The Rhine River, Germany

[Andy]

I was fortunate to attend Photokina this year, in Cologne, Germany. Even more fortunate to have Ivar join me after the show, for a bit of weekend shooting on the Rhine River, and the Pfaltz National Park.

First stop, Cologne at Night:

The Cathedrals dominate the skyline of Cologne. This first shots just as the sun was setting...
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99983066-L.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/100003417-L.jpg

And later, after dark:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/98482489-L.jpg

My hotel was near the main railway station, The Hauptbanhof:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/100003520-L.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/98556626-L.jpg

The nightlife is pretty busy.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/100003503-L.jpg


Well, after the show concluded, on Saturday afternoon, we begun our Journey down the Rhine Valley. I had as my wingman, Ivar Borst (http://ivar.smugmug.com) and we just had a ball. They let you drive *really* fast in Germany :lol3

Here's our SmugMobile for the weekend
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99875924-L.jpg

http://ivar.smugmug.com/photos/99948494-L.jpg

Me at 200kph :rofl
http://ivar.smugmug.com/photos/99948679-L.jpg

Not to far from the City of Koblenz, down the Rhine, we encountered the first of the many many Castles that line the river. So many, it's hard to count them. It's a visual treat, really. The weather did not cooperate though, and this was our only really fair weather shot of the weekend - most everything else was shot under grey, flat conditions - though with such beauty, it didn't dampen the good time we had!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99988007-L.jpg

We stopped for lunch in the little village of Boppard...
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99988231-L.jpg

Turns out, it was "Wine Fest" and there were winos from all over Europe there, to celebrate :lol3 Folks kind of spontaneously burst out into song - music - dance. This guy on the squeezebox was really good!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99988296-L.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99989505-L.jpg

This group was quite animated. It was really cool to see people singing, dancing, just having a blast for the sake of the grape!
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99991846-L.jpg

And a bit later we came upon the Dutch contingent:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99992268-L.jpg

We found yet more castles, here are a few views:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99989839-L.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99990097-L.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99990166-L.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99990690-L.jpg

One thing that was truly amazing, notice the grapevines - they are growing them all up and down the Rhine like this, on the steepest hills you can imagine..

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99990309-L.jpg

Hopefully Ivar will add some pics to this cool weekend Journey :D Thanks for looking!

[ellykoggle]

Beautiful pics!

[digitalpins]

yes those are beautiful pics, the castles built right on the side of the hill along with the grapevines is awesome

[grannyrobin]

A granny can so easily imagine herself walking down one of those streets you show. I love that!
-Robin

[Dee]

I liked the church with the birds flying and the setting sun tucked in the corner. And wow, what a modern looking train station!

I was wondering if you'd rent a Mercedes and hit the limit of the car's speed on the autobahm -- hehe, you did!:rofl

Love the crowd scenes too!

[saurora]

Neat shots, Andy. Of course the cathedrals are absolutely amazing. I love the hustle-bustle of the crowd in the night-life shot. Did you get a shot of Ivar's white knuckles while you were driving? :rofl

[jsedlak]

WOW...

Awesome shots Andy... :thumb

[jthomas]

Great series Andy. Wonderful pictures and an enjoyable story.

I first made this drive in 1963 (yes, 43 years ago - shows what an old f*** I have become :lol).

Nice to see that it still looks pretty much the same - at least the castles and vineyards are still there :rolleyes.

[ivar]

Hi guys, these are a few already, I have not had time to process them, these are all straight from the camera. I will change them soon.

Boppard, along the Rhine:
http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/99976588-L.jpg


http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/100034136-L-1.jpg


Amphibian car in Bingen:
http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/99972548-L.jpg

http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/99972378-L-2.jpg

Part of the party crowd (see Andy's post)
http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/100245695-L-1.jpg

http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/100244592-L.jpg

http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/99971332-L.jpg

German graffiti:
http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/100244441-L.jpg


A night shot from the church in Filsen:
http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/99973601-L.jpg

http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/100038447-L-1.jpg

[Jayhawk1993]

Great Pics Andy! I don't know if I should thank you for sharing the great pics or if I should be mad since my wife and I have been dying to return to Germany since we last visited in 2002! :rofl

We were so fortunate to have spent time in Germany. One of our favorite places is Rothenburg ob der Tauber. If you're bored, here's the link to some of our pics--nothing as incredible as yours, but i think we captured the quaint essence of this small medival little town.

http://ashmore.smugmug.com/gallery/1837461/1/92309956

Mica

[Andy]

Great Pics Andy! I don't know if I should thank you for sharing the great pics or if I should be mad since my wife and I have been dying to return to Germany since we last visited in 2002! :rofl

We were so fortunate to have spent time in Germany. One of our favorite places is Rothenburg ob der Tauber. If you're bored, here's the link to some of our pics--nothing as incredible as yours, but i think we captured the quaint essence of this small medival little town.

http://ashmore.smugmug.com/gallery/1837461/1/92309956

Mica
Oh yeah: http://ashmore.smugmug.com/gallery/1837461/1/92309804

:clap

[Mickey57]

Hi Guys:
As many others have stated, these are beautiful photos. I really like the night photos. We have not been back to Germany since 2000. We did a one day Rhine cruise at that time. Funny...my pictures didn't look like this :bow.
I will show these to my wife....that ought to get us back there quickly.

Thanks for sharing

Dan

[ian408]

Very nice. Did you stop and visit many of the castles?

[Bob&Glennie]

Hi Andy, finally had a little time on Thanksgiving Monday (Canadian) to do some lurking. I love your photos but the one thing that stands out is the refreshing lack of hydro and telephone poles and wires. Is this sort of distraction typically absent in Europe or did you have to work your compositions to avoid them?

Glennie and I live in the most beautiful city in Canada but when I go downtown instead of out to the countryside and try to get my head out of "landscape mode" and into "city mode" I find that the cityscape is so busy with "junk" that I can't photograph it in a way that brings out the beauty and character that I see in this city.

Bob

[marlof]

lack of hydro and telephone poles and wires

hydro? telephone? wires? explain the concept...

Nah, just kidding, in these parts much of the wiring is done underground. So no obstructions in your images.

[Andy]

Hi Andy, finally had a little time on Thanksgiving Monday (Canadian) to do some lurking. I love your photos but the one thing that stands out is the refreshing lack of hydro and telephone poles and wires. Is this sort of distraction typically absent in Europe or did you have to work your compositions to avoid them?

Glennie and I live in the most beautiful city in Canada but when I go downtown instead of out to the countryside and try to get my head out of "landscape mode" and into "city mode" I find that the cityscape is so busy with "junk" that I can't photograph it in a way that brings out the beauty and character that I see in this city.

Bob
:D
http://www.moonriverphotography.com/photos/101243029-L-0.jpg

and some crops:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/101243173-M-0.jpg


http://www.smugmug.com/photos/101243161-M-0.jpg

[Andy]

hydro? telephone? wires? explain the concept...

Nah, just kidding, in these parts much of the wiring is done underground. So no obstructions in your images.but lots of windmills!

[marlof]

but lots of windmills!

Yeah, Germany is famous for them! Nice shots, both Andy and Ivar. I only pass through that area, going from my country to my brother's place in Northern Italy, but it looks like it's nice enough to make a little stop there the next time.

[Nikolai]

Very cool,
thank you for sharing your adventures with us! :thumb

[schmoo]

Hello Andy and everyone! I just joined after being a Smugmug member for a couple of years, and I am REALLY loving these photos. Germany is my favorite international destination so far, and I am completely blown away by your photos. I love how you started in Köin, especially as the Döm was the chief reason why I went last spring, but never got to see it because we had to cut the itinerary short. I think that your photos make it as beautiful as it possibly can be and I don't feel quite as sad now that I'm seeing them here.

:D

I really am looking forward to seeing more photos from you and everyone else!

[Mike A]

Your photos are making me homesick Andy. I think the wife and I need to move back... :cry

I'll dig up some of my better Germany pics..

[Awais Yaqub]

Superb photos Andy and great trip ! :wink

[PetersCreek]

Great images, all! I finished my four years in Germany back in '99 when I moved to Alaska. Man, I wanna go back for a visit in the worst way.

[Andy]

http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/99972378-Th-2.jpg


w00t :clap :clap

[Seneca]

Absolutely stunning pictures...you are a true artist.:clap

[ivar]

Not a technically outstanding photo, but it makes me smile for some reason.

http://Ivar.smugmug.com/photos/111333092-L.jpg

[jcp]

Fantastic photos and great to see you had a good time in Germany. Once I get my new account here at Smugmug sorted, I'll start posting some of my German shots as well.

You guys really have a good eye for capturing facinating details.

[Blonde Moment]

Great Stuff.

In the early 90's, my wife and I lived in Luxembourg with is situated on the Moselle River. We travelled around Germany, France, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland.

We found it very interesting that all the German towns looked fantastic and the French towns looked very run down.

We did not realise it at the beginning, but most of the German twons had been rebuilt after WW2 as there was not much left from bombing. The German people rebuilt from memory and the towns looked 400 years old when most buildings where only 50 years old.

Very few French buildings where bombed, so they are actually 400 years old!

Still, all the places we visited where fasinating. We loved our time there.

[Bayer-Z28]

I miss Germany soo much it hurts. 2 years there was NOT enough.. I'm gonna try to get back there. BEautiful night pic @ the bridge. I went on a sals boat ride down the Rhine. Good times. I also topped my buddy's 325i out at 250 clicks...

[Spagbag]

Fantastic photos. I love this one of the bridge at night (I've never managed to make that cathedral look anywhere near as attractive).
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/98482489-L.jpg

And this one of the clever German engineering. :rofl

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/99991846-L.jpg

[Andy]

Fantastic photos. I love this one of the bridge at night (I've never managed to make that cathedral look anywhere near as attractive).
And this one of the clever German engineering. :rofl
Extras.

I never noticed that chair! :clap

[com3]

holy sauer kraut! you take AMAZING pictures!!! this one right here has me in AWE!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/98482489-L.jpg

[Andy]

holy sauer kraut! you take AMAZING pictures!!! this one right here has me in AWE!

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/98482489-L.jpg
Well, thank you for the so very kind words!

:D

[rbrugman]

How on earth do you take pictures like this? I need to find out and then hop on the ICE and go to Köln for the night. I know exactly where you were by Hohenzollernbrücke, but for the life of me I've never been able to take a picture where the colors come out nearly that much. You should post a tutorial for great night shots like that.

Vielen Dank,
Robert

[Andy]

You should post a tutorial for great night shots like that.

:D Hi Robert,

Like this? (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=2055).

[rbrugman]

Now I feel dumb :rofl Thanks!!!

[Andy]

Now I feel dumb :rofl Thanks!!!
Do not feed dumb - there's plenty here, our job is to just find it for you if you don't - no problemo!

[rbrugman]

I just finished reading your very well written tutorial on the post-processing, but I still have some questions on how to take good night shots in the first place. How do you decide which ISO to use vs. increased exposure time. My pictures for some reason always end up looking very red because I use low ISO but very long exposure times. I shoot in RAW so that should help a bit with the post processing but if I take a lousy picture to start with it just makes things much harder.


Thanks for the help!

Robert

[Andy]

I just finished reading your very well written tutorial on the post-processing, but I still have some questions on how to take good night shots in the first place. How do you decide which ISO to use vs. increased exposure time. My pictures for some reason always end up looking very red because I use low ISO but very long exposure times. I shoot in RAW so that should help a bit with the post processing but if I take a lousy picture to start with it just makes things much harder.


Thanks for the help!

RobertAsk in the tutorial thread okay?
then many can benefit.