02/25/2022
On Thursday, February 24, 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine in the early morning hours. There was no rational reason for the attack. The Russian government justified its criminal actions with a construct of lies. In the same evening the tower of the Sparrenburg was illuminated in the national colors of Ukraine.
Colors of Ukraine: Sparrenburg Castle #1
Colors of Ukraine: Sparrenburg Castle #2
Colors of Ukraine: Sparrenburg Castle #3
Colors of Ukraine: Sparrenburg Castle #4
Colors of Ukraine: Sparrenburg Castle #5
01/12/2022
I'm no different than most photographers. For the best possible image quality, you usually can't do without a large camera and a selection of no less large lenses. However, you don't always want to be on the road with heavy equipment. Then you have to make compromises, whether you like it or not.
For such cases, I like to use cameras like the Fujifilm X-T4 or the X-Pro3. Especially the latter is very compact and light. However, I have not had a really small lens for it. Therefore, after some hesitation, I bought the Fujinon XF 2.8 / 27 mm. Supposedly, the imaging performance should be quite good and it is so flat that camera and lens fit in a larger jacket pocket. On the last day of last year, the lens then arrived and I just went off without having a real plan. I landed on a site where fairs take place and also circuses pitch their tents. Now the circus Flic Flac was just on site. So here are the first two pictures I took with the Fujifilm X-Pro3 camera and the Fujinon XF 2.8 / 27 mm.
Circus in the town on New Year's Eve 2021 #1
Circus in the town on New Year's Eve 2021 #2
01/03/2022
We haven't had real winter yet in the last few weeks. No snow has fallen and the outside temperatures were below zero degrees Celsius only on a few days. What we had in the week before Christmas were a some days with very nice hoarfrost in the morning. This looked at least as beautiful as snow and I took the opportunity for a few photos.
I packed the Fujifilm GFX100S, a few lenses and a tripod and went to the park at the Johannisberg and Sparrenburg Castle.
Moonlight in winter park #1 (Johannisberg)
Silent winter night
Moonlight in winter park #2 (Johannisberg)
December morning at the Johannisberg #1
Hoarfrost covered trees at Sparrenburg Castle
View of the Kreuzstraße and the city center of Bielefeld
Dawn on the Johannisberg in December 2021
December morning on the Johannisberg #2
The white castle (Sparrenburg)
White city in December 2021
Stormy winter night at Sparrenburg Castle
12/26/2021
This year was then the second Christmas season under COVID-19 conditions. But at least this year there was a Christmas market again. With vaccination, testing and wearing a mask, it worked quite well. Nevertheless, I hope that next year the Corona spook is over again.
Where now the Christmas market took place, I strolled with the camera over it. I used again the TTArtisan 2.8 / 11 mm fisheye lens to capture the mood with a very large angle of view. Of course, you have to be careful that fisheye photography does not become a fad. But I think it worked quite well here and the results justify the use of this very special lens.
Christmas market at Altstäder Kirchplatz
Christmas market on the Alter Markt (Old Market)
Ferris wheel at Altstädter Kirchplatz
Sales booths on the Alter Markt (Old Market)
12/10/2021
An interesting option with modern mirrorless system cameras is that very many lenses can be attached to the cameras. Either with a suitable adapter or, if the manufacturer offers it, directly via a suitable bayonet mount. Even if no lens data is transferred and you can only work at working aperture, this works well.
A few months ago I bought a fisheye with a Fujifilm GFX bayonet. The TTArtisan 2.8/ 11 mm is quite cheap and only works in manual mode, autofocus is not supported and it also does not fully draw the image circle of the large GFX sensor. However, it has a surprisingly good imaging performance and in post-processing it is possible to correct the strong distortion that is typical for such a lens. Then you can use it like an extreme super wide-angle lens. What you have to bear in mind is that the correction costs quite a bit of resolution. On the Fujifilm GFX100s with its high resolution of 100 megapixels, you still get a very good image quality.
I went out with the lens very early in the morning. The following two pictures were taken at the 'Campus Handwerk' and Bielefeld main station.
December night at the Campus Handwerk
Dawn at the main station in December
10/12/2021
After photographing a lot at dawn and sunrise in the last few days, there are now pictures of mushrooms. Autumn is the perfect season for this and I have already found one or two beautiful mushrooms. All the photos were taken in or near the Teutoburg Forest.
The photos were taken with the cameras Fujifilm GFX 50R and GFX 100S and the lenses Fujifilm GF 4/ 45-100 mm and Fujifilm GF 4/ 120 mm Macro. I used an extension tube for some of the pictures.
Sulphur tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare)
Young Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) #1
Bay bolete (Imleria badia) in a pine grove
Amethyst deceiver (Laccaria amethystina) #1
Amethyst deceiver (Laccaria amethystina) #2
Young Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) #2
Orange-brown ringless amanita (Amanita fulva)
Parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) #1
Parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) #2
Fringed earthstar (Geastrum fimbriatum)
> Nature
10/10/2021
Here comes the second part of my dawn and sunrise series from the 'Johannisberg' with a view of Sparrenburg castle and the Bielefeld city center. The location is the same as in my post from October 1, 2021. The pictures were taken on September 30, 2021 early in the morning between 7:25 and 7:40.
The five images, just like the first part of the series, were made with the Fujifilm GFX 50R and the Fujinon GF 3.5/ 30 mm lens. I used a tripod.
Bielefeld at sunrise in late September 2021 #1
Bielefeld at sunrise in late September 2021 #2
Bielefeld at sunrise in late September 2021 #3
Bielefeld at sunrise in late September 2021 #4
Bielefeld at sunrise in late September 2021 #5
10/02/2021
In the west of Bielefeld, at the small garden colony 'Sieben Hügel' on the slope of the Teutoburg Forest, there is a parking lot. From here you have a particularly beautiful view of the city. Especially early in the morning the way there is worthwhile. The following two photos were taken on October 1, 2021. On this day we had a very beautiful morning red. The air was especially clear that morning and you can see all the way to the 'Wiehengebirge', a low mountain range on the border between the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The chimney in the picture belongs to the municipal utility of Bielefeld.
Western Bielefeld one hour before sunrise
Sky in flames over Bielefeld
10/01/2021
Last week I was once again up on the 'Johannisberg'. Now in autumn, the changeable weather always makes for beautiful cloud formations. In the morning early and in the evening you often have a particularly beautiful light.
My goal this morning was to photograph the different stages from dawn to sunrise. The following pictures were taken during the first stage. I will publish the pictures of the actual sunrise in a few days.
Bielefeld at dawn in late September 2021 #1
Bielefeld at dawn in late September 2021 #2
Bielefeld at dawn in late September 2021 #3
Bielefeld at dawn in late September 2021 #4
Bielefeld at dawn in late September 2021 #5
09/28/2021
From the Sparrenburg Castle you have a beautiful view of Bielefeld's city center. That's why there are countless photos from up there. So the perspective is not particularly original. However, we had very nice autumn weather in the past few days and I wanted to take advantage of that. Officially, the castle is accessible only from 9 o'clock in the morning. Sometimes, however, the gate is open all night if someone has forgotten to close it. So you can't rely on getting in as early as 6:30 in the morning. I was lucky that day. I think the result was worth photographing the old well-known motif once again. The light was really beautiful.
Dawn over Bielefeld
Towers of the Marienkirche
(St. Mary's Church)
Dawn over Bielefeld city center in September 2021
