Photos from the topfloor

Change to Wordpress - end of this blog

2011-08-20T11:05:00.001-07:00

Bokeh Princess, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Hello my dear reader,
it is time to move forward to a Wordpress Blog. It is hosted at my long term URL photosfromthetopfloor.com. Please reset your Bookmark and redirect your RSS feed reader.
Thx for following, Carsten

Leaving for Brighton (UK)

2011-05-18T03:07:00.001-07:00

Santander Pirat, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Tonight, I'll travel to Brighton (UK) to participate in a workshop by L.A. based Street Photographer Eric Kim.
Following Eric's Blog for quite some time, it was a clear decision to go there when he twittered about his first european workshop.
His Blog is definitely worth reading if you have an interest in streetphotography.
Packing gear was a breeze as I just had to reconfigure (read: leave things at home) from my Italy trip some weeks ago. I hope to bring home some nice shots as Brighton is a very interesting place to shoot (been there in Aug 2009 last time).
Have fun,
Carsten

Film selbst entwickeln - welcher Entwickler?

2011-04-09T10:43:00.001-07:00

unboxed - TRIX - HCD new - SOOS, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Einen etwas aufwendigeren Versuch habe ich in Braunschweig mit dem Team von der Firma Spürsinn und den Absolut Analog Leuten gestartet.

Mit mehr als 10 verschiedenen Entwicklern ging die Gruppe an den Start.

Die von mir eingesetzten Filme waren TRIX und efke 25 /50, die Entwickler waren Agfa Rodinal R09, Tetenal Neofin blau, Spur SD2525, MixTour MT134 sowie der neue HCD Entwickler.

Eine Auswahl meiner Ergebnisse habe ich mit dem Flickr-Tag 'Analog Developer Check' in jeweils einer unbearbeiteten Fassung (Straight out of Scanner SOOS, Scan mit mind. 3200 dpi, 16-bit Graustufen als TIFF, ohne Schärfung im Scanner) und einer in Lightroom mit geringem Zeitaufwand optimierten Fassung versehen.

In den jeweiligen Tags der Bilder gibt Details (Entwicklungszeiten und Temperaturen usw.).

Als vorläufiges Resumee für mich (der Vergleich ist noch nicht zu Ende): TRIX und efke 25 / 50 rocken mit Spur SD2525, ganz besonders mit dem FeinkornV2 der MixTour. An den neuen HCD laß ich auch nichts kommen, ob er in meiner Geschmackswelt mit dem FeinkornV2 / MixTour mithalten kann, werde ich noch austesten.

Ich freue mich auf Feedback. Falls Ihr von Flickr-Gruppen oder -Threads wißt, in denen solchen Beispiele auch gezeigt werden, freue ich mich auf Eure Flickr Mail - denn das Lernen geht weiter.

Carsten

just a short bye bye for the week

2011-04-04T15:01:00.001-07:00

City Icon - Ellis Island, originally uploaded by topfloor.

I will be heading to a small european island tomorrow for a short business trip, so I'll be offline for the week. have fun and continue to shoot and share, please!
Carsten

Streets in Color

2011-03-26T04:57:00.001-07:00

riding, originally uploaded by topfloor.

The flickr group 'Streets in Color' selected this picture among the 'Featured Photos of the Week' of March 25, 2011.

Head dover to this group and have a look at their pool.

Happy Shooting!

Large Format - First Steps

2011-03-24T16:03:00.001-07:00

Central Tram station, originally uploaded by topfloor.

After meeting the local New York Streetphotographer Louis Mendez

in New York last year, his Graflex large format camera inspired me to get hold of one on eBay as well. After visiting a really cool large format workshop in Braunschweig at Spürsinn some weeks ago, I found time to use my Graflex for the first time alone in the urban environment.

As large format camera‘s work great, but not fast, I choose some architecture at Kassel for my first venture. I had loaded my 4x5“ large format filmmagazines with Fomapan 400 film (with 26 sheets / pictures) and went out to have some fun.

Detail of the first picture

For metering I used my trusty Gossen Digisix. After I had visited the castle, the new and the old train station, my given timeframe was over and I headed home.

Today I developed the film(s) - and was at my first point of confusion. I have Rodinal, XTOL and HC-110 developer in my fridge, but in the massive dev chart App on my Pad I could not find any information for the Fomapan 400 film I had used. Now Google is my friend, and in an large format forum someone had asked this question just 5 weeks ago and shared his experiences. So I went for 12 minutes at 20 degr. with XTOL 1:1, and the results turned out well. Then I googled how to loead the special 4x5 Inch JoBo Filmreel with the sheets, practised with one sheet in plain sight, and then ,shaked the soup‘.

Some examples can be found here . . .

shooting shooters

City Icon

Lessons learned this time: I need a larger development tank, as only 6 sheets of film fit in mine. Framing is still a little bit on the trial and error side. And I have to slow down even more :-)

Next time I‘ll be shooting the Graflex will probably be in Venice, where I hope to capture urban landscape as well as some street with this cam.

City Icon - New York's Lady Liberty

2011-03-21T16:14:00.001-07:00

City Icon - New York's Lady Liberty, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This photo was really fun to take. It was shot on a very cold, sunny winter day in january. Revisiting Lady Liberty for the 2nd time, after 27 years of absence, was one of my highlights of this NYC trip.

Walking around the island, looking for a pleasing angle and an acceptable background, operating the camera with gloves and enjoying the view of Manhattan was challenging.

This picture is one of those I like, converted to bw in NIK Silver Efex Pro 1.

Have fun,
Carsten

In favour of analogue - Unlimited Grain Bookproject

2011-03-11T11:08:00.001-08:00

Light through door, originally uploaded by edward olive fotógrafo de boda.

Wedding and Portrait photographer Edward Olive's photostream on flickr is really worth a visit. He often uses light in this great, classic Hollywood manner. His photos speak a unique language of light.

Together with other photographers, he started a project I want to point you to (text from the Flickr Photopage of the shown photo of Edward). . .

UNLIMITED GRAIN

A collection of fine art photography featuring the work of Edward Olive and other artists.

More and more photographers are starting or returning to use film. There is a revival going on.
On our website we can see a growing interest in this now called "vintage" phenomenon of analogue (analog) photography.
We realize that analogue is not the right term and it should really be "photography that includes a chemical process". However, this is a mouthful, so we stick with analogue.
We run the THIAPS website now for about 3 years and slowly we grew tired of looking at brilliant photography on a computer screen.
So let's print it. It took us 6 months to create a short list of photographers who we wanted to ask for this project. We also came to the conclusion that one book would probably not be satisfactory, so we decided to go for a series of books. For some reason we thought that portraits would be the perfect theme for the first one. Other topics, like landscape's, urban, street photography, nocturnal and more could follow.
And we call it the UNLIMITED GRAIN series.
So, now we have 120 pages with a wide variety of analogue photography from large format via 35mm to instant film.
I hope this book will inspire you and that more people will take an interest working with film and chemicals.

Enjoy!

The Participants: Lauren E. Simonutti, Joshua Black Wilkins, Frans Peter Verheyen, Vittorio Colombi, Stephane Polteau, James Wigger, Steffo Weber, Maciek Lesniak, Urs Bernhard, Claudia Moroni, Carmen Palermo, Tanel Verk, Shannon Richardson, Alek Lindus, Tadas Kazakevicius, László Lejkó, Deborah Parkin, Ben Parks, Edoardo Pasero, Madlen Kirchner, Flavia Schaller, Tobias Feltus, Anna Chobotova, Milosz Wozaczynski, Tim Franco, Alexey Alexeev, Giancarlo Rado, Ocaña Fernández, Laurent Orseau, Vít Kocián, Daryan Dornelles, Piotr Biegaj, Kiarash Sadigh, Leo Tage-Hansen, Aleksandra Patova, Vladimir Longauer, Marina Romanova, Takala, Joshua Black Wilkins, Katsunori Yamaguchi, Oliver Weber, Rik Garrett, J.R. Ball, Philippe Mougin, Edward Olive, Christo Stankulov, Cole Emde, Jonas Mattsson, Saroyan Humphrey, Lambis Stratoudakis, Steve Korn, Caglar Tahiroglu, Yuichiro Miyano, Lars Daniel Terkelsen, Ben Rains, and Thomas Krauss

www.thiaps.com/

Explore analogue photography, as it exists today and what it will be tomorrow.

THIAPS, The International Analogue Photographic Society is a platform for photographers who love the tactile quality of film-based images, as well as enjoy the wet and warm smell of developers and fixative, with a strong belief that "Film is not dead it just smells funny."
For those who create their photographs with 35mm, roll films, sheets and plates, with Polaroid or Liquid Light, with Large Format or any tool what so ever, as long as chemical processing is involved.

Photo 'Light through door' by Edward Olive (c)

Films I like . . .

2011-02-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share a few examples (a few already posted here) with you. Shots I took using film, selfdeveloped if bw. Scanned with either the EPSON V750 or a Nikon Coolscan 9000ED.

Kodak TRIX 400
Example 1

Example 2 (shot very close to the location of the shot above)

High quality bw film with unique look in contrast and grain. Can be pulled 1 stop and pushed 2 stops, even 3 if it has to be. Does not like every developer though. I prefer Rodinal or XTOL.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kodak Portra400 (new)

The colors are close to natural. Skin tones are 'real', and the non-skin colors are relativly vivid. As I like a punchy look in my color images, this new Portra 400 is good, but the 400VC (vivid color) is my favorrite (discontinued) -> see below for an example of the 400VC

Example of the Kodak Portra 400VC . . .

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Fuji Provia 400

Excellent film for shooting when the sun is gone. This example was pushed 2 stops. I love the slight color shift, the cinematic look it gives me. My favorite film for the evening / night, when 1600 ISO do the job

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rollei PAN 25

Sharp. Perfect for shooting in the sun, giving me the chance to shoot wide open when I have to.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Fuji Velvia 50F

Great for crossing. I usually bracket this film (3 exposures) as the color effects chance drastically with over- and underexposure. Totally surprising, fun to shoot subjects I have shot digitally or with 'normal' film.

Have fun finding the film that pleases you most for a given situation.

Carsten

Special Situations - special film: Fuji Provia 400X

2011-01-30T13:43:00.001-08:00

top of the rock II, originally uploaded by topfloor.

The Fuji Provia 400X is a color reversal film with a unique feature - it can be pushed 2 stops and delivers unique color characteristics with a cinema look when used after dark.

On the Fuji page, you can read . . .

. . . delivers the same vivid color reproduction and regulated gray balance as ISO 100 film. Excellent results in push-/pull processing for a wide range of exposures, from -1/2 (E.I.280) to +2 (E.I.1600) stops, and even up to +3 depending on the scene.

This shot from the Rockefeller center (Top of the Rock) is SOOC and shows some of it's potential. I exposed some more rolls at ISO 1600 for streetshots after sunset and look forward to see more results.

Some more fine examples of the great use of the Fuji Provia 400X film is shown by flickr user Dove Vadar aka Francis Tan like these ones . . .

All photos used in this blog post (besides the one of the view from the Rockefeller Center) were made by Dove Vadar (Francis Tan), he has the full Copyright.

The film is not cheap (6 Dollar for 120, 10 Dollar for a 135 film), also processing is more expensive than the C41 process. Still, the color characteristics are unique.

It's really special to discover the various film types and their use for my style of photography.

Have fun and discover your views of Gotham city icons!

on Steichen's suit - the Flatiron building

2011-01-30T13:23:00.001-08:00

white park, originally uploaded by topfloor.

As flickr user Scottoo remarked, my try of a winter shot of the Flatiron building was inspired by Steichen. I had the privilege to see an original print of this picture

at a Steichen exhibit at South Sea Port / NYC in Oct. 2010 and was moved by the strength and simplicity of this picture.

It inspired me to return to the Flatiron three months later and do this winter shot of the Flatiron myself.

Have fun and enjoy your views of the icons of Gotham city!

Medium Format Examples

2011-01-22T21:19:00.001-08:00

food service, originally uploaded by topfloor.

A little while ago I blogged about doing travel- and streetphotography with a foldable medium format camera.

I tried another approach while I am in New York on a business trip with a Hasselblad (waistlevel finder) medium format SLR.

This photo is an example what can be done with a 'slow' camera (manual focus, manual metering) such as the rented 503CX Hasselblad with the 80 mm CFE lens (a normal lens for medium format).

Finding the spot (background etc.) and waiting for the action proved to be one of the successful ways to make this work.

If you care about some more examples of this kind of pics, have a look at my flickr stream (places i've been - Manhattan flickr set).

Have fun,
Carsten

Hassi ready for Gotham City

2011-01-13T19:18:00.001-08:00

Hassi ready for Gotham City, originally uploaded by topfloor.

A first time for me - shooting a medium format Hasselblad with waistlevel finder. And big luck to be able shot shoot it in Manhattan while here on a business trip. The camera is a 503cw, rented from Adorama Rental Company ARC in midtwon. I use it with A12 backs (3) and a 80 mm CFE lens, which is roughly the same as a 50 mm lens in 35 mm format.

The picture is left - right reversed, which takes some time to get used to (I turn the cam to the wrong side when recomposing). Shooting low downs is a breeze with this kind of finder. Metering is done with a separate lightmeter (Gossen digisix). Cool feature - the digisix gives you the Exposure Values as well. These are also on the 80 mm lens, so I can find the appropriate shitterspeed / aperture combos quickly :-)

Loading film in the A12 magaqzines is easy - once you know which mistakes to avoid. A youtube video (just search for loading film Hasselblad) helped a lot.

Put 5 rolls of film through (Kodak new Portra 400 and TRIX 400) the camera today while walking the Intrepid / Times Square / Flatiron and SoHo, will collect the developed and scanned film from Luster tomorrow evening.

Shooting a larger medium format camera like this is asthonishingly easy, handling etc. seemd quite easy for a beginner.

Have fun,
Carsten

Unbelievable - blogging in 30.000 feet

2011-01-12T04:58:00.001-08:00

FRA, originally uploaded by topfloor.

I am just traveling from Frankfurt to New York in a Lufthansa Airbus. Lufthansa is offering WiFi for free, so I can. Surf the Net, write a few Mails and Write this blogpost. A first time for me, I was analog bevor, just reading books and magazines on flighttime. I enjoy the freedom to roam, and wanted to share my anxiety for my NY trip.
This trip is for business purpose, but in spare time I'll shoot some Rolls of film. My M7 and some medium format gear look forward to be put to use. May the analog power be with me :-)
Have fun.

Strange Selfie - Lomo Spinner 360

2010-12-05T00:52:00.001-08:00

IcMe, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This is an example of a easy done, but strange Selfie- The Lomo Spinner 360 takes a (more than) 360 degrees pano shot, so I was on the pic two times.

The camera really is of low quality, mine failed after only 15 films (and was replaced without problems by the Lomo shop Vienna).

The Museum Quarter in Vienna where the pic was taken is a place really worth more than one visit, a place to see, talk, chill and relax.

Happy shooting,
Carsten

Vintage Camera - Polaroid Land Camera Automatic 101

2010-11-16T12:25:00.001-08:00

Shell Building - the wave, originally uploaded by topfloor.

A few weeks ago, I was wandering through Berlin with an PLC 101, loaded with Fuji 100C film. This is the Shell building in Berlin at Lützowufer near my hotel, an eyecatcher. It's nice to rediscover well known places with another camera / film combo that just adds an edge to things.

This type of film required me to check temperature and to tear the two sheets apart after just the right time to get a proper developed picture - no big deal though. The rich colors and sharp contrasts surprised me in a nice way.

Get inspired, get shooting :-)
Carsten

blue hour or golden hour?

2010-11-16T04:59:00.001-08:00

blue hour or golden hour?, originally uploaded by topfloor.

who cares? Light as seen in the shot makes me wake up early, pull out a sturdy tripd and expose myself to the cilly winds at the north sea ;-)

This is only a 'trial' shot for my film shots with a medium format camera.

I enjoyed my time at List harbour this morning, also because there was nobody around.

Happy shooting,
Carsten

Shooting Travelphotography with a foldable Medium Format camera

2010-11-14T08:34:00.001-08:00

cobbelstone, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This is an example of the first ten 120-format films I shot, self-developed and scanned. There is quite a lot to learn, so I am far from good at this.

An Ilford Delta 3200 ISO film was used for this shot of a street in Dresden in the evening, the Voigtländer Bessa III was my camera of choice. Besides giving you only 12 shots per roll of film, this camera is beautiful. The coupled rangefinder makes focussing easy, the central shutter (built into the lens) makes nearly no sound at all, and when it's folded together, the camera is very portable on a vacation.

Due to the big film format, shots with shallow depth of field can easily be obtained, and I look forward to my future experiences with this rare film / camera combo.

Voitgländer Camera

Ilford Film

Happy shooting,
Carsten

Manual focus versus Autofocus - funny YouTube video

2010-11-13T23:50:00.001-08:00

she knows what he wants, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This is a very funny, yet technical interesting YouTube video about focusing techniques. The funny guys from Digital Rev compare a Canon V Mk II with an Olympus EP-1 and a Leica M9.

or the tiny link . . . http://tinyurl.com/2vft9my

Have a look and a laugh :-)

Carsten

analog day at the beach

2010-11-13T10:58:00.001-08:00

analog day at the beach, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Lucky weather today. I made use of the weather by shooting a few rolls of film. The Rollei Nightbird, Fuji Velvia 100F, Fuji Sensia 100 and Agfa Precisa were my friends (with 120 and 135 film).

This is a iPhone shot of my R4A with a light gathering device attached to it at List harbour / Sylt.

Happy shooting, Carsten

Praxis der Polaroid Land Fotografie - Buchtipp

2010-11-12T09:17:00.001-08:00

Praxis der Polaroid Land Fotografie, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Wer sich für alte Polaroid Kameras interessiert, so auch die Automatic Kameras und Co, kann sich in diesem antiquarisch erhältlichen Buch kundig machen. Kostet nicht viel und erhellt dennoch. Steht auch mehr drin als in der Bedienungsanleitung, welche sich auf Orphancameras als PDF oft finden läßt.

Der Tipp zu diesem Buch kam zu mir vom Laden für analoge Fotografie (Versand, Braunschweig) Spürsinn - http://www.spuer-sinn.net

Happy shooting, Carsten

6x6 and 35 mm - different feelings

2010-11-12T03:21:00.001-08:00

Warehouse Palace I, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Some bloggers take the analog route and rediscover film shooting. Same goes for me. Inspired by a blog post from Chris Marquard, I wrote up some differences between these systems I found out this year.

For 35 mm, I use the Leica M System. A M7 offers you center weighted aperure priority shooting, the rangefinder is coupled, of course. The system is very small (for 35 mm) and pretty useful for still and moving objects alike. Vignetting can be produced on a 35 mm camera as well, depending on the lens you attach, e.g. the 50 mm Noctilux f/1.0 with nice bokeh and vignette.

In the medium format / 6x6 range, I use foldable cameras with coupled rangefinders and built in light meters, such as the Plaubel Makina 67 or the Voigtländer Bessa III. The way of shooting is pretty much the same as with a Leica M7, only the depth of field is more shallow.

I have yet to compare the films between 35 mm and 6x6, and I tend to push or pull my films only on rare occasions, so I am not experienced in this field.

Street Photography can be done with a (modern = less than 25 years old) 6x6 as well as a 35 mm camera, I guess. The 10 / 12 pictures per roll slow you down a bit, of course, because you have to change films often. 10 rolls a day were a common rate on my trip to Prague this may, when I was only shooting 6x6, one camera loaded with a low ISO film, the other with a fast film, so I would just change cameras when moving from the sun into a shady little street.

An advantage of this low frame number is that I can change films more foten to adapt to changing situaions. When shooting in Venice in September this year, I was often changing between the Rollei Nightbird (Redscale) when I had a backlit subject (Rialto bridge tec.) and Rollei Crossbird when in even light or shadow surroundings. WIth only 12 frames on a film, this can be done conventiently often without wasting material.

The focusing is also a bit slower on the 6x6 cameras, because they are less compact than the 35 mm Rangefinders. But with Zones focusing, this can be solved.

The 6x6 is also a lot less (!!) noisy because the central shutter (built in the lens) makes almost no sound at all when you click the shutter.

The positive feedback when using a 6x6 can be confirmed - a street musican on Karlsbridge made the other people step to the side so I could get a better view fo him because 'this guy is going to take a real picture with a real camera - he needs the space to get a good shot'. You get smiles when people realize you take their picture when using the foldable 6x6.

The 6x6 gives me a different feel in my hands, a feeling I truly enjoy from time to time :-) - so it all depends on the lens / camera and film combo you use, I think.

The photographer makes the picture, not the camera - true, I think. But the camera / lens / film combo influences me as the Photographer; I'll take different pictures with different cameras / films / lenses because of the different (welcomed) limitations these factors have.

Have fun and share your analog adventures with us,
Carsten

Emphasis via Focus

2010-11-11T12:26:00.001-08:00

Rainy on The Island, originally uploaded by topfloor.

In this shot, I wanted to show you the mood and the weather at Sylt (Germany's northern mst island) - so I focused on the rain drops at the window. Hope it works and that the storms that will hit the island tomorrow will make for great sky afterwards.

Happy shooting, Carsten

Sun over Sylt

2010-11-10T09:34:00.001-08:00

Sun over Sylt, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Found my way on the island. First day, sun and just a little bit of wind - a perfect day at the North Sea shore. With Denmark in sight, the view at Sylt's northern most point (Ellenbogen) was great. Shot a few Polaroids (Spectra Film, expired in 2008) today and enjoy a nice dinner at the appartment right now.

Happy shooting, Carsten

the best camera

2010-11-07T06:49:00.001-08:00

earthbound, originally uploaded by topfloor.

is the one that you have with you. Sometimes for me this is my iPhone. Recently I was pointed towards the Hipstamatic App for the iPhone, a rather slow working App that takes the picture with a lens and film simulation that you have to dial in. The results are quite often pretty 'artsy' but fun.

http://hipstamaticapp.com/ - Link

Check it out if you have a faible for a look like this.

Happy Shooting,
Carsten

Good Streetphotography Video (Robert Mitchell)

2010-11-01T05:35:00.001-07:00

Let's take this restaurant, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Very nice video about Streetphotography, featuring th ebritish shooter Robert Mitchell

You need to install Adobe Flash Player, or use an HTML5 browser that supports H.264 video.

Have fun watching it,
Carsten

Searching for . . .

2010-10-21T10:22:00.001-07:00

mask yourself for streetshooting, originally uploaded by topfloor.

the details that make a city. This time I was looking for reflections, a symbol for the city and a human element. When all fell into place, it was a simple click.

Preset Fuji Velvia 50 applied to the RAW file in Lightroom 3.

I wish you a wonderful week, go out and enjoy taking some pictures!

Carsten

PX70 Color Shade Film

2010-10-12T11:34:00.001-07:00

what a burden . . ., originally uploaded by topfloor.

Playing around with the Polaroid SX70 at Rockefeller Center, NYC, last week. Such a graphic place never fails to attract me.

The PX70 film by the impossible project (at least the current flush) is dissapointing - weak in colors and contrast, artsy is the only excuse that goes along with this film. Hope, it'll improve with the next flushes they produce in the Netherlands.

Have fun,
Carsten

Polaroid infected

2010-09-29T21:27:00.001-07:00

View of my hotel bed, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Today I visited the Impossible Project Gallery and Store on Broadway / Manhattan. The pictures they show are astonishing, they blow them up to an incredible size.

They have refurbished vintage Polaroid cameras for sale, a silver SX70 fell into my hands, together with some packs of PX100 bw and Milk4th color film. Looking forward to polaroid around in New York the coming days :-)

http://www.the-impossible-project.com/

Happy shooting, Carsten

Featured by Torontoist

2010-09-29T13:36:00.001-07:00

LEVI's umbrella, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This bokeh hunt shot I made in Toronto during heavy rain made it as the Photoist selction of the group - thx to the adminds for that!

Have a look at the Torontoist website here http://torontoist.com/2010/09/photoist_september_29_2010.php

in Toronto now

2010-09-26T17:26:00.001-07:00

Toronto Sky II, originally uploaded by topfloor.

fine City, good weather, fun on the streets . . .

I have been in the city of Toronto / Canada for three days now. Thanks to some nice contacts, I could explore the streets with other cool shooters and get to know a little bit of this town. Very enjoyable so far.

And I learned a few new little tricks in LR3 which is always a pleasure :-)

My new NEX5 behaves well and works with my Leica lenses thanks to the Voigtlaender adapter.

Happy shooting,
Carsten

New headphone - tech sidenote

2010-08-15T09:47:00.001-07:00

Concert for one #3, originally uploaded by fortytwenty.

On my recent trip to Berlin I had the chance to try out the new Bowers and Wilkens P5 headphones. Besides being small and even with glasses a comfortable wear, the sound quality is very good.

Definitely bigger than the in-ear-things, the P5 still folds down to a pretty small pack and can be stowed away in a decent sack provided with them.

Should you be looking for new headphones, you might want to give them a try. Sound quality on the iPhone is inderior because of the cheap D/A unit, but on an iPod remarkably well, if you have recorded your music in high quality MP3 or Apple Lossless format.

The headphones have a builöt in microphone in the cable so you can use them for hands free phone calls as well.

Amazon Video for the P5

This excellent Photo was taken by fortytwenty

Frame within

2010-08-15T09:38:00.001-07:00

Frame within, originally uploaded by topfloor.

An example of my shots I took the analogue way during a week long trip. I visited Dresden, Karlsbad and Prague, exposing more than 50 rolls of film (mostly 120 bw).

Business and travels keep me busy this summer, so blogging is difficult for me right now. Thx for staying tuned. Have fun!
Carsten

and the winner is . . .

2010-06-24T09:44:00.001-07:00

Spaceship V - up in the sky, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Brian Auer from his EPIC Edits Blog choose this photo (inspired by a shot of the same location by my friend - Composer - out of my Flickr stream as his fav shot. Have a look at his interesting blog over here

EPIC Edits

and see more photos like this by me over here

Vanishing Points set

Have fun!
Carsten

vanishing lines

2010-06-19T04:45:00.001-07:00

vanishing, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Having returned for some days from my travels to Prague, Malta and Berlin, I am scanning the many rolls of film I filled on these travels (10 done with 54 to go) - kind of boring job ;-) . So I find some time to blog a little . . .

For a call for photos on a blog, I screended my stream for vanishing point shots - and was surprised to fund out I had shot dozens shots fitting that theme in the last 2 years - obviously I was (and am) addicted to these kind of geometric things without relising it :-)

Head over to the Epic Edits Blog to find out details about these theme calls and have fun.

17 inspirational Analog Photos

2010-06-10T13:47:00.001-07:00

1 minute past high noon, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Over at the fine blog 'Epic Edits' Brian Auer has themes going. The last was was Analog, and I am humbled by the selction of this shot I took for the selection. Head over to Brians Blog and see the rest . . .

Epic Edits Blog / Analog

Have fun!

Beauty of Subways

2010-05-30T14:23:00.001-07:00

Lisboa Metro I, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Big fun to hunt for views like this one in the Metro stations. Lisboa has one of the most beautiful metro systems in Europe.

Having just returned from Prague with the Metro that have the communist charme ;-), I appreciated the Lisboa memories even more.

Fotografen Gesichter

2010-05-16T14:30:00.001-07:00

Fotografen Gesichter I, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Frau Dr. Martina Mettner hat mit Ihrem Buch 'Wie man ein großartiger Fotograf wird' einigen Staub aufgewirbelt. Wenige positive Rezensionen auf der Amazon Buchseite und auch in den Foren sehr gemischte Kritiken sind typisch für das Echo der deutschen Fotografen.

Mich hat Ihr rosa Buch begeistert, auch wenn ich nicht alle Meinungen und Standpunkte teilen kann.

Eine ihrer Ideen für Fotoclubs ist, das sich die Teilnehmer gegenseitig fotografieren (mal endlich was fotografieren, das sprechen, sich bewegen und weglaufen kann).

Gesagt - Getan. Im lokalen Fotoclub kam die Projektidee gut an. Dies sind einige meiner Fotos. Jeweils ein Portrait, eins mit geschlossenen Augen und eines mit der Kamera am Auge. Hat Spaß gemacht, mal sehen, was die anderen Herren so für Fotoideen haben werden.

Lichtaufbau: 3 Feuchtraumneonröhren vom Baumarkt für 9,99 Euro das Stück gekauft. Jeweils eine links und rechts des Models nebem dem Gesicht, eine mittig dahinter. Vor schwarzem Hintergrund in dunklem Raum. Fotografiert mit D700 + 85 mm f/1.4 bzw. M9 + 50 mm f/1.0. In Lightroom mit Filmpreset zu SW gewandelt. Danke an meine geduldigen Models und meinen Assistenten Composer!

Link zum Buch - zum kritischen Lesen empfohlen

Self developing your BW film

2010-05-13T03:34:00.001-07:00

First steps I, originally uploaded by topfloor.

First steps with developing film myself.

I got myself a meduim format foldable Rangefinder, the Voigtländer Bessa III 667 camera

from some money I got from selling gear on eBay. Full Copyright of the above picte (c) 2009 by chachahavana. Have a look at his outstanding Flickr stream .

This is one of my first takes with a roll of BW medium format film (120 Ilford FP4 plus ISO 125). The patient first subject was by beloved Great Dane Ayk.

So the subject and composition are typical for a first shoots with new camera, I guess. Will have to go along the learning curve for some time.

Film developed in Agfa Rodinal R09 One Shot. Quite some help on developing film yourself can be found here . . .

German with excellent tips, a real good guide for beginners

English on the Feeling Negative Blog with nice instructional videos and texts

Best prices, fast delivery and friendly phone contact for Germany I could find on the Internet was at macodirect.de . If somebody knows an even better source in Germany, please leave a comment here.

Have a good time, Carsten

Going analogue with the Leica M7

2010-05-03T12:39:00.001-07:00

Leica M7, originally uploaded by Guido Steenkamp.

Photo by Guido Steenkamp / Berlin (c) 2008

After some blogging absence I am back now with an enhancement of my choice of photographic tools. Since march I am exploring analogue paths.

Things started with a planned visiti to Europe's biggest Lomo store in Berlin.

There, I acquired a Lomo LC-A with the new Instant back (photo above taken with this combo). A funny and akward thing :-)

More than a month later, I found a Leica M7 on eBay. The price was fair, the condition is unused, and is has the 0.58 viewfinder and the MP advance lever (very similar to Guido's photo above). As I had 10 days to test the camera I put 6 rolls of Kodak Ektachrome and Fuji Colorfilm through it while being on business trips to Kassel, Frankfurt and Nuernberg. Surpringsingly, I was able to put the camera to work at once, even loading film was a breeze after finding some help on YouTube Videos.

The M7 camera works - as my M8 and M9 - precise and smooth. Nicely is the lack of noise for rewinding. And thanks to a local camera store, the films were developed and scanned to a CD in less than 2 hours after delivery.

Workflow in Lightroom is much faster than with RAWs because I took less pictures and the files needed less tweeks. But, the Scans do have much less room for working on them as they were only JPG mid resolution scans.

So far, shooting film was much fun. I'll continue to follow this analogue path and look forward to learn more about the characteristics of the different film types available.

In my fridge, a selection of rolls are waiting for exposure. I went for a roll of . . .
. . . Neopan 400 135-36, Delta 400 135-36, Tri-X 400 135-36, Portra BW400CN 135-36, HP5 Plus 135-36, XP2 Super 135-36, Neopan, Acros 100 135-36, PanF Plus 135-36, Kodak Ektachrome E200 135-36, Portra 400VC 135-36, Velvia 100F 135-36, Fuji Color XTRA 400, Fuji Color XTRA 800, TMAX 400, TMAX P3200, Kodak 160CV and the Kodak 400VC.

These rolls will take some time and travels to be exposed :-)

Some basic Film informations can be found on this website blende7.at (click on the film logos to get infos about this brands film - in german language only).

Looking for some analogue experiences on the web, I found these sources to be inspiring and helpful . . .

Feeling negative? - Very informative website and Blog
Returning to film - Blog by an enthusiast

Have fun,
Carsten

Cool Holga Video

2010-03-21T03:21:00.001-07:00

long gone, ursprünglich hochgeladen von topfloor

about the toy cam, how to modify and use it.

Have a look at it here . . .

Happy Shooting,
Carsten

Wim Wenders on Vimeo

2010-03-20T15:46:00.001-07:00

winter walk, ursprünglich hochgeladen von topfloor

For the 2008 Photokina, Leica produced a short (less than 2 minutes) video, emphasizing the emotional qualities of photography.

You may want to have a look here (Vimeo):

Wim Wenders on Leica from leica camera on Vimeo.

Happy shooting, Carsten

Changing the perspective

2010-03-18T01:03:00.001-07:00

Path to the sky, ursprünglich hochgeladen von topfloor

This shot, taken by putting the camera down on the facade and the lens pointing upwards, is catching a perspective of a path / walkway with the sandstones.

Sometimes it works better than here, but I enjoy capturing scenes like this one.

Happy shooting!
Carsten

I am featured on Leica Shots . . .

2010-03-17T00:39:00.001-07:00

M8 on stone, ursprünglich hochgeladen von topfloor

The guys from Leica Shots were kind enough to feature me and some pics on their site today . . .

You can find a new profile and one or a few portfolio pictures of photographrs that use Leica equipment on this website every day.

This is the Link for the todays feature . . .

Happy shooting,
Carsten

fun of self service

2010-03-17T00:34:00.001-07:00

Leopard, ursprünglich hochgeladen von topfloor

Part of the Vapiano restaurant chain concept is the self service. With a chip card, you go for food and drinks yourself and pay when you leave the restaurant. I enjoy this concept very much - fast when I have no time and peace when I just want to be left alone.

Here in Mannheim's Vapiano, my First Lady and me wanted to read for a few hours in the evening (after having driven 4 hours and worked for another 6), enjoying good italian red wine after Pasta. Having no waiter, asking every 10 minutes for orders was really enjoyable.

Have fun,
Carsten

Las Vegas Street Photography on Vimeo

2010-03-09T02:37:00.001-08:00

New York Shopping V, ursprünglich hochgeladen von topfloor

via Guido Steenkamps Blog I found the Leica Portal where this vimeo video is linked . . .

Las Vegas Street Photography by Pj Perez

Las Vegas Street Photography from Pj Perez on Vimeo.

not too long and unique. Have fun, Carsten

Let's play

2010-03-08T08:57:00.001-08:00

traffic island, ursprünglich hochgeladen von topfloor

Crossing the street, I held the camera low and just clicked without looking through the mirror to catch the red and blue combo. No great pic, but one I like.

Sometimes it's time just to play :-)
Carsten

Another Example for low down silhoutte hunting

2010-03-06T06:35:00.001-08:00

Orangerie VI - en route to the city, originally uploaded by topfloor.

done in Kassel Fuldaaue (Orangerie), this time without HDR, just a single shot. Processed in Lightroom 2.6, shot with the M9 and the Super Elmar 18 mm f/3.8.

Happy shooting!
Carsten

For the love of silhouettes

2010-03-06T01:26:00.001-08:00

family affairs, originally uploaded by topfloor.

When I see a beautiful background, well lit, such as a nice sky on sunset (or sunrise) with clouds and a nice mood in it, I enjoy going low down and wait for people to walk through my pictures because they add the human element.

Here I was near the Lower Saxony town of Celle, enjoying some geocaching with a friend, and saw the blueish sky and the winter tree. The young family was friendly enough to walk through my picture ;-) .

Shot with M9 and the not so great 21 mm f/4 Voigtländer Color Skopar lens (sold after this shooting because of vignetting on the full frame M9 sensor).

Have fun,
Carsten

Black and White HDR

2010-03-05T01:03:00.001-08:00

deep tracks, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Classic problem - classic solution: When the contrast range of a scene is too wide for the camera (here the white of the snow / clouds in the sky and the black of the forest are too far apart, I do a bracketing series of shots.
The three pics were then converted to a HDR, using the standard settings of Photomatix Pro. As I dislike the artificial colors of HDRs very much, I converted the HDR pic to black and white with my fav tool - Nik Silver Efex Pro.
This is an example, taken in the forest near Celle with a 21 mm lens on a full frame sensor.

Happy shooting,
Carsten

David Solomons shooting Up West / London

2010-03-02T08:59:00.001-08:00

San Francisco XXIV - walk on Geary Str., originally uploaded by topfloor.

This is a nice 5 minutes YouTube Video of David, doing Streetphotography in London.

David on Flickr

The video on YouTube

Have a nice day!

Andrea bloggt über ihre Sucherkamera-Erfahrungen

2010-03-02T06:03:00.001-08:00

Angles and Corners of the Noctilux, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Andreaffm, laut ihrem Flickr-Profil eine Journalistin aus Frankfurt, berichtet auf ihrem Blog über ihren ersten Gehversuiche mit ihrer neuen Leica M9, außer den Erfahrungen mit der Retina ihres Vaters wohl ihre erste eigene Sucherkamera.

Sie tut dies so natürlich und manchmal auch selbestironisch, das man ihre Gefühle und Erfahrungen beim Umstieg von der Pentax DSLR mit 2.8er Zooms geradezu körperlich ;-) nachempfinden kann.

Hier könnt Ihr es nachlesen (auf Deutsch):
erster Tag: http://color.antville.org/stories/1975224/
zweiter Tag am Bahnhof: http://color.antville.org/stories/1975385/
dritter Tag bei Nacht: http://color.antville.org/stories/1975726/

Viel Spaß dabei.

Auch ein Kollege, der Stefan Wintermeyer, hat seine persönlichen Erfahrungswerte unter dem Titel 'Leica M9 – eine Liebesgeschichte' auf Heise.de publiziert:
http://www.heise.de/foto/artikel/Erfahrungswerte-Leica-M9-eine-Liebesgeschichte-929337.html

Auch dies vielleicht nicht immer ganz wörtlich bierernst zu nehmen, aber sehr authentisch und vergnüglich geschrieben.

Frohes knipsen,
Carsten

P.S. Dieser Beitrag wurde nach Andreaffm's Kommentar berichtigt (nicht Canon, sondern Pentax DSLR ud Vater's Retina).

Avoid the 21 mm f/4 Voigtlaender on the M9

2010-02-22T12:14:00.001-08:00

stirring clouds, originally uploaded by topfloor.

As Ken Rockwell wrote, I can now confirm that the Color Skopar 21 mm lens, made by Voigtländer and sold for around 350 Euros in Germany should be avoided on the Leica M9 because of heavy vignetting and some color fringing. Although this picture was taken with this camera / lens combo, the vignette was corrected in post and color fringing irrelevant because of the desaturation.

Happy shooting, Carsten

Low Down is fun

2010-02-17T11:15:00.001-08:00

Spaceship III - gangway, originally uploaded by topfloor.

My picture Spaceship III - gangway is a typical example for the low down syndrome ;-)

Trying to capture unusual persectives to make an attractive subject more eye catching, the low down thing is a common try for me.

I can recommend a visit to the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven where the shot was taken.

Happy shooting,
Carsten

Hopper's Hands at Golden Gate

2010-02-06T11:46:00.001-08:00

San Francisco XXVIII - Hopper's Hands at Golden Gate, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This is my fav perspectve at Fort Point near Golden Gate bridge. The two hands are at the end of a runners trail (with a little version for the dogs below).
Have a nice day!
Carsten

Lightroom 2 crashes in final version with pictures of Leica M9

2010-01-10T10:51:00.001-08:00

Angles and Corners of the Noctilux, originally uploaded by topfloor.

My LR2 crashed nearly every time I tried to develop pictures of a Leica M9 in the Develop module of LR2. After googling things, I found this on the Adobe website . . .

>>>
Lightroom 2.6
From Adobe Labs

Welcome to the Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom 2.6 release candidate on Adobe Labs. The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. The Lightroom team would like the community to help verify the quality of this update through normal usage as this will ensure that the application is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe.

If you do experience an issue with this release candidate please report it here: Bug Report Form

For more information on Lightroom 2 please visit the Lightroom pages on Adobe.com

Working with Lightroom 2.6
• Mac: The Mac Lightroom 2.6 release candidate can be installed alongside Lightroom 2.5.
• Windows: By default, this Lightroom 2.6 release candidate will remove or overwrite your existing Lightroom 2.5 installation. If you wish to return to Lightroom 2.5 after installing Lightroom 2.6, simply reinstall Lightroom 2.5 from your original download after uninstalling Lightroom 2.6 using the Windows add/remove program utility.

Both versions of the application share the same catalog format allowing your catalogs to be opened by either version without complications.

Leica M9 Users: The final releases of Lightroom 2.6 and Camera Raw 5.6 that followed this Release Candidate included a new bug that affects certain M9 images and causes the applications to crash. We've continued to provide access to the Release Candidates as the issue did not exist in these versions. The bug was introduced in the course of making image quality improvements to Leica M9 processing based on customer feedback. The Camera Raw and Lightroom teams recommend that you use the respective Release Candidate builds to work around the issue and apologize for this inconvenience while a new update is prepared.

To install Lightroom 2.6 Release Candidate, if you already have the final version:
• Mac: There is no need to delete the existing Lightroom 2.6 build. You can install the 2.6 RC directly.
• Win: You must uninstall Lightroom 2.6 via the Add or Remove Programs control panel before installing the Lightroom 2.6 RC.

>>>

Installing the older Relaese candidate as suggested on the website helped.

Have fun!

Inspiring film

2010-01-07T02:50:00.001-08:00

bad exhibition, originally uploaded by topfloor.

The film The Third & The Seventh by Alex Roman is a 7 minute long film about the beauty of architecture. The film is Cmputer generated and does a wonderful job with the use of Bokeh and Light.

Have a look and view on vimeo at full screen size in HD . . .

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Have fun!

calling his girlfriend from the academy

2009-12-25T02:00:00.001-08:00

calling his girlfriend from the academy, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Another year is nearly over. And what a good one 2009 was for my family and me. The christmas days are a chance to reflect what is behind and what is ahead of us. So I look forward to spending quality time with friends next year again, seing parts of the world I know and do not know yet.

On my agenda there are two photo projects, the Year with a Leica and the Photochallenge.org. One will force me to take photos with one given camera / lens combo through a year, the other stands for searching / composing daily themes. And my travels will hopefully bring me to the USA, Canada and Italy plus several trips to german cities (Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Cologne for Photokina fair).

This picture was taken on my NYC trip in November, remembering me of the many cool things I was gifted to see during my one week stay in this marvelous city.

So I'll call and mail a few friends in the next days and finalize my plans for 2010.

Hope you have a great christmas time and look forward to the upcoming year as well.

Carsten

Christmas time . . .

2009-12-12T05:21:00.001-08:00

Central Park IV - embrace the blue, originally uploaded by topfloor.

The month of december is always very hectic for me as my business has high season towards the end of the year. Capturing this nice lit tree in Central park a few weeks ago was one of the few glimpses of approaching christmas I was able to see and feel this season :-)

Go out and enjoy the lights, catch the bokeh.

The shot ' Central Park IV - embrace the blue ' was taken early in the morning.

Carsten

Hello from Leipzig . . .

2009-12-06T13:58:00.001-08:00

Central Park III - warm lights, originally uploaded by topfloor.

. . . have been a bit busy in the last weeks, and more is to come down my december road. Just began to upload a few more pictures of my recent visit to New York, this one is

Central Park III - warm lights

and was shot (very) early on a late November day at f/1.0. Don't forget to get out and TAKE PICTURES, even if you don't have much time.

Happy shooting!

3 pics in the All day I dream about photography blog

2009-11-13T14:05:00.001-08:00

look up and wonder, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Wow, a first timer . three of my London pictures were selected by this blog here

http://www.adidap.com/2009/11/13/adidap-flickr-round-2009-10-03/

First shot

2009-11-13T12:17:00.001-08:00

First shot, originally uploaded by topfloor.

At Meister Leica Camera Store in Hamburg, on friday the 13th, a little magic happened in my favour. Only hours before departing for New York City I was able to pick up my M9. This is the first pic I took. Pictured is the counter, in the foreground my M8 (middleground Espresso was nice) and in the background another happy customer who picked up his new M9 as well.

EXIF: 1/90th at f/2 with ISO 160, 35mm ASPH

Farewell, am on my way to Gotham city :-)

Isle of Light - Lichtinsel

2009-11-12T00:23:00.001-08:00

Lichtinsel V, originally uploaded by topfloor.

In the Fuldaaue Park of Kassel there is a little (artificial) island called Siebenbergen (seven hills). A light installation was to be seen there for a few weeks in the evenings, as our local newspaper HNA reported. Some of the installations can be seen under the title Lichtinsel on my Flickr stream . . .

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=lichtinsel&w=11292650%40N00

Happy Shooting :-)
Carsten

Great example of Time Lapse Video of China's 60th ann. parade

2009-10-30T13:06:00.001-07:00

Millenium Bridge (1) - Photochallenge170 Bridge, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This is a superb example of how still camera pics can be worked in a fascinating time lapse movie. Have a look and enjoy.

If anybody can point me towards the source of the nice music that is used in this video, I would be thankful.

China's 60th Anniversary national day - timelapse and slow motion - 7D and 5DmkII from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Visit in Hannover - former World Expo area (year 2000)

2009-10-30T05:59:00.001-07:00

Expo III, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Nine years ago, I enjoyed visiting my first world expo, a mere 2 hours drive from my home in Hannover. Many buildings were sold and moved to other places, but of course some are still there in Hannover.

Together with my buddy in crime, composer, we strolled around the buildings and structures. Weather was pretty bad, so black and white was the way to go.

Stron lines made my day, so revisiting such sites can be a very nice experience.

Have fun!
Carsten

Streets are full of bokeh

2009-09-19T12:06:00.001-07:00

Paris ~ Streets full of love & bokeh, originally uploaded by Siebe.

Siebe, a fellow shooter on Flickr, does nice work with prime lenses. You may give his stream a look.

The picture I blogged here Paris ~ Streets full of love & bokeh is a nice example.

Have fun!

Travel light

2009-09-12T12:01:00.001-07:00

Day-Trippers, originally uploaded by topfloor.

A Post from me at kwerfeldein.de - What do you have in your camera rucksack? - inspired me to write this comment (in german language).

Was habe ich bei fotografieren stets dabei?

Also, außer Speicherkarten, Akkus, einem Blasebalg sowie ein Brillenputztuch gehört bei mir nichts sonst dazu. Einen Rucksack nehme ich grundsätzlich nur mit, wenn es auf Wildlife-Tour geht. Ansonsten tut es eine Hüfttasche (Think Tank Photo Speed Daemon), die zwei Objektive hält. Oder eine kleine Schultertasche (Think Tank Photo Urban Disguise 40), in welche eine / zwei Kameras und ein Objektiv paßt.

Die Hüfttasche nehme ich, wenn ich bereit bin, die Kamera stets offen zu tragen und die Schultertasche, wenn ich auch mal freie Hände brauche und die Kamera einen Platz dort drin benötigt.

Ein Stativ trage ich bei Bedarf an einem Stativgurt diagonal über die Schulter.

Bei Shootings mit Blitz oder mit umfangreichem Equipment nehme ich einen Rollkoffer, aber niemals einen Rucksack.

Meine strikte Ablehnung vom schleppen schweren Equipments (und noch ein Objektiv und noch ein Stativ und noch ein Blitz . . . . ) kommt aus Erfahrung mit schmerzenden Schultern und Rücken. Ich kann mit einer Kamera und einer Festbrennweite zwar viele Aufnahmen nicht machen, aber diejenigen, die funktionieren, sind oft besonders schön.

Für mich liegt in der Beschränkung auf sehr wenig (aber dem richtigen, der Shootinglocation angemessenem Equipment) meine fotografische Freiheit.

Das gilt natürlich nicht bei Shootings, bei denen ich vom Auto aus oder in einem Studio usw. arbeite, da ist mehr Equipment entsressend und gut, aber dann im (sehr) großen Rollkoffer ohne Schleppfaktor.

Wie stets, alles Ansichtssache und persönliche Vorliebe. Meines Erachtens ist schon eine SLR groß und fett, wenn es ums shooten außerhalb des Studios geht. Wenn dann noch oft große Zooms draufkommen, ist rasch die Grenze des gewichtsmäßig zumutbaren erreicht, deshlab bevorzuge ichh auch deshalb (auch aus gestalterischen und optischen Gründen) Festbrennweiten und / oder Sucherkameras. Bei Sonenschein ist noch ein ND_Filter dabie, damit ich weiter bei Offenblende arbeiten kann.

Viel Spaß, Carsten

Supercool Streetphotography Video by Chris Weeks

2009-09-12T02:08:00.001-07:00

M8 on stone, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Chris Weeks (a professional shooter) has made a outstanding good film about Streetphotography and you can watch it online here . . .

http://aphotocontributor.typepad.com/aphotocontributor/2009/09/experimental-firmware.html

The Vimeo video (splitted in three files) rund a good 40 minutes long, all captured with Canon 5D Mk II cameras and features mailny Leica Rangefinders and some Streetshooters, working in L.A.

Have fun!

Right angle viewer

2009-09-12T01:15:00.001-07:00

rencontres, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Useed my new Hoodman Right Angle Viewer on my Nikon D700 for this one. Quite practical for low down shoots. And the Hoodman has adapters for several brand cameras, which makes it a safe investment. I bought it in Germany at enjoyyourcamera.com as a Hoodman Winkelsucher Pro for 140 Euro.

Have fun!

Product Info: http://www.hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1018

50 days with a 50 mm lens - 50 50 project of Bert Stefanie

2009-09-07T13:35:00.001-07:00

down low, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Bert Stefanie, a belgium photographer, has started a project of shooting 50 days with a 50 mm lens only. As I work more and more with prime lenses and 50 mm is clearly my favorite, I will follow Bert's progress.

Link to Bert's Blogpost http://bertstephani.com/2009/09/02/the-5050-project-day-1/

Have fun!

How long will these kind of photos be allowed to take?

2009-09-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

This is my train . . ., originally uploaded by topfloor.

This time in german language, Ein Berliner Blogger und Fotograf 96dpi hat einen außerordentlichen Artikel über ein sinnlos erscheinendes Fotografieverbot einer Uni veröffentlicht. Zu lesen hier:

http://www.96dpi.de/archives/2009/09/05/fh-potsdam-mensa/

Hope we hear good news about this issue.

Sometimes Reflections help

2009-09-03T05:32:00.001-07:00

beauty, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Near the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, this photo opp. jumped at me - nice reflections that make the atmosphere of this shot ('beauty').
Have fun!

Sometimes it's easy

2009-09-03T05:26:00.001-07:00

Bokeh Bench, originally uploaded by topfloor.

While being in Brighton (UK), I walked the city and sat down here, glancing at bars and cafes on th eopposit side of the street. This picture 'Bokeh Bench' came as a result of stopping and sitting down - and it captures the mood of this place nicely, I think.

Have fun, Carsten

Trace of the Autostadt

2009-08-31T13:50:00.001-07:00

Mercedes SL (1), originally uploaded by topfloor.

Did some bokeh - hunting shots at f/1.0 from Wolfsburgs Autostadt.

Btw., I discovered a cool site for german photoblogs - foto-radar. Give it a try, you might like it.

http://foto-radar.de/

Happy shooting!

Skybridge

2009-08-30T13:20:00.001-07:00

Skybridge, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This week, some of my shots were included in the top notch selection of All Day I dream about Photography http://www.adidap.com/2009/08/27/adidap-flickr-round-2009-05-10/

Fast Forward - mini project

2009-08-21T04:55:00.001-07:00

Fast Forward, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Photowalking usually stands for walking the streets of a city, snapping photos of subjects of your interest. This can be people, architecture, deails and wide shots.

On my second day in Brighton I choose to do a more focused photowalk by giving myself a mini project to follow . . .

Shooting low down with shallow depth of field and the focus pane very close to the camera, having the main subject clearly out of focus (blurred).

To do this I choose a 50 mm effective focal length with f/1.4 maximum aperture, using a 3-stop ND filter to be able to shoot wide open in the sunlight. Putting down the camera on the ground was easy. Usually I shot a focus stack (shooting burts while turning the focussing wheel on my lens) so I could later choose the best picture at the computer (the camera I used was a rangefinder, not a DSLR, so DoF preview was not an option).

This is one of my first shots. What I found out is that sometimes f/1.4 was resulting in a too thin layer of sharpness so I sometimes had to stop down the lens a little bit (f/1.8 or f/2.0).

Have fun if you try this out for yourself.

Bend for fetish - cool Phototechnique

2009-08-21T04:48:00.001-07:00

Bend for fetish, originally uploaded by topfloor.

On a recent trip to Brighton / UK I could observe this photographer (Lomokev) shooting shoes and legs.

He choose a very low point of view by plaing the camera on the ground, using a right angle viewfinder to compose and focus the subject. Equipment he used was a

Canon 5 D
with a 50 mm f/1.4 Canon lens
and a Canon Angle Viewfinder C.

The results of this technique can be seen here . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lomokev/sets/75334/

and here with other subjects . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lomokev/sets/82556/

Hope you enjoy plaing with this technique; of course a angle viewfinder is only an option and not a must.

Happy shooting!

Backup - how do I . . .

2009-07-30T01:02:00.001-07:00

Experimenting with D3, originally uploaded by topfloor.

For the Blog kwerfeldein by Martin Gommel I posted a comment I wanted to share here (in german language):

Wie sichere ich meine (Foto)daten

Ganz einfach:
a) Download der Karten-RAW-Dateien mit umbennen, IPTC-Info schreiben sowie Bulk-Verschlagworten und in Tages-Directories mit Lightroom 2 auf einen Drobo (4 Platten als quasi-Raid mit knapp 4 TB Nettokapazität, Anschluß via FW800)
b) Mit Mac ChronoSync Backup der Bilder und LR2-Katalogdatei auf eine externe 1 TB USB-Platte (USB2)
c) Mit Mac ChronoSync Backup der Bilder und LR2-Katalogdatei von der externen 1 TB USB-Platte auf einen weiteren Drobo, der in einem anderen Gebäude steht
d) Upload aller Bilder (non-Public) auf meinen Flickr-Pro Account, mit max. 2048 Pixeln an der längsten Seite, geschärft für Bildschirm als JPEG
e) Alle 3 Monate mit Mac ChronoSync Backup aller Bilder und LR2-Katalogdatei auf drei separate externe USB-Platten, die wieder in anderen Gebäuden aufbewahrt werden
f) Alle 6 Monate 1 externe Platte in einen Safe in einem anderen Gebäude auslagern

Externe Platten der 1 TB Grö´ße kosten um die 100 Euro, also fast nichts. CD’s oder DVD’s sind mir zu langsam. Mein Bildaufkommen liegt so bei 30 bis 60 Tausend RAWs pro Jahr (mit 10 bis 14 MP Kameras).

TimeMachine sichert meinen Mac (Programme), alle Daten sind aber auf externen Volumes (Drobos, Single-HDs).

Bin ich unterwegs, dann erfolgt Schritt a) auf externe USB2- oder FW400 Festplatten und ich lasse LR2 gleich ein Backup auf eine zweite eterne Platte machen. Der LR2-Katalog wird dann lokal auf der Mac-HD gespeichert, die XMPs stets sofort zur RAW dazugeschrieben. Wieder daheim, importiere ich den Katalog samt Bildern, so das a) erreicht ist und verfahre dann normal weiter. Auf längeren Reisen mit viel Bildaufkommen habe ich stets 4 Kopien aller RAWs auf 4 kleinen externen Platten in verschiedenen Reisetaschen / Koffern.

Datenverlust hatte ich noch nie, Festplattenausfälle schon diverse.

Gutes Buch hierzu (gerade auf Englisch in 2ter Auflage ganz neu herausgekommen) ist Peter Krogh - The DAM Book.

Viel Spaß beim fotografieren aus Nordhessen,
Carsten

Catch the sun

2009-05-26T09:03:00.001-07:00

Black and White in BW (Ver. 2), originally uploaded by topfloor.

This is an example of the fine beaches near the hotel at the OBX. The clear line and tones led me to this BW, hope you enjoy it.

Have fun!

Jockeys Ridge

2009-05-26T09:01:00.003-07:00

Sun sets, originally uploaded by topfloor.

On my way to the car, back from the big dune, the sun caught my eye reflecting in this light.

Have fun!

Nice Blackpoint

2009-05-26T09:01:00.001-07:00

Nice Blackpoint, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Different Lighthouse, looked for something else than the classic Lnadscape thing, so I went for this graphical Close-Up.

Have fun!

Classic of a Lighthouse

2009-05-26T09:00:00.001-07:00

Colors, originally uploaded by topfloor.

The sky was friendly, and so I did best as I could to capture some of the beauty of this place on the OBX.

Have fun!

Beaches

2009-05-26T08:58:00.001-07:00

Beaches 1, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Sometimes it can be hard to find a decent foreground for shooting the clouds :-)

Did my best and this is the result of a HDR.

Hard working man

2009-05-26T08:57:00.001-07:00

Hard working man - BW Ver., originally uploaded by topfloor.

In the same little harbour, this friendly fella was nice enough to pose for us for me for a minute - Thank you.

To compensate for the very hard sunlight I took a rapid bracketed series of 7 shots and let Photomatix do its magic.

Converted in LR.

Have fun!

Colors of the US of A

2009-05-26T08:55:00.001-07:00

Colors of the US of A, originally uploaded by topfloor.

While walking a small harbour, these reflections caught my eye. All I did to the file in LR / PS was to crop a little and turn the image. These abstracts sometimes get me :-)

Have fun!

Another Shot made it to Flickr's Explore

2009-05-11T23:10:00.001-07:00

By the Chicago River - Photochallenge.org 2009 Day 098 - Urban, originally uploaded by topfloor.

My picture
By the Chicago River - Photochallenge.org 2009 Day 098 - Urban
was listed on the Explore Page. Thx for the views, comments and favs to all of you! Have fun!

Look and See

2009-05-11T22:58:00.001-07:00

Look and See, originally uploaded by topfloor.

My days in Chicago are over. Very cool city with so much to see that the 3 nights I spent there were short. Have to return one day :-)

I am now heaed to Seattle which will me my starting point to drive south along the Oregon and California coast.

Have fun!

Rock in Row - Lighthouse morning

2009-05-05T06:23:00.001-07:00

Rock in Row, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This morning I went to the Currituck Lighthouse (in the forest) and gave my best to compose a shot - not too easy with boring clouds at the sky. You can see my pics of the day here at

Arrived

2009-05-03T08:17:00.001-07:00

Sunset variation, originally uploaded by topfloor.

After 25 hours of railing, flying, waiting and driving, I made it in one piece to Kitty Hawk. My first day there was spent driving the entire island (made more than 200 miles trip) and finding some nice spots. More photos from my first day at the OBX can be found on my Flickr stream http://www.flickr.com/photos/geopirat/sets/72157617546735875/

Boarding will start in 5 minutes

2009-05-03T08:12:00.001-07:00

Boarding will start in 5 minutes, originally uploaded by topfloor.

I am on my way from Germany to th eOuter Banks / Kitty Hawk in the US of A. Starting by train at 05:51 am, I hope to reach my destination safely in 19 hours. This is the beóarding room in Frankfurt airport Terminal 2.

More pics from this day of travel can be found on my Flickr stream here http://www.flickr.com/photos/geopirat/sets/72157617638826814/

Good combo

2009-04-28T04:02:00.001-07:00

Good combo, originally uploaded by topfloor.

I really like a piece of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Combined with a fresh Coffee Latte, this was my pleasure on a short break on my way to Berlin. I like the nice style of the McCafe's in Germany, so much nicer than classic McDonalds in my taste. Surfin the Web to check some of my COntacts Flickr-pics on the iPhone via the Darkslide (free) App added some extra fun.

Enjoy!

Sometimes it's handy to have a cell at hand

2009-04-27T08:38:00.001-07:00

Cake Stop, originally uploaded by topfloor.

This shot was made while queuing up for a Latte and a piece of cake en Route to home (Cake Stop), the (big) camera was in the car and the iPhone was my friend.

As I am a latecomer with this gadget (only have it for a week now), the camera feature is nice. Of course, the other stuff works well, too, but compared to a Blackberry (was a hardcore BB user for 3 years now) the hard facts / features of an iPhone are not outstanding / inferior to the BB in regard to the Outlook Exchange client.

Go out and take pictures, have fun!

Shallow Depth of field

2009-04-25T10:30:00.001-07:00

Photochallenge.org 2009 Day 048 - B&W: Flower, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Just a snapshot - with a 40 mm lens on a 1,5 x crop factor body, at f/1.4. By chance, the flowers were in focus, the rest is nicely blurred. I like photos like this one :-)

Have fun

Shot for Photochallenge.org 2009 Day 048 - B&W: Flower

From highis often rewarding

2009-04-20T00:59:00.001-07:00

From high, originally uploaded by topfloor.

I managed to find my way up to an old castle tower of Schloss Münchhausen. The last steps were very small and steep, but the view made up for it.

Have fun!

Bokeh - Alien Skin Plug-In for PS

2009-04-16T10:08:00.001-07:00

Beauty, originally uploaded by topfloor.

On the Blog PhotoWalkPro I read an interesting article about this new plus-in. You may want to read it as well, the link is provided at the end of this post.

My comment for Jeff (the author) I wrote on his Blog was . . .
>>>>>
. . . Hey Jeff! Thanks for showing the effects of this very cool plug-in. I am a Bokeh addict, In MHO achieving nice Bokeh is possible with lenses with a max. aperture under 2.0, depending on the length / mms. A 85 mm f/1.8 will give you nice Bokeh, whereas at 21 mm a f/1.4 usually are needed. With a 50 mm lens, f/1.8 should work, f/1.4 is better. Lenses in the 50 mm range and f/1.8 or 1.4 can be bought (sometimes used) at the price point of this plug-in. But this is not the point, i think - with this fine plug-in you have the absolute control what is 'out of focus' or 'in Bokeh' - long after the shot. Even pics shot with a Point and Shoot as the Canon G10 etc. (small sensor -> big DoF) might be 'bokehd' with this plug-in. I hope Alien Skin has a trial period available for this thing and I'll start playing with it if possible. I look forward to your video, thanks for your post!
<<<<<

I checked the Alien Skin site and they have a 30 days full functional trial period. On theier site, you find interesting examples of Point and Shoot pics altered with this plug-in. I think it's worth considering if this tool may work for you.

Link to the Alien Skin product site: http://www.alienskin.com/bokeh/index.aspx

Link to the Blog-article by Jeff with good pics illustrating the tool: http://www.revellphotography.com/blog/?p=2781

Have fun!

Mood against the sun - Lost and Found

2009-04-14T03:51:00.001-07:00

Lost and Found, originally uploaded by topfloor.

On a nice trip to a castle 2 hours from home, I had the chance to take this snapshot. The light was harsh and I was shooting a wide angle lens against the sun. With a little bit luck I managed to get the light on the hand holding the ball and a rim light around the head of my FirstLady standing to camera right.

Sometimes it's worth a try even in difficult light situations.

Have fun!

Welcome to the castle - 15 mm Super Wide Heliar Lens

2009-04-08T14:01:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the castle, originally uploaded by topfloor.

I still am astonished to see that a 15 mm lens with a max. aperture of 4.5 is able to creae a DoF - effect like in this picture - wow. This is not only a 'Point and Shoot' lens but it can be a creative tool as well. A successor to the current model (screw mount without rangefinder connection) is coming in May 2009 for about a 30 % higher price tag, with amin. distance of 50 cm instead of 30 cm and with the ability to accept filters (IR for M8). Ken Rockwell and Stee Huff ( www.stevehuffphotos.com/Steve_Huff_Photos/VOIGTLANDER_15_... ) have posted decent reviews of this Voigtländer bargain lens.

Have fun!

Camera and Coffee

2009-04-06T10:15:00.001-07:00

Camera and Coffee, originally uploaded by topfloor.

A combo that is photographes quite often. There is a Flickr Group with that name http://www.flickr.com/groups/cameracoffee/pool/ with several nice exammples.

To watch the most interesting pics of this group, try Flickriver with this link http://www.flickriver.com/groups/cameracoffee/pool/interesting/

Have fun and enjoy your camera and coffee :-)

High tech structured chaos

2009-04-06T06:30:00.001-07:00

High tech structured chaos, originally uploaded by topfloor.

In these boxes, medical care items are stored for later shipment. The system is called organised chaos, because the system put new items in the next empty box (chaos) but the computer knows where :-)

Light strikes

2009-04-05T13:49:00.001-07:00

Light strikes, originally uploaded by topfloor.

Sometimes the Light is just where I need it, as in this starway of a parking garage. Have fun!