Lucky Lichens

Lichens are some of the most stunning biological structures you can find in nature. Often, I find myself stopping in the middle of a hike or even on my way to buy groceries, just because some weird looking coating on a log caught my eye. Here are some of the most recent shots:

In the midst of the wetlands of the Venn region stands an old crucifix, which is covered with old lichens. Lobes and branches extruding in all directions, giving the impressions of coral reefs. On a sunny day with the clear blue sky in the background, that impression is even stronger.

The Eifel region is quite humid and tree trunks are often covered in moss and lichens. Sometimes when the sun hits in the right angle, the patches of lichens turn into little forests themselves.

Recently we were strolling through the fields, trying to catch reptiles and insects on camera. But the most rewarding motives were again, lichens!

Build me up Buttercup

What can be more uplifting than a flower meadow in bloom in early June?

This meadow is just next to the spot where we were looking for yellow-bellied toads the other day. Walking through it took me back to my untroubled childhood days, when we were spending all day picking flowers and lying in the grass watching insects buzzing around.

These meadows are pretty rare nowadays, despite some efforts to re-establish plant diversity in urban areas. My heart jumped to find myself standing right in it. Immediately, I could identify dozens of species of flowers and grasses. Friendly buttercups, probably Ranunculus acris, dominated the view.

The beauty of the meadow was even more striking when I dived into it and took closer looks at the single blossoms and blades of grass. I switched to a macro lens, but the wind made it really difficult to keep the swaying buttercups in focus. Somehow I was able to take some nice shots, though.

One might think that a meadow like that with all its diversity and huge supply of nectar and pollen should be buzzing with instect life. Oddly, it was strangly quiet that day. Just the wind created ripples and waves moving through the field and we spotted just single butterflies, bees and beetles every now and then. A silent earth it has become.

On the wetter, muddy parts of the meadow another Ranunculus species caught my eye: Ranunculus flammula or banewort.

Fond of the pond

So, eventually it happened: I got myself a new camera! I am switching now to the mirrorless Lumix DC G91 from Panasonic. The overall performance, price-value ratio and the compact and versatile body design convinced me to make the purchase. I am still getting used to it, though. Let me show you some of my first image series.

Just last weekend I went with my hiking and photography buddy to a military training ground near Aachen that is known to harbour the biggest population of the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata) in north rhine-westphalia. Hence not suprisingly, we didn’t have to look very long to find numerous toads and tadpoles in the puddles of the tracks left in the mud by tanks and heavy gear. Where the puddles had grown into small ponds, you could easily spot them floating on the surface like tourists chilling on air mattrasses (above).

However, the tinier puddles allowed us to take much closer look at the toads, without getting wet ourselves. With a little patience they popped out from under leaves and hiding places, posing nicely unbothered by our presence.

It really made me happy to see so many of the little fellas again. As a child, I used to look out for them with my cousins behind my grandma’s farm house in Carinthia, Austria. In summer, the little wetland there was full of tiny toadlings. Other than there, I was never able to spot them in the wild.

Where there is water, there are damsel- and dragonflies as well. Especially when the water isn’t home to fish that would feed on the larvae. That day many individuals of the broad-bodied darter (Libellula depressa) were busy securing the continued existence of their population. Only one of them, was taking a rest long enough for to us to take decent shots of it.

Winter Wonder Venn

Blinding white dendritic structures branch out into a cerulean blue sky, the freezing air bites into the skin on my face, each step leaves a crunching sound in the cold silence. That’s the scenery in the winter landscape of the Belgian Venn around Signal de Botrange. A true winter wonderland dream.

We were lucky to catch the only sunny weekend this winter to stroll through the snow covered moorscape in the Venn. Like exploring the strange environment on a newly discovered planet we ventured on through alien forests and crystal planes: extraterrestial explorers on the search for new life forms. The contrast between the white of the frozen trees and the endless blue of the sky above us was mesmerizing. I didn’t know where to look next and what frame to catch with my camera.

Another stunning contrast were the pitch black waterways of the moor, darkened by their high content of humic acids, meandering through the bright snow cover. The lack of colour emphasizing the surface structure of the fluffy snow pillows and the playful reflection of waves and ripples of the water.

Every now and then the occasional pine tree towers over the empty snow planes like a dark monolith. Last relicts of a long lost civilisation that once ruled this part of the planet.

I am not a winter person, but days like this really make my heart sing. An unforgettable start of 2024. And probably the last post that will show images taken with my Canon EOS 350 D. I finally got myself a new camera and I guess there will soon be more new posts here on this blog. Spring is arriving fast now and all the little flowers and fresh leaves are begging to be caugth on camera.

Vipera berus

It’s been a while that I posted anything. That has been due to the fact that I accepted a new job in Aachen and I had to move and adapt do all the completely new conditions. I am still adapting actually. But one cool thing has happened: I met a cool guy that wanted to catch a certain snake species on camera: the Vipera berus, or „Kreuzotter“ as it is called in German. It is pretty much the only venomous snake species in the country and only rarely seen. However, roumor had it that it was seen in the moorscapes of the near Venn region in the borderlands of Belgium and Western Germany.

So, having identified our mutual interest in snakes and photography we ventured into the moor. Four consequent weekends we had to start our expeditions till we got lucky and almost stepped onto this beautiful baby adder. I am afraid my auto focus fucked me up a little, but it still is a wonderful specimen.

While my friend crawled on the floor with his huge tele lens, I got myself comfortable with my convenient semi macro lense and followed the little snake on its path. It was probably not longer than 30 cm, but beautifully coloured and didn’t mind us being around.

Seductive Sedum

During late summer, sedum species lure honey bees and other pollinators with fields of flowers to a rich nectar banquet. Bees and bumble bees are racing over meadows made of tiny pink and reddish flowers. Taking a look from up close those flowers look like huge fantastic landscapes for grazing animals.

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Above: Have a look at my personal favourites from this post.

Sedum flowers come in different shades, from greenish white to deep dark purple. I love the pink-green contrast which adds life to the images. Here I preferred to create a dreamy romantic ambience with slightly warmer colour tones and less contrast.

Viewed from above sedum flowers present themselves as densly packed and highly structured composite flowers offering beautiful patterns in every frame.

Viewed from the side the composite flowers occupy different levels creating landscapes with smooth hills and forests with fleshy broccoli-like tree trunks. Perfect grazing ground for our herds of insect pollinators.

The deep purple sedum varieties are my favourites since I just like strong colours. Especially when they contrast with the complimentary green or colourless backgrounds.
How many bees can you count in these pictures?!

Victorian Quest

Across the street lingers the entrance to a whole different world: the Victorian greenhouses of my city’s botanical garden. Their main attraction is an artificial pond inhabited by the giant water lilly Victoria cruziana. Its enormous leaves cover the main part of the water surface, their rims bend upwards revealing a series of spikes along the vessels. Impressive by their size alone, their true magic unfolds as soon as you take a closer look at their structural details. Come with me on a quest through this Victorian jungle!

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Although the leaves shine in a bright green colour, their undersides show distinct reddish hues. This results in interesting colour contrasts when captured in the same frame. Additionally, the structural difference of the smooth surface and the strong veins along the underneath adds to the tension.

Of course, giant water lillies aren’t cultivated for their impressive leaves alone. They do produce giant flowers, too. However, they are blooming only during a few nights in August, which is celebrated each year by visitors and photographers alike. The botanical garden even extends its opening hours especially for this event.

What I like most about this pond is its smooth water surface since there is no wind to disturb it (and no crocodiles). I love the mirror effects of the leaf structures and their reflections. Depending on what details are in the frame you can create wonderful abstract patterns and illusions of an exotic forest. Just imagine sitting on a canoe rowing through the channels between these huge spike covered green walls!

Lavender

Another post about withered floral structures (see Withered Structures), but this time vertical lines are in the focus …and out of focus as well. The erect floral projections of the lavender flowers (Lavendula sp.) create a forest of slender greyish stalks with the dried flower buds on top. The newly emerging blue green leaves form a mysterious background for this strange cold forest.

Dowesee

So there’s this little botanical garden in the North of my city. It is quite pretty and they make an effort to make it look all natural, what I especially appreciate. On the sunny days in March I went there to take pictures. I’ve posted some already in Ambassadors of Spring and Withered Structures. Here I just put together some of the other images that I liked best.

Blue anemones are some of my favourites in spring, they are so delicate and somehow magical. I like how the light shines through the petals and the flowers seem to hover above the grass.

Hyacinths are royal guests in gardens during springtime. They have oppulent flowers in various bright colours and shades, and their fragrance is all over the place. They are definitely the eye catchers. Above I love how the pictures turned out showing the contrasts between the white soft flowers in the back and the rough black rock in the front that looks like the surface of an asteroid. I put two versions next to each other with different focal points. Personally, I prefer the one with the rock in focus. The third picture highlites the contrast between the dark purple and white flowers, also in and out of focus.

Siberian squills (Scilla siberica) are little cousins of hyacinths and can cover whole meadows in spring turning them into mystical bright blue carpets. Here I focus on fragile single plants that contrast against the rough or plain (back)ground.

Below you’ll find the location of this beautiful little piece of land in Braunschweig.

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Withered Structures

Spring is not only an ideal time to go out looking for colourful flowers, there are also plenty of floral structures to be found. Withered skeletons of what was once fresh and juicy. Faded colours of what was once bright in bloom. Hydrangeas offer a great motiv for those structures. Here I found some with their heads in front of a background of dead leaves, leading to a wonderful monochromatic landscape with various contrasts.

I played around with saturation and colour temperature, resulting in images with completely different moods. However, I find both versions very beautiful and both highlighte the delicate details of the composite flowers. Which ones do you like best?

Letting dead plants stay until spring hasn’t only a decorative purpose, many components of these plants offer shelter for insects and other small animals during winter time as well as nesting material for birds and mammals.