Homeward

On Tuesday afternoon I’ll be walking onto a plane in Munich and flying 10,000km west, to California. It’s been a constant battle to stay here in Germany (the legal way, that is), but I’ve finally run out of options, for now. The last weeks have been busy while trying to take in as much of Germany as possible before heading home.  The days have been so nice lately, seems a bit of a shame to have to leave just now…

Mr. Stork arrived a few weeks back, while the Mrs. showed up a couple days ago.

Stork nest on chimney, Bavaria, Germany

Days of Spring

Spring has arrived here in the Oberpfalz. Growing up in southern California, I never knew seasons. But after a long winter here in northern Bavaria, the first leaves of spring are nothing less than magic. And by now the forests are nearly completely green, as if the winter had never existed in the first place. The days are once again long and warm; the sun rising early and staying up late. The storks are back on their chimney and song birds wake me up all too early in the morning if I forget to close the window at night. The street-side cafe’s have once again set up their chairs outside and one looks for a shady place to sit to escape the hot midday sun. These last days make the cold of winter easily forgotten. Life has returned.

Green leaf in Spring, Bavaria, Germany

Cherry tree Blossom in spring, Bavaria, Germany. Cody Duncan Photography

Cherry tree Blossom in spring, Bavaria, Germany. Cody Duncan Photography

Cherry tree Blossom in spring, Bavaria, Germany. Cody Duncan Photography

16 Stops of Neutral Density

Today was a nice day of spring weather, which means that within 10 minutes any combination of: sun, rain, hale, or snow is possible, and most likely all of them. Even heard a rumble of thunder at one point, which sent me off chasing one of the storm front hoping to catch some lightning, but only managed to find wind and hale.

Passed this hunting stand on the road.  16 stops on ND for something around a 3 minute exposure.

16 stops neutral density daytime exposure of clouds, Germany

Austria Ski Weekend

Learning how to ski has been my goal for several years now (I’m normally a snowboarder). I gave it a shot over the weekend down in Austria in the Brixen in Thale area. Wasn’t too pretty to watch, but I managed to get down a red run (American blue) by the middle of my second day. Only had one crash where I lost both skis. There’s a couple small hills in the area here where one can ski, so hopefully I’ll get out a few more times before the winter ends.

Only took a couple photos as my skiing wasn’t too safe for the camera.

austria_brixeninthale2_codyduncanphoto

Panoramic photo: Brixen in Thale in winter, Tyrol, Austria

austria_brixeninthale2_codyduncanphoto

Moonlight

Wish there was a bit more snow, but what can you do. Hopefully it will stay clear for tomorrow night as well and maybe I’ll think of some place interesting to go…

Full moon illuminates hunting stand in snowy field at night, Oberpfalz, Germany. Cody Duncan photo

Ghost Sheep

I was cruising around the the countryside on Friday afternoon looking for something interesting to take photos of.  I was on my way back as it was getting dark, about 4:30 pm this time of the year, when I stopped to take a few pictures of a castle ruin.  Anyhow, I was heading back to the car when I saw something strange in the distance.  It was pretty dark, so I couldn’t see what it was right away but I wandered towards it.  Turned out to be a big herd (flock?) of sheep some field.  Here’s a 20 second exposure of them.  I wish I could have gotten closer but I was blocked by a few fences.

Germany travel stock photography: Flock of sheep on snowy winter field, Franconia, Germany. Cody Duncan photography

Winter just arrived

A couple of minutes ago out the back window…

Cody Duncan stock photography:  Snow covered rooftop

New Panoramic Photo Gallery

Panoramic stock photo: Evening light on Loch Duich with mountains of Isle of Skye in far distance, Scotland. Cody Duncan Photography

I have created a new gallery for my panoramic photos: CLICK HERE.

Over the last year or so I’ve been transitioning to shooting more and more panoramics, so I thought it appropriate that I should dedicate a gallery to this format. As of today, it it just shy of 200 images, with more added every week or two.

The gallery is is sorted with the newest appearing first (newest that I upload, not necessarily chronologically, as I process a bit out of order sometimes), so if you feel like browsing every once in a while, you can easily see the new stuff. A few of the images may have appeared on the blog here, but most should be new, unless you spy on my at one of my stock photo agencies. In the coming weeks I may add an RSS feed as well (also for some other galleries that I update frequently, like my German gallery which is approaching 400 photos), but I still have to give it some thought.

Panoramic Stock photo: Shipwreck at Punto San Jacinto, Baja California, Mexico. Cody Duncan photography

All the panoramic images are available to license as RM (rights-managed) stock photos.

The Autumn Comes

Two quick shots while on the way to the supermarket last night. We’re heading down to the Allgäu tomorrow for the holiday weekend, but the forecast is for lots of clouds and rain and snow up high so it might not be too productive of a trip. Cool colors around here the last couple weeks. I need to get out and shoot more…

autumn leaves on ground - Cody Duncan Photography

golden autumn leaves on tree - Cody Duncan Photography

James Nachtwey and the TED prize