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During my two weeks stay in the Vosges I granted myself one 'free' day after the big 'colour the ceiling white' job was done. It was autumn and the first trees were already leafless but catching this mood with the camera is an other thing. On my way back from a walk throught the forest part behind my house, I saw Laurel and Hardy and immediately I cheered up, first because I loved the light situation and second because Laurel and Hardy made my laugh when I was a child.  Beech tree - Canon 7DMKII, tripod, remote release, 35-350 mm, 1/8 sec, F 9, ISO100
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Autumn has arrived definitely, the forests are full of mushrooms (I have never seen that amount of eatable mushrooms before) and a lot of trees change colour. Together with Wanda I'm enjoying the smell of autumn, finding beautiful coloured leaves and getting soaked by heavy rain showers.  Oak leaf - Canon 7DMKII, tripod, remote release, 180 mm, 2 sec, F 13, ISO100 Every year the colour changing proces is a kind of miracle. Some leaves which had fallen down are 'simply' brown but others are a world apart. It's magnificent that mother nature can create that kind of beautiful colour ranges.  Oak leaf - Canon 7DMKII, tripod, remote release, 180 mm + ET 25mm, 3,2 sec, F 16, ISO100  Oak leaf - Canon 7DMKII, tripod, remote release, 180 mm, 1 sec, F 25, ISO100 For this kind of photography I use a window and scotch tape.....and it's to recommend, in case the leaf has a hole, to clean that part of the window before starting photographing ;-).
Although we have tropical temperatures at the moment, the forests are inbetween seasons. The first leaves are falling down and after the heavy rain showers of last Sunday mushrooms are growing everywhere. With these extreme temperatures they are growing very quickly and shrinking even faster! Finding them in the afternoon (during a walk with my dog) and photographing them in the evening was an immense challenge! In the afternoon it seemed very simple to come back in the evening and to catch some of the red russula together with the setting sun. But.....to see a glimpse of the sun through the angle finder I needed to dig a hole as none of the russula was growing 'high' enough. Of course I had no digging equipment with me so my hole was handmade. Dirty hands, dirty clothes and a lot of mosquito bites were not the main problem but the fact that I had put my camera in the sandy hole without checking if the camera connections were safely closed.  Russula (nobilis?) - Canon 7DMKII, beanbag, remote release, angle finder, 180 mm, torch smartphone, 1/5 sec, F 3.5, ISO100 With a toothbrush I cleaned the connections and removed the sand as good as I could. I tested the USB-connection and found out that I had catched the first signs of autumn.
Since almost one week I'm in the Harz region in Germany where autumn is at its best right now. Between visiting friends and other activities, I try to find some time for catching some autumn moods; not very easy as the accomodation is situated in a big green pine tree area. A few days ago I visited a 'border museum' (the Harz region was split between BRD/DDR until 1989) and on my way back I passed a big beech forest. The colour range was amazing but it costs me some time to find the right composition. I entered one of the overgrown side-paths and after some metres I noticed these green grass spots which pointed out the path.  Beech Forest - Canon 7DMKII, tripod, remote release, 35-350 mm, 0,6 sec, F 6.3, ISO160 Today, after the 'shopping commitment' I will have some quality time available to search for other locations for some autumn moods. I little creek surrounded by beeches would be nice!
Every autumn I'm searching for a nice group of Fly Agarics and almost every autumn I try to photograph them in the dark with passing vehicles. This year I found a beautiful big group near a busy road in a village not far away; when I returned the same evening all of them were destroyed. I walked around and just at the moment I became desperate, I fortunately found some Fly Agarics near some traffic lights.  Canon 7D, tripod, remote release, 20-35 mm, 21 sec., F 10, ISO100 The advantage of an urban area is the presence of (orange) light which has the comfort to see what you are doing. The opposite happened when I was photographing a small group near a road in the middle of nowhere. I arrived at sunset and with a shuttertime of 30 seconds and live view I could'nt see anything. I used the level tool in my camera for the correct horizon and waited for some cars.....unfortunately it was not a busy road and I waited a long time.  Canon 7D, tripod, remote release, 10-24 mm, 25 sec., F 3.5, ISO100 To be out alone is not always funny as the second evening a car stopped on the wrong side of the road and inspected my car......I was 'hiding' in the dark and very curious I was waiting what would happen.....the car came back and after few hundred meter it stopped again and turned around.....that was the sign for me to run back to my car.
I arranged a personal bodyguard and returned to the same and some other place but although a new mushroom joined the group not much cars were passing that evenings. To get the best stripes three cars in both directions had to pass. At the moment we have Dutch autumn weather: grey and a bit rainy....I love it! Exactly one week ago I was walking completely alone in a forest area nearby to search for mushrooms and other autumn subjects. I found a lot of mushrooms but most of them were growing on the forest floor between some grass or too low to 'catch' them decently (as I did not carry a shovel with me). After almost two hours I found a nice one in a tree bark; I loved the curve of the bark and the fact that I could catch a orange/yellow oak in the background.  Canon 7D, tripod, remote release, 180 mm, 1/20 sec., F6.3, ISO100 After some instructions of a friend, I found in an other forest some Collared Earthstars (Geastrum tripex) which I had never seen before. Photographing these stars was a real challenge as they love to grow on messy forest places.  Canon 7D, beanbag, remote release, 180 mm, 1/5 sec., F3.5, ISO100 And still I have my weaknesses Still I have my strength And still I have my ugliness But I, I, I I'll love you just the way you are I'll have you just the way you are I'll take you just the way you are Does anybody love the way they are Stars/©The Cranberries
Like last year, we have summer temperatures (24 degrees C) in October. As most of the trees are coloured between yellow, orange and brown, I was out yesterday and today to chase these colours again. My big wish is to 'catch' a group of Fly Agarics together with the rising sun. This morning started on the Strabrechtse Heide, a heath area near Eindhoven and I tried to catch the beautiful red sky but unfortunately I forgot the correct ND-grad filter and as I was very unsatisfied about the result, I decided to switch to macro again. Between the brown heather I found in a kind of hole some remaining purple heather and the red oak in the background gave a special yellowish background.  Canon 7D, tripod, remote release, 35-350 mm, 1/85, F5, ISO100 I left the heather and started my mission 'Fly Agaric'. As they can be often found near birches I searched for them and within minutes I found the first red mushrooms. As I wanted a special background I was happy to find one near a red oak. The complete ground was coloured red/brown by fallen leaves. Although it was early in the morning, the sun was shining powerful and with my tripod and jacket I created shadow on the mushroom and two oak leaves.  Canon 7D, remote release, 180 mm, 1/250, F4, ISO100 Near the bridle-path I found some more beautiful Fly Agarics. Some later I returned to my car as too many horses, bikers and other people were passing by.
Right now nature is transforming fast from summer into autumn and most of the trees already have delightful colours. Between work and other appointments, I allowed myself two hours to visit an area nearby to search for mushrooms and other autumn signs. I walked around and although a lot of young oaks and brambles were coloured red it took some time before I found a complete young red oak between the brown heather and reed.  Under some old beeches I found a lot of purple Amethyst Deceivers which are one of my favourites mushrooms to photograph (I think because of their colour). Unfortunately the two hours off passed by too quickly.  Very slowly, autumn is coming and like every year, I'm surprised by the beautiful and warm colours autumn brings. At the moment the beautyberries (Callicarpa bodinieri) which are growing in clusters are at their best. Although the purple berries look very attractive to me, the birds and other little wild life will not eat them as they are bitter.   Beautyberry - Canon 7D, tripod, remote release, 180 mm, 1/60 and 1/40, F3.5, ISO100 With this beautiful berries I 'celebrate' the German reunification and I'm impressed by the very interesting documentaries on television.
You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true. There must be an angel with a smile on her face, When she thought up that I should be with you. But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you. When I heard this song from James Blunt for the first time it touched me deeply as it went straight to my heart. At that time I visited a good and deer friend in Berlin. A very warm and beautiful friend who had the ability to listen without having judgements.....these kind of friends are rare. Unfortunately this friend passed away some years ago in November followed by my grandfather some weeks later. Since than my former life in Berlin became a memory. I cherish the beautiful moments and memories I had there and enjoy the little things I have now here. This week I noticed two purple beautyberries (Callicarpa bodinieri) which were left (they grow in a bunch) and with a young red oak behind it looked so beautiful that James Blunt and my soultreasures crossed my mind. They are beautiful!  |
Jibt dir dit Leben mal een Buff, denn weene keene Träne. Lach Dir'n Ast und setz Dir druff und baumle mit de Beene.
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