Home Again

We have just arrived back from Winona where I was visiting my sister, and taking the opportunity to shoot classic styled photographs in a very old city as well as write about the wonderful attractions there.

For the trip I shot principally with my Argus C3 Rangefinder on Fuji Neopan Professional and was developed using my Caffenol Method .

The first batch will be up shortly, please enjoy. Foto Des Tages and Technik Der Woche will resume next week.

Locks, Dams, and Hights: Winona

Winona has continued to surprise me everyday I have spent here. The other day when I posted I talked about the attractions that would make photographing this city excellent, now I can add a few more.

Locks and Dams

Locks and Dams are a common, and prominent part of this area, and I didn't have to go far before I ran into one along the interstate. These locks are constantly in use so shooting a barge coming through is absolutely no problem. We stopped at two and both times a barge was entering or exiting the lock. I wish we had been there during better lighting conditions however such things happen when traveling with family.

State Parks

State parks are very prominent in this area, and fairly easy to get to. We stopped at Great River Bluffs State Park and John Latsch State Park, where I was able to capture quite amazing vistas from atop the bluffs. Be warned that John Latsch State Park is really a massive staircase up a bluff, that required more than a few stops along the way up. However at the top we were rewarded by an expansive vista. Most of the state parks in this area are fairly small and are easily navigable.

Arrival In Winona

I find myself writing this in a stange place. Having lived in Minnesota my entire life, I thought I knew what I was getting into when traveling to this part of Minnesota... I was quite wrong, and presently so. Winona is surrounded by a vast landscape of towering bluffs all the way along the Mississippi river.

Having only arrived late yesterday evening I can only attest to strange messing of rustic brick architecture mixed alongside a modern society. When presenting to you the Caffenol photo series I showed you rustic archetecture located across from Duluth in Superior Wisconsin. I am surprised by the striking similarities between the city of Winona, and the city of Superior. It seems the entire city was built upon brick.

However writing about Winona and my trip here is not why I am posting this here. I want to talk about the rich, photography opportunities this strange city offers.

Architecture, lifestyle, and the river are key to this city. Should you come here to shoot, take advantage of the unbelievablely rustic architecture captured downtown. You might be surprised by the nightlife, and the culture hidden here. Every Wednesday in the summer a band plays in the band shell along Lake Winona, while citizens have the chance to go Canoeing, Kayaking, or Paddle Boating. All of which seem to offer an excellent chance to capture people in there day to day life, or classic American architecture.

The photo pictured above is the Garvin Heights Observatory from which you can capture the city in all of its spender. When I took this shot this morning the weather was providing an interesting haze, almost a fog over the area perhaps adding a little to the shot. I however have no access to photoshop during this shoot so this photo is uploaded as is.

I will post more on this city when I can.

One Week Intermission: Bis Später

Unfortunately I will not be able to write my calm collected, daily, weekly, and monthly posts that may have been do this coming week. I  am helping a family member move in to the south eastern part of Minnesota, this trip will leave little room for writing, let alone posting.

It is a beautiful area, and I will post when I can during the week, however I may have to do so away from my machine, making posting to this blog nearly impossible.

I of course will post many of the images I take on the trip, and build ammunition for the photo of the day.

Posts that will be affected

1. Foto Des Tages ~ Photo Of The Day


2. Technik Der Woche ~ Technique Of The Week


3. Rolle Des Monats ~ Roll Of The Month (Film Role)

As A last note because of my new found ability to develop film in a matter of hours I will be discontinuing the Rolle Des Monats, and introducing a new category Analog

Till next Saturday!

Foto Des Tages: On Hold For Weekend

I will be going on a nice vacation for the weekend so foto des tages will be put on hold until monday. I will post photos for the days I was gone when I get back. Time for a break, and a chance to recharge the photo stores.

The End Of Monthly Photo Of The Day Themes

I am ending the the monthly theme for photo of the day, mostly because, I am getting really bored with flowers. From here on out I am going to be shooting what ever I damn well please. Thanks alot. I know this will put a damper on the recap idea I had earlier, however I will only pick the best out for a non featured recap.

A Fellow Photographer

Just today I received a comment from a good friend of mine, Marcus Langevin, whom has just started a photo blog here on wordpress.com . He hasn't posted much of his work yet, however having seen many of his shots in person, I can tell you he has great talent.

I ask anyone interested to go check out his photo blog marcuslangevin.wordpress.com

Advice

No matter how I feel about the advice I ask for I always have to take it, I may defend my opinion but ultimately it will come down to advice is advice for a reason, if you admire the persons work, who's giving said advice, its best to take it, as they have the objective eye.

I want to thank Ula Kapala of Cropping Reality, for some great advice.

Introduction Of A Watermark

I have just introduced a watermark to my latest photo of the day. I would love to know what you, my followers think of it. Is it too large or too visible?

Equipment Begins To Arrive

I just wrote a post about a new lens I have
added
re-added to my collection, on my blog by using a pentax k-mount to micro 4/3rds adapter. This however wasn't the only equipment to begin arriving. I also recieved a replacement lens cap (I lost mine), and a Tiffen (their cheap and half decent) Uv lens protector. I have yet to recieve another Uv filter and a nice 5 in 1 reflector.

Some Explanation

I have my photo of the day, but that doesn't give me the opportunity to tell my story about my photo shoots, as often as I would like. Not only that I am quite busy at this time of the year.

When I started shooting for this blog, I began producing more viable photographs than ever before. I found that having a theme, to fulfill for each series has made shooting more interesting, but also relates the photos, making them into a collective story.

I extended this to the "photo of the day" in that I started with a lomograph styled photograph, and I didn't stop, I like the idea of releasing images everyday and then releasing them as a series. It does lead to some issues with comments as visitors have to comment on the photo post rather than the photo itself.

So what do you think. Should I release the photo of the days for a month-long theme as a gallery? Or should I leave it be.

Back From Duluth!

We must make a trip two hundred and sixty miles to Duluth where we have to maintain our cabin. While there I have the opportunity to shoot hundreds of photos I might not normally be able to take.

On this particular trip I took over three hundred and fifty shots eventually running out of space on both of my 4GB SDHC cards. I think a 16GB Class 10 SDHC might be in order.

I will be starting of the summer with a series titled "Jetzt Ist Sommer."

Photo Of The Day Challenge

After seeing more and more photo blogs that just post beautiful images every day I though hey, why don't I do that? No I can't physically shoot everyday for a photo, but I can sure as heck go through my rather large catalogue of images and transform on of them into a photo of the day worthy image. I am incredibly busy, but I think I can manage 15 minutes of editing, for the next 30 Days! We'll have to see what happens!

June Arrives: Atmospheric Series Takes Off!

I am currently working on fairly secretive series that will be unveiled at the end of the year. To be fair it is going to have something to do with the atmosphere and the seasons.

The Spring Has Sprung series has been updated with the latest images, and a summer series is on the way! Expect travel related shots and of course more macro.

Tobias

Duluth April 2011

Upon arriving in Duluth we went out for coffee, a common request in my family, the coffee shop we head to automatically is far out of the way of many other far more obvious ones however the quality of the coffee at the Chester Creek Café is to die for. However that isn't the only reason we go there. The Chester bowl is located only a few blocks away. This huge pit in the ground holds a small water fall that at this time of year gushed forth without reprieve to get caught in the water would mean certain... mortal injury. However with in minutes I was done. I had been here before and under better lighting conditions as well. The even cloud diffused light had begun to give way to the power of the sun which commenced to dissolving any hope of a well lit shot. With the appearance of the sun my family gave a short cheer, as it was something we hadn't seen often back home over the last four weeks. Long drawn out shadows began forming amongst the high standing buildings of establishment hanging above my head. A new strategy was in order.

The Spring Series

Recently I began work on a series of photographs taken under natural light and in a classic style of black and white. Thanks to digital post production I was able to refine the classical theme I was going for. Really I was attempting to replicate the classic gritty high contrast  black & white photos that made photography famous.

The idea for the series was based upon the frustration I've been having twords our spring weather or lack there of. My region has been locked in stasus by the consistant cool weather and lack of sun. The ever present precipitation has has the added benefit of screwing with my creative mind. In compromise I figured that black and white photography as well as monetizing on the rich earthy tones brought out by the utter lack of foliage as well as developing a constant style in a portfolio filled with inconsistency.

So with out further distraction why don't you take a look. Monochrom

Willkommen

First of all you may have noticed the title of this blog and though this guy can't spell worth crap. Well your wrong, I can't spell worth crap in German, or for those of purer spirits im Deutsch.

Ich bin ein Amerikaner von Deutsch Abstammung.  Ich Kann ein bisschen Deutsch Sprechen, aber ich möchte zu verbessern.

Which translates easily into:

I am an American of  German decent. I speak a little German, but wish to improve.

This is the reason for the title of "Mein Portfolio"