Local Photography – Lake Spitzing

January 31, 2021

We sometimes don’t have to travel too far to witness awesome landscapes. There is a lot of beauty around us in Europe. But the closer you live to something the more you take it for granted. There is a tiny lake in the mountains close to our house. It’s called Spitzingsee. Situated at 1100m (3400ft), it offers some wonderful views. I got up early one morning to witness the sunrise and to hit the road with my bike before the daily visitors from Munich pour into the area. The light changed amazingly fast that morning. There were just 12 minutes …

Discovering Tenerife

June 30, 2018

Tenerife The Spanish Canary islands in the middle of the Atlantic are well known for their beauty, mild climate and easy access for tourists. Earlier this month, I took a few days to discover one of the largest islands in this archipelago: Tenerife. My main purpose was to bike but I could not resist to bring my camera, of course. The destination did not disappoint. On the contrary – I had a few days where the sheer beauty and the abundance of things to explore left me outright exhausted from visual overload (there are definitely worse things in life!). So …

Star gazing on Mt Teide

June 18, 2018

Mt Teide When is the last time you have taken the time to enjoy the night sky and do some star gazing? Probably not as of lately? If not, you should. And you should also bring your camera. Star gazing and astrophotography are activities that can provide you not only with an awesome experience but also some spectacular photographs. However, it has become somewhat difficult to enjoy a really dark night sky. Light pollution from our urban areas is rampant and most people have probably never seen the milky way as a result of that. But there are a few …

A postcard from Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

June 7, 2017

Cinque Terre Greetings from Riomaggiore, Italy. This is a wonderful town in the famous Cinque Terre national park in Italy. Just a quick postcard for today. A complete trip report will follow soon. The photo was taken with the Fuji X-T1, Samyang 12mm, f2 along with a Haida ND3.0 and the wonderful Singh-Ray warming polarizer. P.S.: I have been getting dirty looks from the plethora of photographers frequenting the five villages: my tiny and lightweight Fuji setup does not look pro compared to the motor enhanced Nikon D5s, Canon 1Ds etc.. Oh well… 😉

The Azure Window is gone!

March 8, 2017

A sad day Boy, what a sad day. Earlier this afternoon the world found out that the famous Azure Window in Malta is gone. It’s gone for good. RIP. A massive storm took this amazing piece of nature down to the depths of the ocean. I have a hard time expressing how sad I am about this. The Azure Window was one of the most iconic rock formations in the entire Mediterranean. It was a view that I could not get enough of. On some days, I would head out to Dwerja multiple times to view it in different lighting and ocean conditions. The …

The DJI Mavic Pro in the Canary Islands

January 14, 2017

DJI Mavic Pro As a photographer I have always been fascinated by aerial imagery. Getting a drone was therefore a tempting idea. However, until recently most drones were just too big to be practical. The popular DJ Phantom, for example, requires a full-sized backpack or suitcase. This is just not my style. Over the past few years, I have made every possible attempt to shed weight from my equipment which is why I sold all of my beloved Nikon cameras and moved to Fuji. Personally, I want my gear to be so compact and light that I feel compelled to …

The Benagil Sea Cave Adventure

November 10, 2016

Benagil Sea Cave The Algarve Coast in Portugal is an amazing place to visit. The beaches, coves and villages are simply stunning. As an added bonus, the whole coast line is littered with sea caves. Some are easy to visit, others not. Some or boring, others are gorgeous. One of these caves stands out, though. It is breathtakingly beautiful. You have probably seen pictures of it on the internet. I am speaking about the Benagil Sea Cave. You can find it close to a beach of the same name not too far from the tourist town of Armacao de Pera. Easy …

The Fuji X-T2 in Hallstatt

October 30, 2016

Hallstatt Take a gorgeous lake, put some mountains around it and build a scenic town with cobble stone streets & wooden buildings right on the slopes of the hills. What you get is Hallstatt. Hallstatt is probably amongst the most desirable places to visit in Austria. Its scenery and location is unrivalled for sure. Lucky for us, Hallstatt is just a short 2.5hr drive away from Munich. Fall has been kind to us and we decided to spend a day there. This was also an excellent opportunity for me to test the new Fuji X-T2. I have had the camera for …

Two amazing days in beautiful Slovenia

July 17, 2016

Gorgeous Slovenia Some things just don’t make sense on paper. But when you actually do them, they seem right. Last weekend, my family and I jumped in the car to head down to Slovenia to meet up with some good friends that we hadn’t seen in a while. It’s usually a 3.5h drive from Munich but summer traffic added a few traffic jams and hours. But boy….it was so worth it. To make it short: we love Slovenia. Lake Bled Our short adventure started in Bled. It’s a small town nestled between gorgeous mountains and a lake. It couldn’t be …

Part 2: A review of the Samyang 8mm f/2.8 fisheye for Fuji X

April 7, 2016

Over three years ago, I posted a review of the Walimex 8mm f/3.5 fisheye for Nikon. Since then I have sold all my Nikon gear and switched to the Fuji X system. Naturally, one of the first lenses I acquired was the Fuji version of the fisheye. Since the original article is still one of the most popular ones on this blog, I thought it might be time to write an update. Impressions: Samyang Fisheye for Fuji The Fuji version of the Samyang fisheye simply put represents an amazing value for the money that you pay. It’s awell-built lens and feels really …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Christoph Papenfuss Photography