I have been a lazy blogger for some time now and still do not want to write a lengthy text, but at least I have been taking photographs. Today, I would just like to share a few compositions as seasonal greetings. The warming and lengthening days of springtime are wonderful, but unfortunately also short-lived. Often there is only one weekend when I actually have the occasion and time to photographs early bloomers such as the wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa). The photographs shown below are from this season and from last year. I hope you enjoy and wish you many lasting springtime experiences!

Finally a new post. I do not have much to say at the moment and photograph only rarely. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy this unusual Lake of Zurich watercolor composition that I captured recently.

Thank you for visiting anyway and have a nice weekend!

Finally, it is freezing cold and even snowed a little here in Zurich: the right time for a few chilling nearby compositions. Before, we had only a few wintery days between Christmas and New Year. On three or four mornings, everything in my neighbourhood was covered by a frosty icing. This winterly decoration was beautiful and impressive from afar, but it was even more amazing the closer I looked. When I bent down and kneeled on the ground (until my knees hurt because they were so cold) I did not only discover tiny ice crystals, but frozen drops of morning dew. It almost looked like frozen Christmas tree balls.

I must have been a strange sight, kneeling and lying in the frozen meadow, slowly moving back and forth, left and right. I did indeed catch the interest of some dogs and walkers who were wondering what on earth I was doing (at least this was my interpretation of the former's barking). I was of course trying to arrange the frozen blades of grass, in the fore- and background, to my liking. Nine results of these attempts are shown here -  I hope you do not mind the repetition. One additional composition of frozen morning dew has already been shown in the last post.

Thank you for visiting!

An old year has ended, a new one has just begun a few days ago. For many, this is a reason to look back and forward, to reminisce and to plan ahead. Sometimes I contemplate radical changes or think about (over-)ambitious goals for my photography: A photograph a day, a one-camera-one-lens project for an entire year, printing every week .... or stopping this blog entirely. Since I cannot bring myself to do any of this, I will try to continue as I did and to respond to opportunities that present themselves. I will try to become more efficient with my time in order to be able to write and photograph more regularly than during much of 2015. Of course we have also a few trips planned for 2016, to which I am looking forward already now!

With respect to photography, 2015 was a mixed year for me. I remember it as the year I destroyed a lot of gear (2 cameras, 1 lens; a third camera had a defect but could be repaired). On the positive side, one lens miraculously survived an entire day in water and one camera, although a total loss according to the manufacturer (servicing company), still takes photographs and only the screen is not working anymore (and battery life has dropped significantly).

My work (as a mycologist) has become and is still getting more interesting, which is a highly welcome development, but also takes away energy and time for photography. In addition, I have started cycling to work about twice per week during much of last year, thus had to get up earlier (it is almost 30 km one way), and as a consequence was more tired in the evenings, when I usually write for this blog or work on my photographs. On the other hand, I am in much better shape (physically) than since a very long time - a great feeling!

Scrolling through my photographs of 2015 first of all brings back memories of our trips: a fantastic holiday in New Zealand, a wonderful wildflower springtime stay in southern France, summer hiking in the Swiss Alps, and autumn in Bavaria. There are also a few nearby compositions, but less than in previous years; the large majority of this years photo compositions have been taken during our trips. I have taken a lot more macro photographs than in a long time (partly stimulated by the purchase of a new macro lens), in particular wildflower photographs, and I will show these, little by little, in the Flora section. In this blog post I am showing 12 of my favourite photographs of this year. It is a combination of diverse genres that comprises previously shown, but also a few new compositions. I hope you enjoy.

Moon-lit Moeraki boulder shell on the beach, Hampden, New Zealand

Carcolors 46: White ribbons

Watercolors 14

Fly and morning dew, Val Ferret, Switzerland

View from the Üsseres Barrhorn (Turtmanntal, Switzerland)

View from Säntis towards Altmann (in the foreground) and Graubünden, Switzerland

, Factory building reflection, Zurich Oerlikon, Switzerland

PWC building facade detail, Zurich Oerlikon, Switzerland

Lödensee, three-lake area, Ruhpolding, Chiemgau, Germany

Autumnal willow, Kraxenbach, Ruhpolding, Chiemgau, Germany

Foggy christmas tree forest, Zurich, Switzerland

 Frozen morning dew, Zurich, Switzerland

A happy, healthy and interesting new year 2016 to everybody! I thank you for visiting my blog and the six lightpainters for being the highlights of this little new year greeting.

 Florian