Tag: Historical

November 10, 2024

In the spotlight

🚶

Stolberg 🇩🇪

Stolberg is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has a long history as an industrial town and belongs to the district Aachen and the lower district court of Eschweiler.

The story

Testing my newly acquired, second-hand, 10-year-old Samsung NX Mini camera with the 9mm lens attached!
I needed a quiet, calm place to get acquainted with the device, so I decided to visit Burg Stolberg on this overcast day. I selected the “Retro” setting in the camera’s Picture Wizard, with a few tweaks of my own. It’s a kind of film simulation recipe, giving the photos a hint of sepia – just enough to feel vintage, though I can’t say exactly which era it evokes.
Unfortunately, my GPS tracker didn’t record, so no step mileage today.

The gear

Camera:
Samsung NX Mini

Camera lens:
Samsung NX-M 9mm f/3.5 ED

Picture Wizard:
Retro (color 2/orange, saturation -1, sharpness -1, contrast -2), ISO 1600, +1/3 EV

The pictures

October 26, 2024

In the spotlight

🚶

Bulge Relics Museum 🇧🇪

The “Bulge Relics Museum is the fruit of a passionate quest started in 1984 on the land of our ancestors who experienced this terrible winter 1944-1945. The BRM presents on several levels of an old historic building thousands of artefacts related to the the Ardennes offensive, mostly found in the Vielsalm and Baraque de Fraiture region. A didactical path through pictures, displays, vehicles and showcases brings you back to those dark hours of winter 1944 which saw the American forces mainly fighting the elite troops of the SS panzerdivisions.

The story

On this beautiful, sunny fall day, what could be more delightful than exploring the horrors of a certain war? Today, I visited the Bulge Relics Museum!

Armed with two cameras – a 16-80mm with Polaroid II bullets loaded and the classic 35mm Zeiss with Tri-X 400 shells for that vintage look – I was ready. Both barrels were equipped with circular polarizing filters to eliminate any annoying reflections from glass displays.

It didn’t take long to decide: black and white was the way to go here!

The gear

Cameras:
Fujifilm X-T3¹
Fujifilm X-S10²

Camera lenses:
Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4 R OIS WR¹
Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.8²

Camera lens filters:
Tiffen Black Pro-Mist Filter 1/4¹
HOYA CIR-PL Slim^{1 2}

Film simulation recipes:
Polaroid II¹
Kodak Tri-X 400²

The pictures

September 5, 2024 (day 6 of 8)

In the spotlight

17.0 km / 10.1 miles 🚶

Bratislava 🇸🇰

Bratislava is the capital and largest city of Slovakia and the fourth largest of all cities on Danube river.

The story

Finally, I’m visiting the city of Bratislava! Another long, hot summer day spent exploring the city’s castle, capturing the street life during the day, dusk, and darkness, and of course, enjoying many beers and Slovak cuisine!

The gear

Camera:
Ricoh GR III (Street Edition)

Camera lens filter:
Tiffen Black Pro-Mist Filter 1/4

Film simulation recipes:
Kodak Print
Royal Supra
Monochrome Film

The pictures

August 31, 2024 (day 1 of 8)

In the spotlight

13.6 km / 8.5 miles 🚶 🛴

Nürnberg 🇩🇪

Nuremberg is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and the 14th-largest city in Germany. The city is surrounded on three sides by the Reichswald, a large forest, and in the north lies Knoblauchsland, an extensive vegetable growing area and cultural landscape.

The story

First day of my holiday… but the destination is a surprise! My first stop is Nürnberg. It’s a hot day in this beautiful city, full of history. Of course, I had to visit Zeppelinfield, where Uncle A. gave his speeches. To make it look authentic, I used the Kodak Tri-X 400 film simulation recipe along with the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.8, shot wide open.