The watercolor composition above was discovered on the same trip as Watercolors 18, but a little further up the coast, in Seattle. In contrast to most of my watercolor photographs, it is a man-made structure that is being distorted and reflected: Seattle's great wheel. The waves and ripples multiply and distort the reflection and thus create countless versions of this attraction. This bewildering display and the overall color and mood of the composition remind me of another Seattle reflection photograph of mine: Spacy Space Needle (Carcolor 33), which features reflections and distortions of Seattle's landmark tower.

In contrast to many of my photographs, this creation lacks a regular, geometric pattern and may seem rather chaotic. In my opinion, the dark grey spots, devoid of any great wheel reflection, anchor the composition. In particular the larger, oval shape in the center of the frame attracts the eye. In addition, there is a clear direction from the lower right corner, with countless great wheel reflections, to the upper left corner, where the reflections thin out. Nevertheless, this example is rather distinct and different from the ones shown in the watercolor gallery so far.

Photograph © Nenad Saljic. Twilight - Clouds.

Traveling is not only an occasion to experience foreign cities and unknown landscapes, but also to discover "new" artists. While preparing for a trip one may look at photographs from a potential destination and while on site we may come across a tiny gallery or local artists while strolling through alleyways leisurely. Both types of discoveries happened to me before and during our summer holiday in the Swiss mountains of the Wallis.

While preparing for our trip to Zermatt, I have come across the fantastic photographs of Nenad Saljic, whom I unfortunately did not know before. Interestingly, he managed to catch and keep my interest with only one subject: The Matterhon! Nenad Saljic is a photographer from Split, in Croatia, with an interesting résumé. By education, he is an economist, even holds a PhD degree in that discipline, was a professor, and has spent many years in the world of business. However, he has also been a mountaineer, caver, and photographer since his childhood and now follows these passions (again); mostly the latter one, I think.

Nenad Saljic must have been most profoundly impressed by the Matterhorn, for he kept returning to Zermatt twice a year for several years and created thousands of photographs. He drove there (by car from Split) in summer and winter, waited during the day and at night, observed clouds appearing and disappearing. The results of these efforts have been shown in exhibitions (at the end of october at Kunst Zürich), in galleries, online, and now also in a wonderful book entitled "MATTERHORN - Portrait of a mountain". I particularly like the composition above, because it shows the Matterhorn with a rather unusual shape. The north face is completely veiled and thus changes the appearance of the peak quite drastically.

The Matterhorn project of Nenad Saljic perfectly illustrates the value of series and themes; in particular for such an often-photographed subject as the Matterhorn. There exists a plethora of fantastic Matterhorn photographs created by photographers from all over the world. But the series of Nenad Saljic is the result of many years of closely observing, waiting, and photographing, which elevates his work, in my opinion, into a whole different league. One (lucky) single shot is much less meaningful and admirable (for me) than a series of dedicated, coherent photographs on a unified topic.

Nenad Saljic is of course not only a Matterhorn photographer, but has and is also pursuing other topics. If you are interested, head over to his website and look at the Petrified, Birth of a Ship, or Palagruza galleries. His work has been featured on many websites (e.g., Slate, Amateur Photographer, Mouth Magazine, My Modern Met, additional reviews), has won awards, is part of several collections, and can be admired in the real world, at the moment (until October 10th) in Zermatt, in galleries and in "Matterhorn - Portrait of a mountain" (summarized here). Myself, I hope to obtain a close look at Nenad Saljic's Matterhorn compositions at Kunst Zürich 15, an art fair where Nenad Saljic will have a solo show (October 29th - November 1st, ABB Hall 550
 Ricarda-Huch-Strasse, 8050 Zürich; nearby where I live).

Already the entire year I somehow lack inspiration and motivation for blogging; often I am too tired in the evening, more interested in work-related topics, or not interested in anything at all. At the moment, I try to overcome my inertia by working on photographs on my hard drive and by finishing projects. First, I try to closely inspect, finalise, and conclude the watercolor collection and thus keep showing you more such compositions.

The version here is, in my opinion, similar to the fourth composition shown much earlier, even though the two photographs have been taken at the opposite coast of the United States. "Shallow water waves on Sand Beach" was captured in Maine, while the example here was composed in Oregon; at Smugglers Cove. The composition above may seem technically flawed (out of focus), incredibly boring, or even banal. Yet, it is a photograph I still like, even though it has been taken over two years ago. It has thus successfully stood my test of time.

If you have looked at some of my photographs, you probably realise that I like patterns and intimate views, details, instead of sweeping vistas. In today's photograph, I particularly like the regular, angled waves, the overall harmonious color and mood; even though it is much less colorful than I often prefer. For the attentive inspector, there is even subtle hint of the sandy ground that is shimmering through. If you want, also have a look at the entire watercolor gallery with other recent and older examples of colorful reflections on bodies of water.

Although I have recently posted several times about our summer holiday (and the GX8 adventure), I should officially recommence my regular photo articles after the "summer break"; again with a watercolor composition. Today's watercolor photograph is an early version: bare birch tree trunks reflected in a shallow (artificial) lake.

For me, this composition does not really look like a photograph, but rather resembles a painting. Photographs like this depend much less on resolution or other camera specifications than traditional landscape captures, for example, because they are not about sharpness and detail. As long as I do not print this photograph very large, which I won't, this watercolor composition seems perfectly fine to me; despite the tininess of the camera (and its sensor) it was captured with.

If you want, head over to the watercolor gallery and look at the other recent examples - there are two more photographs (compositions 15 and 16), which have only been presented in the course of the GX8 adventure.

Sunrise on the Bishorn in the Turtmanntal, Switzerland.

It is time to conclude my GX8 adventure - I have written too much about machines and too little about photographs lately. In my defence, I did not plan this adventure; it was mostly a response to the exceptional customer friendliness I experienced (which I have provoked a little). So here are my final GX8 impressions; both as text and in the form of photographs.

Before picking up the GX7 and GX8 for the first time, just a few weeks ago, I had never worked with a rangefinder-style camera. Luckily, no getting used to was necessary at all and I adopted the “new” (for me) ergonomics immediately - they are of course much more sensible.

Aster alpinus (Alpine aster, Alpenaster)

The Lumix GX7 and GX8 both share functions and features that I did not know and seek, but appreciated immediately. The tilting electronic viewfinder (EVF) and the electronic shutter are the most noteworthy for me. The upgrade to the newer model brings small improvements or different design solutions that may require getting used to, but that do not make a big difference overall (different kinds of dials and switches and supposedly a more durable and protected body). A few specifics are of course very different. The GX7 is clearly smaller and lighter than the GX8, but this is, in my opinion, a double-edged sword. Smaller hands, those of our children for example, clearly prefer the GX7, but my paws (which are not that big) favour the GX8. Although there is not a single feature that I am missing in the GX7, there are a few that I strongly prefer in the GX8. The EVF, for example, is a pure delight. It is so much larger and more “realistic”, that it is almost impossible using the GX7 and GX8 side by side. Just as the EVF, the rear screens are miles apart as well. While the GX7 screen is only tilting, the GX8 display is fully articulated; like the one on the GH1. I cannot emphasize enough how much I like this feature. When I photograph, I mainly use the EVF and the rear screen is “closed”. Only with the camera on a tripod or at low angles, I am using the display. I much prefer having the screen tucked away, not disturbing me and neither collecting scratches and marks from my fingers and face. Finally, maybe unimportant, the GX8 lacks a built-in flash - a welcome omission for me! 

Rainy day, Brig, Switzerland.

A camera review is normally expected to include a pixel peeping section with quantitative measures and comparisons of all sorts. I gladly leave this to the many professional reviewers. As far as I am concerned, the image quality of all current m4/3 cameras is sufficient for my needs, because I neither print very large nor expose my photographs for very long. There is no reason to expect the GX8 to be an exception. Although it has a slightly higher resolution (about 4 Megapixels more; 20.3 instead of 16 MP), this is hardly decisive for preferring the GX8 over the GX7 - the above-mentioned features are more important. Irrespective of which camera you own or buy, you should be happy; both machines are capable of producing photographs with a technical quality that suffices most.

Sempervivum arachnoideum (Cobweb houseleek, Spinnweb-Hauswurz)