There are many photography projects to do during the Lockdown and Star Trails is one that I fancied doing. I have an App on my phone called Star Walk and it shows the sky at night. There are many stars out there but with light pollution is not possible to get particularly good images. I have always liked seeing the stars and wondered if there was a simple project to get started in this area. Star trails looked just what I needed. Using a long exposure technique it is possible to record the moving stars. I read my Digital Photographer magazine and also looked over several articles on the web. I discovered that my Canon 5D had an auto setting that would continuously take pictures. So I set up the camera on a tripod and using the Star Walk App located Polaris the North Star. I took my wide angle lens Canon EF 16-33 mm and used the largest aperture of f/4. The focus was set at infinity. The camera was pointed directly towards Polaris and the neighbour’s house and my Magnolia tree were used to frame the picture. The exposure was set at 30 seconds. Also the auto was set to take a picture every 30 seconds. There were a few false starts and then once I was happy, I let the camera run on automatically. Then 167 pictures later it was time to go to sleep so I processed all the pictures in the morning in a program called StarstaX which blends them together. I learnt a new synchronisation technique in Lightroom as well. The final picture was very impressive although there is still a lot of light pollution around as the trails should be more intense. The picture got a lot of interest on Social media and I was pleased with the final result. I will have to go out again and do some more picture taken of the stars!

I was asked to a conference in Cologne and whilst doing the necessary preparation for work, I also get ready and planned my photographic journey for the trip.  When researching photographs of Cologne a few areas were highlighted.  The Cathedral and the River Crane Buildings were prominent in the Google pictures search.  The journey fro Birmingham was plane to Dusseldorf and I arrived into Cologne over the railway Bridge that spans the Rhine.  As the train passes over the large steel bridge into the station you get glimpses of the cathedral and the markets.  As soon as you leave the station, you walk into a square and the camera has to be taken out. The cathedral takes your breath away with its grand structure.  

There were Christmas markets around the Cathedral.  These were very pretty selling many different gifts from stars to wooden puppets.  The markets were lively with music, laughter and singing.   They are nestled in pockets around the narrow streets of the city.  

Having has a brief look in the cathedral where mass was taking place, I headed out over the steel railway bridge looking for the classic view of the city.  A feature of the bridge is all the padlocks that have been added to the fencing between the railway tracks and the pedestrian footpath.  It is a twinkling mass of brass and quite something to see.  Eventually I arrived at the promontory on the far bank where there is a large statue of Keiser Wilhelm I.  It is here where I set up my camera to take the “classic” view of the cathedral as you look back over the Rhine.  I used my Sony DSC-RX100M5 on manual to take the picture.  I rested the base of my camera on my handkerchief as there was a low stone wall to use as support.  

The settings were as follows

  • shutter speed 10 seconds
  • focal length of f/2.5
  • ISO 100

The slow shutter speed allowed for the intercity train moving over the bridge to blur and line up with the other leading lines of the bridge.  The water from the Rhine began to have a slight silky appearance to it.  The contrasting colours came out well with the silver of the cathedral and the gold of the steel bridge.  I was pleased how it turned out.

The conference took place at the University of Cologne and after two days of an intensive workshop, we had a few hours spare before travelling back to Dusseldorf airport. First off it was the cathedral and the inside architecture is a sight to see. The long imposing nave leads to the Relics of the Three Kings. It is difficult with the camera to do justice to all the wonderful stained glass windows and other structures that are present in the cathedral. I will have to return again.

Impressive interior
Cologne Cathedral
Relics of the three Kings
Relics of the three Kings
Cathedral details
The beautiful entrance door

Also I wanted to see the three skyscrapers on the Rhine called the River City Cranes.  They looked spectacular from pictures on the web.  They were half a mile south from the train station but well worth the walk.  On the way I passed another Christmas market as well with all the people activity going on.  Getting close and personal to the large structures allowed for some great architectural views of them.  They reminded me of a Star Wars troop carrier with the anterior leg supporting an outstretched flat structure.  There were many opportunities for pictures and the wide angled view from the iPhone allowed for some rather good distorted views.  I walked out onto the nearby bridge to get a better view of the structures.  They were fascinating.  

The Riverside Crane Buildings
Pictures on a bridge
Traffic on the Rhine

Then it was back along the riverfront to take pictures of the picturesque houses with various local people taking in the end of the day.  The houses were set back from the river and the cathedral spires over looked them. They were a popular place for locals to stroll along the river or sit back and people watch others.

The locals walking by
Cathedral, Churches and houses
Relaxing by the waterfront
Sidestreet view

Overall verdict, an interesting city to photograph and one to which I will return.


I was fortunate enough to attend a conference in Melbourne.  It was an interdisciplinary conference and included colleagues in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and rehabilitation sciences.  There were many delegates from around the world and also there are many friends in the City itself.  I always ensure that I travel with my camera and the Sony RX100M5 is an excellent around picture taker.

Melbourne is a photogenic city providing many opportunities for photographs. The streets were noisy with many people walking around both day and night. Federation square and Flinders street Station were human focal points to the city. Victoria Market with the looming skyscrapers surrounding it provided the contrast between the old and the new. I was particularly drawn to the differences in the architecture especially the old colonial houses with their steel verandas and gates.  The Yarra river flowing through the centre is the life blood of the city.  So much happens around the river during the day from the early rowers and the commuters to the evening where people congregating around the open air restaurants. It was a touch cold but spring was on its way. I took too many photographs and it is difficult to select a few for this blog and I hope you like the ones that are here.

Rowing on the Yarra River

Sunrise on the Yarra River

 

Tram stop

Flinders St by day

Interesting architecture

Bridge to the City

Chinatown

Three business men out for lunch

One of the many pretty arcades in Melbourne

Long streets lit up by the evening sun

Flinders Street Stn by night

Meeting under the clock at Flinders Street

Healthy eating in Melbourne

Victoria Market

Colonial architecture

Interesting street sculptures

Old Women’s hospital with a game display in the foreground

Lights at a street junction

Taking a selfie with those skyscrapers

 

Dubai is a fascinating city and there is a great deal of sand, concrete and glass.  There are beautiful buildings punching upwards towards the sky. The Burj Khalifa tower is the tallest building in the world and its design is complimented by the also impressive Jumeirah Emirates towers.  In the morning, there is a haze as the sun rises and the buildings look like marooned giants searching for their way home. 

During the day the sun burns out the structures and it was fortunate that I brought along my UV/polarised filter which helped cut down the glare and bring colour back to the pictures.  You also are not able to stay out in the heat for too long either as it saps your energy.

Jumeirah Emirates towers during the day

View from the Emirates Towers

The Skyscrapers look like needles.

As the sun sets the colour returns and the buildings reflect the reds giving a warm glow to the concrete and steel.

Sunset over the towers

It is fleeting as dusk followed by the night arrives.  However the neon takes over and there are many opportunities to take night shots.  I visited Wafi where the buildings have an Egyptian theme and there is an evening light show.

Wafi

View of the Raffles Pyramid

 

Future site for Phase 2, The University of Birmingham. Just Sand at present.

My visit was part of my work with the University of Birmingham so many of the pictures were taken when the opportunity arose during the day. It is an exciting city and look forward to seeing how the University of Birmingham develops there.