography in this post. Taken yesterday on a stormy highway while enroute to our Southern Home in Italy. No worries, I didn’t drive under the influence (of photography). Our e-car was driving autonomous on the highway in Southern Bavaria, supervised by Big Boy sitting behind the wheel. While I was snapping at the amazing cloudscape with ever-changing light with my iPhone 16 Pro Max from the passenger seat. To see more images of this photographic road trip continue after the jump….
There’s something truly special about black and white photography. For me, it’s more than just removing color; it’s about stripping away distractions and getting right to the heart of what makes an image compelling. It’s about reducing the scene to its purest form: composition. Serenity in Shades of Gray.
Take this shot, for instance, captured in the Ligurian Apennines, northwest of Genoa. The moment I saw these majestic trees silhouetted against the misty mountains, I knew it had to be black and white. The layers of hills fading into the distance, the stark outlines of the pines – it all just sings in monochrome.
When I shoot in black and white, the entire process becomes a tranquil enjoyment. It forces me to see shapes, lines, and textures in a different way. The absence of color simplifies everything, allowing the eye to focus solely on the interplay of light and shadow, and the arrangement of elements within the frame. It’s photography reduced to a minimum, and in that simplicity, I find immense satisfaction.
This image, with its quiet strength and layered depth, perfectly embodies that feeling for me. It’s a reminder that sometimes, less truly is more, and that beauty can be found in the most understated of palettes.
What are your thoughts on black and white photography? Do you find it as calming and focused as I do? Let me know in the comments below!
Image taken with a Fuji X-T50 and the Fujinon Super EBC XC 1:2.8-4.8/16-50mm R LM WR. Image specs 1/3200 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 250 and 31mm focal lenght (full frame equivalent). Acros Film Simulation – jpg out of camera.
The other weekend, The Significant Other and I spent an afternoon in Celle Ligure, a picturesque little town a few kilometers west of our Southern Home in Genoa. In March, we are still a few weeks removed from start of the swimming season. Now, Celle’s beach is still a quiet stretch of shoreline, where the world seems to pause between sky and sea. I was intrigued by the two figures sit at the edge, somehow dwarfed by the vast horizon, sharing a moment that feels both intimate and infinite. Street Photography can be very calm and minimalistic.
Taking with my iPhone 14 Pro. Slight cropping in Lightroom Classic. If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center.
I haven’t posted in a while, but life has been quite busy lately, especially in the job that pays the bills. But photography (and this blog) is never forgotten. Last weekend, The Significant Other any I headed to Hamburg for a dearly needed 5 day getaway. Obviously I took plenty of images during those 5 days on the snowy banks of the Elbe River. What I’m sharing today are a couple of monochrome photographs, a mix of street and other images (I have no clue what to call the three non-street photos). See the other images after the jump…
Yesterday afternoon, The Significant Other and I went for a walk up the mountain behind the house we’re staying. Sure enough an opportunity to capture some of the surrounding beauty on a sensor. As “real” camera I brought the Nikon Zf plus some primes. And then there are the two iPhone cameras in my office phone (iPhone 16 Pro Max) and my personal device (iPhone 14 Pro). The camera I grabbed for our walk was the technically “weakest”, the iPhone 14 Pro.
Photography literally means “drawing with light”. There is no reference about technology in this. While having a capable device to capture light on a sensor (or film) certainly is a prerequisite, it is not the key component for taking good photographs. In fact, some of the world’s greatest images have been captured with technology that was far inferior to what we can use today. Photography is more about the eye, the creativity in our minds than technology. Taking landscape images, it is about light, contrast, color, shapes, textures and composition. And this for me is the fun when out and about, doing my “visual push ups”. So come along for a walk with my phone…..
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, Big Boy and I headed to Madrid to watch the Miami Dolphins play the Washington Commanders in the 2025 Madrid Game as part of the NFL’s international series. To give you some impressions of this fantastic event (with the right team winning 16:13 in OT), here a few images from and around the game. Fins Up!
Today, October 3rd, is the German Unity Day, or “Tag der deutschen Einheit”, as it is called in our language. It commemorates our countries reunification in 1990, when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) ceased to exist and joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), so that for the first time since 1945 there existed a single German state. German Unity Day on 3 October has been our national holiday since 1990, when the reunification was formally completed.
In this post I share some (vintage) images from the Reichstag dome on top of our national parliament building in our capital Berlin. Continue after the jump for its history and some more image, taken back in 2007 and 2008 with a Nikon D80 – remember the old days 😉 ?
My heart beats Street Photography. I’m always looking to capture life as it happens. Like this little girl looking at votive candles in Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d’Avignon. Amazed by the magic light, maybe asking herself what wishes have been associated with those candles. A monochrome shot taken during our visit of Avignon (Provence, France) with my iPhone using the dark black&white mode.
If you are looking for more inspirations around street photography tips, check out my free “Learning Center”.
What is the best way for the street photographer when the summer in the city gets too intense? Right, then it is the time for some high contrast monochrome photography. The monumental circular bronze fountain in Genoa’s Piazza de Ferrari, built in 1936 by the architect Cesare Crosa di Vergagni and donated by the Piaggio family, provides the perfect background. To see more images taken on this beautiful Piazza in the heart of Genoa, continue after the jump…
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