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2013-03-18 20:01:35 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 51 +1s)

Early spring heralds finally found their way out of the soil last weekend. At last!
(And so I could also test my new/old lens Porst Super-Weitwinkel, f/2.8, 28mm)

For +Richard Kralicek who's also looking for colour. It's coming!

2013-03-17 18:59:45 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 26 +1s)

I wonder how this effekt would look like if the stones of Cologne Cathedral would have their original colour of sand stone (instead of the almost black tone they have acquired in the last century). Something like Notre Dame in Paris. But having the same bright facade here would be an impossible dream, wouldn't it?
#sacredsunday  

2013-03-17 18:51:27 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

When the light is good, the lines and forms of Cologne Cathedral conflate into a pure vertical pattern. #sacredsunday  

2013-03-17 18:43:12 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

When the light is good, the stones of Cologne Cathedral start shining. I never get tired of looking at it. #sacredsunday  

2013-03-17 18:23:23 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

This impressive window of Cologne's Minoritenkirche can only be captured properly from outside. Inside it's mostly covered by the organ. 

Taken on APX 100, developed with Tetenal ultrafin, beefed up a bit with Silver Efex 2. For #SacredSunday  

2013-03-17 18:12:58 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 39 +1s)

This is one of the windows by Jan Thorn Prikker (1868-1932) in St George church, Cologne. One of my first film shots in a church. Much room for improvement.

2013-03-17 18:02:08 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

If you're living in Europe, especially in the EU, you probably should buy what you need as quick as you can. When politicians start to dispossess depositors, like they're going to do in Cyprus, you know that nothing is as safe as it seemed to be this far. Sure, black money owners will be glad to escape unscathed widely, but to soak these people with a normal savings account is undoubtly a breach of taboo. And again it's the many banks that are going to be saved, and none of their shareholders will have to pay.
This will be a restless weekend for Cyprus (and once again, for Greece, too). Their holiday tomorrow is the orthodox equivalent to Ash Wednesday, as I've learned today. How fitting. Guess what happens next.

2013-03-17 17:48:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

The last, this, and the following shots were taken on Kodak APX 100 film. I finally developed them last week, using a new developer, Tetenal ultrafin, and I'm quite happy with the results. Compared with my old chemicals the new photos are much more rich in detail. 

2013-03-17 17:43:17 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 14 +1s)

So what can we do with this day at the end of this neverending winter?

2013-03-15 22:13:52 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Okay, I won't complain about this winter any longer. See what -59°C (-74.2°F), no heat, and bad windows can do to your home. 

2013-03-13 21:46:22 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 49 +1s)

In the light of recent events. 

2013-03-13 08:42:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

A witty interview with IEEE and ACM fellow Moshe Vardi on the job market of 2045, and what kind of future we will have to expect. Fortunately he doesn't go as far as to give us an overly optimistic or pessimistic prediction. I'm, however, not fully satisfied: the last two decades brought us the working poor. Germany's wealth is partially based on a low-pay sector that doesn't need expensive innovations in AI and robotics. No doubt, there will be new and exciting technology in the next decades, but in my opinion it will lead to cheap labour and neither to increasing wealth for the masses nor to ample spare time for the workers.

2013-03-12 22:02:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

I need more light!

2013-03-12 21:59:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

Winter is still having everything under control.

2013-03-12 21:58:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Taken three months ago (in Berlin), this also could be a shot from today. The fresh snow on the trees is pretty and all that, but I really didn't ask for it.

2013-03-12 21:54:41 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 27 +1s)

The saddest daffodil, spotted this morning. 17°C last week, -2°C today: not my kind of spring.

2013-03-04 23:14:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

Just one more thing: the former Gerling buildings, a complex of insurance office buildings has turned into a big construction site. Will be interesting to observe if the high hopes of the investor will become reality: turning office buildings into costly flats for wealthy people.

2013-03-04 22:37:49 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 31 +1s)

My favourite shot of the whole tour: the guy far above us all seems to be happy about his successful ascent for more than hundred years.

2013-03-04 22:36:06 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Sunset: receiding colours at the end of the day. 

2013-03-04 22:34:16 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 14 +1s)

While the hustle and bustle is taking place elsewhere, these strollers are enjoying the day among themselves. 

2013-03-04 22:27:35 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

The entrance to Cologne's Mediapark, a large area formerly owned by Deutsche Bahn, then redesigned for everything Media. A lot of stories could be told here, but let's say that now you can find here everything but media (apart from a cinema complex).

2013-03-04 22:21:10 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

A much more subtle monument which can be easily overlooked reminds of seven people who felt victim to the Gestapo. While Cologne's farmer are celebrated for centuries, this monument will fall into oblivion one day.  

2013-03-04 22:16:39 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

The peasantry is of special importance for the city of Cologne in the Middle Ages. At one of Cologne's old city gates you can see this inscription below a sculpture of the boor: Halt fass do Kölscher Boor. Bliev beim Rich et fall sös ov sor. (Hold on, farmer of Cologne! Stay with the Reich, be it sweet or sour.)

2013-03-04 22:07:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

And on we go with our little early spring tour in Cologne. Daffodils and crocuses in the parks don't bloom yet, but at least some stores offer the first heralds of spring. 

2013-03-04 21:43:22 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

Fascinating images about Hongkong's human battery hens and the people living there. Insights into flats of the size of a phone booth, home for people founding the wealth of one of the richest cities of the world. The website is rather slow, but worth the wait.

2013-03-03 19:09:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

Dark and bleak streets come back to colours and life with a little bit of sunlight: the effect is always breathtaking. And a relief.

2013-03-03 19:07:24 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

The trees are leafless still, and there are no flowers apart from a few snowdrops, but a bit of sunlight and the colours are coming back immediately. That felt really great.

2013-03-03 19:04:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

The sky's blue tones are not that strong yet, but in windless places the sun is already warming the face. Hunting for photons after months of darkness: every minute counts.

2013-03-03 19:00:15 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 20 +1s)

So my wife and I treated ourselves with a walk in the brightest sunlight for three, four, five? months. And it was great. Like parting the curtains after a long time.

2013-03-03 18:56:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

According to meteoroligists, this has been the darkest winter in 43 years, if not the darkest winter since start of weather recordings (which would break a 70 years record). And I'm now able to say: I survived it.

2013-03-03 18:52:12 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

This wouldn't be that remarkable if this hadn't been one of the darkest winters ever. Cities like Essen enjoined 75 hours of sunshine in 2013 so far.

2013-03-03 18:49:54 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

But that's not the only pleasant news of this weekend. We actually had a bit of sunshine yesterday!

2013-03-03 18:44:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Kudos, Switzerland! I have an ardent imagination of Germany's economists howling with pain if similar referendums would be possible in my country, and if they would have similar results.

2013-02-20 15:59:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

£60,- for a tiny fisheye-lens camera that takes real photos: a charming project! 

2013-02-19 22:27:51 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 47 +1s)

Looking down at the lower level. And that's already the last one of this series.

2013-02-19 22:26:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Shopping level.

2013-02-19 22:25:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

From the stars to the underground: descent to the lower level.

2013-02-19 22:23:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

1,800 trains call at the station per day and the daily number of passengers is estimated to be at 350,000. (says Wikipedia). Who knows how many are coming just for shopping. Some of these stores and supermarkets are pretty big.

2013-02-19 22:20:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

The scale of this Christmas tree was really remarkable.

2013-02-19 22:18:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

The top and bottom levels are used by the railway, everything between is for shopping and navigating through the station.

2013-02-19 22:15:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Berlin Central is the successor of a much smaller station called Lehrter Bahnhof, one of the final stops of West-Berlin in the years before the reunification. This was a bleak and underpopulated place with a strong end-of-the-world feeling. A lot has changed since then.

2013-02-19 22:07:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Light architecture: you sometimes wonder if it's really stable. There are other big railway stations in Germany, but Berlin Central's openness is without precedent.

2013-02-19 22:04:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

The hustle and bustle is well distributed on these large areas. It's never as crowded as in smaller stations. 

2013-02-19 22:01:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Ah, that's better. Two main levels and three levels for shopping, entry, and exit, densely packed under a giant glass surface: Berlin Central.

2013-02-19 21:52:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Some of these shots (like this one) were taken with my 50mm lens. This 'compressed' some of the views nicely, but the big dimensions of Berlin Central made me change to my wide angle lens quickly.

2013-02-19 21:49:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

It was a few weeks before Christmas when I was taking this and the following shots (just saying for the ones who attend our walk a bit later). This Christmas tree in the entrance hall of Berlin Central was probably the biggest of the whole city.

2013-02-19 21:46:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Let's take a walk. This is the exterior of Berlin outside, and you admittedly won't see much, as this shot (and the whole series) was taken in December. Snow was falling, the evening was pitch black, and it was pretty cold. In the warm season this would be an impressive sight, but not now: let's get inside, there's enough to see, and the lights are switched on.

2013-02-14 22:42:48 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 24 +1s)

Here I could romance about Plato's Allegory of the Cave, but it's already a bit late for this.

2013-02-14 22:17:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

This guy was introduced as "Barry White, jr.". Quite cool!

2013-02-14 22:07:41 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Hungry?