punktimdunkeln

Patterns

Patterns

I am quite fascinated by patterns; they are abundant, in nature and in the human-made environment. They help to order and classify, to understand and comprehend. During my work, I am regularly searching for patterns in sequences of characters (more on that in a later post). However, mostly it is not only about finding the pattern, but finding the irregularity, the absence, or the variation of the expected pattern.

If you consult the most-visited nonprofit website, there is a whole list of different types of patterns that occur in nature; a non-exhaustive extract: symmetry, which can occur along multiple axis and dimensions. Trees and fractals are commonly found in plants. The former also emerge naturally as patterns in more complex concepts such as evolutionary relationships. Spirals are a common feature for animals. My favorite category includes chaos, flow, and meanders, the latter ones often caused by flowing water. I have seen countless examples of such wonderful patterns in the nature of Iceland, e.g. check out these photos by Kai Hornung. Waves and dunes are formed by the wind – the ocean is beautifully captured by Rachael Talibart. And then there are all the other ones like tessellations, cracks, spots, or stripes.

All of these are often represented in abstract macro or landscape photography. In the following you find a collection of patterns that we encountered in frozen puddles during our last hike in the Harz Mountains. You can already spot a bunch of the mentioned types, however, I will be looking out for all the other ones I missed so far with the hope to continue this collection in the future.

Clear Skies and Minus 14 Degrees

Clear Skies and Minus 14 Degrees

On the 31st of January this year we went on an early morning hike in the Harz mountains. There was severe snow fall the weeks before and this was one of the first days where the forecast promised clear skies for the higher altitudes – and this time it was correct. Moreover, it was one of the most gorgeous mornings I experienced in quite some time. We had to share the small mountain top Achtermannshöhe with several others who had the same idea, but the light of the slowly rising sun was capturing everyones attention.

I remember the two hours we spent there regularly, and especially how the blue and purple light illuminated the landscape before the sun conquered the horizon. It was also my first attempt to capture a panorama shot with my camera, but I made several mistakes during the process: The only usable part of my attempt is the featured image in the beginning of this post which is merged from three different photos and spans more than 15.000 pixels. Enjoy the images.

*Brocken*, 1141 metres above sea level, at 07:37 a.m.

Rising sun behind *Wurmberg*, the cold temperatures were slowly creeping through the clothes.

Sea of clouds towards the south, covering our home town somewhere in the far distance.

Finally, the sun appeared in the east, and all colors changed from a cold blue to a warm orange.

Again *Brocken*, illuminated by the first rays of light. When zooming in on the full sized picture, you can spot tons of people on the summit.

A few additional impressions from that day:

Fog Clears the View

Fog Clears the View

Forecast: Clear skies, sun the whole day, frosty temperatures in the morning. Reality: Dense fog, no sun for the first hours of daylight, temperatures not cold enough for frost.

That’s how it mostly is – it never comes as expected. I still have to learn to adapt my expectations from forecast to reality. On this particular morning I hoped for ice crystals in front of the rising sun – what I got instead were goose painted on a blank canvas.

Fog drowns the noise and highlights only what is in front of you. And sometimes the unexpected is even better than the forecast: The grey heron was hunting mice directly in front of me and I was able to get closer than ever before.

Know Your Resources

Know Your Resources

On an ordinary day during the last autumn, I saw, for the first time, the common kingfisher – what a beautiful bird. Despite its divergent blue and orange coloring, it is quite hard to spot when sitting still. Only when the kingfisher changes its branch from which it hunts you see a brief blue shimmer darting close above the water. It belongs to the family Alcedinidae whose species are scattered across the whole globe; and most of them are at least as colorful as the common kingfisher (e.g. check out the oriental dwarf kingfisher!). Since then, we have seen the common kingfisher multiple times at a lake close to our home and I have tried to get in on camera at multiple other locations around our town. I spoke with others where to find it, I spent lots of time waiting for it, and I made hundreds of photos of empty branches and little blue dots in the far distance. On some occasions I was somewhat successful, but the clear sight was always interrupted by branches at the locations I visited. Then, last Friday evening after another day of home office, I sought out one of the last spots around our town I haven’t been before during my search for the kingfisher. It’s only 3 minutes from my normal working location but due to the current situation I haven’t been there for a year. And there, directly at a small pond, the perfect location for the king fisher is prepared: A stick curved above the water, a sign that warns uninterested bystanders of the curiosity, and nearby benches and bushes for the interested photographer. I guess, I have to come back next autumn and try my luck here; in the photos below you see my best attempts from this winter.

Work often feels similar to this experience: You search something for a long time before you unexpectedly find it somewhere else. And sometimes you find even more: In this case it was a wonderful sunset and the first spring flowers:

Black and White Spring

Black and White Spring

I don’t like thinking in black and white. I don’t think liking black and white-thinking is sensible: There is always an in-between, an uncertainty, missing knowledge. My side is not correct and your side is not wrong, truth is on both sides. While it’s easy to say, it’s hard to act on: Being empathetic in heated situations, seeing purpose when everything seems empty, or noticing progress when stagnation feels permanent – it takes effort to spot and point at the grey areas. It is exhausting to discuss the subtleties and understand the intricacies of the in-between.
And still, sometimes it is necessary to treat things as if they were black and white, because otherwise we would still be discussing the shades of grey – as long as we are aware of the underlying simplifications. Maybe we should just do it as in modern photography: Take the picture in color, from purple to pink, from dark corners to bright skies, include all shades in between. And then: Edit and redact it, remove undesired colors, increase the contrast, do it careful, and you are left with a delicate black and white version of truth while knowing the steps you took to get there.

I am very happy how the images from today’s morning walk turned out: First, everything looked quite dull and I couldn’t find anything interesting. On my first passing of this field, where small water droplets gathered at the growing seeds, I quickly moved onward when the first pictures did not turn out as expected. I had the wrong settings and not enough patience to find an interesting perspective. Then, on my second passing on my way home, I tried it again and this time I did not want to give up. And after many, many failed attempts of pictures that only showed grass and water droplets, I was able (at least to some extent) to capture the beauty I was hoping to find: Small sceneries of nature in light and shadow that allow the imagination to roam free. Now, I not only see grass and water droplets, but I can see small individuals, I can see groups of fairy-tale characters, I can see them holding lanterns to find there way through illuminated towns in the dark between moon-lit flowers.

Purple Spring

Purple Spring

I couldn’t resist the weather today and had to go out, although only briefly, to search for the first flowers and bees. Our home town has had a historic temperature record: Within one week, the difference between highest and lowest measured temperature was at 41.9 degrees Celcius – and still some political camps haven’t even heard of climate change. On the positive side: I found not only flowers, but also several bees diligently collecting pollen. We also had the first visit of the violet carpenter bee on our balcony yesterday. We are hoping that she pays us as many visits as she did last year.

… or sunrise?

… or sunrise?

Being out at sunrise feels exciting. Nature awakes and prepares for the day, people jog in circles, in life and around the lake, traffic noises drown the early birds; and we stare and wait for the orange dot at the horizon. When it arrives, the frozen fog begins to shine, flowers begin to bloom, our cameras begin to click, and birds win the second round against the traffic. And then the excitement gives way to everyday life, routines are repeating themselves, and we join the others and continue our own circle, in life and around the lake.

Sunset …

Sunset …

Being out at sunset feels calming. Nature slows down and prepares for the night, people vanish from the streets, windows light up the city; and we relish the moment, above, reflect on the day, fool around with the last rays of a distant star, devour bread and cookies, and, for a moment, forget the before and after: we live in the present, love in the present, are in the present. Briefly after, it’s already over – darkness settles, cold air creeps under clothes, and we join the others, return from the moment, and prepare for a new week.

A New Beginning

A New Beginning

Spring ist here! After many days with lots of snow and up to -20 degrees Celcius, spring has arrived this weekend. The snow has melted, flowers are beginning to bloom, and nature is at a new beginning — and so is my little photo project. I am passionate about photography since half a year now and would like to share it somewhere aside from social media: For myself, for friends and family, and for everyone else who stumbles across it.