April 2021 – Page 2 – Passion for Photos

Nesting Blue Heron

Just across the road at the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge a number of Blue Herons were nesting. As I approached, trying to keep a tree between them and me, a few flew off. Kinda made me feel bad. This one stayed on and after a few shots I moved on as well.

Auf der anderen Straßenseite des Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge nisteten einige Blue Herons. Als ich mich näherte und versuchte, einen Baum zwischen ihnen und mir zu halten, flogen einige davon. Ich habe mich irgendwie schlecht gefühlt. Dieser blieb und nach ein paar Schüssen ging ich auch weiter.

A happy Guy

Walking through downtown Merced with two photographer friends we met this gentleman who allowed us to photograph him. He was quite talkative and he seemed to be a happy person. I wonder what happened in his life that he living in the streets.

Infrastructure

Rothenburgsort, Hamburg.

Perspektive

Dies ist die sogenannte “AutoUni”, eine Fortbildungs- und Forschungsstätte von Volkswagen und weiteren Partnern. Es ist ein sehr großräumig angelegter Campus. Diese Weitläufigkeit, aber auch die ungewöhnliche Architektur der Gebäude, habe ich versucht in diesem Bild einzufangen.
This is the so-called “AutoUni”, an advanced training and research facility run by Volkswagen and other partners. It is a very spacious campus. I tried to capture this spaciousness, but also the unusual architecture of the buildings, in this picture.

Tiefer gelegt

Bei strahlendem Sonnenschein bin ich heute ein bisschen herumgefahren und habe nach Fotomotiven Ausschau gehalten. Diese Fassade einer alten Molkerei ist mir aufgefallen. Irgendetwas mit der Tür stimmt nicht und die Kellerfenster sind nur noch zu erahnen. In früheren Zeiten muss die Straße deutlich tiefer gelegen haben. Wie der ursprüngliche Eingang wohl ausgesehen haben mag? Vielleicht gingen ja Treppenstufen nach unten.
In bright sunshine today I drove around a bit and looked for photo motifs. This facade of an old dairy caught my eye. Something is wrong with the door and the basement windows can only be guessed. In earlier times, the street must have been much lower. I wonder what the original entrance might have looked like. Maybe there were steps going down.

A Seat in the Shade

I stopped to rest at this beautiful rock bench while visiting the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona. The barbed spines of the cactus and the smooth branches and yellow blooms of the palo verde tree (the Arizona state tree) provided nice contrast and shade.

Julia and Pogo

Having worked on several occasions with Julia over a span of 5 years made it quite easy for me to achieve this result. Credits to Klaus Dyba for his photo of “Pogo”. I used in-camera JPEG black and white settings (Nikon Z6) and am really happy with the results.

Winter’s end

The time of the leafless trees will soon be over. For me, winter is a good opportunity to find hidden gems. And sometimes the distorted reflection of a leafless tree in a ditch leaves a spooky impression.

Reflection in a canal in Delft

Plant Shadows

I found this plant along the beach and I love the shape of the leaf shadows in this image as it creates some dimension throughout the photo. I thought that the black and white filter really makes the shadows stand out. Enjoy!

Shooting Stars

Shooting Stars are one of my favorite plants. They are usually found in abundance at the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada where you will find fields of them after the snow melts. but are uncommon in the foothills. I am not sure if they are two different varieties. When I do see them in this area, it is usually just a couple of plants and chances are they are mixed in with tall grass so are not easily seen. Enjoy and stay healthy and have a wonderful day.