Photographing the Perseid Meteor Shower with the Fuji-X

August 16, 2015

Meteor Showers It’s hard to escape the hype around this year’s spectacular Perseid meteor viewing conditions. Despite a demanding travel schedule and the resulting laziness that sets in during breaks, I ended up driving to a somewhat remote location outside of Munich to photograph the Perseids meteor shower. Along with me was the Fujifilm X-T1, the excellent Fujinon XF 14mm F2.8 and my beloved Samyang 8mm F2.8 Fisheye. The Fuji X-Series in the field One of the things I absolutely love about the Fuji X-Series is the small size of the equipment. In the past, I logged around a huge and heavy bag filled …

Perseid meteor shower & light pollution

August 12, 2015

The Perseid meteor shower The famous Perseid meteor shower is supposed to be extra vibrant this year due to an exceptionally dark moon. Since I was not traveling for business, I took the opportunity to drive to a somewhat remote location outside of Munich. Unfortunately, I had to discover that even 30 miles outside of a city light pollution has reached a degree where you can barely see the milky way with your own eyes. One of the key lessons for astro photography I had learned in recent years is that you need to scout a location during day time. There …

A very busy summer

August 8, 2015

Busy summer Holy smokes – it’s been six months since my last blog post. Photography had to take a back seat due to an extremely busy spring and summer. Around 95% of my 2015 photos have been taken with a GoPro while running or biking. But I was lucky enough to get invited to help my friends out with a few photos for some very special occasions. And that’s about it. I am hoping to be back online in a few months from now. Enjoy your summer!

Starry nights over Anterselva

February 21, 2015

Starry nights A few months ago, I started experimenting with photographing the night sky. I had done a few ill-fated attempts at capturing star trails in the past. Inspired by the David Kingham’s eBook Nightscape, I managed to get some nice results while vacationing on Malta this past summer. Unfortunately, there are not that many opportunities in central Europe to get a clear night sky. Light pollution is all around us. I was therefore extremely excited to discover that our hotel on a recent XC ski trip to Anterselva in Italy was located in one of Europe’s darkest areas. Just a quick …

Photo Essay: The Canary Islands in Winter

January 5, 2015

Canary Islands If you want to escape the European winter there is a place that offers decent temperatures and very pleasant climate throughout the season. I am speaking about the Canary Islands. This beautiful spot sits right in the Atlantic not too far from Africa. The various islands owe their existence to a series of very active volcanoes. The landscapes range from luscious greens to dark lava fields and picturesque towns. Just a few days ago, I had the opportunity to travel to some of these gems on board the new German cruise ship ‘Mein Schiff 3’. Here is a …

Fall in Kitzbuehel – A short photo essay

November 2, 2014

Kitzbuehel – The Legend Downhill racers, mountain climbers, cyclists, jet-setters and paparazzi all get goose-bumps when they hear the name of the ubiquitous Austrian ski town Kitzbuehel. It’s a fairly small town nestled in the Northern part of the Alps (1.5 hrs drive from Munich). There are so many things that Kitzbuehel is famous for: the legendary Hahnenkamm downhill race, the legendary parties, expensive cars and famous people. It’s easy to forget that Kitzbuehel is also nestled amidst breathtaking nature. Last week, I had the pleasure to enjoy three amazing days in those wonderful town. Since I was alone with …

One easy way to improve your vacation photos

September 14, 2014

Vacation Photos Vacations are always an exciting time for photographers: lot’s of new and exciting stuff to explore and most importantly time to pursue your passion. However, many people return with disappointing results. I have certainly had my fair share of this. While there might be a bunch of pleasing compositions in the final album, many photos fail to impress. One of the main reasons for that is most likely related to light. The quality of a light plays a major role in the creation of a beautiful photograph. It’s an important element that is easy yet difficult to control. The …

Garmin Virb – Video quality

July 17, 2014

Garmin Virb Video A few weeks ago, I posted a review of the Garmin Virb action camera. While I mainly use it for taking photos during a run and or bike ride, most people are probably more interested in making videos. The purpose of this post is to expand on the review and to show a quick example of the video quality of this camera. Epic Cycling Most cyclists know that you sometimes experience rides that can only be categorized as ‘epic’. I am still savoring the memories of a bunch of those rides. Unfortunately, in the past it was …

The Friedensengel in Munich

July 14, 2014

Friedensengel One of the famous sights in Munich is the Friedensengel (angel of peace). It is a magnificent golden statue that was erected in 1899 to remember a 25 year period of peace earlier during that century. Two weeks ago I realised that I did not really have any decent photographs of this area and decided to try my luck. It was a beautiful summer evening and I wanted to use the blue hour to capture the array of colours ranging from lush greens, golden highlights and a blue sky. Scouting It was still bright when I arrived on site. …

Side, Turkey – A short photo essay

June 29, 2014

Side, Turkey A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to go on a short family vacation in Side, Turkey. It’s a popular tourist destination. While the myriad of giant hotel parks is not that easy on the eye, the town of Side offers some amazing views. It’s an ancient Greek settlement and you can therefore walk through a bunch of well-preserved ruins. The beaches are quite popular as well. Unfortunately, most of them are overcrowded. The only exception of that rule is a small stretch of sand I found close to the town. Evenings Evenings were cooler but our trip coincided …

A Garmin Virb Review

June 1, 2014

The Garmin Virb Action cameras are amongst the hottest items in the electronics market these days. The GoPro camera totally revolutionised the video segment and made action-oriented videography affordable and accessible. Since then many other companies have entered the market. One of them is Garmin – best known for their GPS devices. A little while ago, they released the Garmin Virb Elite action camera. The specs are probably not as impressive as those of the upper level Go-Pro models but Garmin allows you to connect any kind of ANT+ sensor to it. I hone a very pleasant addiction to running …

Going mirror less – Switching to Fuji X

May 24, 2014

Switching to Fuji X Wow. Big news. Still can’t believe that I actually did it. A few weeks ago I sold my entire Nikon DSLR equipment and have switched to the Fuji X system. After 20 years of being a loyal Nikon customer I finally decided to take a step into the future. Over the years, I had amassed a collection of lenses, flashes and small tools such as remotes, batteries etc.. Nikon had never let me down. As a matter of fact, I simply loved my Nikon D800. It is an amazing camera with probably the best possible image quality out there …

Fun with speedlights

May 12, 2014

Speedlights What to do on a cold, stormy and rainy early summer evening? Play with your photo equipment! Earlier today I read an interest blog post by Joe McNally. It is called ‘More Flash Play’ and Joe explains how to simulate the light from a computer screen. All you have to do is tape a piece of paper on the screen and then bounce a flash into it. It’s as simple as that. The dreary weather provided the perfect excuse to give this a try. The setup It took about 3 minutes to put my speedlights (2 Godox V850s) and …

Evenings in Norway

May 10, 2014

Travel A few weeks ago I had another business trip to Norway. Unfortunately, the meeting schedule forced me to travel in the afternoon of a public holiday. Drowning in self-pity, I decided to bring my Fujifilm X-E1 along with two lenses (18-55mm & 14mm) to at least have some fun in the evening of that holiday. The camera does fit nicely between the cracks of my carry-on suitcase. It was worth it. Temperatures hovered around 20C/ 70F and the sun didn’t set until 9:15pm. Aker Brygge The first evening I walked around the lovely Aker Brygge area by the water. It …

Spring at the Italian Lakes – Lago di Garda

April 25, 2014

Lago di Garda One of the benefits of living in Munich is the proximity to Italy. That’s why I jumped in the car two weeks ago and ended up at the beautiful Lago di Gard 3.5 hrs later. Lake Garda is located in the northern part of Italy. It is a popular destination for many Europeans. It’s easy to understand why: the area is simply stunning. While I spent most of my time on a road bike, I did have the opportunity to take a few photos here and there. While on the bike, I used a small Garmin Virb …

The Canary Islands

February 2, 2014

Beautiful Canary Islands A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to return to the Canary Islands in Spain. Together with my family and friends, we took a cruise around this beautiful area of Spain including the remote Portuguese island of Madeira. Once again, I left my beloved Nikon D800 at home to save some weight and brought the tiny Fuji X-E1 along, instead. Three lenses were in my small travel bag: The Fuji 18-55, 55-200, a Samyang fisheye and some filters. It was a good choice. Below are some of the results. Canary Impressions The Canary Islands never fail …