Alpine Panorama

Having moved into a Munich 4th story penthouse with a view to the Alps, I tried for months to get a proper pictures of them. On a somewhat cloudy day my compact Sony DSC-HX90 ultrazoom was hopeless, the color and brightness resolution just wasn’t there. I posted some smartphone snapshots on Twitter but those were … Continue reading “Alpine Panorama”

Botanic Garden Butterflies

Munich’s botanic garden at Nymphenburg palace is currently showing off live tropical butterflies in one of its rooms. So naturally I got my macro lens and see what I could shoot, also adding some orchids (and turtles) from another room. I should say that I don’t actually have a clue about any of these subjects, … Continue reading “Botanic Garden Butterflies”

Samurai Helmets

Munich’s Kunsthalle is currently showing selected pieces from Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller’s Samurai Collection in Dallas, Texas. The selection includes armor and weapons as well as household items, but I was most impressed by the numerous helmets. Their design is often unique and highly elaborate, much more so than in medieval Europe. So here is … Continue reading “Samurai Helmets”

Augsburg Impressions

Augsburg (more information in German) is among the German cities with the oldest documented history of continuous settlement. Orginally founded in 15 AD as a Roman army camp, it developed into a provincial capital called Aelia Augusta and later Augusta Vindelic[or]um. The town appears to have remained fully populated throughout the later transition from Roman … Continue reading “Augsburg Impressions”

Altmühl Dinosaurs

The picturesque valley of the river Altmühl, crossing Bavaria from west to east where it joins the Danube, features a number of limestone quarries which continue to reveal large amounts of Jurassic fossils. The Dinosaur Park Altmühltal, located halfway between Munich and Nuremberg near the town of Denkendorf, has a number of them on display … Continue reading “Altmühl Dinosaurs”

Messe München-Riem

Last year I posted a gallery on the peculiar geometrical horrors of Munich’s Messestadt Riem. As noted there the Messestadt got its name from the nearby trade fair (Messe München). While also modern, the grand spacious architecture of the main Messe entrance around its artificial lake (Messesee) is much more impressive than Messestadt’s endless rows … Continue reading “Messe München-Riem”

Schloss Nymphenburg

Schloss Nymphenburg (more details) is a vast Wittelsbach palace and park complex in Munich. Completed in 1675, the palace was originally situated some distance from the city but today is wholly engulfed by it. I always wanted to post a gallery of it, and since I somewhat botched my first gallery with the Sony DSC-HX90 … Continue reading “Schloss Nymphenburg”

Aying: Beer & Architecture

If extinct Prussia was an army that had a state, Aying is the Bavarian equivalent: a brewery that has a village. In ascending order of importance, Aying refers to a spacious municipality to the southeast of Munich, with a total population of 5200 resulting in a density that rivals Antarctica; next, the chief village of … Continue reading “Aying: Beer & Architecture”

Sony DSC-HX90: Pocket Ultrazoom

Having concluded that long telephotos on a full-frame camera are really quite awkward, I decided to check out current offerings in the small-sensor market. Some models can achieve a full-frame equivalent zoom of nearly 1000 mm, as the small sensor effectively crops out the center of an imaginary full-frame shot. Many compact cameras look and … Continue reading “Sony DSC-HX90: Pocket Ultrazoom”