… Or how I traded wits with the Nigerian Mafia.

Unused, Unsold and Unwanted

In the past, I have disposed of my used equipment on eBay. Writing the perfect sales copy, creating images and positioning myself against other sellers in the hope to fetch a fair price took too much of my valuable time, hence I didn’t bother going through the motions and left much of my equipment unused, unsold and unwanted.

After I suffered yet another computer crash I finally decided to head over to Fry's and walk home with a Quad Processor Computer, 8GB of RAM and Windows 7. Seems like the motherboard on my old computer was finally fried after it refused to recognize any of my hard drives. I added two monitors to the computer and can now enjoy the editing process again.

I have not even installed Photoshop on my new computer yet, but I am already editing photos like a champ. I downloaded the new Lightroom 3.0 Beta version from Adobe. It took some time to get used to the interface, but I am coming around to like it very much. I think I am going to write a review of Lightroom, maybe pitching it against another one of my favorite RAW editors, Silkypix PRO.

I am completely fed up by the licensing policies of Adobe, which may ultimately keep me from buying Lightroom. I am not sure yet. As my raid array disintegreated, I had to reinstall Photoshop. Then later I decided to build a raid again and install Photoshop again. Apparently the software kept recognizing a new computer each time, possibly because of the raid. Now I have to call Adobe and explain the situation every time I wish to re-install Photoshop again. My requests to erase all licenses from their Servers and let me re-install was simply denied, leaving me frustrated with a useless $600 software.

The most recent photographs I uploaded to my Golden Gate Park Gallery are done with Lightroom only. Those images also do not have any watermarks anymore. For the last few years I have included watermarks that were barely visible, but now they are gone altogether. I am working on an idea to make all images on this website publicly available for free, but I do require attribution (hyperlink on websites and url on prints). Stay tuned for more information on free pictures.

Learn about the tools that I use to navigate to great locations!

I spent the past months hunting for places to photograph in California and then writing about it. California is famous for its photographic icons such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Yosemite or Death Valley but it has so much more to offer to photographers. Not many of you may know about the alien Tifoni formations of Salt Point State Park, the Sea Otters of Moss Landing or the gushing Whiskeytown Falls.

Read about the free or inexpensive tools I use to plot my way to these photo spots.

Every year a huge crowd of people gathers at the San Diego Convention Center to celebrate pop culture and movies in an exceptional spectacle called Comic-Con. Many attendees dress up in beautiful costumes, handcrafted in countless hours with an astonishing devotion and attention to detail.

For us photographers the colorful figures exert a strong pull to visit and photograph the event. Two years ago, I decided to fly to San Diego to see what the fuzz was all about and of course to take photographs.

How to photograph People at Comic-Con

I find that many photographers are troubled about taking the photograph of a stranger without asking for permission. Street photography is very different from landscape photography. We feel restricted through norms of society and our own inhibition.

A large gathering like Comic-Con with many like-minded photographers makes it very easy to overcome those fears. If you cannot pull the trigger here, street photography clearly is not your game. That is perfectly ok.

Oregon is California's rainy neighbor in the north. I like traveling to Oregon. The state is very diverse and full of color, even in summer when California is mostly brownish.

But Oregon has much more to offer than wet coastal regions. Eastern Oregon is also very dry, but the colorful John Day Fossil Beds and the very different landscape invite travelers seeking for the path less traveled.

The incredibly scenic views and deep rich colors Crater Lake National Park offfer a fascinating introduction into the seismic volcanic history of Oregon. Once you have aroused your curiousity for everything volcanic, check out Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

After a tour through the wonderful landscapes of southern and eastern Oregon, relax in Portland, Oregon most populous and lively cities. From here you can explore the Columbia River Gorge with its many waterfalls on a casual day trip.

I finally found the time to upload new pictures that were on my computer far too long. Enjoy!

Since I am in the process of uploading more images, I decided to add more content to my Los Angeles Galleries as well. L.A. is a giant narcissistic city ecosystem that didn't hold much of a lure for me, but it has it's beautiful sides too.

I usually visit L.A. on trips to the far south or on return trips from the far south. I took this photograph from Mulholland Drive on the way back from Anza Borrego. I usually prefer the serenity of the desert over the stress of big cities, but since stress only happens in our heads, we can chose to ignore it entirely, let it pass right through us. The less other people affect my well-being, the more attractive cities like L.A. become and the more I see, the more I want to see.

I think Los Angeles is a city that grows on you. It took me almost a decade, but slowly I am starting to appreciate what the city has to offer and simply ignore the shady neighborhoods, traffic jams and hectic and narcissistic population. Behind the shallow star cult, the boasting and the huge social differences that make up this city, there is beauty waiting. I will be back, but not during the heat of summer when everyone is just a bit nuttier than usual.

Today I have uploaded a lot new photographs and created new galleries to hold my new Bay Area pictures. Please take some time and browse through the galleries to enjoy everything the bay area has to offer.

Even I get surprised after many years of living in the Bay Area. I discovered the overview above on a hike through the Marin Headlands.

Other great views include Lands End and the views from Mt. Tamalpais. I also included some pictures of the surrounding communties of Sausalito and Tiburon.

Check out my San Francisco Bay Area Gallery and come back soon for new pictures. I have spent the entire spring photographing and have much to show in the coming weeks.