Street | Urban | Travel | Photography by Marcus Puschmann
“Uzbekistan explored – People of Khiva” is the first in a series of blogposts about our recent journey through beautiful Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is an amazing place for street photography, the people super friendly and open to be photographed. Continue after the jump to see more street images from Khiva, our first destination in Uzbekistan.
Continue reading “Uzbekistan explored – People of Khiva”
Pasticceria Klainguti in Genoa has recently reopened after a long renovation. It is a historic pastry shop in Piazza di Soziglia in Genoa’s Centro Storico. The founders were four brothers — Giuseppe, Gioacchino, Adolfo, and Agostino Klainguti — who came from Pontresina, a town in the Grisons (Graubünden) canton of Switzerland.
They originally traveled to Genoa in 1826 with plans to sail to America, but instead decided to stay and open a pastry shop. In 1828, they founded Pasticceria Klainguti, which quickly became popular in the city. The shop is known for its traditional sweets and long history in the old city center.
I loved the warm lights from inside the shop. In the window, you can see The Significant Other selecting a few sweets we took home. The passing people invited for a street photo, the red outfit of the passing pedestrian harmonizing with the yellow of the shop’s lights.
Taken with my Nikon Zf with the vintage Russian Zenit Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 manual prime lens. Image specs 1/400 secs @ f/5.6, ISO 3600. Post-Processing in Lightroom Classic
Have a great Tuesday
Marcus
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During last week’s stay in our “southern home” in Genoa, The Significant Other and I grabbed the opportunity to visit the World Press Photo Exhibition 2025 at Palazzo Ducale in Genoa. A hefty thunderstorm was passing through the city, so we gladly took the opportunity to spend some time indoors and explore this annual iconic photographic display. The exhibition was set up in the basement of the historic palace—once the seat of the Doges of the Republic of Genoa. To see more of it, continue after the jump…
Continue reading “World Press Photo Exhibition 2025”
Uzbekistan is not only colorful. It super friendly to the traveling street photographer. I‘ve never visited a country before where people are so easygoing about being photographed. They see a camera directed their way, they generally flash a smile! The Significant Other (the iPhone shooter) even observed, the bigger the camera the easier they agree to a photo. So photographing the bride and her friend during a quiet moment on her big day’s wedding photography session near Samarkand‘s Registan Square was easy. When the friend saw me aiming the Nikon, she started smiling. Amazing!
I took the photograph with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR. Image specs 1/400 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 180 and 190 mm focal lenght. Jpg straight out of camera, no postprocessing.
Have I mentioned what a fantastic monochrome camera the Nikon Zf is? Even with a budget travelzoom attached.
Have a great Sunday
Marcus
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Off Topic – Wedding Photography (1)
Life is colorful in Uzbekistan. That‘s were we are since last weekend. The Significant Other and I are touring the magical cities of the historic Silk Road. After starting off in Tashkent, we continued on to Chiwa, then Buchara, and arrived today in Samarkand. Uzbekistan is a great place for photography. Colorful, vibrant, full of historic places. And especially great place for street photography. The locals are super friendly, generally smile when you signal you want to take a picture and many want to talk to you. They are curious to talk to you, living in a country that has just started to open up to tourism.
The cities, all of them more than two thousand years old, are full of life, especially at night, when the temperatures drop to comfortable levels. The two girls holding the balloons are standing in front of the Mir-Arab Madrasa of Buchara, an active university founded and built in the 16th century. The buidling is part of the Poi Kaylan complex, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I will share photos from this achitectural marvel in a later post.
I took the photograph with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor 40mm f/2. Image specs 1/50 sec @ f/8, ISO 6400 and 40mm focal lenght. Jpg straight out of camera, no postprocessing.
Have a great Friday
Marcus
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Visiting my archives looking for a particular image from my time in the PNW, I stumbled upon this street photo I took during a weekend stroll through the Pearl District of the Rose City. Titled “Call me”, it is one of my favorite street shots from that year. Originally in color and portrait orientation, I decided to convert it to B&W, crop in and turning it to a landscape aspect ratio.
Doesn’t it look like a scene straight out of Francis Ford Coppola movie? Two sharply dressed men meet in on a quiet city street. The younger man, holding a vape and signaling a phone call, looking nervous. The older man, calm and steady with a cane, listening closely, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses. Whatever they discussed, it was serious—like something best kept off the record. The photograph certainly has a kind of cinematic look. To this day I wonder what those gentlemen were discussing. The gesture is clear, isn’t it? One of those fascinating stories of the streets that wait to be captured by the passing street photographer.
Taken with my Olympus E-M1 and the mZuiko 12-100mm F/4 pro zoom. Image specs 1/200 sec @ f/4, ISO 250 and 172mm focal length in full frame equivalent. Post-processing in Lightroom Classic.
Have a great Sunday
Marcus
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Sometimes a street image demands color. Like this one, taken in Genoa’s medieval old town near the Genova Piazza Principe railway station. The warm glow from inside the shop juxtaposes perfectly with the dark street and the bold statement on the wall that translates to “Bite the State”. The color contrast captures the mood of the image, the contrast between public dissent and tranquil private life on a quite late evening. The warm light inside feels safe and calm, very different from the dark and gritty street outside. Things like the tilted street sign, worn walls, and wet pavement suggest a place that’s been a bit forgotten or ignored. A scene that I saw and immediately felt drawn to capturing it.
Images specs are 1/60 sec @ f/2 and ISO 500. I took the photograph with the Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 40mm f/2. Postprocessing in Lightroom Classic (increasing the contrast and adding a vignette).
If you are looking for more tips and inspirations around street photography tips, check out my free “Learning Center”.
Wish you a great Monday!
Marcus
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Are you kidding me? Eating a frosty ice cream on a cold and rainy day? Not for me, anyway! Spending the last week in our Southern Home in Genoa, The Significant Other and I were not blessed with the sunny and warm Spring weather you would expect from Italy. In fact, back in Nuremberg the weather was great all week with summer like temperatures.
Despite the wet weather, we headed into town a few times to run errands and treat ourselves to some great food. Having taken the Nikon Zf with me, I captured this mother and her kids enjoying some Italian ice cream, albeit a frosty one. Maybe they were visitors coming to town from one of the Cruise ships in the harbor. And felt they had to do it. At least they provided an awesome street photo subject, matching perfectly the image visible behind their backs. Quoting Shakespeare once again: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women, merely players”
Tonight, we will return to the Streets of Nuremberg to celebrate Easter with the family.
If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, head to my free Learning Center.
Have a great day Saturday
Marcus
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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…
Continue reading “Heading Home”
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
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Instant Inspiration (24) – Fine Art Wildlife
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….
Continue reading “Travel Day (19)”
I, Robot was a 2004 Alex Proyas movie set in 2035. Highly intelligent robots serve humanity but must follow three strict laws to prevent harm. Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) investigates a murder seemingly committed by a robot. But he uncovers a deeper conspiracy that threatens human freedom.
Today, The Significant Other and I went to the Leisure Trade Fair in the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. Part of the fair was the RoboCup German Open 2025.
There I photographed these cute little soccer playing robots taking a charging break. Competing are teams from more than 50 nations. The RoboCup is the world’s largest and most important competition for intelligent robots. I took quite a few photos and will do a separate post about the fun and super interesting event.
The Robots are of the latest technology, as is the camera I used to photograph them (my trusted Nikon Zf). The lens attached to the modern mirrorless via an adapter was quite the opposite. I used an M42 mount Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8/35mm manufactured around 1970 in former East Germany. An amazing manual focus lens with an amazing image quality, as you can see from this monochrome image. Which by the way is a JPG straight out of camera without any post processing using the Nikon’s B&W mode.
Images specs are 1/250 sec @ f/8 and ISO 6400.
Have I said I love attaching vintage glass on my Zf?
Have a great Saturday
Marcus
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