Images never to forget

I happened to be in the USA on 9/11. Not in New York City but 700 miles to the west in Chicago, working a printing trade show.

I saw the memorable events evolving live on TV at a downtown hotel, having my breakfast in a buzzing atrium lobby. First hearing reports of a ‘small airplane incident’, next witnessing the brutal shake-up as the second plane hit, finally seeing the story expand into Washington and Pennsylvania. The rest as we know is history.

  
The events on 9/11 – and everything that came afterwards as
a result – have affected our thinking and our way of life up to this very day (agree, frequent business travelers?). They brought some of the worst nightmares for many people, but also bits of the best mankind has to offer: people joining forces to help and mend wounds. Emotions and images that will stay with us forever.

Having worked and lived earlier in the US for five years, I believed to have developed some understanding of the American society. During the few days following 9/11, grounded where we were as all commercial air traffic was cancelled, I discovered a lot more.

I was amazed to see how quickly and naturally a whole country came together as one. How the shocking discovery that even the US could be hit right into the heart slowly made its impact (“you Europeans are already used to live under a threat of terrorism, aren't you?”). How fierce business competitors quietly organized joint bus transportation to get their staff back to their families.

As this morning I browse through the USA Today newspapers I brought back with me (and kept ever since), I wonder if the people of our tiny country, where public debates today focus on trivial differences and (un)likely separations, would also be uniting spontaneously under similar circumstances.

Then again, I hope that I will never have to really find out…

Gear notes: irrelevant

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version

Mild frustration

I know, it has been quiet on this blog for a while… Business has been, well, busy (thank you!) and other duties as well have claimed time and attention. So not much recent photography to enjoy and share.

 
The past few days took me, once again, to the East Coast of the United States, for a short stint of back-to-back meetings. No room for wandering around at nice locations, no opportunity to explore fresh sights. Just a look outside through the (dusty) hotel window in the evening and early morning hours.

See the faint skyline all the way back at the horizon? That‘s New York City, just across the Hudson river. One of the most inspiring areas to cover as a photographer, full with life, power and color. So nearby and yet so much out of reach with a busy agenda.


I could only stare at the Manhattan high-risers with no time to spare, no (good) gear at hand, and thus no chance to satisfy my urge to turn impressions into pixels. Maybe better next time?

At least I had brought a small compact so I could throw in the above images to accompany my futile ramblings…

Gear notes: Panasonic TZ1

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version

On the Frisco trails

One more post from the archives, as life for the moment is very busy (and the weather rather unpleasant). That’s when memories and good souvenirs come handy, don’t they?

During an extended business trip in late summer 2004, I managed to carve out a full Saturday (!) to go on a day-long shooting hike, together with a colleague/friend/fellow photographer.

We woke up that morning with a splendid view on Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower, from the hotel room window.

By the time  we made it to the base of the tower, the fog just started to lift over the Bay. As it turned out that day, it would not completely disappear at all.

Much later in the day: an unusual view on Alcatraz, from one of the bars around Pier 39. I cannot imagine what made us end up there… Maybe an overdose of pixel dust?

A true festival of color (and taste!): the fruit and vegetable stalls at the beginning of the Pier.

It so happens that all of the above pictures were shot with a Nikon 28-200G zoom, the first lens I added after starting digital photography ‘for real’ with a D70 and 18-70DX combo. It’s a compact, lightweight travel lens that gave me more ‘reach’, and also comes with excellent close-up capabilities. I have always liked to use this lens when going on the road. But as I collected more and better glass, it kinda moved into the back of the shelf.

The very same 28-200 now gets a second active life on my D700: originating from the 35mm film days, it covers full-frame FX and serves as a great walk-around lens that easily adds into any bag.

Gear notes: D70, 28-200G

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version