Wednesday 5th May 2010

St. Nicolas Church in Newbury.

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/13" : 18mm : ISO 200: 05.05.2010 20:27:42)

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/10" : 18mm : ISO 200: 05.05.2010 20:28:55)

Tuesday 4th May 2010

These kids were obviously enjoying themselves playing water football in their canoes on the canal in Newbury in the early evening.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/250" : 200mm : ISO 200: 04.05.2010 20:34:43)

I'm not so sure that the resident swans liked their peace and quiet being disturbed though !!

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f4 : 1/250" : 130mm : ISO 200: 04.05.2010 20:33:12)

Monday 3rd May 2010

The Wharf area and the canal through Newbury just before sunset.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f4.5 : 1/320" : 70mm : ISO 200: 03.05.2010 21:10:22)

Sunday 2nd May 2010

This is the main entrance to the City Business Centre (part of Winchester Universtity), opposite the Hampshire Royal County Hospital.

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f4.5 : 1/80" : 26mm : ISO 200: 02.05.2010 12:57:18)

The City Mill bridge over the river Itchen in Winchester.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f3.5 : 1/200" : 70mm : ISO 200: 02.05.2010 13:10:25)

Saturday 1st May 2010

This is the front entrance to Winchester Cathedral.

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/125" : 18mm : ISO 200: 01.05.2010 13:41:59)

Friday 30th April 2010

I drove to Heathrow airport in the evening to collect my brother who was flying in from Bangkok, and stopped off en route from Newbury to photograph one of my favourite hotels - the Manor House in Aldermaston.

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/40" : 18mm : ISO 200: 30.04.2010 19:49:36)

The main part of the house was built in 1636.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f3.2 : 1/160" : 70mm : ISO 200: 30.04.2010 19:51:42)

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/100" : 70mm : ISO 200: 30.04.2010 19:51:11)

Thursday 29th April 2010

Looking towards some of the locks on the canal flowing through the centre of Newbury, Berkshire.

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/50" : 18mm : ISO 200: 29.04.2010 19:55:26)

A closer view of the locks and footbridge leading to the Lock, Stock and Barrel pub.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/80" : 70mm : ISO 200: 29.04.2010 19:58:58)

Wednesday 28th April 2010

After work, I drove to Calais (France) to catch the ferry to Dover (England). I walked down to the end of this concrete quay, but as I was setting up my tripod, I was chased back to here (for safety reasons ?!?)

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f13 : 2,5" : 29mm : ISO 800: 28.04.2010 21:37:12)

From the upper deck of the car ferry, this is the view back to Calais.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1" : 112mm : ISO 200: 28.04.2010 22:03:47)

Tuesday 27th April 2010

This is the large cement works near my office in Troisdorf.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f7.1 : 1/800" : 100mm : ISO 200: 27.04.2010 14:08:03)


(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/640" : 34mm : ISO 200: 27.04.2010 14:04:39)

Monday 26th April 2010

After work, I drove into Cologne for the church AGM in the evening (which was chaired by the Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe, the Venerable Jonathan Lloyd, and at which I was re-elected onto the church council), stopping off en route to take this picture ....

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f5 : 1/400" : 70mm : ISO 200: 26.04.2010 19:05:32)


.... which is part of the stone staircase leading up to the Bayenturm (one of the old towers originally built to protect Cologne).

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f3.5 : 1/800" : 86mm : ISO 200: 26.04.2010 19:03:53)

Sunday 25th April 2010

I drove down to Mainz today to visit the Minikina Photographic Exhibition. The organisers (Besier Oehling) laid on a superb selection of varied presentations and training sessions, plus vehicles from Hollywood Cars to photograph (including this 1959 Cadillac).

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/4000" : 105mm : ISO 200: 25.04.2010 14:02:30)


Karl Fisher and his team from the Greifvogelstation (Hunting Birds Station) in Hellenthal put on a tremendous display with his assorted birds of prey for everyone to enjoy and photograph ....

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/640" : 18mm : ISO 200: 25.04.2010 15:12:03)



There were even smaller birds of prey for his smaller team members !!!

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/640" : 70mm : ISO 200: 25.04.2010 15:00:02)

I resisted the temptation to borrow a Nikon D3 or D700 camera body free-of-charge for a couple of hours, because I knew that I would never be able to give it back, and I would have had to leave my passport as security against exactly that scenario.

Saturday 24th April 2010

I left home at 5:30 am today and drove to All Saint's Church in Cologne, loaded some wooden tables and boxes of books into my car, then went on to help set up our unique stand selling English books at the Cologne Buechermeile (Book Mile) on the promenade alongside the river Rhine.

(Nikon D60 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f6.3 : 1/160" : 20mm : ISO 100: 24.04.2010 14:58:24)


It rained non-stop at this event last year, and both we and the books got soaked, so the sunshine and 24°C temperatures today were very welcome, except that we sold half as many books as last year !! Maybe everyone was out walking or cycling in the countryside instead of looking at secondhand books ?!?!

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f3.5 : 1/2500" : 70mm : ISO 200: 24.04.2010 14:51:49)

Friday 23rd April 2010

Spring has definitely sprung .... I went to photograph the Rathaus (Town Hall) in Troisdorf today, but couldn't walk past this beautiful bed of tulips and pansies without stopping to take a photograph of them instead .... so the Rathaus will have to wait for another day !!

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f5.3 : 1/100" : 45mm : ISO 200: 23.04.2010 15:11:42)

Thursday 22nd April 2010

Instead of yet more painted garages or buildings, I decided to photograph a couple of nice half-timbered houses at the old market square in Troisdorf today.

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f8 : 1/250" : 22mm : ISO 200: 22.04.2010 13:43:35)



(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f4.5 : 1/80" : 18mm : ISO 200: 22.04.2010 13:45:21)

Wednesday 21st April 2010

This painting is on the concrete wall supporting a railway tunnel in Troisdorf, and dates from 1986.

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/125" : 55mm : ISO 200: 21.04.2010 15:34:24)

Tuesday 20th April 2010

The Story seems to be missing here .... unless this picture is meant to tell one !!

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f7.1 : 1/200" : 50mm : ISO 200: 20.04.2010 14:51:17)


This painted column is outside a childrens' day care centre in Troisdorf.

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/100" : 20mm : ISO 200: 20.04.2010 14:43:17)

Monday 19th April 2010

The side of this building in Troisdorf (painted in 1992 by M. Spiecker) has a map of Europe in relief with a painting around it, converting it into another image.

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f6.3 : 1/160" : 24mm : ISO 200: 19.04.2010 14:56:30)

Sunday 18th April 2010

Leonora has agreed to allow me to photograph her show and magic dance performance at the Walpurgis night in Frankfurt on April 30th, so I returned to the Palmengarten (tropical gardens) in Frankfurt this afternoon to meet her and discuss this event, plus take some photographs of her for her flyers, brochures and web site.
She is one of the most fascinating people that I have ever had the good fortune to meet in my lifetime. I cannot even begin to imagine the issues that she has had to (and will have to) deal with .... from being a transvestite to synaesthesia (Number-Forms, Colour-Sound associations) .... but she radiates enthusiasm and hope (possibly helped by her very colourful and eccentric clothing !).
You can view a selection of the photographs that I took for her in her album on my new Facebook Fan page here !! Also, her blog site can be viewed here (albeit in German).
Meanwhile, I am really looking forwards to photographing her dance performance at the end of next week, and will obviously include my favourite photograph(s) from this event here !!

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f5.6 : 1/125" : 70mm : ISO 200: 18.04.2010 16:15:27)

Saturday 17th April 2010

In Neustadt (about 10 km from my house) there is a large painting on the side of a house of the Autobahn 3 bridge over the Wied valley, so I decided to try to find this view and photograph it today.

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f4.2 : 1/50" : 26mm : ISO 200: 17.04.2010 19:21:53)


Unfortunately, I failed to find that viewpoint, so took this photograph of the bridge from alongside the Wied river instead.

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/125" : 18mm : ISO 200: 17.04.2010 19:39:54)


Looking through one of the massive bridge arches back towards Neustadt.

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f3.8 : 1/40" : 20mm : ISO 200: 17.04.2010 19:59:43)


My Palmo trike, dwarfed by the bridge arch.

(Nikon D60 : Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 : f4 : 1/30" : 10mm : ISO 100: 17.04.2010 19:54:08)

Friday 16th April 2010

Yet another painted garage door that I found in Troisdorf today !!!

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f6.3 : 1/160" : 29mm : ISO 200: 16.04.2010 15:05:07)

Thursday 15th April 2010

Another painted garage door found in Troisdorf today !!!

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/125" : 34mm : ISO 200: 15.04.2010 15:02:13)

Wednesday 14th April 2010

This is the painted wall that I found and wanted to photograph yesterday - luckily it was much cloudier today, so the lighting was much flatter.

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f5.3 : 1/125" : 45mm : ISO 200: 14.04.2010 12:26:46)


(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f5.3 : 1/15" : 40mm : ISO 280: 14.04.2010 12:27:11)

Tuesday 13th April 2010

I couldn't take a photograph of the painted wall in Troisdorf that I spotted yesterday, because it was half in bright sunshine, half in heavy shadow today ... but I found this painted garage door just around the next corner instead (although I had to wait 5 minutes until the Jaguar S-type parked in front of it drove away !!)

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f14 : 1/20" : 46mm : ISO 200: 13.04.2010 14:20:10)

Monday 12th April 2010

Another painted building found in Troisdorf ....

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f6.3 : 1/160" : 32mm : ISO 200: 12.04.2010 14:20:09)


(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f7.1 : 1/200" : 32mm : ISO 200: 12.04.2010 14:21:26)


.... and I found another painted building just around the corner (for tomorrow !!)

(Nikon D5000 : Nikkor VR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 : f7.1 : 1/200" : 40mm : ISO 200: 12.04.2010 14:20:43)

Sunday 11th April 2010

On my drive back from church this morning, I saw signs for a fleamarket in Unkel, so I stopped off and took the following pictures ....

Spring finally seems to have replaced that extremely cold winter.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/500" : 170mm : ISO 200: 11.04.2010 12:35:36)


A narrow cobbled street in the village of Unkel.

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/125" : 70mm : ISO 200: 11.04.2010 12:29:14)


A painted porcelain dragon clutching onto a stick of wood ?!?! Hmmmm, nice ;-)

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/320" : 145mm : ISO 200: 11.04.2010 12:23:45)

In the evening I drove to Frankfurt (130 km away) to take pictures of the first night of the Luminale light celebrations .... very disappointing, but I am slowly uploading my photographs onto my new web site.

Saturday 10th April 2010

I am going to need a faster telephoto lens to cover sports and low-light indoor events (such as church weddings and concerts), so I went to my favourite camera shop in Neuweid today to look at the Sigma 70-200 mm f2.8 lens. These are my test shots from a market right outside the camera shop that convinced me to buy this lens immediately !!

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f5.6 : 1/500" : 78mm : ISO 200: 10.04.2010 13:24:57)


This stand was selling hand-painted ceramic birds heads ....

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f8 : 1/1000" : 92mm : ISO 200: 10.04.2010 13:44:39)


.... and garden worms !!!

(Nikon D5000 : Sigma EX 70-200mm f2.8 : f4.5 : 1/320" : 70mm : ISO 200: 10.04.2010 13:28:20)