Swim with tuna – your not so average adventure

September 10, 2017

The Adventure Have you ever experienced an adventure that gave you goosebumps thinking about? Once in a while, some of us are lucky and witness something truly unique. Something that will stick with you forever. Together with my family and our awesome friends from Portland, we did something that none of us had ever done before. There are only two places on this planet where you can do what we did. I am talking about swimming with tuna. Not just any kind of tuna but really big 400lb+ fish. The Malta Tuna Experience Malta is currently one of the two …

A beautiful morning at the Gozo Salt Pans

August 26, 2017

Roaming around the Mediterranean island of Gozo is a constant adventure. Despite the recent collapse of the ubiquitous Azure Window, there is still a plethora of treasures to be discovered. As a rule of thumb, unexpected beauty is always around the corner. If you travel to the town of Marsalforn in the North of the island, and head west along the coastal road you will suddenly find yourself in a surreal world of limestone waves on the left and a giant spiderweb of glistening salt pans cut into the stone on the right. It’s a stunning view especially with the …

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 …

Oktoberfest: The Pickpocket

September 24, 2016

The Oktoberfest Six years ago, I went to the Oktoberfest with my wife and one of our best friends who happens to be a photographer as well. We decided to bring our cameras and ended up taking some interesting photos throughout the evening. My favorite photo, however, was the one below: this couple in front of our table clearly had a few beers too many. It was hilarious to watch and there was no shortage of Kodak moments. All except for the one below remain hidden from the online world (I don’t think it would be fair to post anywhere). I …

The Red Bull 400 Race

August 28, 2016

Red Bull 400 Everybody who has seen a ski jumping facility in real life would agree that it’s an intimidating sight. Standing on top of the jump is even scarier. And let’s not even talk about actually jumping down. And then there is Red Bull who had a totally crazy idea about this: why not turn the ski jump upside down? Well, not literally. Sort of. They decided to initiate a race called Red Bull 400 during which you have to run up the entire slope of the ski jump. Sounds like fun? It’s only 400 meters (one lap on the …

Scandinavian Summer Days

May 26, 2016

There is something magical about summers up North. Sunrise is bright and early (no pun intended) and the evenings never seem to end. Earlier this week, I had to head up to Copenhagen and Oslo for business meetings. It was a pretty intense and rushed affair. But summers being summers in Scandinavia, days are longer than anywhere else and you get to enjoy life in the sunshine after you are done with your chores. Likewise, days start early: the sun rises shortly after 4am in Oslo right now. Endless days The first evening, my team and I went on a …

A day in Penang

March 8, 2016

Hidden Beauty – Penang Penang is a state & island in Malaysia right by the Strait of Malacca. Its capital George Town is characterized by a wonderful mix of old British colonial style, ethnical flair and modern construction. Walking around the narrow streets is an unrivalled experience. Malays, Chinese, Indians and others ethnical groups live peacefully right next to each other. A block of Chinese stores & homes seamlessly melts into an Indian section followed by gorgeous colonial houses. And then there are a plethora of beautiful temples from all religions. To be honest, it’s not a particularly clean city but it …

The Batu Caves

March 5, 2016

Batu Caves The Batu Caves is a series of well known limestone caves outside of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The caves and the exterior house a number of hindu shrines that are dedicated to Lord Murugan. The whole place is extremely impressive and one could easily spend many hours exploring and observing. Unfortunately, we only had an hour to spare and therefore had to rush through the Batu Caves. I highly recommend visiting this place.

Discovering Singapore

January 17, 2016

The Singapore Adventure Singapore is an amazing place for exploring and taking photos. I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in this beautiful city. As a passionate photographer, I often suffered from visual overload. There are just too many beautiful and interesting sites. Nightime in Singapor The city certainly offers a particular charm after sunset. While many of the motives have been covered by thousands of other photographers, I really enjoyed walking around with my tripod at night. The warm air paired with the feeling of a hustling & bustling place is truly intoxicating. The first photo …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Christoph Papenfuss Photography