LIGHT AND SHADOWS

After another week of travel it was a pure pleasure to spend a few hours in and around one of my favorite places in Iowa’s capital, the Des Moines Art Center. It is home of a great collection of 20th and 21st century art. I have been there numerous times since 1997 and my fascination for the architecture of their three buildings and the art on display still continues.

It was a sunny day and I looked for opportunities to work with light and shadows that emphasize the architecture and art pieces of the museum’s collection. The visit inside of the art center was followed by a walk in Greenwood Park that surrounds the complex. And there I found more places enhanced by light and shadow. I hope you enjoy my selection of images that inspired me to press the shutter release of the camera.

All photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S

Zig II, 1961, David Smith (American, 1906-1965), Painted steel

Three Cairns, 2002, Andy Goldsworthy (British, born 1956), Iowa Limestone, lead, steel

HOW MUCH POST PROCESSING?

Buildings right to left: partly only Marina City (architect: Bertrand Goldberg), IBM Building (architect: Mies Van der Rohe), Trump International Hotel & Tower

Tonight I gave a little presentation at the meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club about how I process most of my wildlife photos. Beside necessary adjustments, like noise reduction, RAW sharpening, spot removal, or maybe sometimes some cropping, only small tweaks are applied to get the best out of the RAW file. I don’t change much at all on the wildlife. If the picture is not sharp or totally wrong exposed, the photo lands in the trash can or will never be published if I want to keep it for documentary reasons in the picture library.

A lot more efforts can go into a photo like this shot from last week in downtown Chicago. The photo was made through the glass of the hotel window (we were only on the 9th floor but you can’t open these windows) and it took some efforts to overcome all the challenges. From the distortion of the glass and the dust on the window, to the perspective that you can’t really change much while shooting from a hotel room, I may use all the great tools of Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Camera RAW to end up with a usable image.

”Transform” was used to correct perspective problems created by the lens, ”Dehaze” for eliminating the effect of a not so clean window, and other adjustments to enhance contrast or color contrast. The limits are only set by your own vision for the final image.

LESS IS MORE…

I can’t deny that I love architecture that is comprised by the use of glass and steel. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a German-American architect and pioneer of modern architecture has created several iconic buildings in Chicago after his emigration from the Nazi regime in Germany to the United States. I do not know who designed this modern apartment complex in downtown Chicago, but the design was maybe influenced by Mies van der Rohe’s architectural mission and principles. I loved what I saw when I had the building in the viewfinder of my camera and in particular the reflections of the clouds on the glass surfaces and the contrasty appearance overall. I admit, it was a ”shot from the hip” while walking from the hotel to a favorite dinner restaurant yesterday evening. There was a lot of blue in the frame, from the sky and bounced back from the glass surfaces. Mies van der Rohe is often associated with the fondness of the aphorism "less is more” (source: Wikipedia), and that’s what I remembered when I decided to render the image in B&W. It just reflects my own vision of modern architecture photography.

I know, some friends and followers of my blog asked, what’s going on, where are your latest photos about nature at spring time? Well, the duties of my regular job keep me very busy at the moment and a home improvement project took the rest of the time during the last couple weeks. Some new things will come soon, so please stay tuned…

COMBINING BOTH PASSIONS

VINYL RECORD SHELF THROUGH THE GLASS

Beside photography I enjoy listening to music from my collection of vinyl records, especially after return from a business trip or a long drive by car. Last night I just combined both passions. While the music of Fela Ransome Kuti’s LP ”Open & Close” from 1970 filled the room, I lined up my glass with the edge of the rug and the table and looked for a nice magnification effect of the vinyl records in the glass. Some new LED light bulbs in the lamps above the record shelf create a different light intensity than before and it gave me the idea for this photo.

A FAVORITE VIEW

Fischerpforte (Fisher gate), Bautzen, Germany, Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S

I wasn’t sure if I get this shot sharp enough because a tripod wasn’t with me that evening in my home town Bautzen in Germany. This over 1000 years old city holds many interesting views for the photographer but this stairway from the Spree River up to the old town is among my favorites. The place where the photo was made is called Fischerpforte (Fisher gate). Back in the old days the fishermen living down below used these stairs to bring their fresh catch to the market in town. Part of the old city wall is visible at the right hand side and at the upper end of the stairs was a gate that could be closed in the matter of defense.

Back to the exposure time for this image. It was shot at ISO3200 but still required an exposure time of 0.4s. Despite image stabilization in cameras or lenses, stabile handholding and exhaling the air from the lungs is still mandatory for a sharp picture at night time.

WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY

Today is World Photography Day, the day whereby we pay tribute to the incredible art form that is photography. For me it’s a good reason to dig out some photos that were made earlier this year while spending time with good friends over in Germany. This was in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, a lovely area just north of Berlin. We went on a paddle trip with kayaks and stopped at a little lake shore bistro, where the fish they caught went right into the smoker and was served with fresh ”Brötchen”. Of course, we added some beer to the meal!

And that’s what I like to point out today. There is the image we make with an artistic intent and there is also the shots we make just for the memory of a great moment in life. Sometimes it can be all in one picture and sometimes it’s better to keep them separated. I’m sure all camera owners can tell a story about their photos today. Let’s keep it coming, not just on World Photography Day…!

LET’S USE THE CLOUDS

In the Millwork District, Dubuque, Iowa

I shot this industrial structure in the historic Millwork District of Dubuque, Iowa four years ago already and it did draw my attention again during the Millwork Night Market about a month ago. This time we had more drama with some dynamic clouds that made me set the camera to Black & White mode. I wanted to replicate a retro look for this photo and mimicked a red filter in camera already for a high contrast look. It’s the time of the year with a lot of moisture in the air and with it come the clouds. Well, let’s just use them! It begs the question, what is the subject here, the metal structure or the clouds? You tell me…

’WORK NIGHT’ WITH THE CAMERA CLUB

HOURGLASS / MONOCHROME

Monday evening we had a ’Work Night’ during the meeting with the Dubuque Camera Club. The club has acquired a set of three continuous LED lights and the members had a chance to try them out and play with different functions, color temperatures, and settings. It was a lot of fun and very interesting to see all the different approaches to work with a few items that some members had provided for this shooting. We can now use these lights for our own little and bigger projects.

The hourglass above is placed on a reflecting plate and was my favorite subject. At a serious product shooting you normally would avoid the reflections of the light sources on the glass walls, but I thought it added an interesting artsy-fartsy effect.

RUBIC CUBE / COLOR

The RUBIC cube was also very popular. The star effect on the glass plate is the reflection from an umbrella that was mounted in front of an LED light. The key for this shot was to hide the knob in the center of the umbrella behind the cube. The black & white version is actually the same photo as the color image above. I played with different B&W filters in Adobe Lightroom and was once more amazed how different the photo was rendered with each filter effect, even without any changes of exposure values. Back in the days I shot a lot with black and white film, but now, many years later I just start to understand what it really can do for my photography.

It was an interesting evening and interacting with the other members of the club during the shooting was a lot of fun. Thank you to Ron Tigges for preparing this and the set-up!

RUBIC CUBE / MONOCHROME

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head,

MARVELOUS ARCHITECTURE

Milwaukee Art Museum

It doesn’t happen very often that I have the chance and time to visit an architectural landmark during one of my business trips. However, a week ago I was able to stop at the Milwaukee Art Museum while traveling with a German business friend. I knew the museum was closed that day but the design by Eero Saarinen, David Kahler, and Santiago Calatrava has always fascinated me and there are many architectural highlights to admire while walking around the building complex.

It was the first time that I photographed the museum with snow on the ground and not a single cloud in the sky. While in most of my landscape photography I’m not thrilled about a bald blue sky, here I like the fact because the beautiful lines of Calatrava’s Quadracci Pavilion stand out nicely against the background. The Burke Brise Soleil, a moveable sunscreen with a 66-meter wingspan was unfortunately folded down during our short visit.

View towards Lake Michigan and across the Reimann bridge, a pedestrian suspension bridge that connects the museum to the city.

Milwaukee Downtown, looking west from the same viewpoint as in the picture above.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,

DUBUQUE NIGHT OF LIGHTS

Dubuque historic Star Brewery building at Night of Lights event

Tonight was the inaugural event of Night of Lights in Dubuque, Iowa. Businesses and private homes in and near Downtown Dubuque were asked to leave the lights on for a few hours. Painters and photographers tried to capture the beauty of this event during the early night hours.

I was out of town the last couple of days and returned late from a business trip this evening. With not too much time on hand I drove straight to the old Dubuque Star Brewery building, a historic landmark next to the Mississippi River. Stone Cliff Winery has a wonderful tasting room in the historic brewery building and their wine garden was nicely illuminated. I guess all possible lights were on and with the location about ready to be closed, I had nobody walking through the scene during a 20 seconds exposure time for this photo. The metal sculpture in the foreground, “Flowing Connections” by artist Matt Moyer, is part of the annual ART ON THE RIVER exhibit, located along the Mississippi Riverwalk. I wished I had more time to check out some other locations in town, but maybe next year…!!

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,    @ 24mm, 20 s, f/18, ISO 100

AT SINSINAWA MOUND CENTER

Last night I attended the opening reception for “Driftless Depictions”, an exhibition of beautiful photographic works of local artist and photographer Henry Matthiessen III, in the Sinsinawa Mound Center over in Wisconsin. This place is the home of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. It was the first time I have been there and took the opportunity to visit also the Queen of the Rosary Chapel under the same roof. Here is what their website has to say about it:

No visit to Sinsinawa Mound Center is complete without a stop in Queen of the Rosary Chapel. The setting is tranquil, inspiring, and surrounded in simplicity by the mahogany pews, marble floors, and limestone altars. Visitors are awestruck with this architectural treasure and its unique circular shape, fluted ceiling, and the 37 diamond and half-diamond shaped stained glass windows. The true beauty is in the story of Christ’s redemption that is told through the brilliant mosaic of biblical scenes through rhythm in glass.

Being in the chapel not much before sunset was quite impressive. When I saw the reflection of one of the stained glass windows on the floor and on the backs of the pews, I knew I had a photo. Sure, with HDR techniques applied every detail would be visible, but I often prefer the approach with exposing for the highlights only.

Henry Matthiessen III, The exhibition “Driftless Depictions” can be visited until October, 23. Highly recommended!

Detail shot of diamond and half-diamond shaped stained glass windows in the chapel.

ICY ART CONTINUES

Life prevented me from getting out and shooting a lot of pictures this week but there is always something on the hard drive of the computer that deserves to be published. Earlier this month I tried to draw the attention to one of my winter projects, called ICY ART. Here is another image that I like to contribute.

ICY ART IN 2022

The long time readers of my blog may remember that I started a little gallery project on the website in January of last year, called ICY ART. I tried to contribute to this gallery during the last two months with some new photos, but just didn’t find the right subject worthwhile for being published. Today I discovered a promising ice pattern but the water beneath was actually quite murky. I gave it the ‘artsy-fartsy’ treatment with white balance and contrast enhancing measures and got a result that satisfied my artistic sensibilities. Here is a shortcut to the ICY ART gallery. I hope you enjoy. You all have a great weekend!

COMPARING LENS PERFOMANCE

Swing railroad bridge across the Mississippi between Sabula, Iowa and Savannah, Illinois

One of my last pictures of the railroad bridge across the Mississippi River down in Sabula, Iowa, was a black & white photo, shot with the incredible Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZF lens in March last year (feel free to have a look at that image right here: Sabula Bridge ). This prime lens with manual focus is the best standard I can apply to compare rendition and sharpness between other pieces of glass.

The question I tried to answer was, can the new Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, that came with the Nikon Z6II mirrorless camera, outperformed the old Nikkor 24-120, f/4 AFS, which I traded in for the new lens. Shooting a well known subject, like the Sabula bridge, is my way to find out what can be done in regards of sharpness with a new lens. I looked at the original RAW files and compared them with some shots with the Zeiss 2/35 and also the 24-120 AFS from last year under similar light and weather conditions. And here is the verdict, the Z 24-70 is at least equal to the prime lens and quite a bit better than my old “walk around lens”, the Nikkor 24-120 AFS. This doesn’t make me a better photographer, but it is good to know that the new tool in the camera bag, the stunning Nikon Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, is capable to deliver results that at the end help to become one.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 57 mm, 1/125 s, f/16, ISO 100