Month: March 2018
Throwback Thursday: Lofoten
A winter trip to northern Norway does not always mean: cold, dark, lots of snow and never-ending darkness..
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Wordless Wednesday: grey heron
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Travel Tuesday: ruddy turnstone
The ruddy turnstone is a small wading bird. Here we have one in its winter habit or non-breeding plumage. They are running restless along the shore during the surf to find some food.
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Monochrome Madness 4-48
This is my contribution to Monochrome Madness organized by Leanne Cole. Look at here site on Thursday (Australian time), to see many more monochrome images created by many other talented photographers from all over the world.
I’d also encourage you to participate. The conditions are published in each of her Monochrome Madness posts.
Take care!
Earth Hour 2018
Switch off unnecessary power consumption. It saves you money, but more important, that amount of power you don’t use, does not have to be produced!
Also, look up the power consumption of your big devices, like fridge, freezer or oven. Often, it’s a good decision, to buy a new device that can do the same as the old one but, with the consumption of less electrical power. Sometimes, the amount of money comes back to you in only a few years of usage because of the saved amount of electrical power. Keep in mind, the price of electrical power increases every year. So, the amount of money also increases every year.
Less consumption of electrical leads to a lower number of needed power plants. Coal plants have an environmental impact by polluting the air. Nuclear power plants are an enormous high risk for the environment and the people. Just in case, an accident takes place, the environment is polluted for decades, if not centuries. I’d like to remind you to the accidents in Fukushima, Japan in 2011 (March, 11th) and Chernobyl, Russia in 1986 (April, 26th).
Take care!
La Côte d’Albâtre
Throwback Thursday: Carnival Season
Here in my area we have two of the German carnival capitols: Cologne and Duesseldorf. Carnival festivities take place in the public as well as in many indoor locations. Carnival season starts on November 11th and lasts until Ash Wednesday (the exact date differs each year, because carnival depends on Easter. On that day the Lenten season starts for 40 days ’til Easter)
How are these festivities related? The bible tells us the background.
Easter = resurrection = Jesus Christ rose from his grave
Good Friday = Jesus was nailed on the cross, died and was buried
This festivity is the most important celebration in Christian believes.
Because of Jesus himself lentened for 40 days to strengthen his own belief, there is a 40 day Lenten period.
The word ‘carnival’ has it’s origin in Latin: carne = meat + val = without. It marks the beginning of the 40 day Lenten period.
In medieval times, people started to celebrate before the Lenten period started and to use up nearly all of the food remaining from last year. So, these supplies were used for big festivities (also celebrating the end of the winter). During these days, the established hirachy were turned upside down: the fool became mayor and everyone masqueraded. For one of the days, the Thursday I mentioned in the first paragraph, even became power: they were allowed to reign for 1 day (Altweiber / Weiberfastnacht). All of these isn’t meant serious, but foolish, because everything is turned upside down.
The magic number of carnival is the 11, because you can turn it upside down and it’s still the same.
Over the centuries, carnival starts now on November 11th at 11:11. On that date, the indoor festivities start. These are meetings with a president, a meeting committee and lots of speeches (all funny but usually political). This type of carnival was a foolish reaction to the strict government by the Pruss and Napoleons France. The participants wear costumes inspired by official uniforms of that times soldiers, but with a funny skirt or flouncy sleeves. They also play special music. Often played by marching bands looking like they were kidnapped from the 17th century. Simple melodies and very foolish lyrics (easy to remember, even when drunk).
Starting from Altweiber, the carnival festivities encroach to the streets. Carnival music floods the streets and the radio stations. Carnival meetings are broadcasted by some TV stations. While you won’t remark all of this during winter, is nearly impossible to ignore it during the last week before Rosenmontag (Carnival Monday).
Not everyone likes this!
One of my friends works in the middle of Cologne. Even during the days marking the summit of the carnival festivities (Thursday to Tuesday), when the silly music with their haunting melodies creating earworms to eat up the remains of your mind. Most of the businesses in areas with such a long tradition of celebrating carnival that intense, are closed for these days, because no customer would come, the employees won’t be usable (too tired and drunk) and drunk people probably would trash the unsecured rooms.
His company does not close, because they have also to support customers in areas, where carnival isn’t a topic at all. So, he goes on vacation. Some other friends of us, also working in similar areas, where they don’t have to work. My company office at that time was located in Duesseldorf, but a bit out of the center. So, I left the office always early to avoid encountering with drunk people.
Because all of this, he got the idea, to use these days for a short trip and our annual carnival escape was born.
Over the years we usually visited a famous city in the south, but also Berlin and London. Not everyone was able to take part in every trip. So you won’t find all of them here.
This time was different. Despite we were traveling south, we didn’t the reach the warmer mediterranean countries. Instead, we stopped in the Bavarian Alps for a hot-air balloon flight.
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Wordless Wednesday: beginning of spring
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Travel Tuesday: common seal
In the past, I’ve shown you some images of grey seals. Today, I have a common seal for you.
Common seals are smaller than grey seals. Males are approximately 170 cm, females 140 cm and weight 150 respectively 100 kg).
While grey seals are curious and sociably, common seal are shy and solitary. Grey seals are laying in groups together, while common seals keep a distance of 2 or 3 meters to each other, whenever possible. They are stressed when a sand bench is too full.
Gray seals get their babies during winter and they don’t cry when left alone by their mother for hunting. Common seals instead, get their babies in summer and these are the ones, called howler (abandoned seal pup).
While grey seals choose beaches for resting, common seals prefer sand benches for resting. But, sand benches are usually only usable during low tide. At high tide, the sand benches are usually under water. Other then grey seals, common seal babies are born with the ability to swim. Birth size and weight are 85 cm and 10 kg. So, that’s not a problem to react to high tide. They are fed by their mother for about 5 weeks and than left alone.
Take care!
Monochrome Madness 4-47
Here we are in Bavaria. Mid February I was in Allgäu with a few friends for our annual carnival escape. This time, we didn’t choose a warm region. Instead, our destination was the Allgäu, a region in the Bavarian Alps. I don’t want to tell much about that trip now. But, here I have one of the images taken there.
We’ve had surprisingly little snow. But, most of the time there were low standing, thick clouds.
This is my contribution to Monochrome Madness organized by Leanne Cole. Look at here site on Thursday (Australian time), to see many more monochrome images created by many other talented photographers from all over the world.
I’d also encourage you to participate. The conditions are published in each of her Monochrome Madness posts.
Take care!
Smoke
Recently, I stumbled upon a folder on my disk containing a series of images I took 7 years ago. I hope, you like it.
APS-C, 105 mm (~157 mm FX), 1/200s, f/11, ISO 200
More of my images can be seen at my own blog.
Throwback Thursday: World of Wonders
Two years ago at this time, I was in northern Norway hunting the Aurora Borealis.
Standing at night outside in the cold looking in the starry sky. Admiring the countless bright spots on the dark surface. Than, slowly but sometimes all of a sudden, like someone has switched it on, it appears: the Aurora.
Bright, mostly green, light dances in front of the stars. It turns the scene in a mysterious ambience. Even the white snow turns greenish. What an experience. Sometimes it lasts only for a couple of quarters of an hour, sometimes it lasts nearly the whole night.
Sometimes it feels, like a painter has painted an abstract piece of art on the dark surface, while sometimes the changing rate of the light structures is enormously hight and builds new structures every few seconds. Sometimes it looks like the painting of light stands still in one place, and sometimes it moves rashly over the sky. Sometimes it looks like curtains and the next time you can see columns. Amazing!
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Wordless Wednesday: snowdrops
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Travel Tuesday: adolescent seal
This young grey seal isn’t a baby anymore. Compare the image with the one I posted last week. Although, it still has its baby fat, it already has changed fur and is ready to start to live alone. Since the mother left the baby at an age of 3 or 4 weeks, it is alone. Someday, when hunger comes, it is ready to go in the sea and start to learn hunting fish. Pay attention to the teeth: it’s a predator!
Take care!
Monochrome Madness 4-46
Who said, in landscape photography, you don’t need big telephoto lenses? The above image taken from Helgoland shows the southern beach of the small neighbour island Düne with the lighthouse you already know, when you’re a frequent reader of this blog.
DX, 310mm (= 465 mm FX), f/5.6, ISO 800, 1/2000
The longer the lens, the heavier it is. The heavier a lens is, the more likely you’ll get unsharp blurry images because of unintentional tiniest camera movements (i.e. a breath or simply a heartbeat). That’s especially true, when standing on of of a cliff during heavy weather or a storm. A tripod might help a bit, but sometimes the wind is strong enough to move the whole tripod. So, only very short exposure times can help, getting a sharp image.
This is my contribution to Monochrome Madness organized by Leanne Cole. Look at here site on Thursday (Australian time), to see many more monochrome images created by many other talented photographers from all over the world.
I’d also encourage you to participate. The conditions are published in each of her Monochrome Madness posts.
Take care!
Green Mamba
Here you can find the color version
Bees still in danger
Last week I’ve read an article in a German political news magazine with very good reputation for publishing their reports from a very neutral point of view. They wrote about a research report, published recently by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). I already wrote here about the huge decrease in insects around. But, this report is specific to bees.
The EFSA report said, they now have an evidence for the suspicion verbalised in 2013, that pesticides and insecticides based on Neonicotinoides (named Clothianidin, Imidacloprid and Thiamethoxam which are used to safe seeds: i.e. rapeseeds) are an enormous danger for bees. Wild bees as well as domesticated bees.
According to experts, even tiniest doses of i.e. 4 billionth gram per bee is deadly. Weaker doses already endanger their ability to navigate, to learn, weaken the immune system and reduce the ability to fertilise.
Why do we need bees, one might say, combined with a statement about not eating honey. But, bees are much more important than for producing honey: without bees we won’t get much food. Even in greenhouses bees are working hard to pollinate billions of blossoms each day. Not speaking about the huge industry like orchard growing i.e. apples, pears, plums, cherries and many other fruits. There’s a quote, four years after the bees, people extinct too. Although, this quote often is accredited to Albert Einstein, the real source is unknown. Even channels Darwin published a statement with a similar meaning. Nevertheless, the impact of the vanishing of bees will be huge.
Despite the European Union already restricted the allowed usage for these poisons (allowed only in greenhouses and of certain plants like winter grain), the restrictions are about to get tightened now.
This new report could be the final keystone to get these poisons forbidden. A very good new for the insects.
Our environment is already very seriously harmed. Help, to turn the clock backwards. Buy your food from local farmers, where you can ask them about their usage of poisons.
Take care!
Wordless Wednesday: an alien traveling through outer-space
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Travel Tuesday: baby seal
Do you remember the image I showed you six weeks ago? The image of a new-born seal.
Today, I have another baby for you. But, this one is a ‘bit’ older. It’s born on January 2nd and the photo is taken on January 17th. So, it’s two weeks old. Compare the two images. Gray seals get fed with milk by their mother for only 3 – 4 weeks. Every day their weight rises enormously. They weigh 10 – 15 kg at birth. Every day, the weight increases by 1-2 kg. After that, the mother leaves them alone at the beach. Their fur changes from the soft white to the ticker grey fur, dense enough to swim. The babies can’t go swimming as long as they have their white fur. After changing fur, as an adolescent they are able to go in the water and start learning hunting on their own.
Take care!
Monochrome Madness 4-45
When I read this week’s theme, an old movie came up to my mind: Telephone from 1977 with Charles Bronson as the Russian officer Major Grigori Borzov, who is sent to USA to try and stop sleeper agents who will mindlessly attack government entities when they hear certain coded words spoken to them at the telephone by another Russian agent with the name Nicolai Dalchimsky. He picked the sleepers (a relict from the Cold War) from his list of all Russian sleepers based in the USA by using their Initial to ‘write’ his name (Dalchimsky) at the map of the USA (i.e. Denver, Atlanta, Louisville, Cincinnati, Houston – you got the idea). While Nicolai Dalchimsky tries to rise the 3rd World War, Grigori Borzov tries to find and eliminate him silently.
This telephone, instead, is not in the USA,it hangs in Barcelona, Spain.
This is my contribution to Monochrome Madness organized by Leanne Cole. Look at here site on Thursday (Australian time), to see many more monochrome images created by many other talented photographers from all over the world.
I’d also encourage you to participate. The conditions are published in each of her Monochrome Madness posts.
Take care!
Burg Eltz
This castle is called Eltz. You can find some background information related to the castle in my blog.
More of my images can be seen at my own blog.
Throwback Thursday: mamba
In January 2011, I was visiting a Terrazoo with some friends. Very interesting animals were living in the glass containers, called terrariums.
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MyBlog - solaner 