Looking out the Train Window

GR, f2.8, 1/60, ISO 6400, RAW

To celebrate World Photography Day 2016, I thought I feature a photo on my blog I didn't post before and will tell something about it.

I took this photo at the beginning of my Around the World trip while on the train from Cologne to Copenhagen.

This photo happened mostly by coincidence and quite a bit of luck and almost no preparation. Not being a big portrait photographer, I like to take more candid portraits instead of posed portraits.

Still, while in the overnight train to Copenhagen and chatting with the other people in my compartment about my travel plans and photography one of the girls told me that she always wanted a photo sitting in front of an open train window.

Since we were in a train and had a window we could open right next to us I was happy to take said photo for her.

I did warn her that it would probably make more sense to wait till the morning given it was dark outside and there might not be much in terms of a background.

She was happy to try it and for her it was more about the wind in her hair and capturing this instead of any views outside.

The Ricoh GR with a fixed 28mm f2.8 lens is not an ideal portrait camera but it had to do for this photo. I set it up to TAv mode at f2.8 and after some test photos decided on 1/60 since it seemed to cope well with the train movement and dim light inside the carriage, while keeping the ISO low enough.

The train was passing by some lit up houses, some railroad crossings but it was going too fast to be able to predict when the next lit up place would pass by the window.

To make sure the wind was coming towards her, I had to face the opposite way of the driving direction, not letting me even anticipate anything lit up passing by the window.

But as luck had it, on the 2nd try we passed by this railroad crossing and without seeing or anticipating it, I took the photo just at the right time. She was very happy with it and try as we might, we didn't get any other photo as good as this.

So I will celebrate this World Photography Day with the knowledge that photography is sometimes all about the luck of being in the right place at the right time and pressing the shutter button to capture a moment that will not happen again like that.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

After spending a few days in Germany, visiting family and seeing some friends but not doing much photography, it was time to leave Europe and head to Asia.

After taking the train to Frankfurt I was ready for the first leg of my journey, the flight to Bangkok.

It will be an exciting time and I have no idea how things will turn out of what will happen but I know it will be a good change.

Morning Read

Took this photo while having breakfast in Hilden, I only had my Nexus 5 phone with me since I didn't intent on doing much photography.

Late Summer Afternoon Walk

Took this while out enjoying the late summer sunshine and an afternoon walk through the woods and fields in Hilden. The Nexus 5 gets often slanted for the camera quality but it's actually very good and with some processing in Snapseed you can get great results from it.

Silhouette Selfie

In between chilling out, doing some gaming on my Surface Pro and browsing through photos, I was having some fun taking a selfie using the shadows on the wall.

The Lost Posts - Part 14: Düsseldorf Afternoon

This is a set of photos I took while spending and afternoon in Düsseldorf just wandering around, taking some photos and enjoying an Altbier.

I've always liked spending time in the Altstadt and along the Rhein river and today was no exception.

While I'm still getting used to Germany after travelling and living in London, it's easier when walking around to take photos.

Taking photos makes me feel more like an observer and I can experience the place in a different way than I would if it's just living there and following a routine.

The Lost Posts - Part 13: Welcome Bear

N5, f2.4, 1/398, ISO 100, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 11: Bowling

N5, f2.4, 1/36, ISO 320, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 10: Hilden Sunset

N5, f2.4, 1/1484, ISO 100, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 9: Car Wash

N5, f2.4, 1/84, ISO 123, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 8: Girl on the Train

N5, f2.4, 1/161, ISO 100, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 7: Mushroom

N5, f2.4, 1/120, ISO 222, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 6: Foosball

N5, f2.4, 1/595, ISO 100, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 5: Flower

N5, f2.4, 1/796, ISO 100, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 4: Langenfeld High Street

N5, f2.4, 1/767, ISO 100, JPG

The Lost Posts - Part 3: In Cologne

GR, f8.0, 1/60, ISO 100, RAW

Blogger Abroad - Back Around the World

It has been a few weeks but I am ready to jump on another jet plane and continue my journey around the world. All family matters and other things have been sorted so there won't be more interruptions before my journey finishes.

Lamp-post

GR, f8.0, 1/200, ISO 100, RAW

Spent the day at a friends wedding, it was nice to catch up with everyone and also allowed me to use the GR as a more social camera. It worked very well although the AF in low light is quite a bit slower than other Ricoh cameras but it seems very accurate.

This is a picture I took in between the ceremony and reception.

Bridge over the River

GXR A12-M, f8.0, 1/870, ISO 200, RAW, 21mm (Voigtlander Heliar f4.5 15mm L)

Although I spent most of the day at Photokina, I decided to write the whole report in one post so here is one of the pictures I took after breakfast on my way to the fair for today's post.

I took it with the Heliar 15mm lens and have to say that I really love this lens on the GXR, if you have  GXR you have to get this lens but make sure you get the screw mount version as it's smaller, cheaper and looks nicer.

Tree in the Front

GXR A16, f6.3, 1/233, ISO 200, JPG, 24mm