Kees' photos

A moon eclipse doesn’t happen every day, so last night I set up my tripod, and used my portrait tele to compete with the pros... Not a wise thing to do, I know. I experimented a bit, only to find out that, with the progression of the eclipse, there was less to be seen. Wasn’t that to be expected? No doubt.

A grainy picture? Yes, but it isn’t a normal grain, it’s an artistic grain, which makes you almost forget that the original was virtually black. So have I been “Photoshoping”? No no, you who know me better also know that I’d never do that. I’ve just PhotoArtistExpressed a bit. (But you can still see the cup is Wedgwood!)

This lady has a very special relationship to elderly iMacs: she strongly feels the urge to destroy them, yet they strangely fascinate her... Please notice the gesture. Is it a terrorist mouth bump, or just a female affectation? (View the previous picture in my stream...)

Mainly candle light, ISO 1600, digitally pushed. No wonder there’s so much grain. Perhaps the picture would have been less grainy if I’d have used the RAW file, but I still have fond memories of Kodak Tri-X film, and like the way grain makes even bland shots look interesting and artistic...

We had dinner on the terrace, in the evening chill, because drinking Coca Cola Light wasn’t allowed inside.

Quite in style: the exit of Ludwig’s Wagnerian Grotto .

One way of identifying the location is the presence of Sherry. Our discussions about Kant and Hegel were often interrupted by phone calls. Oh well, it was her birthday, so...

One of many smaller attractions on the castle’s premises, unsuspecting victim of the mountain’s assault. www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/park/pict07.htm

Ipernity meet-up at Linderhof Castle.

The artificial cave King Ludwig II had made for himself, based on motifs from Wagner operas. Electric lighting, heating... They say the man was crazy, but my guess is that he was only expensive. No flash, no tripod... Pride being one of the Seven Deadly Sins, I fear I’m a bit proud of the result! www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/park/pict13.htm

Detail of the shell boat. It is now seated on a frame a few centimeters above the water surface. No flash, no tripod... Sadly, it shows! www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/park/pict13.htm

Original title: “Sherry taking a shower”...

I know you can buy plenty postcards of the Linderhof, but hey, you can buy them in Munich too, so they don’t prove you were there. I was very disappointed when my picture of the castle turned out to be unsharp. Autofocus is said to be “intelligent”, nowadays, but don’t you believe it: If there’s really something at stake it fails you, and focuses right on the centre of the image. Nice girl, though! ;-)

A most charming castle, and a favorite of King Ludwig II. I knew I’d have to wait outside with the dog, so I was keen to do the best I could photographing the scenery. This was going to be a superb and daring composition, the picture of a lifetime. Sadly, someone chose to pass by just when the “decisive moment” (Henri Cartier Bresson) was there... The magic was broken! The opportunity lost forever! :-(

Ah, those grateful eyes, when the AlphaSmart veteran masterfully detects the Y-key on his Neo/US... Is it just my male chauvinism, or do they really say: "You're so CLEVER!"? Imagine someone has lived in Germany for a long, long time. No wonder a German keyboard is attached to his trusty iMac, but that doesn't matter to him as he's got used to it. Then, all of a sudden, an American guest appears. She'd like to use his computer to check and answer her e-mails, and that's fine with him (however severe, he's not inhuman). She starts typing, but something seems to be wrong, and she can't Z Y... Thank God, there's an American AlphaSmart Neo in the house, with all the characters in place. It easily connects to the Mac via a USB cable. This did the trick, and surely made her day... ( Picture taken for the AlphaSmart Group on Flickr )

The Isar and Loisach rivers meet in the Icking area. A beautiful sight, and this was going to be the perfect picture ... my MASTERPIECE. Then suddenly someone got in the way. All in vain, all in vain.... Some people seem to be born for bad luck.

Folks, look what I’ve found here between the bottles and glasses on our table... Most of us know the sensation of having a few drinks and then seeing things that aren’t there, such as little pink elephants, but I’ve never seen this (though it seems, in some strange way, familiar). And never before have I managed to record alcohol-induced visions with my camera. Odd, very odd...

Tourists from all over the world come to visit Icking just to take a picture of its famous church... Wouldn’t it be much better if they’d bother to attend a service?