Down on the Harbor

I just love the water, always have.  So, when I had the day off from work this week, I decided to zip north to the Sunda Kelapa harbor in Jakarta again.  You run into the most interesting people, all of whom have lived A LOT in a short amount of time. This boatman (photo at the top of this particular blog entry) was only too happy to pose for a photograph, and his eyes glowed like he had just won the lottery when he looked at the the camera's LCD to see himself, possibly for the first time in years, if ever! I am planning to visit him again soon with a printed portrait of him in hand and hope to learn more about him and the amazing stories I am sure he can tell.

And here (below) is another fellow I met during my morning walkabout at Sunda Kelapa harbor in north Jakarta. This chap is a day laborer, although he seemed to be without work for the morning. Like another gentleman I met that morning at Sunda Kelapa, this fellow really wanted to sit for a photo and he loved looking at himself on the LCD. Let's see what he thinks of himself on print when I run by there again in a few weeks with paper copies of for some of the more interesting folks I met there.

Three Amigos

Another shot from my photo walk in old Chinatown in Pasar Glodok, north Jakarta, Indonesia. Spotted these three friends holding up the wall and watching the many passers-by. The were perched at the precipice of a nasty little "river" of questionable origins -- the water that is!

Mango Man

My wife spotted an advertisement for a phototour and thought I might be interesting in taking part. Well, it was amazingly rewarding, on several levels. While on the tour (aka photowalk), we strolled about in old Chinatown in a neighborhood of north Jakarta, Indonesia known as Pasar Glodok. It was really bright out (and hot), and I was not too pleased with what the harsh light was doing to everything around me. Not at all the ideal lighting situation for good photography. I really lucked out when I ducked in this narrow alley way and ran into this distinguished gentleman, trying to sell his mangos to passersby and trying to stay cooin the shade of the buildings on either side.

Ahhhh! Venice!

A blast from the past! Well, not really that far in the past. This is a shot from a 3 July 2006 trip with my lovely wife to Venice. I processed this some time back, but never posted it anywhere except briefly at my flickr site. In thinking back to the way I felt that day, and what I saw at that beautiful moment, I re-processed the shot using some techniques I have picked up in the past few months. THIS is how I remember that day! A beautifully colorful day in magical Venice.

Heaven's Gates

Was heading out of the office to drive home when I was struck by how wonderful the golden light was everywhere. Decided I had to take a picture of something before the sun tucked itself in completely, so I decided to head to the Jakarta Cathedral. Got there just before a fairly sizable contingent of worshipers arrived, so I was able to snap this shot off without having to wait for folks to move out of the way. I really loved how the walls of the cathedral appeared so warm in the waning sunlight, so this image is my "interpretation" of what I saw and felt at the moment.

Reformation!

Most of us know of the Reformation, and of Martin Luther. There is a great film out that you might want to watch if you want to know a little more about what Martin Luther and the Reformation was all about. The movie is called... wait for it... Luther (2003. Put it this way... without Martin Luther, there would be no Protestants!

Major props, by the way, to Wikipedia, one of the greatest compendiums of knowledge out there. Here is some knowledge that you should have had from college:

"The Ninety-Five Theses on the Power of Indulgences, commonly known as The Ninety-Five Theses, were written by Martin Luther in 1517 and are widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Luther used these theses to display his displeasure with the Church's sale of indulgences, and this ultimately gave birth to Protestantism. Luther's popularity encouraged others to share their doubts about the Church and to protest against its medieval ways; it especially challenged the teachings of the Church on the nature of penance, the authority of the pope and the usefulness of indulgences. They sparked a theological debate that would result in the Reformation and the birth of the Lutheran, Reformed, and Anabaptist traditions within Christianity."

"According to a report written by Philipp Melanchthon: Luther posted the Ninety-five Theses on the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, October 31, 1517. Some scholars have questioned the accuracy of this account, noting that no contemporaneous evidence exists for it. Others have countered that no such evidence is necessary, because this action was the customary way of advertising an event on a university campus. Church doors at the time functioned very much as bulletin boards. Still others suggest the posting may well have happened sometime in November 1517. Most agree that, at the very least, Luther mailed the theses to the Archbishop of Mainz, the pope, friends and other universities on that date."

Text in quotes above in orange are from wikipedia.

Rock the Kasbah

Rock the Kasbah; Rock the Kasbah. That fantastic song by The Clash. Did you ever wonder what that song was all about? Well...let me tell you. It's all about the censorship of Western music by the ... well, let's just say by "not the West," to be politically correct. Here, see some of the key lyrics yourself; in the end, the music was still played. Read into this what you will.

Rock the Casbah, by The Clash

Now the king told the boogie men
You have to let that raga drop
The oil down the desert way
has been shaken to the top
The sheik he drove his Cadillac
He went a-cruisin' down the ville
The muezzin was a-standin'
On the Radiator Grille

The Shariff don't like it
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah
The Shariff don't like it
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah

By order of the prophet
We ban that boogie sound
Degenerate the faithful
With that crazy Casbah sound
But the Bedouin they brought out the electric camel drum
The local guitar picker got his guitar pickin' thumb
As soon as the shariff had cleared the square
They began to wail

The Shariff don't like it
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah
The Shariff don't like it
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah

Now over at the temple
Oh they really pack 'em in
The in crowd say it's cool
To dig this chanting thing
But as the wind changed direction
And the temple band took five
The crowd caught a whiff
Of that crazy Casbah jive

The Shariff don't like it
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah
The Shariff don't like it
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah

The king called out his jet fighters
He said you'd better earn your pay
Drop your bombs between the minarets
Down the Casbah way
As soon as the shariff was chauffeured outta there
The jet pilots tuned to the cockpit radio blare
As soon as the shariff was out of their hair
The jet pilots wailed

The Shariff don't like it
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah
The Shariff don't like it [he thinks it's not kosher]
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah
The Shariff don't like it [fundamentally he can't take it]
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah
The Shariff don't like it [you know he really hates it]
Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah

Alaska... we miss you!

I was remembering what a great time we had during our 12-day RV trip around Alaska, which got us to wondering today: Do we go to New Zealand for a similar RV trip, or do we go to Disney world again. That is a tough choice, I must admit. I know that New Zealand will be a trip of a lifetime, and that we can always find time in a couple or three years to see Disneyland again, but the girls are at that perfect age now (9 and 8) to REALLY enjoy the magic that Disney world is. What we really need to do is both! Hmmm? Now there's an idea! I grabbed the shot above while we were hiking on our first day in Denali, Alaska. What a magical place that was. The shot below is of the majestic Denali mountain. The shot below the mountain is of Glacier Bay, Alaska.

Swing Out Sister!

It would be kind of cool if this blog had some kind of counter to track how many visitors I get here. I have to believe someone probably lands here every so often. Today, a brief chat about photographic style. That is to say, I have not defined mine yet, and I am still searching for it. I expect it will one day hit me over the head with something along the lines of: "Hey, dude! THIS is your style. It suits you and the way you want to express yourself, in images." I feel like I am getting closer to that style, but it is still too imitative of other photographic works I admire. Still, the image above, of my daughter swinging about in Werder, Germany, is getting closer to what I REALLY like to shoot and show. Like I may have said in a previous post, I am not really into completely realistic photography. I'll leave that to the photojournalists! I am more into the expression of a vision, as it were. I have posted a few more images on my flickr site in the photo set "The Indonesians" that is getting closer to a style I think I can live with. I have posted one of those two images at the bottom of this post.

Alone in the Cold

I had a different name for this post previously, but then looked at it again and decided the feeling evoked was more in line with the new title. I spotted this lonely tree in a grassy cow pasture behind the Weiskirche in Bavaria. The weather was not particularly nice (overcast, rainy and nippy), which made the tree look all the more alone. Perfect opportunity for "black and white" treatment with a sepia toning to add some much needed warmth.

Oberammergau, Germany

Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The town is famous for its production of a Passion Play, which takes place every ten years. The Oberammergau Passion Play was first performed in 1634 and is the result of a vow made by the inhabitants of the village that if God spared them from the effects of the bubonic plague then sweeping the region they would perform a passion play every ten years. The play is now performed in years ending with a zero, except 1984 which was the 350th anniversary, and involves over 2000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all residents of the village. The village is also known as the home of a long tradition of woodcarving. The streets of central Oberammergau are home to dozens of woodcarver shops like this one, with pieces ranging from religious subjects, to toys, to humoristic portraits.

David?? Is that REALLY you?

While I do try to post newer photographs here, this is a shot taken several months back during a trip to Singapore. It was nice to have had the opportunity to photograph this version of David, after having seen (photographed) the copy standing in the original location of David in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. I have yet to see the true original at the Galleria del'Accademia in Florence as the lines were just too long to try to get in.

Tunnel Vision

While visiting good friends in Hamburg, I had the opportunity to visit the old Elbe tunnel. Running under the river Elbe in Hamburg, this 1/2 kilometer ‘technical marvel’, known as the ‘old river Elbe tunnel’, is a beautiful tunnel like no other. It was was built in 1911, sits 24 meters below the river and connects central Hamburg with the shipyard island of Steinwerder. What makes the tunnel unique are the entry points on each side of the river where, rather simply driving straight into and through the tunnel, vehicles enter a freight elevators which slowly descends to the tunnel below.

Blockade

I am a huge fan of HDR photography and processing, but I am still working to improve both my image capture and post-processing skills. Here is an image (actually seven blended photographs) I took in the Pelabuhan (Harbor) Sunda Kelapa, Indonesia. I had posted another version of this scene some weeks ago and my wife wondered if I had a horizontal version that we could print. I often shoot both horizontal and vertical shots of the same subject so had this version. I am still learning to measure/judge the dynamic range of the lighting during a shoot and to bracket exposures well enough to cover the range. The challenge in this particular scene was that the ships were continuously bobbing in the water, which is why you can see some ghosting at the upper edges of the image. Still, I like the image. This may be too saturated in color for some viewers, but that is what I intended in this case.

Time Stands Still...

... or does it? I think we all know the answer to that question. That is one of the great thing about photography... of capturing the moment! We were having lunch at the foot of the Frauenkirche in München. Seated at the foot of this beautiful cathedral, I looked up to see the symmetry you see here. What can I say, I love lines. Remember, lines are your friend. I waited a few minutes to make sure the hands of the clock were aligned as well. That said, I know some people like a bit of chaos, so I shot the image some seconds before high-noon!

Above All Kingdoms

While traveling with my family to München, we visited the beautiful Frauenkirche. While walking toward the altar, I looked up to see the Christ crucified Above All Kingdoms. I have visited many cathedrals and churches and never seen anything so powerful.

Berliner Dom

Last one for today and... yes, I decided to do another black and white photograph. I really think architecture looks better that way. Anyway, so this is the Berliner Dom (the Berlin Cathedral). Itis a Lutheran cathedral on Museum Island in the Mitte district of the city, built between 1895 and 1905.

During the Second World War, the building was bombed by the Allies and severely damaged (quite tragic how many beautiful buildings were destroyed or severely damaged in the war). A temporary roof was installed to protect what remained of the interior and in 1975 reconstruction started. The restoration of the interior was begun in 1984 and in 1993 the church reopened.

Brandenburg Gate

Here is one of the shots I came away with from our 3-week trip to Germany. I planned, at first, to process this particular photograph in color, but decided to go classic black and white instead. I also decided to create a more dramatic image by enhancing details in the various textures (sky, architecture). I have always loved the timelessness of good black and white photoography and I feel this one is not too shabby, despite having to take it in the brightest part of the say.

St. Coloman's Kirche, Schwangau, Germany

Southern Germany is such a beautiful place. According to a poll I hear from a friend, 75 per cent of Germans want to live in Bavaria. Another then joked that the poll was taken in Bavaria, meaning that 25 per cent want to leave. I believe the former to be true. Bavaria is green and unspoiled, and the Bavarians are fiercely protective of their land and their culture. Here is a photograph I took on our last day in Schwangau of the Baroque St. Coloman's Kirche (Church).

"Just" a Rose

Okay. So it is a bit of a dreary looking day here in Jakarta today, so I decided to post this single beautiful rose. We were at Tiergarten (Zoo) in Berlin, though you cannot tell that from this image. It was raining off and on that day, and I shot this between animal exhibits. I was pretty happy with the shot, considering I did not have my macro (close-up) lens with me. My 9-year old daughter then showed me what she captured with her camera (a canon G9). Wow! What an eye she has. Actually, both of my girls have an amazing eye for photographic composition. To be a child again, unencumbered by limited vision, imagination and wonderment!

Werder, Germany

Spent a wonderful day in Werder, Germany. Great weather for sightseeing. Here is an interior shot of the Heilig Geist Kirche (Holy Ghost Church) in Werder, Germany. Werder, also called Werder (Havel) or Werder upon Havel, is located in the Potsdam-Mittelmark Kreis (district) of Brandenburg, one of Germany's sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), just west of the region's capital city of Potsdam. Werder’s eastern border fronts on the Havel river, a tributary of the Elbe, and Werder’s oldest quarter is located on an island in the river, which is why it is also known as Havel. The name "Werder" means "water surrounded country."

Russian Colony Alexandrowka

So here is the first image I have decided to post from our August 2008 vacation in Italy. We were on our way to Werder, Germany and stopped to look around in the picturesque Russian Colony Alexandrovka (aka Russische Kolonie Alexandrowka). One of Potsdam's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Frederick William III built the small village of Alexandrovka to house his beloved Russian choir, which was made up of 12 of the more than 1000 Russian soldiers captured in the Napoleonic Wars. Some descendants of the original inhabitants still live in the homes.