Some years ago I got a Minadax 1.7× teleconverter of the front-mounted persuasion. In my first Hellabrunn zoo gallery you can see it in action on my Sony A7R II with the SEL-70200G f/4 lens, achieving a total effective focal length of nearly 340 mm. That’s good but since then I discovered the SEL-24240 lens … Continue reading “Tierpark Hellabrunn with SEL-70300 and Minadax”
Category: Photography
Galleries and equipment
Andechs Abbey
The hill overlooking the small Bavarian municipality of Andechs originally held a medieval castle, razed in 1208. By that time, however, several relics had already been transferred to the site, making it a popular pilgrimage location. Consequently Duke Albert III of Bavaria turned the site into a Benedictine monastery in 1455, raised to the status … Continue reading “Andechs Abbey”
Freising Cathedral
Freising is a town of about 50,000 situated around some hills along the Isar to the north of Munich. It resembles the similarly-sized Passau (see pictures of town, cathedral, castle) in several aspects: a long settlement history, including major importance as medieval trade centers, a notable cathedral, and a fortified bishop’s seat. One point where … Continue reading “Freising Cathedral”
Two 19th Century Art Collections
I had recently visited two of Munich’s copious art museums, both showing fine samples of 19th century art: the permanent exhibition of the Neue Pinakothek back in May, and the current (always changing) exhibition of the Kunsthalle right now. The collections are massive, especially at Neue Pinakothek, but I sampled a few items to give … Continue reading “Two 19th Century Art Collections”
Flugwerft Schleißheim
Flugwerft Schleißheim is a Deutsches Museum outpost with a large collection of historical and modern aircraft. The location started out as an actual airfield of the Royal Bavarian Flying Corps in 1912–1919, and the airfield is still in use for the museum’s restoration work. In fact, one well-restored exhibit just landed while I was there! … Continue reading “Flugwerft Schleißheim”
Geometrical Messestadt Riem
Riem is a small farming village to the east of Munich which was eventually engulfed by the expanding city and became a district. Rather than immediately urbanizing the area, a large open space to the south of Riem was dedicated to Munich-Riem airport in the late 1930s. The airport continued operation until 1992 when the … Continue reading “Geometrical Messestadt Riem”
Munich Airport Exhibition
Last week Munich Airport celebrated the 25th anniversary of its move from Munich-Riem – too confined and too close to the city proper – out to Erdinger Moos, a sparsely populated area nearly 30 km distant from Munich. Aside from the requisite Bratwurst and Bierzelt the celebration included an exhibition of various civilian and military … Continue reading “Munich Airport Exhibition”
Sony Alpha 7R II Review
In February 2016 I traded in my Sony Alpha 7R for the new and improved successor model, the Sony Alpha 7R II. So far I had not posted a comprehensive review but rather sprinkled several remarks among the gallery posts I had used it for. Today I’ll aggregate these remarks with some additional information. First, … Continue reading “Sony Alpha 7R II Review”
Munich Friedensengel
Close to Munich’s Villa Stuck is the famous Friedensengel monument (Angel of Peace), built 1896–99 to celebrate 25 years of peace between France and Germany following the Franco-Prussian war of 1870–71. Equivalent pictures were originally attached to the linked Villa Stuck gallery but I wasn’t happy with them, so here’s another take with the Sony … Continue reading “Munich Friedensengel”
Metten & Osterhofen
In June and July 2014, I took a few iPhone 5s pictures of two splendid baroque church buildings in the vicinity of Passau, the Metten monastery and the Asam basilica in Osterhofen. While no comparison to the Sony Alpha 7R, the iPhone 5s camera delivers a surprising amount of brightness and detail. I created a … Continue reading “Metten & Osterhofen”