We recently came back from a two-week trip with Flo and Corinna to the island of Elba in Tuscany, Italy. Even though it wasn’t the expected fry-in-the-sun-at-the-beach vacation because of the chilly spring-time weather, it was a great trip. May is wild flower season in Tuscany and the entire island was exploding with colors. We went on several hikes and saw places that I have never been to in the thirty years that I’ve visited this island now. Below are a few impressions of the Elban spring.
Flo and Corinna feed the sea gulls on the ferry from Piombino to Porto Ferraio, Elba, Sunday, May 13, 2012.
Lichen and two-colored rock work together to create an abstract painting on the Percorso del Monserrato hiking trail in Porto Azzurro, Wednesday, May 16, 2012.
Looking East from our roof terrace across the sea to the Italian main land, Saturday, May 19, 2012.
Beth celebrates her birthday at L'Aquila (the eagle) just off the pilgrims' church of Madonna del Monte above the village of Marciana, Friday, May 18, 2012.
A huge agave spreads its leaves at the Percorso del Monserrato hiking trail.
Flo hikes up the Percorso Pietre Rosse trail from Cala Del' Inferno beach in Rio nell'Elba.
Pine trees cast their shadows on the grass underneath at Mount Calamita, Capoliveri, Tuesday, May 22, 2012.
Flo, Beth and Corinna take a break after hiking up the steep and strenuous trail to Monte Strega, Rio nell'Elba, Monday, May 21, 2012.
Rosaries, photographs and other offerings are lined up on a wall inside the Madonna del Monte pilgrims' church above the mountain village of Marciana, Friday, May 18, 2012.
Flo, Corinna and Beth fool around while watching the sunset atop L'Aquila in Marciana, Friday, May 18, 2012.
June 3, 2012
I’ve been playing around with panoramas lately, first on my phone and then with my “real” camera. I liked some of the results made with the phone, but the native Android camera – which in my opinion makes the best panoramas – only saves tiny files that aren’t large enough to print. At my brother’s birthday, I took a series of pictures with my M9 that I wanted to turn into a panorama later, but then I forgot about them and they cought digital dust on my hard drive.
Yesterday, while cleaning up my computer, I found a panorama software that I bought a while back and remembered the pictures I took at Basti’s birthday. It didn’t take long to stitch the ten images together, and I think for a quick shot from the hip the result is really presentable. What I really like about it is that it doesn’t scale down the final panorama so that I can make large prints from the files. I will definitely play around more with this program in the near future. Stay tuned!
May 9, 2012
Two weeks ago, Beth and I finally made it to Bayreuth to visit my brother Hansi, his wife Katrin and my two adorable nieces Lisa and Clara. It was only the second time that I got to see Clara, who was born in May last year while we were still in the States. Even though I didn’t notice it while I was shooting, I found when I went through the take that most of my pictures of that weekend are of Clara. I guess I’ll just have to go back to Bayreuth and take some more pictures of Lisa…
March 15, 2012
Last Friday, Uwe and I went on a hike in the mountains around lake Tegernsee about an hour and a half south of Munich. We started out in Bad Wiessee and hiked up to the Aueralm, where we took a long break to dry our cloths and warm our bones by the fireplace. It was ice cold and there was a lot of snow, which I had already given up on seeing this winter.
February 12, 2012
