touchdown 2008

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writing this in the last hour of 2008, there is not much left but wishing all of you a happy new year 2009. may there be peace around you and in your hearts.

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buddhist temple, beijing

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i have rarely wandered in a park so full of beauty, even in late autumn, where it lacks the sensation of blossoming flowers. the temples we had reached only late in the afternoon, but neither me nor my colleague wanted to give in, even after 5 hours of walk.

only the sunset forced us to go on and find our way towards the exit, not knowing that leaving the park was possible throughout the night. but the golden light of this time of day we fully savoured.

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steinhögl sky on fire

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first monday of all months of the adult evening classes semester is a meeting of the local photography group. as it was raining that specific monday the month before, we decided to have another try for an excursion, this time to steinhögl, a 612 m high hill 20 driving minutes from our hometown. we left at overcast sky and rather dull light, but half an hour after our arrival the sun came out again and made us a present with a gorgeous sunset.

i was happy to have my new bought cokin nd grad filter with me as these contrasts make exposure difficult enough even without the nd grad. maybe a reverse nd grad would have been even better, but i found only one seller who is asking 'snake oil' (quote d. kilpatrick) prices. so the lightzone regions came in handy to extract that colorful clouds in the sky and create an image as i remember it, quite different from the raw file you see here.

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