I traveled all over Germany, and my camera was never far away. I once took a three day trip, by myself to Prague and Munich and when I returned, I had 16 rolls of film to develop. Snap happy to say the least!

I wanted to post some pictures that I like of the german countryside and villages.

First up is a little town called Münzenberg. It resides at the key spot of the terrain overlooking the fertile valley below. This little town is quiet, off the beaten path, and it has castle ruins. This shot below is from inside the ruins, and was taken by my wife. I like the composition of the picture

This shot was taken of the town looking down from the tower in the first shot. I love the red roofs and the accent against the black and white spire of the local church.

You ever just look around and realize that you have to take a shot, that it is just perfect. That is what we did when we sat down for lunch in Rothenburg, one of the last walled cites of Germany (and one of the biggest tourist traps in the country) We had been walking around all morning and sitting down for lunch we looked up and noticed the sign. And then the spire. And I liked the shot, taking it right from my chair at the table. And yes, it was good beer they served there...:)

Also at Rothenburg ob der Tauber is the Rathaus and a fountain dedicated to St. George, patron saint of Tankers. Well, he slew a dragon too, but I am in the Army, what do you expect? The wife and I took a few pictures of the fountain. I will let you decide which is better, and then I will tell you who took which one.

A little delay

Work has picked up here a bit, and the posting has slowed down.

I hope to have another post up in a bit, focusing on a few European cities.

Stay tuned....

Travelling and picture opportunities

While traveling, the opportunity to stop and take pictures are plentiful. I will show you two prime examples.

First, while traveling from Virginia to Kansas on one of my many cross country journeys I drove along the blue ridge parkway in southeastern Virginia. It was getting late in the day and the sun was going down behind the hills when I stopped and noticed this water fall. I was the only soul on this highway at the time, and there was a light fog starting to roll in.




I also started to experiment with shutter speed and the flow of the water. It was getting dark and I was having trouble just getting enough light for any pictures. It has been too long and I don’t remember the settings I used, but these pictures were done with a beat up Pentex K-1000 all manual camera. I still have it and am using it in Afghanistan right now. It also survived a trip to the sands of Mesopotamia and back. But that is a story for later. First the pictures...

Pets

Cats are fun to photograph. I especially like my cats. The secret to great shots is to get close. Not zoomed in, but down on the ground and up close.
If you don’t have a clear subject, like this first shot demonstrates, then it turns out to be a bleagh photo.

(And yes, I did tether my cats with little harnesses to a clothesline. Call me cruel, but they did not run away or get run over on the county roads...)

But get down in the grass, get dirty, and see what happens. They come alive in the photograph and show their personalities. She still gives me that look from time to time...mainly when she is mad at me or the wife...