spring2life take2

Foot Stompin’

Markus — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:59:37 PDT

I admit that I got distracted during today evening’s music school concierto. But it’s not my fault: most of the time the faces of the artists were hidden behind their music stands, so the vision-oriented parts of the brain concentrated on what was left (and fitting in the viewfinder). That’s the reason.

Snowfall in Traunstein

Markus — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:29:09 PDT

Winter seems to be coming through an end, but last week there was more than enough snow. What make me dig out that shot were the two trees in the front yard, so perfectly framing the entrance. The same stunning orb shape I found in the trees outside Freilassing train station (my weekly commuting hub). The red of the building’s paint here gets intensified by the low early morning sun, and whilst I usually try to keep my shadow out of the image, here I had to use it as a main element.

More Frozen Thumsee

Markus — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:32:40 PDT

Although the weather indicates the end of ice and snow here – at least of the semi-permanent stuff – I want to share a last image of frozen Thumsee with you. This image create a kind of conflict in me: Usually I restrict myself to very limited operations in postprocessing, kind of the wet darkroom stuff like burning/dodging, contrast operations etc. But here the linear shape of that fallen tree was disturbed by a branch sticking out in the foreground. Without it I like the image much better, so I removed it. But this of course is a critical operation: without limits I might transplant items in the next image, or between images, and I don’t know where this would end. I guess I will stick with my old rule: If I could have removed it by hand, I can clone it out. Just sometimes a little bending of the rules…

Snake in the Lake

Markus — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:49:43 PDT

Thumsee is the home of many grass snakes (or ring snakes, natrix natrix), which find enough protected areas to hunt for prey and raise their breed. But now of course they all rest, usually in dry caves or piles of rotten leaves. But their “gestalt” stays vivid in the shape of some old, half drowned wood.

Thumsee, Melting Ice

Markus — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:00:05 PDT

Since some days the temperatures are slowly rising, the snow mixes with rain and the ice on the lakes and ponds changes sound and color: the sound gets powerless, foul and the color undecided, the reflectivitiy is lost. Definitely signs for the end of the winter, even if the snowdrops are still invisible in most of the places. Thumsee again is a place for recreation, to re-gain power, to recharge and find peace.

Cafe Schatz, Salzburg

Markus — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:57:53 PDT

Located in a “Durchhaus”, probably best translated as a combination of passageway and courtyard, is the Cafe Schatz in Salzburg. From all the Cafes – and as a coffeine addicted I do know many – this seems to be one of the eldest and most traditional ones in Salzburg. The coffee is great, so is the pastry, and the whole institution including the waitresses has an aura that seems unchanged from maybe 40 years past.

This is even more stunning as many of the streets in Salzburg now are governed by the great international brands, leaving less and less space for local flair. So the “Cafe Schatz”, and “Schatz” means treasure, really is a precious place, moody and relaxing (at least off season).

Update: I had edited the first version of the lead image on a color calibrated, yet not brightness calibrated monitor, and this resulted in an image that was way too dark. Lesson learned: I wil redo the calibration and double check the brightness level instead of using the all-auto setting.

Christmassy Easter-Eggs

Markus — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:19:18 PST

I found these in Salzburg. The center of this town is so attractive for tourists from all parts of the world, that they have a shop selling Christmas decoration throughout the whole year. But to top this, they’ve invented easter eggs with Santa on it. That’s what I’d call real creativity and serving their customers. And if people buy this…

Warm it’s only Inside

Markus — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:26 PST

Having packed up work, it’s almost dark again, especially when thick clouds dim the little daylight even more. This matches the winter’s cold, and it makes the warm light out of the windows even more attractive. The best time to see and capture this is twilight, just before the street lights get switched on and shift the light’s colour to a, well, less attractive one.

The building in the background to the right is the old royal spa center (featured here, here, here, last image) and here), which has the most beautiful hall here in Bad Reichenhall, used for concerts and receptions.

Robots in Standby

Markus — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:39:23 PST

Estimating how often I had passed by this arrangement of cute robots (water and electricity dispensers) in the train station of Freilassing, where I change trains when commuting to work, lead to a figure in the thousands. Don’t ask me why it took so long until I realised this image. One explanation – the one which I like best – is that photography leads to opening the eyes leads to better photography leads to … You get the picture. It could be that perception can be trained like the biceps.

Windshield Wipers

Markus — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:15:17 PST

A quiet, snowy image again, after the last two more lively ones. I love the repeting forms here, not only of the wipers, but also the arcs, beginning from the canopy to the right, repeated in the bushes, over the cleft in the snow to the roofs of the small cars. Definitely not surprising as Paul Maxim demanded and substantiated for good reason here in his blog, but for me in its quiet harmony still fulfilling.