Northern Lights, May 10/11th, 2024

In the night from May 10th to 11th, we got the strongest northern lights since 20 years here in Germany and even more southerly down to Greece and Spain. I always wanted to travel to Norway to see them, but in that night we got them here at home. My buddy Manu called me around 10:30 pm to come out and as I pressed the shutter and saw the first image coming to light, I was blown away, almost shaking of excitement. And that was just the beginning of what was yet to come. The show went on until midnight and it looked like it was over, but we’ve been too excited just to leave. Around 00:45 am, the lights started to come out again and the real show set in. Now the colors ranged from pink to red, from green to blue and purple. They also have been all over the place from west to east, up to the zenith, with ever changing patterns and a rare phenomenon called RAGDA  (Red Arc with Green Diffuse Aurora). Around 02:00 am I went out on my own to the hop fields to see if I could find some nice foreground for the lights. The aurora wasn’t that colorful as before, but very pinkish and too good to leave and going to bed – not that night. So I tried a star trail shot with northern lights and even the ISS came by at 02:52 am. After five hours of straight shooting and an overdose of excitement I went back home around 03:30 in the morning. Maybe a once in a lifetime experience. Enjoy!

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Great display of northern lights around 11:00 pm…

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Changing patterns…

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Just a prelude to what was to come…

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The colors intensified…

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…and all of the sudden, around 00:45 am, the sky exploded from west to east in all different colors…

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So-called RAGDA to the right…

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The peak of the show around 01:15 am, with a RAGDA to the left…

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The lights reached all up to the zenith…

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Again RAGDA to the left…

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Around 01:30 am the scenery became ‘normal’ again, but what is ‘normal’ in such a night…

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A ten-minute single star trail shot above my beloved hop fields…

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And on top f it, the ISS came by visiting, composite of five images…

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Liguria, Italy, Easter 2024

It became a tradition of mine heading to Italy during the Easter holidays, this time accompanied by my son Lukas. We had some mixed weather during the first couple of days, but which led to lots of unexpected photo opportunities. The main goal was watching the famous Good Friday procession in Savona which is led every two years in years ending with an even number, but due to Covid-19 they changed it, so the next one will be held in 2025. A good reason for coming back next year…Italy never dissapoints! Enjoy!

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Thelma Beach on an overcast and windy day…

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Lost place up in the Ligurian Mountains, full with graffiti on a cold and rainy day…

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We couldn’t see the Good Friday procession, so instead we did some night sightseeing in Savona…

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Cultural education is important while visiting different countries, I just love art…

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Boars coming down from the mountains at nights grazing along the Letrimbo river, unimpressed by traffic, noise and people. While sitting outside my van late at night, after the not taken place procession and some sightseeing in Savona, I saw some shades coming closer down at the river bed. Never expected I would see some wild boars coming along. I shot this image with my new Canon R6II at ISO 102400, handheld, and let it run through LR’s ‘Denoise’. An image quality with that high ISO I would have never thought of possible. What a night…

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There are not to many spectacular spots along the Ligurian Coast driving west from Genoa towards the French border, but Capo Noli is definitely one of them…

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Finale Ligure, the capitol and starting point for mountain biking into the Ligurian Mountains…

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Old railway station at Ospedaletti, a piece of art on its own…

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Ventimiglia at night, looking towards France and Monaco…

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Anti-crepuscular rays the next morning over Ventimiglia. I love staying at a good spot for some time to absorb the different moods of it…

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Old town of Ventimiglia, how picturesque can it get…

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There has been some heavy rain the two nights before, so the muddy waters came down from the mountains, running through the man-made river channels into the Ligurian Sea and colored the sea water brown and heavy winds caused high swells…

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I have been so many times to Italy but haven’t seen that before anywhere else. Plane tree branches deliberately drawn so that have grown together and forming a natural arch…

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A group of French tourists on their way in the Old Town of Dolceaqua. Some alleys of the old towns we visited where so dark/never see the light of the day, so that they have the street lights on all day…

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Polyptych by Giovanni Canavesio, inside San Michele Arcangelo church, Pigna. The wooden altar is covered by gold and made around 1500 AD. I love art if I haven’t said that before…

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One of the few occasions going for the night sky. This was on the way up to Monte Ceppo with my mountain bike, while the road was still closed for traffic; feat. the constellation of Orion and Sirius to the left…

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We have seen some medieval stone bridges arching over rivers along our way, but that’s the first one with a little chapel on top of it, seen in Badalucco…

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12P/Pons-Brooks, The ‘Devils Comet’, April 10th 2024

Thankfully there is a comet around these days, but the hype around it is incomprehensible to me. Though media brands it the ‘Devils comet’ here in Germany, it’s almost not visible to the naked eye and photographed with a 200 mm lens, the outcome is poor. Nonetheless there has been a nice conjunction last night with Uranus, the crescent Moon and Jupiter with its moons. I love watching the night sky even if it’s not sensationalist. Enjoy!

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Rho Ophiuchi Nebula, New Take

When I was in Australia for the third time in 2013, I captured a lot of deep sky footage with a modified Canon 1100 d and a 5D III camera. From time to time I reprocess some of the motifs, to see what the outcome will be with the ever-advancing possibilities of image processing. And every time I’m blown away at the amount of information which is hidden in the undeveloped photos. See for yourself. Enjoy!

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Straight out of PixInsight, a stack of 32 photos, each 52 sec...

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The outcome: processed with Lightroom only, feat. the Rho Ophiuchi nebula complex, as well as the ‘Kiwi’ to the upper right, a so-called pareidolia. There is also some sort of imaginary ‘skull’ visible to the upper left, not to speak of the thousands and thousands of stars, the dust clouds and the reddish glowing hydrogen alpha nebulae…

Shades Of Orion

Here are some of my favorite takes on the most prominent constellation of the winter night sky from January this year while touring the Dolomites. Enjoy!

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Wide field of Orion the hunter above the Cadini Group…

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Stacked photo with a set of ten images, 120 sec. each, feat. Orion Nebula, Horse Head Nebula and Flame Nebula…

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Stacked photo with a set of 22 images, 120 sec. each, feat. M 42, the Orion Nebula, crop from a 200mm image, shot with a non-modified 5D3…

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Mountain Scapes Of The Dolomites, Jan. 2024

Just got back from a ten nights trip to the Dolomites in northern Italy. I haven’t done winter camping for the last three winters and it took me a couple of days to adapt to the cold. Though without the amenities of central heating and running hot water, the rewards of being out in nature day and night and being exposed to the cold and soaking it all in was terrific. So here are my favorite mountain scape photos from that trip. Enjoy!

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Favorites Of 2023

Here are my ten favorite images of 2023. Enjoy the festivities and all the best for a new turn around the sun in 2024!

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Easter Saturday at Portofino, Italy…

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Big Dipper and Polaris along the banks of the Po, Italy…

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Immersed in prayer, Tropea, Italy...

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At night at Lago Sorapis, the Dolomites, Italy…

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Sunset at Passo di Giau, the Dolomites, Italy…

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Fifty minutes single star trail, Passo di Giau, the Dolomites, Itlay…

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Kids enjoying the show at Nocera, Italy…

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Sunrise at Cinque Torre, the Dolomites, Italy…

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Road to Cristo de Redontore at Maratea, Italy…

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Inversion coming in and covering the hop fields and the church around my home, Lower Bavaria, Germany…

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The Dolomites, Oct. 2023

Impressions from my latest travels to the Dolomites in northern Italy. Enjoy!

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Early morning @ Lago di Sorapis…

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Looking like the shape of Australia, Lago di Sorapis…

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Tre Cime Di Lavaredo to the left, Cadini di Misurina to the right…

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Passo di Giau

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Sassopiatto and Sassolungo, Passo di Stella…

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Torri del Sella and Piz Boe in the distance…

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South of Cortina d’Ampezzo with the Gruppo del Sorapiss and Monte Antelao…

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Enjoying the view…

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Chinque Torri…

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Chinque Torri from above…

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Golden hour @ Lagazuoi…

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Sass de Putia @  Passo delle Erbe

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A nameless waterfall somewhere along Passo di Valles…

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Sunrise @ Passo di Falzarego…

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The Dolomites, Nightscapes, Oct. 2023

What should I write about the Dolomites you don’t already know? It’s just a five hours drive away from where I live and it doesn’t matter which part of the Dolomites you are visiting, it’s just breathtaking everywhere. Visiting known places, scouting new places, meeting people and just driving along the scenic routes is what gets me going. Since we had a public holiday on Tuesday ( Oct. 3rd), I packed my stuff the Saturday before and off I was, hitting the road to the south. All in all a 1000 km roundtrip with six days of living life to its fullest. Enjoy!

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At night at Lago Sorapis, never been there before; the scenery illuminated by the waning full moon, casting shadows – what a magical place…

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Transitioning light from day to night at Passo di Giau, the stars becoming visible as the daylight fades away, my favorite time of the day…

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50 min. single star trail shot, with the waning full moon as ‘gaffer’…I’ve been to this place before in winter 2012…

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Passo di Giau, in my opinion the most photogenic pass in the Dolomites…

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Pre-dawn, Passo di Giau…

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After sunset at Valparola Pass…

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Waning full moon above Lago di Valparola…

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Silhouettes, Valparola Pass at pre-dawn…

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This mountain ridge looks like a giant paper cut, Sasso Luongo…

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Sasso Luongo/Langkofel, illuminated by the waning full moon…

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Just before sunrise at Passo di Valles, a lesser known pass…

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This image is shot with my newest toy, the DJI Mini 4 Pro, minutes after sunset, when the light got those magical purple hues, Valparola Pass…

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Another one with the drone…one benefit of having a drone is using it as a ‘tripod’ for selfies at places you can’t put up a tripod. With its low light qualities, to me the new Mini 4 Pro is a game changer…

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Positano, Amalfi Coast, Italy, June 2023

Visiting the famous Amalfi Coast was my initial goal while traveling Southern Italy in June this year. I have heard of the difficult driving conditions, but i was not prepared for what was to come. Coming from up south, the Amalfi Coast Road starts at Vietri sul Mare and leads 21 km to Amalfi, the main town of the coast. I have driven many narrow and winding roads, but the difficulty to drive here is due to the many traffic, with line buses, driving services and not least the many vespas, and the constant honking from all directions can rob you of the last nerve. So the ride for this stretch already took 1.5 hours, without any possibility to stop anywhere, so I was more or less pushed through another 19 km/1.5 hours to the next possible stop – Positano. With a lot of luck I managed to find a parking lot about two km outside of Positano along the roadside. I walked all the way back, down the countless stairs to the beach, back up on the other side of town and doing a loop back to the car. Early next morning I drove back over to the other side, catching the sunrise, got a chat with a lemon/oranges vendor and with a young couple from California and was on my way towards Napoli before main traffic would hit again. A magnificent place for sure, but to crowded, to hot, to humid… Like most places I go to, this has been a scouting trip, so now I know the conditions there and will adapt to the circumstances next time. Enjoy!

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Vietri sul Mare, start of the Amalfi Coast Road…

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Picturesque road around Erchie…

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Bay of Positano…

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Supposed to be the most beautiful coastal town of whole Europe…

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Mostly American tourist were roaming the streets…

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Access via road transportation is one option, by boat and ferries the other…

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Magical scenery goes hand in hand…

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with alleys full of people, often being annoyed by heat and humidity…

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Restricted access at some beach clubs…

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Vespa armada…

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Dolce Vita…

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Blending in with the flowers…

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The next morning…

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Driving services bringing in tourists from the Napoli airport, stopping along the road where it is possible and showing them the beauty of the Amalfi Coast…

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