“Church and Winter Trees” — Neue Pfarrkirche St. Johan Baptist and dormant winter trees, Munich.
We spent several days in Munich/München in December. It was the final stop on a visit of several weeks to Germany (with a side-trip to Alsace in France.) We chose this time for our visit since we thought it would be interesting to visit a few of the famous German Christmas markets. To be honest, by the time we got to Munich the markets were becoming less of a focus — still interesting, but how much gluhwein can one drink?
On the last day of our stay here we went out for a longish walk. Patty’s brother and sister-in-law live in Germany and are familiar with these places, so our walk took us away from the popular tourist areas and through neighborhoods that we would otherwise probably not have visited. (One highlight: winter surfers in Munich. Yes, really.) At one point we walked past the Neue Pfarrkirche St. Johan Baptist, and I was struck by the contrast between the perfect vertical forms of the church and the organic forms of the silhouetted trees.
“Layers, Morning Light” — Early mornign light highlights layers of gullies and ridges in the Death Valley landscape.
Yes, yet another photograph of these well-known formations in Death Valley. Hey, I don’t photograph this specific spot that often these days, so maybe I can be excused for working it to death on this one unexpected visit? This is a small section of a larger badlands landscape that lies around and below this popular sunrise location in the park.
If you are interested — and if you follow me regularly — you can get a sort of overview of how the light changes on these features in the morning by looking at the series of photographs I am posting from this visit. I started before sunrise, continued as the sun hit nearby features and cast soft light into the scene, and finished up only as the first direct light (fortunately softened a bit high thin clouds) spread across the area.
“Chateau d’Eau” — Chateau d’Eau (water tower) at the end of the Roman aquaduct at Place du Peyrou, Montpellier, France.
On our first full day in Montpellier, France we went for a long walk, heading gradually uphill from the central square near our hotel and eventually arriving at this impressive monument, the Chateau d’Eau. (In American English, we’d say “water tower.”) Behind it — and not visible in this photo — an old Roman aqueduct extends into the distance. The tower is at its termination and I assume that the aqueduct once supplied the pond with water.
The area around the structure is quite interesting, and there was a lot to see. Behind my camera position is the Place du Peyrou, a large public square on the top of this hill — where the town’s Christmas Market was in full swing . Beyond that is the Montpellier’s own Arc du Triomphe.
“Curve in the Canyon” — A gravel wash curves through narrows in a Death Valley canyon.
The sensations upon entering one of these canyons after walking in desert heat and sun are striking. It is suddenly much darker and much quieter, and often the air is still. At this bend in the canyon, the walls and edges conspired to create a sort of spiral shape with everything centering on the bigger and warmer-toned section in the upper center of the photograph.
Hiking these canyons they ofcanten start to feel like a steady progression back and forth — a turn to the right is soon followed by one to the left, and so forth. In some canyons this leads to a somewhat humorous “just one more”situation. I might check my watch and note that it is about my turn-around time. I tell myself, “First, just hike to the next curve.” Getting there I tell myself, “You can take a look at what is beyond this section.” So I round the bend and see the canyon continues… and, of course, I just have to continue on to the next bend… and then next… and the one after that.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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