Looks like autumn is on it’s way.

I know, it’s getting repetitive. That’s life.

A sure sign of autumn.

Schlossbeleuchtung. Just a snapshot.

I’ve been searching for a wide (and of course fast) prime lens lately. Sure I have the Nikon AF-S 24-70mm F2.8 G, which is a great zoom lens. But it’s not a lens that I take with me lightly because of it’s size and weight. Combined with the D700 the 24-70 makes for a pretty big gun, not a good appearance for spontaneous and travel photography. Then again, my small Nikon AF 35mm F2.0D isn’t wide enough for many land- and cityscapes.

Obviously the first candidate was Nikon’s recently introduced Nikon AF-S 24mm F1.4 G lens. Though probably the best choice in aperture and image quality, one glimpse at the price tag (currently at about 1800€) disqualifies it from the competition. That is simply way too expensive for my taste, at least for a wide prime. A 35mm F1.4 would be a different story for me, since the 35mm is the lens I use most – so I’m rather interested in what’s coming from Nikon in the next months. But back to the 24 – in addition, with the 1.4 aperture and AF-S comes a big volume, and this lens is still more than half as long as the 24-70.

So, what’s left to chose from? There’s the old Nikon AF 24mm F2.8D lens, and a rather recent Sigma AF 24mm 1.8 EX DG Asp Macro. Against better instincts I tried the Sigma first. Unfortunately it lived up to the bad expectations I had.

The Sigma is with F1.8 much faster than the old Nikon with F2.8, but that is in fact the only thing where this lens can really collect points. But with the speed comes size: even without the lens hood this thing is large, too large for my needs. The old Nikon has only half it’s length!

And then there are the details: the Autofocus is amazingly slow for a non-HSM drive and once you switch to manual focus (by using the awkward Sigma pullback mechanism) the focus ring was stiff as hell. The finish of the lens is the typical matte paint of Sigma lenses, not very sturdy if you ask me (I had a fair share of Sigma lenses). The lens I was looking for travels in my backpack, without any protection. This Sigma isn’t that lens for sure.

Therefore the choice was narrowed down to the Nikon AF 24mm F2.8D. For sure not as fast as I would have wished, but then again it’s very small and well build. And it is the cheapest of these three lenses.

It’s body is build nearly identical to the Nikon AF 35mm F2.0D. And that lens proved to be the sturdy, backpack traveling lens I was looking for. The AF is fast, focusing from 0.3 m to infinity doesn’t take more than a quarter rotation. Wide open at F2.8 it displays quite a lot of vignetting, even stronger than the Sigma at F1.8 – but I must admit that I really like this. Stopping it down to F4.0 removes the vignetting almost entirely anyhow.

So, in the end I chose the cheap and well build, but far from perfect lens. It’s the one that suits my needs best for an acceptable price.

Finally took some time do some more extensive cooking again.

Hungry little guest.

^^

Taking samples, what else…

Taking samples in the rain, looking funny.

THAT was not the plan. Sucking mud from 2 meters depth.

New lens in my bag. I started to prefer primes lately.

Catscan. Oh what a pun!

Another new lens in my… cupboard. I prefered the Canon, not to cause any unfortunate confusion.

Züricher mit Spätzle, selfmade of course.

Got some gear for sale on eBay. The Nikon D70 is my first DSLR, still in good condition and a good choice for Infrared-Photography. The 35mm lens is one of the best primes I had so far, unfortunately only for DX cameras. The auctions run until Sunday, September 5th. I’ll ship worldwide, please request shipping prices before bidding.

• Nikon D70 on eBay
• Nikon AF-S DX 35mm F1.8 G on eBay

Working late.

Taking water samples a few days earlier.

Walking home. Got to break in a new pair of trekking boots.

Just love the light color contrast.

Back to the dailies routine, at least for now…

Trekking through the forest above Heidelberg with my university research group.

Time to go home again, unfortunately :( But my trip home wasn’t straightforward – I made a detour for sentimental reasons, to refresh memories from my childhood by visiting the Île d’Oléron.

I don’t think it’s made for this, but it fits perfectly =)

The only piece of highway I drove on the 1500 km of route back home.

Closing in on the atlantic coast.

This is what happens when you give decisive power to navigation software and forget to exclude ferries…

I was lucky though, 5 minutes after I arrived at the ferry it started it’s way across the Garonne.

Finally crossing the Viaduc d’Oléron.

La Brée-les-Bains.

For years we played volleyball tournaments there in the summer. It’s a difficult memory, but somehow it feels sad that this tradition apparently has deteriorated gravely. Though, I even met someone there whom I knew from back then.

Same place, about a decade ago…

Saint-Denis-d’Oléron.

Once upon a time, this place was like a second home to me. Now I felt strangely out of place.

Same place, viewed from opposite directions and a time difference of 15 to 20 years. The lower one is actually a scan from an old film negative.

There used to be a camping site where this marina is located now.

Enjoying the beach for a little while.

Unfortunate vignetting by the polarization filter, even though it’s an extra slim one.

Tourism…

Remains of german occupation, slowly dropping into the sea as the coastline erodes.

Phare de Chassiron.

The initial plan was to stay the night there, enjoy the perseid meteor shower in it’s strongest night. Unfortunately the wind from the sea was so strong that it rocked the tripod, making star shots quite impossible and it also carried with it dense clouds just shortly after the sun vanished.

+

=

Taking cover from the strong (and cool) winds.

Nightfall at the beach.

I missed the ocean, and already I miss it again!

But I left there with the fall of night and drove until I found a small town near Cognac to spend the night.

Next morning, starting early when everything was still blue. Last day.

Still a thousand kilometers ahead.

Sunrise.

And there I was: 12 hours later, back in Germany, back in the rain. That’s it. But it seems there might be more travel on the horizon this year, though not as a vacation.

Planned as another rest day. It wasn’t.

La Mongie. I haven’t done a 100 km tour in years. So my bright (spontaneous) idea was to do one just the day after I was on the Col du Tourmalet. And of course, go up there again, from the other side. Boy did the last bunch of kilometers hurt…

A welcome photo break. My road bike’s transmission isn’t exactly cut out for mountain climbing, requiring a lot of force rather than allowing high cadence. So in the end I needed a few micro breaks of 30 to 45 seconds every once in a while a few kilometers short of the summit, simply because I lacked the power to go on pedaling. Switching the transmission would likely mean switching most of the drivetrain – which could be quite costly. Therefore I’d rather live with the pain ^^

French ski resorts are mostly a great example of horrible architecture…

And there I was: 65 km and and about 2200 meters total ascension, only 35 km to go to return to Argelès-Gazost.

You can’t go too fast anyhow, there might be sheep on the road. Or cattle. Or tourists.

Back home. Not much power left, but happy ^^

Photo backup. I always made a triple backup. A good decision, as I was tired enough to delete my primary photo drive by mistake the day after I returned to Heidelberg…

Blue hour, closing the 10th day.

11th day, the weather coincided with my need for rest.

My last day in Argelès-Gazost. Bye.

Two months ago, this was my plan to refresh my french skills. Still haven’t made it past page 50 :/ But in the end, my french hadn’t degraded as badly as I feared.

It was hard. But once again I made it up there. Must have been somewhere around the 10th time since 1996.

There’s hardly any biker not taking this shot. The really weird ones are the people going up there by car taking the same shot.

14 years ago, I did the same. Guess I’m out of that age.

Just for the record.

Ok, this one is totally weird. But kind of funny.

Back home.

Reading.

Resting.

Another day of rest… Lots of birds in this entry.

Time to read.

Shy one.

Not so shy.

Grand spectacle au Donjon des Aigles à Beaucens.

Many of the following shot are cropped. These birds were so close they sometimes would fill the frame, but they are also so extremely fast that getting them on the frame is the real problem. My respect for nature photographers documenting these birds in the wild grew enormously that day.

Duck and cover! Condor approaching.

A native vulture.