Small Scenes

Small Scenes

Something I always love to do in nature is to capture intimate details of this very unique world. The closer you get, the more fascinating details you see. This can result in beautiful photographs. In my portfolio Small Scenes, I show fascinating details of nature from macro shots to very specific sections of the landscape, so-called intimate landscapes, as well as abstract-looking. These shots are intended to create an intimacy or even familiarity with nature for the viewer and perhaps even spark a fascination for the small world.

All An der Küste Auf dem Berg Im Wald Auf der Wiese ICM

Shortly after sunset on a rugged Sardinian coastal area, I took this photo. It shows wonderfully the movements of the water and how this washes around the rocks. Such a shot is always somewhat associated with try-and-error. Crucial is the search for the ideal exposure time and just then still the right wave movement to catch.

No, this photo is not blurred. I deliberately photographed it like this to create the impression of an oil painting by an old master painter. I moved the camera in a certain motion during the exposure time to create this effect. A technique that requires a lot of practice and, above all, involves many, many failed attempts. This shot of the Sylt beach with sea and dune stood out the most in all the results, with its beautifully formed lines at the edge of the sea and the wavy lines on the dune landscape.

A small scene that caught my eye during a hike in the fjord of Saksun. An almost poisonous green seaweed left behind by the tide. The gentle wave structure of the beach was also formed by the receding water of the sea during the transition from high tide to low tide. The seaweed lay between these grooves and was no longer carried away and left behind by the waves of the water.

Waves of the wind

A little surreal seems this shot already, I admit. Taken during hurricane-like gusts on the sandy beach of Stintino. With my back to the wind, I stood there to protect my camera from the whipping wind and the pattering of the whirled up sand. I searched for beautiful patterns in the sand that changed by the minute thanks to the wind. As the sun lit up the scenery with sideways backlighting, I managed to get this shot.

Another scene that the wind gave me on the beach of Stintino. This is a small stone that was lying on the beach. The waves of sand, formed by the strong wind the day before are wonderful to see, but so is the slipstream of the stone, which is otherwise completely invisible.

Stein in Flammen

Ich bin ein Fan geworden solcher Detailsaufnahmen oder kleinen Szenen , wie man sie auch nennen kann. Hier formte das abfließende Wasser des Meeres den Sand, um diesen Stein so, dass es aussieht, als wäre er umhüllt von einer Flamme. Es gibt immer wieder tolle Sachen am Meer zu entdecken, man muss nur einmal genauer hinschauen.

On the second day of our stay in Stintino, Sardinia, we had to fight all day with a hurricane-like wind. We made it to the beach once in the evening, but the wind constantly whipped the sand of the beach in our faces, so that it was almost impossible to take pictures. But I smelled my chance for some intimate landscape shots the next morning. Before anyone else could leave their footprints in the sand, I was on the spot taking pictures. This was the first scene I discovered.

This mussel could not be submerged. The refluxing water took everything around it back into the sea. This small mussel, however, had been able to defend itself. Thanks to its shape, it was able to cling to the beach. The water, which had washed around it last, provided for remaining patterns, at least until the next wave. Underneath, you can see many triangles that look as if they are coming from the little shell.

On the way to a photo spot I wanted to visit at sunset, I spotted some huge rocks that were saturated with large and small cracks. Their size led me to believe that they were solid rocks, unaffected by wind and weather. However, the closer you look at them, the more brittle they seemed to me and you can see that the ravages of time are also gnawing away at them.

Not infrequently I had seen sea fennel on the rocks of the Sardinian coast. This specimen held on to the edges of a rock, so as not to be washed away by the next tide. In the light of the low sun, I was able to capture the structure of the rock, as well as the brightly lit rock in this small scene.

During my stay in Sardinia I had resolved to pay more attention to the small scenes of nature. One of the first shots of such small scenery was this one. Three small stones that were washed up on the rocks of the coast and now lay there. The rising sun provided texture to the rocks and illuminated the scene. Technically not quite perfect yet, but I still like the composition.

Gentleness of the sea

A scene taken with my telephoto lens as I waited to get a shot at blue hour. Waiting for the graceful light and the calmness of the sea that evening inspired me to take this shot. Nevertheless, since the small waves are moving fast, it was not easy to get this shot. Several attempts were necessary until everything fit in the previously selected image detail.

Cracks and crevices

Meanwhile, I find myself looking for small or intimate scenes in nature to photograph all the time. This is not about macro photography, but rather about the small landscapes that are sometimes overlooked in the vast expanse of the world. Partly really exciting what there is to discover. Like this rock, which has so many cracks and crevices and yet is a massive stone.

Actually, this is a not so small waterfall. What I liked about this section, however, was the fact that over the years the water has ground down the edge of the rock, that a hollow was created through which the water can now flow.

Through the gap

Through the gap in the rock walls of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, the water of the Trümmelbach Falls dug itself over centuries. Here I photographed one of the last narrow sections of the waterfall quite intimately. Only a few meters further, the water rushes into the open valley.

Smooth and Silky

The Mürrenbach Falls plunges over 250m into the depths. I have deliberately selected and photographed a section of the waterfall with a longer focal length, which shows how the water masses flow over the individual rock ledges and cascades. And although an enormous force is exerted by the water on the rock walls, the water looks smooth and silky even with a short exposure time of 1/640 sec.

Forest painting

It is a form of photography that is perhaps not directly accessible to everyone. Especially for technology enthusiasts who crave more and more pixels, resolution and sharpness. For those who are guided by feeling and emotion, this creative way of photographing may be much more appealing. Details, contours and structures are dissolved, colors and light become more important, the mere essence of the image is preserved. It also opens up the possibility of expressing the emotions and perception of the landscape in photos.

At the city wall to the old town of Alghero grow some centuries old elephant trees. Already on the first day fascinated me the RInde of these trees. When on the second day of our stay there, the light was favorable, I used a quiet minute for this shot. What wonderful miniature landscape emerges in it, if you look at it a little. Beautiful nature.

Not only many, but also deep folds of this tree, testify to its great age. Consciously, I chose to take a detailed photo showing only a section of its mighty trunk. For this shot, I used a higher focal length to reduce the visibility so that nothing from the surrounding area is visible.

Signs of a long life

The patterns that a pine tree bears in its bark always fascinate me. Especially old specimens show many finer patterns and shapes within the coarse patterns. Chains, curves, cracks are signs of a long life of the tree and beautiful to look at.

Even in autumn you can discover a lot of things on the forest floor. The fallen leaves are already beginning to rot, are neither green, yellow nor orange, but already brown. And between the leaves stick out again and again small green leaves. This little plant would have to belong to a growing Ruprecht’s weed. If it survives the winter, it should bear flowers next summer.

The glow in the dark

When you are photographing in the forest, you often discover so many unplanned motifs that are worth photographing. In the darkness of the spring forest, whose canopy had already closed wide, I discovered the flowers of the Ruprechtskraut on the ground. After some searching, I was able to locate a beautiful specimen that I could bring into a great image composition with the leaves in its vicinity.

Wild Garlic Bud

In many places the wild garlic flowering season begins at the beginning of May. This wild garlic bud was also about to blossom when I photographed it. In the days that followed, wild garlic was in full bloom in my home region, refreshing the spring greenery in the forests with magical white. A visit to the forest at this time is worthwhile to take a look at this splendour.

Young flowering wild garlic

A moment in nature that I have eagerly awaited this year: The wild garlic bloom in May. I was eager to locate some wild garlic fields in the Brettwald that I already knew existed. Finding them didn’t turn out to be particularly difficult, as our Brettwald was literally littered with wild garlic. Now it was just a matter of watching until the bloom was in full swing. This photo shows a very young blooming wild garlic flower.

Flowering wild garlic

Every spring I look forward again to being able to go into the forest to pick wild garlic. The highlight of the wild garlic season for me is then always the bloom at the end of April, beginning of May. If the conditions for a photo fit, then nothing keeps me at home and I go into the forest to portray the wild garlic.

Anemone in forest

In spring the forest is full of these small inconspicuous but beautiful flowers of anemones. Their green foliage make the forest floor turn green early.

Windrushes can be discovered during any walk in the forest in the spring. They cover large parts of the forest floor and often visible from the roadside.

Hide yourself, little wood anemone

At any time of year, I am drawn to the local forest in my photographic forays. Because there is always something to discover. In spring there is even more to explore. Because on the ground of the forest, many early bloomers spread out, such as the small wood anemones, which you can always put in a great scene. Like this flower, which seems to be hiding among the many green leaves of the wild garlic.

Herbstblatt III

One could not speak of absolute camouflage with this autumn leaf that fell to the ground. The otherwise so green meadow let this specimen shine. His strong yellow literally stood out. Sure, there are many such motifs in autumn, but still this scene was worth a photo for me.

A shot that I have to thank my daughter. She discovered during a walk this yellow colored autumn leaf on the gravel of the forest path. The gray-blue gravel forms a beautiful color contrast to the yellow of the leaf of an oak.

A little man…

Auf der Suche nach schönen Pilzmotiven wurde ich in diesem Jahr reichlich belohnt, so wie zum Beispiel mit diesem Kameraden. Versteckt direkt hinter einem Baum spross er empor und ich konnte ihn in bereits anbrechenden Blauen Stunde fotografieren. Eine tiefe Position der Kamera, sie lag quasi schon auf dem Boden, hilft bei diesen Motiven mit dem Freistellen, so dass eine angenehme Bildgestaltung möglich ist.

Kleines Schirmchen

Sometimes the tripod really does get in the way. For this shot, I had to go low and shoot upwards over the back of a lying tree trunk full of moss to get the perspective I wanted. Until I could get the tripod set up like this, and with very little space available, I preferred to take the picture by hand. Even at high ISO values, this generation of cameras captures the subjects breathtakingly well. Fascinating.

A beautifully colored autumn leaf on which still some morning dew persists lay lonely on the ground of a forest path.

I photographed these leaves on our fan maple in our home garden. Year after year I am fascinated by its great red tones, which shine beautifully especially in spring.

Monochrom Spurge

This flower belongs to a plant called ‘Multicolored spurge’. The beautiful and in close-up fascinating flower is rather monochrome in yellow to green. For me, therefore, the Tiel Monochrome spurge fits quite well.

Yellow cowslip in morning dew

In my opinion the best time to photograph flowers like this beautiful primrose is during sunrise. The dew on the blades of grass around make a beautiful bokeh and photographed against the light, a successful picture is almost just a formality. On this April morning it was indeed very humid and foggy. But the wet socks do not matter when you find such beautiful motifs.

Ranunculus in morning light

This wild growing yellow buttercup especially stood out on the green meadow. Beautifully unfolds its color in the morning sunlight.

Dandelion in the morning dew

In the backlight dandelions look particularly beautiful. This morning I found this young, still perfectly round dandelion on a, still very wet from the morning dew, meadow.

Den einen Freud des anderen Leid. Gemeinhin zählt die Pusteblume zu den Unkräutern. Der Löwenzahn, den nichts aufhalten kann, wächst sogar durch Beton und in jeder noch so kleinen Ritze. Möglich machen es die kleinen Schirmchen, die vom Wind weggeblasen werden und aus denen eine neue Pflanze erwachsen kann. Außerdem kenne ich kaum ein Kind, dass nicht dabei Spaß hat sie weg zu pusten. Oder?

Snowdrops are among the first harbingers of spring. For me, too, their blooming means that we will soon be able to enjoy the many colorful blossoms of spring again.

A beautiful macro shot of a daisy. If you look at some flowers in detail, so you are always fascinated about the creativity of our mother nature

This plant has one of the most beautiful flowers I know. A real summer flower that unfolds all its glory in a sunny location.

Spring day morning moon

This beautiful full moon on a spring morning dipped down into the softly colored morning haze of veil clouds, just before the rising sun.

Hardworking spring helpers

The crocuses are for me a sign of spring. In this picture a busy bee has sneaked into the picture, which knows no spring fatigue and is already in the first beautiful days on the new flowers.

Green Green Gras of Home

In no other season the grass seems to be greener than in spring.

When the ‘Mohn’ begins to shine

This bright poppy blossom in the middle of the wheat field naturally catches the eye. Blessed with the complementary color to the green young wheat, it literally glows and you almost have to be afraid that the color won’t overshoot on the camera sensor. Admittedly, the title of this image with the pun only works in German-speaking countries, but it’s still a beautiful little scene of nature.

Little clouds and poppies

In photography, I find particularly beautiful that you can find his pleasure even in very small unspectacular things. Like this little scene in our nature. On the one hand, a dramatic cloud-covered sky and on the other hand, this small floating clouds in front of it that moved over the expanse of the young poppy field. Probably this scene would have gone unnoticed by many, but it amused me, so I captured it on a photo.

Large chickweed

A widespread spring bloomer in our native bushes and deciduous forests is the chickweed. Often seen it is given little attention, while it has such an inconspicuous beautiful flower.

This plant defies even singing heat and blazing midday sun, so it is not for nothing called coneflower.

Wineyard Pattern

The landscapes in southern Germany are characterized in many regions by the rows of vineyards. Aligned in parallel, their arrangement provides structure and, depending on the incidence of light, particular patterns. Here I was able to photograph the different yellow-green tones of the summer vineyards as diagonal lines from an elevated position in the evening backlight.

Nature always finds solutions and ways. So this little pansy found its way between two washed concrete slabs to the sun and fresh air.

Light rays in the fog

The play of light and shadow that fog and sun offer is worth getting up early and going out into the cold. The fine water droplets of the fog make the sun’s rays visible. This photo, even as a black and white photograph, would convey this beautiful mood of light.

Icy vineyard leaf II

Already a few weeks ago they fell from their branches to the ground. There they lie now, the first frost of winter packed them with small white frost particles. Each individual leaf a landscape in itself. Beautiful and fascinating. In this photo still with beautiful frozen dewdrops on the grasses.

Icy vineyard leaf

Bereits vor einigen Wochen fielen sie von ihren Rebzweigen zu Boden. Dort liegen sie nun, der erste Frost des Winters verpackte sie mit kleinen weißen Frostpartikeln. Jedes einzelne Blatt eine kleine Landschaft für sich. Wunderschön und Faszinierend.

This vine fully overgrown with moss is already a great motif. With the autumnal morning frost, however, it looks even more unreal.

Mystical figures

It is sometimes amazing what bizarre shapes nature forms. A little fog and frost makes these fascinating shapes look even more mystical, like this vine and its companions.

Frost in the vineyard

This old vine trunk with all its character, the old flaked bark and musk growth, defies all weather conditions on the slopes of the vineyards. This morning the mist settled on him as frost.

Dieses Bild wirkt als ob es Gold regnen würde. In Wahrheit ist es eine herbstlich gelbgefärbte Birke in der Abendsonne. Der Effekt, der die Blätter wirken lässt, als ob es Gold regnet kommt von der ICM-Technik, bei der man während der Belichtungszeit die Kamera in bestimmten Bewegungen und Richtungen bewegt.

Farbenfroher Weinberg

Zugegeben ein sehr abstraktes Bild. Mit etwas Fantasie erkennt man aber die Gräser und Blätter des Weinbergs im Herbst. Im oberen Bildbereich sind es bereits gefärbte Blätter im Sonnenuntergangslicht, die für das intensive orange sorgen.

Eine weitere ICM-Aufnahme. In diesem Fall weniger abstrakt, da die Bewegung nur leicht ausgeführt wurde. So sind die Birken deutlich erkennbar. Ein Bild das von seinem Farbkontrast lebt. Die gelben Herbstblätter im Vordergrund, der blaue See im Hintergrund.

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