Dresden

Dresden is one of the most beautiful cities in Germany and definitely always worth a visit. It harbours worldclass museums, magnificient architecture and a lively alternative restaurant and bar scene. Moreover, it is situated within a historically and naturally rich landscape. Make sure you drop by and see it for yourself. This time I went to go for some hikes in the natural park Sächsische Schweiz nearby and just strolled around in the city for the afternoon. I focused on sihouettes and structures, thus I decided to present most pictures in black and white.

One of the landmarks of the city is the golden monument of former emperor August the Strong also called „the golden horseman“. It screams opulence, as do many of his architectural projects and his treasure chamber. The comparison below emphasizes this impression.

Shocking Artichoke

The botanical garden of the Technical University in Brunswick is just across the street and it is always worth a visit. Either to study, to relax or to go on a photo hunt. And this is what I did the other day. Undisputed star among all the flowers was the huge artichoke (Cynara cardunculus) in bloom. Loved by bees, bumblebees and visitors alike. Its big violet blossoms offer an exciting range of structures and contrasts, even the unopened buds look interesting. For those who know artichokes only from pizza carchofi, artichokes are being cultivated for the thick edible bases of their flowers. Buds and blossom are also very decorative accessories in your flower bouquet.

The big flowers of the thistle-like artichoke attract plenty of pollinators and serve as a reliable source for good close up shots of insects. The radial symmety of the spiky flowers reminded me of magnified images of microscopic algea and plancton. Thus I tried to mimic a scanning electron microscope recording with the pictures I got. You can slide the bar from left to right to adjust the size of each image. Amazing, isn’t it?!