Train Ride

Dresden Hbf
Camera X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 1/30, f/6.4, ISO1600

Our train was due to pull out at 12:00 sharp from track nine.  We arrived by foot to Dresden's main train station with plenty of time to spare, time to grab sandwiches at the Bäckerei and double check our ticket information with what was on the board.  Sandwiches and a couple bottles of Coke in hand, we enter the terminal of the station.  This is a station to be admired.  It is spotless, well marked, and airy, a far cry from the stations we usually find ourselves in.  Back in Frankfurt, you can't escape the feeling that you could be jumped at any moment which causes everyone to race around in a panicked and frantic state, eyes wide with fear.  But, this morning in Dresden, no one grasps our arms begging for spare coins, no one collides with us as they tear out of the station as fast as their legs will carry them.  In the corner of the lower terminal, a model railway sits under a Plexiglas display case.  A couple Euros will let you operated the mini world, but we're happy just to let it go at its own pace.  There's a small ruined castle on a hill, police arresting drunken brawlers at a lilliputian biergarten, construction workers standing in an accurate fashion around a road works site, a soviet era tire factory belches cotton smoke, and a tiny potbellied retiree sits smoking on a bench in front of his Schrebergarten.  This minuscule world under Plexiglas is part documentary, part satirical depiction of the world that will flash past our train windows in a short time.  While the whole installation appears to have been erected sometime during the 1960's, there's little within that wouldn't be familiar to today's passersby.  Apart from the models of the cars and the Soviet factory, its seems things haven't changed as much as we would think.

Track 9
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 20mm Exposure: 1/30, f/10. ISO1600

We climb the steps to the upper tracks and find track nine.  Our fellow travelers are already milling about the advertisement boards, vending machines, and benches.  Car 28 is going to be our home for the next 5 hours and that will supposedly end up in section D of the track.  I love how organized Deutsche Bahn can be when it really wants to.  The train rolls in promptly and we wait a few moments for some of its passengers to disembark.  Then we climb aboard.  We happened upon a convenient deal on tickets for this trip.  So, for the journey home we will be enjoying the plush seats and quiet repose of a first class car.  This is an ICE train, which will end its run in Frankfurt with only a few pauses in cities along the way.  This sort of ICE sports a dining car, free WiFi, and WC's that probably have paper towels and soap.  Even in an era far past the Golden Age of rail travel, there is still something very comforting and pleasing about a form of transport that speeds through the best parts of the countryside while still allowing you see it accompanied by the possibilities of fresh coffee, a cheese bun, and the ability to use a civilized bathroom without temporarily halting the journey.  On some trains the difference between first and second class is barely noticeable, but on a DB ICE it means you get a porter who offers to bring your drinks and most of the seats come paired with a table. Five hours on this train? I'd happily take 10!  Without any worries of transfers, a fresh blanket of snow outside, and a nice plush seat to settle into, I could happily ride this train for a very, very long time.

The train pushes away from the platform and we slowly begin to roll through that strange wasteland of cables and rails that make up the suburbs of a major rail station.  We pass the backside of the Dresden's famous Yenidze, the former tobacco factory built to look like a mosque.  Today it houses offices, but still appears quite out of place amidst the outskirts of Dresden.

Yenidze
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 28.9mm Exposure: 1/180, f/9, ISO1600

I snap some pictures of this bizarre, blighted environment. Derelict cement buildings of unknown purpose sit between the operational and abandoned rail lines.  Most are covered in graffiti, very few have windows.  They look like houses, but none appear to be in use.  However, as we pass the last one, I jump at the sight of a man in a sleeveless undershirt leaning out of a window (with no frame or glass) to smoke a cigarette.

Wasteland 

Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 19.6mm Exposure: 1/180, f/11, ISO16000

We finally pass into the suburbs of Dresden itself.   We glide through neighborhoods of apartments over small shops where we gaze in a voyeuristic way onto back balconies strung with laden clothes lines and neglected oddments and through windows to see people watching television or having lunch.  Then we move into the neighborhoods of single family homes with their perfectly level lawns and manicured shrubs, all draped in the morning's snow.  We see abandoned trampolines, sagging slightly from the weight of the snowfall, but most of this world is hidden behind hedges.  Then, we enter the strange world of the Schrebergärten.  It is miles and miles of tiny garden allotments cordoned off by fences constructed of anything its owners could get their hands on, from corrugated tin to car doors.  This region seems to be a vast set from a post-apocalyptic movie.  Some gardens are dearly loved and well maintained even in the winter, others have been left to their own devices. We can see through the grimy back windows of sheds and trailers, catching glimpses of glass jars and spray cans.  Beer bottles lie behind some in vast piles, with the intent that no one would see them.  You can learn a lot about people from a train window.  Then, suddenly and without any warning we burst into the open countryside.  It is a vast, wide open world of white, dotted here and there by rows of trees.  

Speeding Through Winter's World
Camera X-E2 Focal Length: 18mm Exposure: 1/180, f/14, ISO2000

Hills rise and fall and sometimes we enter the deep clefts of a river valley.  The sight of people walking, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, is not rare.  Sunday is Wandern Tag.  You see them moving through the winter blasted landscape alone, in couples, or in groups.  Dogs leap through snowdrifts, children pull each other on sleds.  Occasionally, we see tiny specks of sledders on distant hillsides, gliding down or veering off and dumping their passengers in the fresh powder.  When I think of Winter, I often visualize these scenes in my mind's eye.  I take each frame, captured in the edges of our window, and store them as small postcards.  This is the way January should look, grey skies, drifts, swirling snow, smoke rising out of chimneys, ice forming on river banks, and people walking with red cheeks and laughter and the promise of a hot drink at the end.  

The level of snow increases and decreases as we pass further west.  Sometimes it sits at a half meter along sidewalks, sometimes it is just a powdery dust on farm fields, sometimes it is barely there at all.  The conductor announces our imminent arrival in Leipzig.  We once again pass the Schrebergärten, neighborhoods, apartments, and quiet outskirts of yet another city.  The elderly couple across the aisle from us begin to wrap up their newspapers and casually organize their things.  They have been laughing quietly every now and then over articles in their papers and ordered teas instead of coffee.  They remind me of retired couples we know at home, the ones who are always impeccably dressed and well informed.  They contribute money to the symphony, listen religiously to NPR, and collect New Yorker cartoons on their fridges.  This couple strikes me as the sort that know a great deal about a great many things and that having a conversation with them wouldn't be a waste of time.  

Catching Up on the News
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 32.9mm Exposure: 1/60, f/3.6, ISO1600, LR Custom Preset Edit

Before long, we begin to slow as we enter the massive steel complex of Leipzig station.  Pylons rise above the tracks forming a skeletal forest of steel and the massive canopies of the station begin to loom in the distance.

Steel Forest
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 39mm Exposure: 1/125, f/9, ISO2000

I get the feeling that this scene could be exactly the same a century ago, that train stations have always looked this way- a snarl of metal on a foundation of gravel and cinder.  Perhaps the air was blacker in the past, but this is the way it has always been, more or less.

We linger in Leipzig to change conductors and porters.  The elderly couple disembarks.  Our empty coffee mugs are gathered up and we take the pause to open up those sandwiches from Dresden.  They are small with just turkey, cheese, lettuce, and tomato.  But, the bread is soft and whatever sauce they spread under the cheese has a nice tang.  I could easily eat two more if given the chance.  We watch the new arrivals stroll along the platform to find their cars.  Someone jumps out for a quick smoke, just before the whistle blows and stuffs their lighter and pack of cigarettes back into their coat in frustration before leaping back inside.  We roll back out the way we came, back into the white wilderness between German cities.

Sunshine Cometh
Camera X-E2 Focal Length: 18mm Exposure: 1/180, f/14, ISO2000

We stop again in Fulda and pick up a new occupant for across the aisle.  He hauls on a suitcase, wardrobe bag, and a jumbled assortment of sacks.  A slight man, he reminds me of an eccentric professor or perhaps a writer.  Papers are soon strewn all over his table and he's constantly getting up and down to retrieve a forgotten item from his luggage.  He orders a snack and a coffee from the porter and attacks his bun in a mouse-like manner, ripping it apart carefully into tiny pieces before eating the bits one at a time. 

The Writer
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 24.3 Exposure: 1/180, f/3.6, ISO2000, LR Custom Preset Edit

 The light gets lower in the sky.  There are less people out now, and the snow is fading from the landscape to just a dusting.  Frankfurt isn't far now.  More towns and small cities flash past the window, more sheds, gardens, balconies, and hedges. More lives and stories glimpsed for an instant, never to be seen again.  This is the strange dimension of a train trip.  You can see the world from your window, but you are not a part of it.  In fact, you dwell within your own.  It smells of upholstery and plastic.  Its sounds are of rocking train cars over tracks and hushed voices.  Food and drink come wrapped in plastic.  Your fellow inhabitants come and go with barely a word, though hours spent beside each other make you members of an unspoken tribe, that of the traveller.  This tribe is made up of bankers, writers, progressive retirees, families, children, grandparents, police officers, students, tourists, conductors, porters, engineers, backpackers, and the occasional photographer.  Our little world encased in steel and plastic passes through the outside world of sky, snow, and concrete and the scenes of the old model railway play out before our eyes.

Dash Through Dresden

Dresden at Night
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 26.5 Exposure: 15.sec, f/11, ISO200 

Last weekend we kicked off our 2016 travel with a quick day and a half in Dresden.  We took an evening train from Frankfurt and arrived late Friday night in the city.  The weather had finally become cold where we live in northern Bavaria, so it was certainly colder up in Dresden that weekend.  I decided to go as simple as possible and take my two cameras and just two lenses, the 10-24mm and the 18-55mm.  That way I was set up to get most shots and I wouldn't have to change lenses at all, something I like to avoid when the temperatures dip below freezing or the weather is nasty in general.  What I'm learning to accept since I've begun my journey in travel photography is that I'm not always going to get the shot.  We might get to the location and discover that a major landmark is completely covered in scaffolding and tarps for refurbishment or the light may just be really crappy the whole time or we're inside when the light does something amazing outside or there's a rally and the roads are all closed.  Such is the reality of travel photography, no matter how much you research and plan a lot still hinges on luck.

I initially thought that a winter weekend would be sufficient for Dresden.  The Altstadt is pretty condensed and very walkable so I could get those nice morning and evening scenic shots without having to take a bus or tram.  Then, in the afternoons we could duck into the museums to stay warm and get a little culture.  If the weather was more mild we could head to the Neustadt to visit the markets and do a little street photography.  But, we soon discovered that Dresden deserves more than a weekend and that a return visit will definitely be needed.

The train from Frankfurt is about five hours, so we arrived at our hotel about 10:30pm.  By then, the sidewalks had been rolled up and there was hardly a soul around.  The forecast I had been watching made it look like there would be snow waiting for us and I was really looking forward to getting out early the next morning to catch the soft light on fresh snow in the city center.  But, there wasn't a flake to be seen.  Oh well, I thought, perhaps it will come overnight for us.  Still a little revved up from the trip over we decided to walk around the city for a bit to get the lay of the land and make some mental notes about locations for the morning.  Even though the Alstadt center is compact, I quickly deduced that there was no way I was going to capture everything.  For once, we had arrived in a city that wasn't under complete construction.  Only a few cranes loomed in the sky, and there few tarps draped over the massive buildings.  Years of travel has taught me to plan around the most important landmarks being enshrouded in construction materials so when a whole city center is almost construction free it's like being a kid in a candy shop.  Winter is probably the most risky time to shoot a city (besides the weather) because that is the time to get refurbishment projects done while the tourist count is low.

Anyway, our first night there we walked a good portion of the Altstadt and along Brühl's Terrace.  With it being so dark by then I wasn't planning on doing any real shooting, so we left the tripod in the room and I just carried the X-T1 with the 10-24mm.  The first shot of the Fürstenzug was just done handheld.  I never shoot handheld when it's this dark, and I have to say I was really impressed with X-T1's performance.  For the second shot the ground was obviously used as the tripod.  I developed the RAW in camera, something I haven't played around with too much.  While I will likely stick with development in Photoshop for most shots, for a simple scene like this it certainly is the faster and easier route.

Fürstenzug
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 24mm Exposure: 1/30, f/5, ISO 4000

Schlossplatz at Midnight
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 2 sec, f/8, ISO200

The next morning we got up well before sunrise, suited up in thermals and parkas, slapped on some foot warmers, and headed out to get that magic morning light on the beautiful buildings of the Alstadt.  Unfortunately, there was just a little snow here and there and the sky was a blank slate as the sun began to rise, but this city center has plenty of interesting features to shoot even in the most uninteresting conditions. 

Dresden has a glorious and tragic history.  Although smaller than Leipzig, Dresden is the capital of the state of Saxony.  It was ruled for generations by the Wettin Dynasty, one of the oldest houses of Europe.  The most famous Wettin of Dresden is Augustus II the Strong (1670-1733), and statues and mentions of him are seemingly every few hundred feet.  He was not only a Prince Elector (a noble who participated in the elections of the Holy Roman Emperor), but he was also a King of Poland.  During his reign, Dresden became a center for culture and art and one of Europe's most important cities.  It was under Ausgustus that Dresden and Meissen became the first places in the world outside of Asia that produced porcelain.  It was known for its ceramics ever since.  Unfortunately, its size and location made it a prime target during conflict.  It suffered heavy damage during the Seven Years War and the Napoleonic Wars.  The center was also somewhat destroyed during the May Uprising in 1848.  In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Dresden became a center for the modern age.  It was known for its auto factories, cigarette factories, camera factories, food processing, and medical equipment works.  It was also a European center for the modern art movement.

Of course, what Dresden is remembered most for today is the tragic firebombing which took place February 13-15, 1945.  The bombing was carried out supposedly to destroy military production in the area, to prevent retreating Nazi troops from regrouping in the location, and to cause panic and confusion.  It is also widely held that it was in retaliation for Nazi bombings in England. Over 90% of the city center was leveled beyond recognition and between 18,000-25,000 people (a majority of women and children) were killed.  It wasn't until 2005 that the final reconstruction project ended with the completion of the Frauenkirche.  So, in fact, the Altstadt is rather quite new and the Neustadt (which wasn't bombed) on the opposite side of the Elbe is older.  However, even with this knowledge, it is hard to believe that the beautiful structures of the Alstadt haven't been standing for hundreds of years.

Brühl's Terrace
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 15.1mm Exposure: 5.3sec, f/11, ISO200 

Academy of Fine Arts
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 2sec, f/11, ISO200

Dresdner Residenzschloss
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 1sec, f/11, ISO200

Semperoper and statue of King John I of Saxony
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 1.3sec, f/14, ISO200

We rounded out our morning walk at the Zwinger Palace, where we hoped to spend the later half of the morning having a leisurely stroll through the Old Masters and Mathematics & Physics galleries.  The Zwinger palace is not massive compared to the average European palace from the Baroque era, but it is home to some rare collections.  We figured a morning there would be well spent enjoying them while staying out of the 20F weather.  It is the only landmark building in the Altstadt undergoing major refurbishment, so I didn't spend too much time shooting inside the palace itself.

Looking back to Theaterplatz
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 3sec, f/11, ISO200

Zwinger Courtyard
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 14.5 Exposure: .5sec, f/14, ISO200, Lightroom Edit

Unfortunately, the Old Masters Gallery was completely closed for refurbishment.  That just left the Mathematics & Physics gallery and the Porcelain Gallery, but for the same price as it would be to visit all three.  Now, having spent a good portion of my life looking at ceramics as an archaeologist I wasn't real keen on the Porcelain gallery.  I love looking at old stuff, but ceramics bore me to tears.  I can't say there was a lobby to see it coming from my husband either.   The Mathematics & Physics exhibition sounded very interesting, but we couldn't argue paying the full price of the museum to only see one third of it.  It was the Old Masters that had been the real draw for the Zwinger as this era of the German, Dutch, Flemish, and Italian masters of light is our favorite period in art.  Even though the gallery only displays 40% of its collections at a time, I knew we could spend the majority of the morning basking in the beauty of the pieces.  Oh well, it wasn't meant to be.  So, instead of grabbing a bun and coffee at a bakery before heading into the museum for the morning, we returned to the hotel for its more lavish breakfast and then hit the town for some more strolling, window shopping, and shooting.  

Detail of the Zwinger
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 55mm Exposure: 1/60, f/4.5, ISO640

Detail on the Georgenbau Gate
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 44.4m Exposure: 1/30. f/4.5, ISO640

Dresdener Residenzschloss Inner Courtyard
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 42.5mm Exposure: 1/60, f/8, ISO640

Pause in the Commute
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 55mm Exposure: 1/60, f/5.6, ISO640

Taschenberg
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 27.7mm Exposure: 1/125, f/8, ISO540, Fujifilm Classic Chrome profile

The famous Frauenkirche was due to open in the afternoon so we headed back there around 1pm to climb the dome and see the interior.  The Frauenkirche has become one the symbols of Dresden and one of the most significant landmarks of the destruction of Europe during WWII.  The original church was completed in the 18th century and immediately became one of the most unique churches of Europe with its Protestant design and 315 foot dome.  It was the symbol of Dresden, surviving cannonball fire during the Seven Years War and the conflict of the May Uprising.   However, it was not to survive the Firebombing of February 1945.  The dome collapsed on February 15th and the church was destroyed beyond recognition.  It would remain in complete ruin for 45 years as a war memorial (and propaganda symbol against the West) under communist rule.  But, after the reunification of Germany, work began in 1994 to rebuild the church.  It wasn't completed until 2005.  The new church is reconstructed of its original materials as much as possible.  The original darkened stones are clearly visible amongst the lighter new sandstone.  The original cross which topped the church and was crumpled and smashed now rests inside near the altar.  Its replacement was cast by the son of one of the British airmen who dropped the bombs in 1945.  Today the church is a symbol for many things, but most especially as one of reconciliation and renewal.  Climbing the dome is a must for visitors to Dresden and provides incredible views of the city and the Dresden basin region.

Looking Down on Dresden
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 13.8mm Exposure: 1/60, f/11, ISO320

Dresden and the Elbe
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 13.8 Exposure: 1/50, f/11, ISO320 

View of the Neumarkt
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 13.8mm Exposure: 1/50, f/11, ISO320

Once again, however, we managed to time our visit poorly.  For a reason that wasn't clearly given, the interior of the church was closed to the public that afternoon.  We were only able to get a glimpse down through the dome as we walked up the wrap around ramp to the top of the dome.  So, clearly we will have to return to Dresden!

In the Dome
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 42.5mm Exposure: 1/30, f/8, ISO3200

  Nighttime comes quickly in the Winter.  My main goal for the trip was to shoot Dresden's famous Altstadt skyline from somewhere along the Elbe.  Originally I was thinking I would shoot directly across the river, but I'm never 100% committed to my plans until I've actually "ground truthed" a city.  Upon looking at a few postcards (a great travel photography tip, by the way), I decided I wasn't as inspired by the flat view directly across the river.  Also, since we didn't have time or plans to get into Neustadt, it seemed like a bit of a waste to cross all the way over just to walk all the way back.  So, the idea came to look for a slightly more unique angle from one of the bridges during blue hour instead.  We walked down to the Carolabrücke instead of the more well-known Augustusbrücke and then shot back towards Brühl's Terrace.  This view shows the Ständehaus, Hofkirche, Residenzschloss, Augustusbrücke, and Semperoper.  I particularly liked the lines of the street and moored boats below the terrace and thought it was a bit more interesting than the standard horizontal view across the river.  Plus, I wanted the Elbe to be a star of the shot too.  It is such an important player in the city's history as not only its original highway, but the city's greatest threat.  The Elbe has flooded three times since catastrophic floods in 2002, once nearly destroying the Opera.

Dresden at Blue Hour
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 42.5mm Exposure: 10sec, f/13, ISO200

 On the way back to the center we snapped a couple more shots (including the one at the beginning of the post).  Blue hour only lasted about 30mins because of the heavy clouds and by the time we were back to the Frauenkirche it had become quite dark.

Frauenkirche and Martin Luther
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 28sec, f/10, ISO200

Every photo trip comes with at least one regret.  My regrets are the things that I made a mistake on, a bad call, a missed opportunity, or just poor time management.  I don't regret that we couldn't get in to see the Old Masters or the inside of Frauenkirche since that was out of our hands.  But, I am disappointed that I didn't look out the window of our hotel when I woke up around 3am Sunday morning to get a drink.  The forecast said there wasn't a single chance of precipitation overnight.  Any snow was due to show up well after we got on our noon train back to Frankfurt.  Neither of us had slept well Friday night because the hotel's beds are in dire need of new mattresses and pillows.  Since it appeared that the light would be the same as it was Saturday morning and we had gotten everything we wanted then, we decided to sleep in on Sunday, have a leisurely breakfast, then wander through Pragerstrasse on the way to catch the train home.  But, if I had looked out the window at 3am I would have seen that it did snow overnight and it snowed quite a bit.  But, I was thirsty and suffering from another fitful night on the soggy mattress and pulling back the curtains didn't cross my mind.  Sigh.  So, we missed the opportunity to get the buildings topped in all their snowy splendor in the morning light on Sunday.  Lesson learned:  Always plan to get up early.  You can always go back to bed if you don't need to shoot.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed out for one last look of the powdery city on a circuitous route to the train station.

Trees or Tree
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 1/60, f/10, ISO500

On The Terrace
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 10mm Exposure: 1/100, f/11, ISO500

Snow Commute
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 55mm Exposure: 1/250, f/11, ISO1000

Terrace Steps
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 23.3mm Exposure: 1/180, f/11, ISO1000

One of the Four Times Of Day 
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 50.5mm Exposure: 1/180, f/7.1, ISO1000

On Pragerstrasse
Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 46.3mm Exposure: 1/5000, f/4, ISO1000

So, that sums up our first excursion of 2016.  I have to say I was very surprised by the city.  Dresden has been in the news quite a bit lately because of pro and anti-PEGIDA demonstrations and occasional violence against refugees or people in general who appear to be of Arab or Jewish descent.  Even though we stuck to the tourist area, we weren't sure what to expect.  Frankfurt has become rather edgy since the beginning of the refugee crisis so we expected to at least come across some anti-immigrant graffiti or posts in a city where this movement is more popular.  However, there wasn't a single indication of this while we were there.  Dresden is quite cosmopolitan with a great shopping district, the opera, and the museums.  It is a city definitely worth a second visit.  We would like to get to the Zwinger and inside the Frauenkirche next time, as well as Neustadt.  Perhaps we may even be able to explore some areas outside the city like Sächsische Schweiz.

Below is the kit I brought for shooting in Dresden last weekend.  Even though it is pictured, I didn't end up bringing the 55-200mm lens and thankfully didn't need it all.  I switched over to the ThinkTank Retrospective 7 for my bag since I was carrying two cameras.  I brought, but didn't need the ND filters.  My tripod is a 3 Legged Thing Brian.  I carry it in its own case and since Brian is pretty light that's not a problem.  For short trips like this I bring along my iPad to do some quick edits in Lightroom Mobile, and despite having access to the internet in Germany, we always stick a guidebook in the bag as a backup.  Other bits and bobs here are a shutter release cable (because it's faster and warmer than using the Fujifilm Camera remote app), spare SD cards, chargers, and a notebook for jotting down thoughts and ideas for a return trip.

Shot with an iPhone 

I did quite a bit of street photography, trying to capture some of the local characters in this grand space.  Most of the shots will be on my Flickr page by the end of the week, but I wanted to share this one here.

Will See You In 5 Minutes
Camera: X-T1 Focal Length: 12.6mm Exposure: 1/30, f/4, ISO6400

Normally I wouldn't use the 10-24mm lens for street shots, but when we passed under the Georgenbau Gate of the Residenzschloss, I wanted to not only capture the people passing through the space, but the architecture of the gate as well.  It was quite dark under there so I cranked up the ISO to its tolerable limit and opened the lens as wide as I could at the focal length.  Originally, I was focusing slightly back into the further passage as people passed directly in the center, making it more of an urban geometry shot than a standard street photo.  However, this guy was passing much closer to me and there was something about his pace and complete immersion in his phone that stood out to me.  Everyone else was strolling through at a Saturday pace.  Most were couples, many of them were tourists.  But, this guy was clearly not concerned with sightseeing, but instead on getting to his destination as quickly as possible while texting on his phone.  So, I snapped the shot, even though I knew he would be out of focus.  In fact, that was imperative for me; this hurried, distracted character breezing through this static symmetrical space.  I know it's not a clean or perfect shot, but it's one of my favorite from the trip.  Cities are built, destroyed, and rebuilt, but we are just fleeting players, usually indifferent to the spaces around us.

2016 Preview

Seen From My WindowCamera: X-T1 Focal Length: 164mm Exposure: 1/180 f/9 ISO1000

Now that I'm all caught up on last year's work, the holidays are behind us, and January is in full swing, it is time to look to 2016 and it appears that it's going to be a busy and exciting year.  Last year we kind of over did the travel sessions in the Spring so by the time Summer rolled around we were burned out and the thought of packing a bag sounded about as attractive as a root canal.  So, this year we decided on a plan that would have handful of longer trips, but space out the short trips to about one a month.  If you take a look over to the right of the blog you'll see what we have pencilled in for 2016.  It's still a pretty action-packed line-up.  I'm feeling confident that it's also a good balance between urban and rural and wild areas.  There's also a good mix of new spots and repeats.

We are kicking off 2016 with a little jaunt by train to Dresden this weekend.  We've passed through the city a number of times enroute to somewhere else further east and the skyline has been calling to me ever since.  After that, we're returning to our favorite restaurant in the world in Wallonia and will hopefully be poking around a few new spots in that region too.  In March, we have a really exciting venture planned.  It'll be time to throw the parkas, crampons, and thermals in the suitcase because we'll be headed to Iceland for a 5 day trip around the southern end of the island.  April will also take us to new ground with a weekend in Warsaw (or Krakow, as soon as I make up my mind).  I'm looking forward to May because we'll be heading to two very different spots that month.  First off, we'll be flying to Britain to visit some friends and enjoy the lovely countryside of Warwickshire.  I was in the area 14 years ago and am really looking forward to seeing it and our friends again.  After that, we're heading to Portugal!  We've kinda neglected Latin Europe over the years so this is the first step towards rectifying that.  I've heard wonderful things about Lisbon and I can't wait to explore and photograph this colorful city.

That'll bring us just about halfway through the year.  In June and the beginning of July, we have family visiting so this is when we'll be making our way north to Normandy again along with some other familiar spots closer to home in Germany.  Shortly after the family heads home, we'll be headed back to Italy and the lovely shores of Lake Como again for a nice week of hiking with The Dog, relaxing, and eating way too much Italian home cooking at our favorite little hotel in Italy.  Unlike the rest of the population of Europe, we'll be taking August off from traveling to spend time on the bikes and save up before we return to Akron for our annual visit.  After returning from the States, we'll again be visiting the greatest city in the world, Paris.  We haven't been in Autumn yet, so I'm really looking forward to seeing and photographing the city at that time of year.  November we'll be returning to another old favorite, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.  It's been a good three years since we laid our eyes on the alps of the Bernese Oberland and we've been hankering to get back.  Perhaps the weather will be decent like it was in 2012 for some hiking.  If not, we'll stay close to the valley floors and perhaps if we're lucky we'll get to see a proper snowfall.  That'll just leave December.  After two Christmases spent mostly in the home we've decided to take advantage of the holiday break this year to go away.  Our choice is Venice.  The idea of Venice in the tourist season has never appealed, but I have to admit the thought of being there for the quieter holidays sounds like a nice way to end the year and have a chance to get shots a little different from the norm.  We're also kicking around swinging over to Lake Bled in Slovenia.

Of course, man proposes and God disposes, so all of this is just tentative.  We never know what's around the corner.  Airlines and rail companies can go on strike, weather can do some crazy stuff, and all sorts of other unforeseen events can throw the schedule out the window.  But, those are the plans as of right now while I sit on the couch enjoying a view of the misty, rainy Spessart hills across the Main.

2016 is also looking to be an exciting year in regards to Fujifilm's plans for their X-Series cameras, making it an equally exciting year for those of us who shoot with them.  In a few days they are set to announce several new additions to the line including the X-Pro2, the second generation of their first groundbreaking interchangeable lens camera.  Rumors have been all over the internet about what the X-Pro2 will bring to the table.  One of the most significant upgrades is an increase in megapixel count, from 16 to 24.3.  While 16mps is completely sufficient, having that boost sounds really nice for those of us shooting and printing landscapes.  I'm not planning on getting an X-Pro2, but I am interested in how these upgrades will affect the X-T2, which supposedly will be announced this summer.  After two years of working with the X-E2 (which I love) and then adding the X-T1 in November, I've decided I prefer the handling of the SLR style body.  Having the ISO dial and the tilt screen are a huge help for what I do and I'd like to stick with that for my main body.  The X-E2 is a perfect second body to have in the bag and it is still my everyday carry camera.  Having at least two X Series interchangeable lens bodies available has been my goal for several years and now that I'm finally there I couldn't be more pleased.  I imagine as things get upgraded and new models are released, I will be switching things out over time.  But, as for 2016 I'm definitely good on cameras!  As for other gear...

Overhead shot of my everyday kit.
Camera: Fujifilm X-T1 Focal Length: 19.6mm Exposure: .6sec, f/6.4 ISO 200

When it comes to glass, I'm now in the phase where I will be upgrading what I have for the weather sealed option as they become available.  I do plan on picking up the 16-55mm lens in time for Iceland, but after that I don't have a clear schedule.  The new 35mm F2 WR lens is an attractive option because the older version of the 35mm is almost always stuck to one of my cameras.  It's the perfect choice for an everyday carry prime because it functions well in all light conditions.  But, admittedly the focus isn't the fastest on the F1.4 version and the lower profile and weather sealing are very appealing features of the new model.  Another option is the new 100-400mm lens that is also supposed to be announced on Friday.  I haven't heard much about the specs except that it too will be weather sealed.  If it also has internal zoom I'd seriously consider selling the 55-200mm in order to add this to the shelf instead.  It would be nice for the long lens not to get longer as it zooms, plus when I do use the 55-200 it is almost always at 200mm. Being able to go further would make a lot of shots much easier to achieve.  Lastly, I would really like a weather sealed super wide-angle.  If they redo the 10-24mm that would jump to the top of the list.  But, it's not even on their roadmap right now so there's no point in planning for it just yet.  So far, the only for sure X-Series acquisition will be the 16-55mm.

Thankfully, 2016 is the first year I don't have any gear on my needs list.  I feel really pleased with my current set up, not just in cameras and glass, but also with bags, tripod, etc.  I was given a ONA Prince Street bag for Christmas (shown above) and it is with huge relief that I can announce the end of the leather camera bag quest.  It is exactly what I was looking for as an everyday bag.  Between it, the ThinkTank Retrospective 7, ThinkTank Airport Essentials, Pompidoo Miami, and Hama Daytour, all my carry situations finally have a solution.  Yes, I do have a bag collecting problem.  So, that just leaves perhaps a filter or some other small bit of gear if anything to pick up this year.  Fujifilm is announcing a new flash on Friday as well and I'm kinda interested to see what the word is on that.  I never use flash since it's not needed for scenic or street work, but I do have an interest in branching out to flash for certain occasions like gatherings or shooting still life's.  Of course, I don't need to use a Fuji flash (and their rep hasn't been the best), but the coming announcement has me thinking that they're starting to take flash more seriously.  

Anyway, for now I don't need to pick anything up this year besides the 16-55mm.  I'm going to keep a finger on the pulse of the development though and be ready to move on the next best thing for what I'm doing when the time comes.

As for general photographic goals I have a few ideas of things to pursue.  I am really surprised, thankful, and pleased by the how well received my calendars were.  To everyone who purchased a copy, thank you, thank you! I'm even more surprised to see they're still popular halfway through January!  So, I will be planning the 2017 calendar all year and looking for those shots worthy to represent a month.  Pursuing and learning the world of street photography with more dedication is another goal for the year.  While my mornings and evenings will still be allotted for scenic shots, I want to take the time to get those magic documentary moments on our travels too.  I feel particularly passionate about this since it is an endangered genre.  So, I need to push back against insecurity and trepidation to capture those moments because, in my opinion, they are just as if not more valuable than the scenic shots.  In relation to that, I also want to make a more concerted effort to document the everyday, the gatherings with friends, and the mundane moments at home.  Those times are just as significant in our lives as those in which we stand in the midst of a new city or on a mountain trail.  That desire has me thinking about things like flashes.

Anyway, these are the things running through my head for 2016.  First and foremost, besides locations and gear and projects, my ultimate goal is to keep learning and to keep improving!  I hope everyone who graciously stops by the website, the shop, my Instagram feed, my Flickr, and this blog has a safe, adventurous, inspiring, and blessed 2016!

In Old Stomping Grounds

It's been quite a while since I've been able to put anything down here.  It doesn't cease to amaze me how much damage the holidays can do to the schedule every year at this time.  No matter my good intentions to stick to the usual game plan, things always go awry when the tree needs to go up and the cookies need to be baked.  It all started in November when we went back to Akron for our annual home leave trip and then it was one thing after another.  But, now that the new year has arrived we can finally get back on track!

Anyway, speaking of Akron, I finally finished editing the photos I took while we were there.  Most of my shots were of time spent with family and friends, but I did manage to get out for some scenic shooting for one day.  For once I was going to shoot someplace I was intimately familiar with, a place that didn't require a moment of research.  However, it was the one trip in which I didn't have any real free time to shoot, despite the fact we were going to be there for a longer time than any other trip we took this year.  With one day to shoot I decided to take advantage of my knowledge of the area.  Late November is not an attractive time of year in Northeast Ohio.  Is kinda, well, brown.  Everything is brown.  The sky is usually overcast.  One or two shots of a brown and grey landscape with a Lightroom preset slapped on can be cool, but I didn't want a whole set of that nor, to be perfectly honest, did I want to spend the day standing in a depressing brown field or next to the brown Cuyahoga River.  Anyway, my schedule was only open during the day, not in the morning or evening when the light would be at its best.

Camera X-T1, Focal length: 13.2mm,
Exposure 1/125, F/7.1, ISO 400

This was a thriving small farm about 15 years ago, now it
is a ruin.  The building had been broken into recently.  Though I didn't
enter, the gaping doorway left a tantalizing  and creepy
view inside the house.

So, I decided to focus on something a little different.  I grew up on the borders of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  The CVNP is a beautiful 20,339 acre park between Cleveland and Akron.  It's the only National Park in Ohio and a major asset for the area.  But, it has a unique history.  Unlike many more well-known National Parks in the US, a large portion of the land for the CVNP was once private property, farms, and villages.  When the park came in, these properties were purchased by the government.  If the original owners left upon purchase, the buildings were usually leveled and the property allowed to return to nature.  Farms were swallowed by new growth forests.  If you happen to hike the less popular trails, you may come upon a foundation in the woods or evidence of a driveway that goes nowhere.  But, many people were allowed to stay in their houses as renters from the Park Service.  For many older residents on fixed incomes, this was a major financial boon.  Others weren't pleased in the least to lose their property rights.  It's still a controversial subject with the old guard in places like Northampton Township and Peninsula.  Once the former owners/tenants passed away or decided to move out, the house was taken over by the park.  Most of them are left as non-maintained, abandoned structures.  The Cuyahoga Valley is full of empty buildings left in various states of disrepair.  Recently, some of them have been completely refurbished to (ironically) be rented out to tenants who want to operate small farms (chickens, goats, etc).  But, most houses are so far gone they can't be redone and are left to nature.  The abandoned structures around the Valley were what I wanted to photograph last November.

It turned out that the day I scheduled to drive around there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so the light was particularly harsh.  But, on the plus side it wasn't pouring rain so we weren't going to be tromping around in the mud.  We got around to several structures in the Valley.  It was the first chance I had to test my new setup with the X-E2 and X-T1 (which I was able to pick up on sale from B&H while we were in town).  It was so much easier running two bodies, than having to switch out lenses constantly.  I shot the whole day using the X-T1 with the 10-24mm and the X-E2 with the 18-55mm.  I decided to shoot the entire day in black and white to emphasize the moodiness of the subjects and make the light a little more interesting.

Camera X-T1, Focal Length: 10, HDR blend

Camera X-T1, Focal Length: 10, Exposure: 1/30, f/5.6, ISO 400

The best part of this little project was that my parents came along with me and my Dad showed me some spots I didn't know about.  He had found this cabin years ago, and it was my favorite location that day.  The cabin was pretty far off the road and we had to cross a sizable creek to get up to it,but it was worth it.  This place was fascinating.  The central beam had completely collapsed, taking the roof with it.  It had clearly been the victim of vandals.  There were bullet hold in the shutters, and the interior had been spray painted with grafitti.  We tread carefully around the fallen logs and exposed nails.  The most unique aspect was this beautiful stone fireplace and chimney.  I would love to know the story behind this cabin.  I don't know if it was an old hunting cabin or something the park put in at one time.  It was in the middle of nowhere and completely falling apart, the perfect mysterious structure to start the day with.  The light was really difficult to work with, so I created the first shot by blending multiple exposures.

Camera X-T1, Focal Length: 10, Exposure: 1/500, f/5, ISO 400

This abandoned farmhouse is an area that is still inhabited near the village of Peninsula.  It wouldn't take much to get the place livable again.  I liked it because it was just a classic American farmhouse.  Now the once white fence is coming apart, the gutters have fallen off, and weeds choke the old flower beds.  It reminded me of the American dream, now faded and falling apart.

Camera X-T1, Focal Length: 10, Exposure: 1/400, f/10, ISO 400

 This is just a single family home that is on a prime piece of property.  The poor house is totally falling apart.  I found this to be the most depressing structure we stopped at.  You could tell that a family lived here at one time.  There was a large bird house in the front, and a soccer goal in the back.  Ivy was taking over and the paint was peeling in sheets from the walls inside.  It was a shame to see such a nice place falling into the ground.

Camera X-T1, Focal Length: 10, HDR blend

 Now, this spot is a little more positive.  The house is outside the park in the City of Cuyahoga Falls.  The local Northampton Township Historical Society is looking to remodel it back to its original 19th century state.  Right now the property is well maintained and the nearby barn has been completely redone.

Camera X-E2, Focal Length 18mm,
Exposure: 1/180, f/7.1, ISO 400

One of the last properties we stopped at has a little more known history behind it.  It used to belong to my grandparents until the Park bought it.  They stayed there as tenants and my grandmother remained after my grandfather passed until shortly before she too passed away in 2005.  It had a couple more tenants who halfheartedly tried redoing it before it was finally abandoned.  I can't tell you how bizarre it was to see the place as it is now.  I hadn't been in there in over 10 years.  Ivy was growing through the building into the breezeway, the paint was coming down in the kitchen and living room, vines were taking over the whole western side of the house.  It was creepy and surreal.  The visit was probably even stranger for my parents who also had lived there for a short time after getting married.  We spent a lot of time there, walking around the property, laughing about memories, and chatting with the neighbors.  The place was a mess.  It was a shame.  But, the story wasn't unique to the area.  It was probably a similar tale to the ones that belonged to the other properties we visited.  Once they were homes and loved places, now they're fallen ruins and forgotten.

Camera X-T1, Focal Length 10mm, HDR blend

Camera X-E2, Focal Length 18mm, Exposure: 1/180, f/5, ISO 320

Camera X-E2, Focal Length: 28.9mm, Exposure: 1/40, f/11, ISO 320

After that, it was time to head out to run other errands, but at the end of the day the clouds finally started to roll in and there was the potential for a beautiful sunset.  Thankfully, everyone was willing to let me make one more stop, even though it was starting to get blustery and cold.  After a whole day of shooting in black and white, I decided to switch back to color.  The spot was near the Cuyahoga Falls farm house from earlier.  This time I wanted to capture the barn.  The last time I saw the barn it was like all the other buildings we had seen that day, faded and falling apart.  However, the city had recently redone the barn, and my father helped paint the sign on the south wall.  Not all the buildings are in ruins.  This building had been given some life again.  There we were back in a classic Americana scene, except this one was more hopeful.

Camera: X-T1, Focal length: 10mm, HDR blend

The rest of these photos are available for viewing on Flickr (including a few of abandoned buildings in downtown Akron) and some are now up for purchase on the capturedglimpses.com