Abandoned Railroad Tracks

About half a mile from my home you can get access to an abandoned railroad area.
Until the 1970s, it was the Railroad Depot Kiel-West. After that, most of the buildings and rails have been demolished, turned into parking lots and re-taken by nature.

Anyway, it made for a pretty nice sunday afternoon excursion, especially since I had never been there before, and I like discovering "my" city.

The real highlight for me though was the old radio telescope that's located near the very end of the tracks in a building that once belonged to the Electroacustic Ltd. (now ELAC) and hasn't been used since 1976. It still looks cool, more than 50 years old and at the time only the second radio telescope in Germany and with a huge antenna of 7,5 meters in diameter. You can check out its history here.

Here's the rest of today's photos, iPhone only:

Black and White Kiel.

This Friday, I went to work and took a little detour through the city to take some photos. The weather was kind of grey so I was is a grey mood, too.

This is a passage that's being renovated. I like how the street as well as the construction rigs reflect in the windows on the left, so it looks more like a bridge.

This is the entrance to the auditorium of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Kiel. The building is rather old, so it looks kind of rotten and falling apart, even more so in black and white. The weathered look combined with the spikes on the gate and the barred windows also add a kind of eerie atmosphere.

This sculpture stands in the garden of the Kiel Museum for Classical Art. I took the photo through the Olloclip Fisheye addition using the Hipstamatic app.

Since I used to serve in the German Navy aboard a submarine, I have a great affection to all things maritime. This sculpture stands near the Cruise Ship Terminal. I think it was set up for the Olympic Games in 1972.

This Lighthouse stands in the parking lot of the Kiel Maritime Museum.To me, lighthouses have a special atmosphere of loneliness and a special connection to the sea. I want to go on vacation in a lighthouse someday :)

Playing with Photos. Part 4.

A couple of days ago, I was experimenting with the Macro-Lens of the Olloclip addition for my iPhone. This little spider in by bathroom came in pretty handy at that time. Of course, my wife said something like "Pleeeeeeeeeaaase, get it out of here NOW!", but she laughed when the first thing I got was not a tissue or the vacuum cleaner but my iPhone.
Anyway, the macro photo came out pretty nice, I think, and after a little work with Camera+ and Instagram I had this little beauty.

That same night, I sat at the dinner/TV/computer table and was trying different combinations of Hipstamatic films and lenses and put on the macro lens once again and got this nice close-up of the tip of my cigarette:

I rather like smoking. Of course, I know it is not really healthy for me, but I think besides the taste, it gives a nice and comfortable atmosphere and it goes perfectly with drinking, which I also rather like :)

This photo was also taken with the iPhone and I went over it with Pixlromatic and Shock-My-Pic.

Just a shot of two people sitting in a bar talking. I like the atmosphere. This is a normal iPhone photo, cropped and revamped with Camera+ and Instagram.

And last but not least, my current profile photo in original size. I dont'really remember which apps I used, but I took the photo with the Everyday app.

A Weekend Retreat

Last weekend the company I work for organized a conference for the entire management level from all four locations of our enterprise.
It was a great opportunity to get to know everyone, work together in groups and of course have fun.
The conference was held at Iberotel Fleesensee in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located right at the shore of a picturesque lake and the setting sun of early spring gave me a couple of good photo opportunities.

Here are some of the photos I took, enjoy.

This is our CEO during a quick break on the first day of the conference.

Three of our project managers enjoying the sunset at Lake Fleesensee.

I really like the Hipstamatic app a lot, because you can generate so many different moods by combining different films and lenses. Combined with the Olloclip extension for the iPhone which offers wide angle and fish-eye lenses you can really have some fun!

Hamburg 28.01.2012

Black & White Berlin

We extended our Berlin visit a little bit, so we had the chance to visit some of the touristic sights such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Pergamon Museum.
I took the opportunity to take some pictures of buildings with my Hipstamatic iPhone app.
Since the weather was good and the sun was shining, I used a black and white film and a lens that emphasized the stark contrasts.

late summer in kiel

great weather, great light, 'nuff said.

Lost Places - Rotten to the Core

Old Rotten Church...

Old Rotten Dairy Company





Old Rotten House

Old Rotten Pharmaceutical Company