WPC: rare

This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post” is “rare”.

This tiny thing shaped like a cut-off fingernail is the biggest thing in the solar system: the sun itself.

I picked an image taken during a (partial) solar eclipse. I wrote a bit more about this event and the circumstances in a past post. You can also find some further images in that other post. Have a look!

Solar eclipses take part every few years, but they are visible only in a small area and this area changes from occurrence to occurrence. So, it’s a very rare event in every man’s live. And, many people will never seen one.

Take care have a great weekend!

(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)

WPC: fun

This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post” is “fun”.

Take care have a great weekend!

(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)

WPC: morning

This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post” is “morning”.

Take care have a great weekend!

(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)

WPC: Detail

This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post“ is “Detail”.

I picked an image from my archive, showing the polished shell of a certain kind of sea-snail, the Haliotis, common name is abalone.

Below the ugly surface, you can find this wonderful subject.

Take care have a great weekend!

(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)

WPC: look up

This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post“ is “look up”.

Try to find out, what you can see here 🙂

Most times, we look down to earth. where to put our feet and try to find a save path though our daily business and our whole live. But, also try to lift your eyes and look in a different direction. What do you find there?

Take care have a great weekend!

(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)

WPC: opposites

This week’s topic for the weekly photo challenge by “The Daily Post” is “opposites”.

In this image you can see the sun and the moon covering most of the sun. I took this image last year during the partial eclipse. Unfortunately, the sky was covered the whole day. But, over a few minutes right at the maximum the clouds became thinner and gave me the opportunity to take this shot.

Take care have a great weekend!

(as usual, you can see the photo enlarged, when clicking in it)

WPC: Inspiration

The guys over at The Daily Post asked for our source of inspiration for this weeks photo challenge. That’s easy: Mother nature with all their natural beings, people as well as animals and of course all the different landscapes. In my blog you can find lots of photos documenting this. Thus, I picked one as an example.

Take care and handle our planet with care. We only have this one!!

Weekly Photo Challenge: adventure

The photo challenge at The Daily Post is called “adventure” this week.

What does adventure mean? Is it the challenging crowd in a mega city? Or is it covering the wilderness? Maybe it is something you haven’t done before.

Here you can see three guys on a hike upwards in the icelandic mountains. Look on the pebbles on the ground, look on the landscape, look on the weather, look on your equipment, food and water.  And, don’t forget the time.

Each adventurer has to plan his or her trip very carefully to came back in good shape. So, you too.

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: dialogue

The photo challenge at The Daily Post is called “dialogue” this week.

The idea is, to set two photos in a connection. This might be the same color, the same subject from different angles or two different photos having a certain  connection.

I’ve chosen, to take two photos with a “before and after” or “then and now” connection. You can see a photo taken two days ago: 2 apples in an apple tree. The other photos is taken back in April and is showing the blossoms at the same tree. So, here you have a then and now connection.

Enjoy the harvest time 🙂

 

 

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: fray

The photo challenge at The Daily Post is called “fray” this week. What a contrast to last weeks theme.

I looked it up in a dictionary and found its meaning to be ‘fight in meaning of a battle’ or ‘fighting against adverse conditions’ and as well ‘damaged’ or ‘scraggly’.

I picked out a fight. A fight between the powers of nature: a heavy thunderstorm on the ocean. Luckily in a distance, for not endanger us. But, I love such a dramatic sky.

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

The photo challenge at The Daily Post is called “Silhouette” this week. So, I picked this photo for the challenge.

Currently I’m feeling hounded by so many thing, so that I need a rest. Oh, look, there’s a bench over there. Come on, let’s have a seat and enjoy watching the sunset over the ocean.

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: zigzag

The photo challenge at The Daily Post is called “zigzag” this week. So, I picked this photo for the challenge.

It’s a road int the highlands of Iceland taken this summer.

Enjoy your summer .

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer Lovin’

The photo challenge at The Daily Post is called “Summer Lovin’” this week. So, I picked this photo for the challenge. I really love summer, hot temperatures and sunshine whole day. Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game or Summer Son by Texas are part of my personal summer soundtrack. So, I have many, many photos on my disk praising summer.

I picked this kind of abstract photo for my contribution, because it shows, what I love: the sea, the sun and the heat.

I didn’t color the photo in post production. All colors are natural. It’s shot around noon against the sun. So, the sun was able to illuminate the wave from behind while the water between the wave reflected the sky.

Enjoy your summer (or, at least, dream of a hot summer)

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Containers

On our trip to Iceland we were on a windy and rainy day at the beach.

To escape the unfriendly weather we fled in a huge cave and found many of these stone men. (I wrote about their meaning before).

Todays assignment on The Daily Post for photographers is “Containers”. My container is the cave and the stone men are inside. Each of them has a certain meaning for the person, who set it up. Have you ever tried to build one on you own? It’s not that easy.

Take care!

 

Weekly Photo Challenge : contrast

This week’s assignment for the photo challenge by The Daily Post is quit hard, but I like it. It’s “contrast”.

At once I got several ideas, but none of them are currently in my photo bucket (although some of them are on my wish list). Though I have to pick something else.

After some considerations I came to a decision, as you can see in the photo above.

Light and dark, fire and ice, solid or liquid, black and white, male and female, old and young and examples for a contrast. But, the biggest contrast is IMHO between live and death.

I met the two girls above a few weeks ago on Japantag in Düsseldorf. They arranged their costumes in a way to fit perfectly together. When I looked at them, I notices a similar style, but completely different. On the second look, I noticed a few of their accessories brining me on the right track: I asked them, if they are Demeter and Persephone, mother and daughter from the ancient greek mythology. They told my, not knowing the two divines and they were Nature and Death.

Now, I knew I was right and told them the story: Demeter the goddess of the nature, responsible for the harvest had a daughter named Persephone. She married Hades, the god of the underworld where all death people live after death for ever and get punished for their doing and behavior. When Persephone followed her husband in his realm, the mother became deeply depressed from the lost of here daughter and neglect her duty. So, the earth became devastated and all plants dried up. As a result of Demeter’s neglect the people started starving because they didn’t have and fruits, vegetables and crops. So they started praying the Zeus, the gods boss to help. He found a solution for the problem: Persephone was allowed to stay half a year with her mother, while she stays the other half with her husband in the underworld. And that’s the reason, why we have summer and winter.

You might have guessed it:

– summer is, when Persephone is with her mother
– spring starts, when Persephone arrives at her mother
– late fall is, when Persephone leaves her mother to go to her husband Hades
– and finally winter is, when Demeter is so depressed about her missed daughter

This family tragedy might still occur when kids grow up and leave their parents to stand on their own feet. Encourage parents to let their kids go, when it is time!

Take care!

 

Weekly Photo Challenge : Between

When I read the title for this weeks photo challenge at The Daily Post, I knew at once, which photo I’ll post.

Even there are ask many options to interpret that word and a few of them were already mentioned in the original post by Danielle.

Being between sky and earth passing the border between night and day. Although this happens twice every day it is a very special moment. I’d encourage you to feel it yourself, especially in the morning. Get up early and go out to the fields in the countryside. turn you head to the east and welcome the sun. Feel how the early sun can warm your face while the night still cools your back. Enjoy the silence and the awakening birds. Smell the aroma of a newborn day.

Have a nice day / week

and Take care!

 

Monochrome Madness #16

This is my contribution to Leanne Coles Monochrome Madness. Every week she publishes other photographers work in her blog and it’s always fantastic, to see, who different each of us works.

I picked this portrait taken about 3 years ago. My aim was, to create a look of a portrait shot in the 19th. A soft focus, slightly decreasing light at the edges and the soft brownish look of the used chemicals for the developing procedure (Ambrotype).

You can often see this in old photos, they are darker in the edges. That’s because the lenses were quite small and not at the quality level as most of the todays lenses are. Although, you can still get cheap lenses with the same problem today. Or, even by gear with this behavior with intention: i.e. Lensbaby or Lomography.

In this photo the edges are brighter and don’t have much information. That problem usually comes from a weak photographic enlarger in the photographers lab. The lamp in the enlarger was too weak to illuminate the whole negative to project it to the photographic paper below. In rare cases the photographer hasn’t prepared the paper careful enough, so that it wasn’t sensitive enough at the edges. Remember, in those old times the photographer had to do all of this on his own. Prepare the paper, assemble the chemicals prepare sheets of glass to act as a film and so on.

Every now and than, I like this look, in case it fits the the contents of the photo. But, I don’t like it, in cases someone overuses it.

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Extra-Extra

 

For this weeks Photo Challenge at “The Daily Post” I picked again a photo taken in Paris, France. This weeks challenge is called “Extra-Extra” and asks us to show something unexpected in a photo. I was about to take a photo of the big, red heart in the fountain near by the  Centre Pompidou and its mirror in the little water. In February there is usually no water in a fountain to save the pipes from bursting because of the cold that makes water freezing.

While preparing for my photo couple started to kiss not being aware of me :-(. They ruined my photo!

But, keep in mind, being in the City of Love photographing a kissing couple with a big, red heart in the background, is much better then the original idea!

Take care!

Make love, no war! 🙂

Monochrome Madness #14

 

This is my photo for Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness.

This is also Paris in France.

 

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Twist

This weeks topic for photographers over at The Daily Post is “Twist”.

Although twisted has the meaning similar to “mixed up” or “tangled” for me, Krista was asking for something, that turned surprisingly to  something unexpected.

So, I want to tell you a little story, happened to me a few years ago. I was out for taking photographs from blooming lilac. I already took some photos, when I noticed fine lines in the photos on the camera display. I went home, afraid of my camera or the used lens were broken. I was afraid, the lines were small cracks in the class or at least scratches.

But, when I watched the photos on my computer screen at 100% I was very relieved. Look yourself why:

The photo above was taken after I discovered the origin of the fine lines. To be able to see the fine spider web a bit better, I sprayed a bit of water on the web. Did you notice how tiny the spider is? Compare it to the small lilac blossoms.

Take care!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s incense, by an incense stick illuminated by colored light.

 

Monochrome Madness #12

 

This is my photo for Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness.

 

Take care!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Work of Art

This weeks topic for photographers over at The Daily Post is quite hard for me. I’m a photographer and nearly all photos are well considered and designed by viewpoint, light and angel. So, I needed some time to find a suitable photo for you to show today.

Although many of my photos are considered being art (i.e here) because of the subject, the light setting or the editing I picked this photo.

Do you know, what you see? Try to guess, before looking at the answer.

Take care!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s incense, by an incense stick illuminated by colored light.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge – On the move

This week’s assignment for the weekly photo challenge at The Daily Post is “On the move”. Cherry asked us, to focus on traveling. Otherwise, I’d have chosen another photo. But here is my contribution:

This photo is taken in Paris. For those of you knowing Paris well enough, try to guess, where I took it before scrolling to the answer.

 

It’s taken while going upwards to Sacre Coeur with the funicular railway.

You can find much more posts on Paris here in my blog. Check them out. Have fun.

Take care!

 

Monochrome Madness #10

 

This is my photo for Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness.

 

Take care!

Monochrome Madness #9

 

This is my photo for Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness.

It’s a very young creek, I stumbled over in Bavaria, Germany about 2 years ago. It’s located in an area called Allgäu. It’s in the foothills of the Alps.

Take care!