Enjoying nature and photography.
Bright beam of light within the night, a scenery in black and white. Dreams are extremes but, as it seems, color soaks in and strokes begin to rise and shine, a hopeful sign. Deceiving thoughts, are leaving spots, and what is left is sparse: unite and fight for what is right, do not incite, do bring delight.
Who doesn’t like Top Ten lists? Admittedly, I couldn’t resist and here is a list of mine, however, it doesn’t contain ten elements. Instead, I have searched the archives for my favorite pictures from the last 12 month – because today it’s this blogs first birthday.
Morning Gymnastics
Two geese, Hometown.
Morning mist & our local pond: A perfect match.
Nestling
A small pine, Harz.
The mystical Harz mountains. One of my early pictures and, until today, probably the best conditions I have ever had in Harz.
Protected
Bee in action, Hometown.
Looking forward to the time of the year when nature is coming alive again.
The Dream
Toad on migration, Harz.
Also in the Harz mountains, in one of the most remote regions. I was quite excited when we saw a single toad on our hike. An hour later there were so many that it became difficult not to step onto one.
Delicate
Poppy flower, Hometown.
One of my goals for this year: Photographing more poppies!
Closing the Circle
Sunset ICM, Hometown.
Spirals in a sunset, warm and cold swirling around each other, as night greets day.
Duck
Duck, Hometown.
Not much else to say here.
Triplet
Three dead spruces, Harz.
It took longer than expected to find this composition of trees during the first snow of the winter.
Parabola
Birch tree catching light, Hometown.
A single birch tree catching the first rays of light in front of the dark forest.
Travellers
Geese, Hometown.
The geese at our local pond during autumn: Every morning flocks of birds start off into the unknown.
Group Picture
Birch trees, Solling.
This makes me wanna photograph more woodlands; unfortunately, fog is rather rare around here.
Rising Clouds
Woodlands, Harz.
Perfect conditions as far as photography during noon goes. Rising clouds and snowy spruces came together.
Companion
Sandpiper, Denmark.
Cuddly, fluffy, tiny.
Lines
Retreating waves, Denmark.
First and only time so far that I have photographed the ocean; looking forward to going there again.
Backlit
Common Blue, Bavaria.
There are many variations of this picture in my archives. This monochromatic one has become one of my favourites.
Aspirations
Three eucalyptus trees, Madeira.
Besides birches, I fell in love with eucalyptus trees: their red bark in contrast to the green leaves and the shape of their branches is wonderful.
Mountain Ranges
Rofan mountains, Alps.
The colors and mood of a sunrise in the mountains cannot be communicated with photos.
Delicate Connections
Water droplets on grass, Hometown.
Two single droplets of water and fine spider webs form an abstract imagery.
Approach
Soldier beetle, Hometown.
Patience, patience, patience. I am looking forward to the day where I can sit and wait in nature as long as I want, without obligations waiting around.
Ordered Chaos
Beech trees in fog, Hometown.
Our local woodlands in late Autumn. I had been waiting for fog for a long time and when it finally arrived, I spent a whole morning outside exploring new paths.
Simplicity
Blossoms of a cherry tree, Hometown.
One of the simplest shots one could make.
Fairytale
Woodlands ICM, Near Hometown.
One of the (very) few times we got snow this winter. We explored some woods close by for the first time as the morning sun unfolded.
The Conversation
4 geese, Hometown.
Four geese on a landing stage enjoying the first rays of warm light, chatting about the happenings of past week.
Cold White Christmas World
Winter, Harz.
Starry night, cold air.
Commander
Group of trees, Madeira.
It were definitely the harshest conditions I shot in this year: Rain pouring down, wind sweeping across the land.
Seagull Portray
Seagull, Madeira.
The palette of colors and ocean in the background is what makes me like this one.
Crooked Heart
Highland cattle, Hometown.
Finding piece in a single picture.
Falling Into Place
At a levada, Madeira.
25 springs are welling right next to this waterfall. A special place and, sadly, quite crowded because of it.
Reminiscence
Sunset, Brocken.
Compositionally quite boring; but a special one to me, because it was a delightful evening trip with my parents.
One of the last exercises in an introductory course to programming I teach is to implement a straight-forward approach for modeling population growth over discrete time steps with a logistic growth function: The population x of a species at time t+1 is determined as x(t+1) = r * x(t) * (1-x(t)) where x(t) is the population at time t, and r is a fixed reproduction parameter. The choice of r influences the long term behaviour of the resulting time series – thus, the growth of the species population; for example, for r < 1, the series tends towards zero – the species goes extinct. However, for r > 3 the series oscillates – it exhibits a periodic behaviour (for some values of r the series even becomes seemingly random without a fixed period, see e.g. here). The length of the period depends upon r, but it never reaches an equilibrium; like a pendulum, swinging around its only stable position in the middle. Like life pulsating between non-steady positions, but never reaching a balanced state.
Oscillations are present constantly. The term (1-x(t)) models the environmental restrictions that prohibit unlimited growth. Restrictions which prevent us to come to a rest. The fantasy of a steady state is a futile one. There are times where a stable position seems in reach; until external restraints pull us back into another direction. At the moment, it’s the direction of work; and hence, photography and blog posts are somewhat neglected. Winter already fades again, making way for summer. Left are only some solitary pictures of oscillating camera movements and colorless nature.
Peace is comfortable. Conflicts only appear in the newspapers – neither in our streets, nor in our reality. But out there is war. And with every day we keep ignoring the climate crisis it comes closer. Climate refugees knock on our doors right now – and there will be more. And even though the conflicts haven’t even reached us yet, I am not fighting for what I believe: Basic human rights. The right to use our only chance on life. A chance that we could provide rather easily right now. Instead, I repeatedly choose comfort over action. Security over uncertainty. Every life lost in the Mediterranean, at the British Channel, at the Polish border, is lost forever. And even worse: the tide may turn. When it’s not a handful, but millions who seek shelter, water, food. Will there be a time where we have to defend what we have? Where we have to flee ourselves? So, sometimes, I engage the thought: Fight, flight, freeze? What is it worth fighting for? Would I fight? And why not now?
This topic deserves a longer post, I guess. But there is little time (another excuse to not fight right now…). Anyway, I like this selection of photos. Although they are from two different walks at two different lakes around here, they fit together: The combination of light and dark, the muted colors, the mood they reflect – nature during these early winter days. White and black, peace and war.
If finding an exact solution is not possible, perturbation theory provides a framework to build upon a known solution for a simpler problem. The resulting perturbation series can then be utilized to approximate the solution to the original, more complex, problem. If a simple picture does not work, perturbing it might result in the emergence of previously non-existent forms that produce structure. Thus, the more complex procedure while taking the photo can result in pictures of greater simplicity.
You can start with action.
A good friend.
Motivation is the beginning. It entails action, which gives positive feedback and, in turn, boosts motivation. Without motivation, there is no action – it’s a (sometimes vicious) cycle.
Or is it? I got reminded recently: the cycle can start anywhere.
I have been ill at home for two weeks. The internet showed me some ad of an artist who photographed plain paper. Admittedly, it looked quite boring. I had no motivation, but I started with action.
Paper ready. Tape ready. A white kitchen table, a north-facing window. No idea what to do. The first hundred pictures are absolutely unusable:
I figure out that pointing the camera down doesn’t work in this setup. I thought it could be nice, but it isn’t. Photographing at a slanted angle with respect to the light, together with a darker background, seems more interesting. Still, there isn’t happening much in the next series of tries:
I already had the aperture wide open, but I didn’t place the paper correctly. I figure out that it gets better if only the edge of the paper is in focus. Then, the rest of the paper creates attractive effects in light and shadow:
I am lowering the angle – parallel to the surface of the table. Minimizing or preventing the reflection seems more tidy. I can also increase contrast by using a black fabric behind the paper. Finally, I am getting something I enjoy. I wipe the first SD card to start all over:
Go closer, omit everything unnecessary, any distractions. Clean and simple.
Some last experiments to keep in mind for the next session: Playing with the foreground and using multiple papers. Now, I am motivated:
Deep within the shadows, the important details are hidden: in photography and in discussions.
Discussions are complicated as they require constant inclusion and exclusion. Often, the details are hidden in the shadows; but every detail is as important as the highlights. For example, the two items that are critical for a discussion are the two missing items, that which is missing and the reason for the absence of that item. This is one of the problems that we face in our discussions: What is the Missing Thing?
I am also curious about what else is in the shadows. What other issues are we missing? Why are we not seeing them? What is in the shadows that we do not see? The discussion is on the edges. The motives are unknown. The evil is lurking in the shadows, and the hatred in the hearts of those who know not good from evil. The evil is out there. The problem is that the evil is in all of us. There is a darkness in us that does not understand good and evil. There is a darkness in us that knows not the difference between right and wrong. There is a darkness in us that does not see the light. There is a darkness in us that only sees itself.
It is the nature of shadow to not be quite there. The shadows of photography are what can make a picture: a collection of still moments frozen in time. And for this reason, the use of shadows is a powerful technique that must be used judiciously. Shadows can be very useful, but they can also be very misleading, especially when used without understanding their nature and proper placement. Shadows can be the cause of serious, even fatal, issues in photography. When used wisely, however, shadows can make a photograph interesting and unique.
The hidden picture is just as important as the clear one. To the rest of us, the detail is, if not irrelevant, at least a waste of time. So why even talk about it? Why even photograph it? But if it is hidden and you cannot see it, it is not really there. This is the paradox of hidden details.
All non-italic text in this post has been automatically generated by a computer program, based on the first sentence.
A triplet of brief thoughts about photography:
Someone recently told me that she doesn’t like the ‘blurred’ images I have started to share frequently. For a moment, I was a little taken aback. But actually, by now, I am pleased she told me. It reminded me that I picked up photography for myself. I think some of these images are among the best I have taken so far. Others are among the worst. I greatly enjoyed taking all of them, and I find great pleasure looking at them: Blurring the line between reality and fiction.
When I started photography I had no plans, no vision. Now, I have countless. And it has gone far beyond the plain attempt to depict some sort of reality or to take holiday photos. It’s way more: abstract, documentary, emotional, attractive, engaging. Blurring the line between photography and art.
In the beginning, I thought that light plays one of the most important roles in photography – and sure, it’s important to a certain extent. But by now, I’ve seen the most incredible pictures from all conditions imaginable. And I, myself, can go out in most conditions these days and come back with something that might work. Sometimes, blurring the line between light and shadow.
Colored rain, bright stars. Opposing forces – flapping wings: Two kings in darkness.
Let me set the stage for a challenging act of balance:
A thin wire rope stretches between two poles. Right in the middle: the artist, high above the ground. Elegant, delicate, confidant. He must maintain balance, otherwise a deep plunge will end the performance quite abruptly. The artist firmly wraps both hands around a long rod; by doing so, he can compensate oscillations of rope and body. Looking straight ahead, knees slightly bent, there is only one way to finish this act of art: Walk forward, maintain balance, reach the save pole, relax; and turn around because the way back awaits.
But two opposing forces disturb the performance – while the actor is confident in his skills, his balancing rod causes imbalance: Attached to one side are his own aspirations, causing a slight, but constant, tilt towards the left. On the other side of the rod are the well-intentioned demands of the spectators pulling him towards the right. In order to survive, own intentions and the will of the spectators need to be integrated to accomplish the feat.
The feedback is essential to learn and improve; but own aspirations are important to maintain motivation and the drive to create. Balance between both has to be maintained. Asking two persons will give you three opinions – and then there is your own as well.
I became aware, that the noise of many will point you in all possible directions. But the voice of a few will show you the right path. So, listen to honest feedback of trusted ones whose only goal is your own success. But sometimes, only yourself can know what is appropriate and how balance can be maintained from start to finish – and all the way back.
Punkt im Dunkeln