For Susana

I am fortunate. I know a lot of very creative people and successful artists. I have even had the honor to help train some of them. There is one woman though who is really unique in that she is a successful commercial and fine artist and she is successful in multiple disciplines.She is in some respects my teacher because she has gotten me to change the way I view different photographic subjects.

Frequently when my wife and I go off on assignment together…hey it’s still an assignment even if we assign it to ourselves, we find certain views and look at each other and say, “Oh that’s an image for Susana.” We found a few on our junket through Europe and so here is the first image for Susana.

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For Susanna #1

For Susanna #1

Speed Dreams

My wife and I both took too many images inside the BMW Museum in München. We talked later how compelling it was. The museum was so beautiful and the displays so complete the photography was almost a compulsion. In most museums you can’t take photos and in most who would want to. I don’t need a picture of a painting hanging on a wall and the glare off the frame thank you very much.

It should have been the same here, I mean how many images of engines do you need? Yet the displays were perfect and you could feel the speed.You could tell by watching the people. We would pause, stare at a car or motorcycle. You could see the fantasy play over our eyes, we were IN the car, feeling the speed and oh yes it was good.

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speeddreams

speeddreams3

Speed Dreams

Speed Dreams

A View from Prague Castle

Prague Castle is the largest castle in the the world. It is more like a small city than just a Castle. There is a cathedral, two churches, streets with shops and cafes and at least two large garden and park areas. Currently the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic lives there so there is also a large military presence. This view was taken looking south from the upper garden.

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The view from Prague Castle

The view from Prague Castle

A Palace Near the Castle

Heidelberg Castle is a essentially a ruin in the Rhineland section of Germany. It sits on top of a hill overlooking the town of Heidelberg and dates back to 1214. In 1294 a second castle structure was joined to the first. However in 1537 a lightning bolt destroyed part of the castle and later in 1764 the rebuilt section of the castle was also destroyed by lightning.

In a future post I will post pictures of the castle but as I waited in line to take pictures of the view of Heidelberg from the castle. I noticed to the left this beautiful structure. The guides didn’t talk about it, nobody else seemed interested in it but I wondered what the story was behind this beautiful palace that was just below the castle with the same magnificent view.

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The Palace near the Cstle

The Palace near the Castle

Rhine Church Three Ways

I cannot decide which version of this image I like the most. Once again the digital dark room makes it in some ways harder to make decisions. In a real darkroom, I probably would ave not wasted the chemical, paper and time to make multiple prints but the digital darkroom makes it easy to create multiple versions and hard to choose just one. Which do you like better?

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Original

Original

Color Edited

Color Edited

Monochrome

Monochrome

Vines along the Rhine

As we left Holland and cruised down the Rhine River we would sit on our veranda or the sun deck and see grapes being harvested on the sunny bank of the river, sometimes to port and sometimes to starboard as the river gently turned. In the heart of Germany these vines produce the Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines that are famous in the region. We saw people hand harvesting the grapes the way they probably have for hundreds of years.

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Vines along the Rhine

Vines along the Rhine

Köln Out of the Ashes

I was excited to visit Köln (Cologne). I had heard it was one of the best cities in Germany but I was more impressed withe Heidelberg, München and the smaller towns we visited. Maybe it was the guide that we had. She was the worst guide of our excursion. Maybe it was because the city was bombed to almost oblivion so it didn’t have the architectural diversity of other cities. Maybe it was the cold and dreary day that we were there.

The cathedral,Kölner Dom was magnificent however and was not bombed during the war. It goes back to the year 1270 and is one of the oldest cathedrals in the world and the most visited historic building in all of Germany. The walkway along the Rhine River is also quite a lovely place for a walk or bike ride. This picture was taken from the river walk.

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Köln Cathedral

Köln Cathedral

Dutch Clouds

The first two times I went to the Nederlands (Holland) I visited only Amsterdam. We did rent a car and visited Castle country but it was a gray rain filled day. Even the day we went to the Keukenhof Gardens was stormy. On this trip we started in Amsterdam but then took a river cruise and the second day we woke up in Kinderdijk Nederlands and finally learned the meaning behind the expression Dutch Clouds

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Dutch Clouds

Dutch Clouds

Marksburg Castle above Braubach Rhineland

Along the Rhine River is a stretch known as the Rhine Gorge which is a UNESCO world heritage site. Forty castles line both sides of this section of the river. Marksburg is the only castle that was never destroyed and sits above the town of Braubach. The castle is not at all “lush” like the Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. It was never used as a residence but rather was a defensive fort. During times of war the Baron’s family would live in the castle along with the knights and horses used for battle.

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Marksburg Castle

Marksburg Castle

View of Braubach. from Marksburg Castle

View of Braubach. from Marksburg Castle

Windmills of Kinderdijk Nederlands (UNESCO Site)

The Windmills of Kinderdijk are along the Rhine River in Holland south of Amsterdam. They are used to manage water and eliminate flooding and have been in existence since the 15th Century. The name of the town means “children’s dike” and refers to a folk tale that after the a great flood when they went to access the damage they saw a cat in a child’s cradle jumping to maintain the balance of the cradle. As the cradle drifted to shore they found a baby inside the cradle. This is the source of the folk tale, “The Cat and The Cradle”.

Although some of the windmills are still used, the main water works are provided by two diesel pumping stations near one of the entrances of the windmills site.

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Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk