Author: Tobias M. Schiel

Abstract arts lover, Jazz enthusiast, mystery buff, compulsive reader - and how do I get it all into pictures? Photography has been a good way over the last couple of years.1. .

2/3. Geology? Archaeology?

Tobias M. Schiel2 Comments

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A quick reminder because I love getting myself distracted by photo challenges: The 2/3 series features a simple formula: composition by the so called rule of thirds. The idea is to focus on structures and colours rather than composition while giving the pictures a uniform look. Based on this unifying ‘grammar’ it should be possible to arrange and re-arrange picture series according to different criteria – and tell different ‘stories’ – without losing a certain coherence. Here, the story told might be of rocks, or the remnants enclosed inside them.

Light Matters

Tobias M. Schiel11 Comments

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DSC02142-kThe pictures show details of Kochbrunnen, an octagonal building in Wiesbaden’s downtown area. Different angles, different times of the day. different days, different weather conditions: These factors account for the different moods and colours in these picures.

I metered on the columns, slightly (but consistently) overexposing them because the sandstone is quite light – except for the last frame which reflects the lighting situation of the early evening. White balance was the same for all pictures, and no post-processing was done regarding the colours.

If I ever needed proof that light is one of the most important ‘materials’ for a photographer to work with, here it is. I am sure you all already knew, but I am still kind of new to colour photography, so to acutally see how different these pictures are from one another is a bit of a surprise for me.

Thanks to Christina / Paleica for inspiring this series with her recent photo challenge.

Alla Veneziana (Decay)

Tobias M. Schiel4 Comments

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Decay can look quite quite pretty in a romantic or decadent way when the dosage is moderate. A bit of laissez faire, a bit of savoir vivre; after all, enjoying life is more important than maintaining old houses. Buildings that have decayed to a degree we find charming may remind us of Luchino Visconti’s Morte a Venezia.

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However, the famous Italian city might be more rotten than the pictures in our minds suggest, and there are buildings that are way beyond charming here in Wiesbaden. They literally fall apart (the glimpse through a hole in the tarpaulin hints at the whole). Some of them are protected as monuments or national heritage (“denkmalgeschützt”): They must not be knocked down, so the owners let them rot until they pose a security risk and demolition becomes inevitable.

To see more decay – and to read a great yet outrageous story about an ambitious hospital project – visit Paula’s Photo Challenge which inspired the idea that while we might like that bit of decay, more of it is not too good.