Month: August 2018

architecture, art, cityscape, culture, history, landscape, people, photo-of-the-day, photography, seasons, sport, travel, urbex, work, world

A playground

solaner

Monochromia

This image is quite old, but I still like it.

It’s taken in one of our former capitals of industrialism. Decades ago, huge steel plants, coal mines and similar factories in the montan industry gave thousands of workers an employment. But, they also destroyed the environment by polluting the air and the water.

In that time, there wasn’t much green in the cities. No parks for the kids to play. Freshly washed laundry hung up outside for getting dry, was already gray when fetched from the washing line.

These two guy playing football inside a former steel plant. The thick framing walls once were the outside of two huge coal or ore storages.

There were many changes during the last 30-40 years in our region: less factories, less pollution, less options for employment, many unemployed people and many serious problems for the governments to solve.

More of my images can…

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architecture, art, cityscape, culture, macro, photography, seasons, world

Throwback Thursday: One night in Frankfurt

solaner

Don’t wonder about the high ISO: Because of extreme strong wind that night, I wasn’t able to mount my camera on the tripod. So, I needed to use the guard railing for the camera and hold it tight.

 

2009-11-05

APS-C, 10mm, ISO 3200, f7.1, 1/30 sec

Take care!

architecture, art, landscape, photography, plants, travel, world

Monochrome Monday 5-18

solaner

This image is also taken during my trip to the Isle of Skye in Scotland earlier this year.

While exploring the island we found this tree located right next to the street. On the other side of the street (in my back when taking this photo), is a beach. The beach was the reason for stopping here. But, when I saw that tree, I got reminded to The Lord of the rings books written by J.R.R. Tolkien. He imagined a species called Ent. An ent is a tree-like being, able to move, see and talk. They understand themselves as being caretakers for the forests, just like shepherds do for their sheep.

Tolkien described male ents as being shaped like old, thick and ossified, while female ents are more like big bushes. Both are unable to get recognized by anyone when standing still with closed eyes. So, they can hide easily inside forests.

In this contexts, it seemed to me, that I might have found an ent here.

Take care!

art, astro, landscape, long exposure, nature, night, photography, seasons, star, travel, world

Throwback Thursday: In the Alpes

solaner

Two weeks ago, I was visiting my brother in Switzerland. I hoped for better conditions for star photography. You know, I’m living in one of the worst parts of Europe for this kind of photography because of the enormous rate of light pollution (get a light pollution map and find the purple area in the middle of Europe. South-East of it, in the red area, you can find my home area).

I was right, the conditions were much better, but not as good as they were in northern Norway.

The small, bright line heading from the center to the lower-left corner, is a falling star. In mid August you can spot the presides shower. While we saw some of them in the sky, I only captured this one with my camera.

Take care!

architecture, art, landscape, photography, plants, travel, world

Monochrome Monday 5-17

solaner

When I was on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, I passed an enchanted forest. A very strange experience. Beside the street, the trees were quite small but seemed to be old. The ground was covered by bog and even the trees were the base for other plants.

Despite  Leanne Cole currently pauses Monochrome Madness, I’m continuing with my monochrome images.

animals, insect, nature, photography, seasons, world

Throwback Thursday: a thirsty wasp

solaner
common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) / Gemeine Wespe

At this time (up to mid July)  of the year, wasps are not so disturbing as at the end of the summer. Currently, they are still busy with taking care for the next generation. Some are collecting pollens and some are getting water and the others are building the nest or defending it while the queen produces more and more eggs.

Like hornets or bees, most of the insects in a wasp-state are infertile females. They have a lot of work with collecting pollens for feeding the breed and hunting other insects as food for themselves. They are expanding, repairing and defending the nest. The only purpose of the males is copulating with a female to-become-queen and state-founder at a certain date in the later summer (in my region it’s often at the end of August or early September). After that event the state breaks into pieces: the males leave the nest and die, the fertilized young females also living the nest get inseminated and searching for a safe place to survive winter, even the old queen, the mother of the whole state, usually dies because of exhaustion from laying all the eggs (several thousand up to 50,000 during one summer). And the infertile females? They are now unemployed, because all of their duty was to prepare this one day when all the males and the fertile females are leaving the nest and starting to their wedding flight.

Without their necessities for caring for the state they are bored and have a lot of time to enjoy the rest of their lives. And, … for their entertainment, they are about to annoy the humans by disturbing the barbecues, taste cakes (i.e. plum or apple cake), soft-drinks and many, many more things.

Although, adult wasps eat other insects, they are still interested in everything sweet and in meat.

Take care!

animals, bird, landscape, nature, photography, seasons, travel, wildlife, world

Travel Tuesday: when dry go back into the sea

solaner

Here we meet a cormorant. You know, cormorants eat fish and they catch fish by diving after them. As long as the water isn’t frozen, they stay and hunt. Because they don’t have the option to seal their feathers with grease to keep the feathers dry, they have to spread out their wings after a few dives to get dry again.

During winter, not only the water is cold, also the air is cold. But, a cormorant lives his life anyway. When getting hungry they have to dive after fish and get wet. Afterwards you can see them standing somewhere with spread wings for getting dry again. I guess, it’s a long time during winter.

This cormorant stood on the beach for a long time to get dry in mid January. For about an hour or so we were able to observe him, he stood there looking at the sea and kept in his place even when humans show up and came quite close.

Take care!

 

architecture, art, culture, photography, street, travel, world

Monochrome Madness 5-15 / 221

solaner

This is my contribution to Monochrome Madness organized by Leanne Cole.

“Monochrome Madness” is now in its fifth year of existence. Look at Leanne’s site on Wednesday (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!

art, culture, photography, review, world

Throwback Thursday: Blood-moon

solaner

Last Friday there was another opportunity to see a moon eclipse. Unfortunately, western Germany wasn’t in an optimal place for seeing the whole process.

  • Moon rise at 21:23
  • Sunset at 21:26
  • start of the lunar eclipse 21:30
  • maximum at 22:21

Many people were out for watching the event, but not all of them were lucky to see something. I wasn’t able to see a thing, too. I was faced with a moon-rise behind a dense layer of clouds, despite the stars standing higher above the horizon were visible. So, in my location the start of the process wasn’t visible because we’re too far west. Sunset was too late and a layer of clouds didn’t allow a view on the moon during the central part of the process. So, I went back home. At about 23:00 I was able to see the red moon when the moon already rose high enough to be above the cloud layer. But, at this time the reddish color already started to vanish. Bad luck.

Hoping for next time. On January 21st the times are better for us. But, probably the weather will be against us again.

till that, I still have the images from September 2015.

Take care!