New blog!

We have now officially launched our new blog and it can be found here:

Blickblog

Nora - Portrait

Nora - Portrait, originally uploaded by [ t ]illi.

Again, time has gone by, faster as always. I have not really been taking too many pictures lately unfortunately.
I'm happy to share this portrait of our daughter with you. She was nicely posing which is rather rare.

Photo captured by D2Xs, 17-55AFS on Lexar digital film

That's me

I'm hungry..., originally uploaded by [ t ]illi.

Just playing around with my favorite lens. I saw a similar picture on Flickr and wanted to try the same. So here is the result. All natural light, no flash.

Photo captured by D2Xs, 10.5mm on Lexar digital film

Busy, busy, busy...

Ice on Kymijoki III, originally uploaded by [ t ]illi.

Just a small sign of life. We have started our new venture, slowly but steadily. It requires a lot of planning and organization. There is a lot of administrative work to be done, a new website and blog to be built and many more things... Stay tuned for more information about the progress.

Photo captured by D2Xs, 10.5mm on Lexar digital film

Up on the hill

Up on the hill, originally uploaded by [ t ]illi.

I found this really nice spot up on a small in the forests close to our cottage. It gives a nice view up to the Kymijoki. I was lucky to be there at sunset time, especially as on that day there was perfect winter weather. Blue sky, no clouds and a temperature below 0 Celsius. The light was really great and of course there is finally some snow.

Unfortunately tomorrow it is back to Switzerland and on Monday it is again business as usual. Anyway, it was a great vacation, as always when we come to our cottage.

Photo captured by D2Xs, 17-55AFS on Lexar digital film

New Year's Resolution

Fog at Kymijoki III / Nebel über dem Kymijoki, originally uploaded by Tilman..

I was not thinking I would do that, but with my photo mojo gone at the moment, maybe, more hopefully, this will be a way of getting myself focused and motivated during 2008. So here my resolutions for 2008:

1. Have my camera more often with me
I have to try to find a way of taking my camera with me wherever I go as much as I can.
2. Learn to use my equipment better
This is not only my cameras and lenses, but as well my flash.
3. Have a more effective work flow
Improve my usage of Lightroom and Photoshop.
4. Be more creative and learn to see
Trying new things and not only focusing on nature and landscape. I have to see if I have a chance to do some sports photography again and I would like to do some portrait and product photography.
5. Take some courses
I was thinking about taking at least one course just for the experience and fun and maybe even join a GAF (group of auto didactic photographers) group in the autumn.
6. Participate in some competitions
For the experience, fun and of course the challenge!
7. Have at least one photo trip somewhere abroad (outside of Switzerland and excl. Finland)
I'd like to go somewhere, where I have not been before and try to capture it, maybe combine it with taking a course.
8. Take my photo "business" to the next level
I already have registered a new domain name (still keep it a secret). I still have to register it with the commercial register and do all the administrative work and then will take it from there...
9. Blog more!
Yes, I really try to blog more and if I don't have a picture of myself to present, I hope I can show some from my contacts at Flickr.
10. Enjoy photography
Just appreciate the motivational side of photography, take pictures, get inspired by seeing pictures taken by others and enjoy 2008 from a photographic perspective!

Photo captured by D2Xs, 17-55AFS on Lexar digital film

2007 - A year has past

Frozen Mirror, originally uploaded by Tilman..

The year is almost over. Has it been a good one? Hard to tell, but I think I can complain.

From a photographic perspective, I wish I would have had more time to take pictures and I wish I would have a bit more variation in my pictures. Overall, even if there only have been few opportunities, I feel my image quality has improved. However I'm still not happy, but of course will I ever be? At the moment my mojo is a bit gone and I have to find some ways of motivating myself. I'm glad that I got a bit more active on Flickr and in addition found some other photographers that are willing to have a critical look at my pictures.

From a personal perspective, I definitely had my ups and downs and there has not really been any highlight(s) this year. I somehow got a bit more moody and I still don't know why. Hopefully, taking pictures can and will help me. Otherwise I'm happy the way things are. I probably would be a bit more happy if we could move back to Finland or maybe Sweden or Norway. I'm just more a scandinavian person. There is nothing really wrong with Switzerland, there actually a few reasons to be there, but when you are not really happy than it doesn't help so much. Frankly, just coming back from Stockholm and being in our cottage in Finland now, I think I have never been in that good spirits since moving to Switzerland than while I was living in Finland for 9 years and during this time I spend as well a lot of time in Sweden. Unfortunately as much as I want to, at the moment I have to be in Switzerland, but some day I'll be back up North.

I'm not yet wishing you a happy new year. There will be another post with my resolutions for 2008 tomorrow.

Photo captured by D2Xs, 17-55AFS on Lexar digital film

Where is the snow... (Part 2)

Where is the snow... (Part 2), originally uploaded by Tilman..

Yes, I'm now in Finland. I was not really expecting the winter wonderland that I was used to, but this...?

Where is the snow? The weather forecast is not promising either. It looks like it will be a green Christmas after all. Hopefully there will be at least some snow for New Year's...

Photo captured by D2Xs, 10.5mm on Lexar digital film

Joulu terveisin / Christmas Greetings

Joulu terveisin / Christmas Greetings, originally uploaded by Blickwechsel.

Getting closer to Christmas. I'm actually counting the days until we are going to Finland. Luckily the shops were open today in Bern, so we got a lot of the present shopping done and one big stress factor off.

I just wish there would be at least a bit of snow to get more into the Christmas spirit. Hopefully this will change next weekend.

Happy Holiday, Hyvää Joulua, God Jul!

Photos captured by D2Xs, 17-55AFS & 60 Micro on Lexar digital film

Where is the snow...?

Where is the snow...?, originally uploaded by Kleines Monster.

Yes, where is the snow?

We have the middle of December and have not really seen any snow this winter. Spending Christmas and New Year's in Finland might improve the situation. Although at the moment it seems to be the same gray and wet weather up in the north as in Switzerland.

I just have to keep the fingers crossed and count the days (7 to be precise) until I hopefully will be at the winter wonderland Finland.

Photo captured by D2Xs, 17-55AFS on Lexar digital film

Frustration

Birch trees - abstract / Birken - abstrakt, originally uploaded by Kleines Monster.

What is the reason of having a blog. In my case I was planning to use it as another way to present some of my pictures, maybe write something around the pictures. I was hoping that I can have at least 2 blog entries per week, knowing that I don't yet can focus on photography full time.

Now after almost one year of blogging there should have been quite some entries. However, as you see / read yourself, there are not quite as many. Maybe 2 entries per week was ambitious, but you need to have some goals. However there are not so many pictures to write about, Frustration No. 1, simply I did not have so much time to take pictures this year, Frustration No. 2, and therefore resulting in not too many blog entries, Frustration No. 3. Ok, there some entries with links to YouTube or even embedded videos and some other non photographic related entries, but I really wanted to have a relation between the entry and my pictures.

No, this will be now not my last entry of this blog. I really want and I will continue. I just have to hang in. A couple more weeks and I can take my Christmas break from my daytime job and recharge my batteries and take some time to refocus for 2008. And where else can I do this, people that know me will know the answer, than in FINLAND. It is an open secret that I would like to move back up north (9 years have been a long time), but for the time being my life is in Switzerland and there is nothing wrong with that.

Having said that it might be a bit quiet on the blog for the rest of year, beside the frustration I'm as well a bit exhausted. So recharging the batteries has at the moment the highest priority.

Nevertheless, on a positive note, I managed last week to get one of my dream lenses, a Nikkor AFS 17-55 f/2.8 IF-ED DX. I'm really looking forward to take it to its limits over Christmas and New Year in Finland. The results can be seen at the latest next year at this blog.

Photo captured by D200, 18-70AFS on Lexar digital film

Kymijoki

Kymejoki, originally uploaded by Kleines Monster.

Time for a new picture. Actually it already is from this summer. But since I reeeeeally did not have time for anything new yet.(I know I repeat myself and it gets boring). So I'm slowly working off my backlog. Actually I'm a bit disappointed with my shots from this summer's trip to Finland. My biggest critic (aka my wife) doesn't like this picture at all. Not Finnish enough. My second biggest critic (aka our little Monster) was slightly more positive. But then she might have been just nice to me to ensure that she gets her good night story (which she would have gotten anyway). Let's wait other people think.

Unfortunately there still is no light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to new pictures. My ordinary job is still very demanding until the end of the year, but next year definitely has to change. Can I promise that? No, not really, but I'm really hoping that it will change!

Photo captured by D200, 18-70AFS on Lexar digital film

Picture in the museum

Playing around on a Friday evening, originally uploaded by Kleines Monster.

Just playing around on a Friday evening. Don't really have anything to fill my blog properly nor time to take any pictures at the moment... :-(

Website update

I changed the layout of my website. There is probably still some tweaking to do, but for the moment I'm happy.

I like to travel...

What will be the next destination?


create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.
Cool that seems to work :-) So from now on, I can blog directly out of my Flickr account...

Time...

I don't know what happened, but time went by so fast. 3 weeks of constant traveling have taken its toll. I'm so busy at work with the upcoming product launch that there is not really any time to take pictures. I have not even worked with the pictures from this summer's Finland trip. I hope there will be more time over the weekend. At least I'm finally updating my website . Haven't done that in a while either...
Stay tuned, it only can get better... :-)

Photo captured by D200, 60 Micro on Lexar digital film

Greetings from San Diego

Working week is almost over, spending the weekend in SD is probably not too bad :-)
Just a bit of shopping and sightseeing...

Snakes in the mountain

Having spent last Saturday on an excursion with other nature photographers from Switzerland, we were lucky to see some aspic vipers in different color variations.

Difficult decision

Nikon finally made it today. D3 and D300 are no longer rumors...
Now it will be a difficult decision which camera to take as my second body. Well maybe the D200 has to go and then I go for the dream combo:
D3 - perfect for landscape, macro and people
D300 - for the rest
I guess it will be a dream for a while :-)