Last Wednesday I went to see Christoph Chevallier at his work place. Christoph is my brother Basti’s former college room mate who went on to become an arborist. When these guys cut down a tree, they don’t just take out the chainsaw and saw it off. They strap on their harnesses, climb up into the tree and start taking it down branch by branch. It was cool to watch it, and I also got a shot out of it that I like.
Arborist Christoph Chevallier, of Freising, Germany, climbs on a maple tree to prepare it for felling at a construction site in Pasing by Munich, Wednesday, October 12, 2011.
October 15, 2011
Early last week, we got the cabin fever and wanted to get outside for some fresh air. It was Reunion Day, our national holiday, and a gorgeous late summer afternoon, so we decided to go on a hike in the beautiful Altmühltal, a nature park just around the corner from my home town. The river that used to meander through the valley has in part been replaced by the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, and with it a lot of the endemic species of both plants and animals went away. However, parts of the old river still remain; squeezed in between a former branch and a formation of impressive limestone cliffs is the medieval village of Essing – a scenery right out of a movie set.
Located on the cliffs above the village is the Castle of Randeck, which dates back to the 10th century. Monday, October 3, 2011.
The old city gate of Essing with the wooden bridge across the Altmühl river.
Fall has colored the trees lining the historic Ludwig's Canal southeast of Essing.
Bicyclists ride past a pedestrian underpass on the Altmühl bike trail.
The historic houses near the market square in Essing are dwarfed by the limestone cliffs that tower over them.
The sun sets over the historic Ludwig's Canal near Essing, the 150-year-old predecessor of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal.
October 10, 2011
Beth and I just went on a walk into the Kellnau, the fields behind our house in Abensberg. Sure enough it started pouring while we were out there, but we found shelter in a field of reed and managed to stay dry. On our way back, there was some amazing light when the sun broke through the clouds:
October 8, 2011
It has been awfully quiet on this blog for a long time now, and the silence has a sad reason. A week before Christmas Eve, a major tragedy hit my family. For the following weeks, I had absolutely no mind to think about photography or anything related to it. After the first shock had settled down somewhat and some important things were taken care of, I traveled back to Germany for two weeks to spend some time with my family. The days I had with my mother and my siblings were an amazing and important time to heal. Especially my little three-year-old niece Lisa with her innocent light-heartedness helped me a lot in my grief.
Photograph by Gabriele Berr
February 27, 2011