Fun With Cameras XXII

the 50mm prime lens

The Ruhr river wetlands at sun rise. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022.

The last two Fun With Cameras explored simplicity in photography. I used a string of walks and bike rides to spend time with one camera body paired with one prime lens, nothing more. The classic 105mm started me off on a misty morning, and my favorite 35mm followed at the same location for the last post. For today’s post, I exchanged the autofocus comfort of my two most used lenses for a smaller and lighter vintage manual focus 50mm lens.

I had it with me on casual walks around the neighborhood and on two bike rides. The time on the bike added a few hours to my weekly training volume during a summer break in my running and helped me to some additional photography time on the side. And I enjoyed the lens in the family garden as well.

Heavy clouds hung over the city one afternoon in late July. The perfect excuse to take a camera on a short stroll, which aimed at clearing my mind after a long day of reading and writing.

Just as with the walks for the previous two posts, I wasn’t looking for breathtaking pictures. The goal was to see, think about pictures, and react to my environment. When I’m out I’m paying attention to light, shapes, forms, lines, or simply a familiar scenery that suddenly appears different to my eyes.

A combination of the above made me stop halfway through a small local park to take a closer look at a path exiting that park and the trees that lined it.

Years ago, I rode my bike from Oberhausen to Mülheim, Essen’s former coal mine Zollverein, the park Norstern in Gelsenkirchen, and the Tetraeder installation on a waste tip in Bottrop.

I hadn’t been on that tour in a while. Today, the bike path extends from Mülheim to the city center in Essen, shortening the time on public roads. But I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the bike trail network around here, for I’ve experienced more than once that I needed to know exactly where I wanted to go to make sense of the signage.

The reduced running volume this summer has handed me the opportunity to go on such a long bike excursion (33 mi / 53 km). Photography time was severely limited, of course.

But I picked a few strategic locations to stop for a few minutes, from the city center in Essen to Zollverein and the park Norsternpark. I was running out of time to add a stop at the waste tip, sadly.

But I enjoyed the early morning photography time, even if it was a time-limited experience.

Then, there were three days in the family garden. Overnight rain added visual interest to our apple tree that I couldn’t resist. And the sunset views were a good match for the natural field of view of a 50mm. It’s fascinating how different yet the same the sky can look from one day to the next.

The bike rides are getting fewer and shorter, and the time running is increasing again. But there was one more place I wanted to squeeze in. I had come through some farm fields near the valley Kamptal on an earlier ride and knew it offered good views.

In the end, I combined an hour of biking with an hour of photography, and enjoyed a peaceful morning with a spectacular sunrise.

But it wasn’t all peaceful.

The views of the city and the wetlands made me stop again when I crossed a pedestrian bridge across the river Ruhr. I wasn’t expecting to find the “decorations” you can see in the pictures below. But then, it’s not the first time I’ve come across “messages” of that sort around here lately.

I hope you’ll find something of interest in today’s Fun With Cameras. I’ve added basic captions for each image, and if you want to view a photograph full-screen, click on it.

Contrary to my hopes for the timing of the posts on this blog, I need to keep reshuffling my plans a bit. Later this week, there will be a set of reading recommendations. And next week, I have another duet of photography and reading impression ready for your eyes. In the weeks after, I might finally get to what I’ve hoped to push out for a while now, a post on journalism. Until then, enjoy the pictures below.

A path (left) and trees (center) at a local park. Oberhausen, Germany, July 26, 2022. Right A public square on one of the campuses of the University Duisburg-Essen with the church Kreuzeskirche in the background. Essen, Germany, August 3, 2022.

Left Buildings on one of the campuses of the University Duisburg-Essen. Essen, Germany, August 3, 2022. Center Early morning light illuminates a facility of the former coal mine Zollverein. Essen, Germany, August 3, 2022. Right The sun rises behind a facility of the former coal mine Zollverein. Essen, Germany, August 3, 2022.

Left Early morning light illuminates a facility of the former coal mine Zollverein. Essen, Germany, August 3, 2022. Center and right Early morning light illuminates Nordsternpark, a public park on the premises of the defunct coal mine Nordstern (center), and a utility pole at the same park. Gelsenkirchen, Germany, August 3, 2022.

Left Overnight rain showers have left water droplets on an apple that’s ripening on an apple tree in the Schoppmeier family garden. Oberhausen, Germany, August 5, 2022. Center and right and below left Sunset view from the Schoppmeier family garden. Oberhausen, Germany, August 5 (center) and 7 (right and below left), 2022.

Center The sun rises over the valley Kamptal. Essen, Germany, August 10, 2022. Right and below leftThe sun rises over the valley Winkhauser Tal. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022.

Center The sun rises behind parts of the skyline of the city of Essen as seen from farm fields near the valley Winkhauser Tal. This picture is a panorama created from four individual frames. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022. Right A small tower from a defunct branch of an electronics company can be seen from a street that crosses through farm fields near the valley Winkhauser Tal. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022.

Left The sun rises behind parts of the skyline of the city of Essen as seen from farm fields near the valley Winkhauser Tal. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022. Center The sun rises over the city center. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022. Right A graffiti on a beam of a recently re-painted bridge across the river Ruhr reads “Tod den USA” (death to the USA). Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022.

Left A graffiti on a beam of a recently re-painted bridge across the river Ruhr reads “USA = swastika sign.” Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022. Center A graffiti on the railing of a recently re-painted bridge across the river Ruhr reads “Tötet Lauterbach,” which translates to “kill Lauterbach,” referring to the serving federal minister for health, Karl Lauterbach. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022. Right The water tower of the Aquarius water museum is illuminated by the early morning sun. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, Germany, August 10, 2022.