here’s my project 52 shot for the thirtyfirst week. the topic was

schatzkiste.

i’ve had several ideas for this topic, and during the last week started planning something more concrete, until i saw something better yesterday while being in schwanden. while walking up some stairs, we stumbled over a piece of wood in the concrete floor, which said “vorsicht geheime falltür!” – “attention secret trapdoor!”. beneath it was a dark hole, probably some kind of ventilation shaft. probably the hole was covered by a piece of wood to make sure no-one stumbles, and some prankster added the text. anyway, to me, it looks like a fantastic treasure “chest” :-) please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/13s, f/8, 35mm, iso 200.

yesterday, we did the panoramic hike near braunwald. on the first leg, from grotzenbüel to gumen, was really nice. it was sunny, and thanks to chinooks it was also pretty warm. around gumen it started to drip a little, and it got more cloudy and foggy and essentially stayed like this until we were back down. on the higher levels we found larger patches of snow, most of them not on the path, but some also crossing our path; on the way down, we had to climb over a larger snow hill crossing the path. but we survived it, and alltogether, the great scenic views on the first leg were worth the whole effort. though it would have been nice to just take the chair lift down from gumen, which unfortunately wasn’t in operation this time of the year. the following photos are a few impressions:

back in braunwald, we discovered this cute hydrant:

finally, on the train ride back, we did a stop-over in schwanden to drink something. on our way, we found among other funny tags this particularly cute one:

finally, a few meters from the tag, on a small staircase up, we found this:

this sunday, i was in elm at the glarner alpchäs- und schabziger märt, a kind of folk festival where you can have fun, try and buy cheese, eat traditional food, listen to bands playing folk music, and as a highlight, watching an almabtrieb. during the latter event, the cows from the alms are driven back into the valley, where they are decorated and equipped with nice cowbells, and walked along the main street so the tourists can watch and take pictures ;-) below are some impressions from that day with wonderful weather, opposing the foggy, cool weather i left behind when leaving the zürich area…

in the last photo, you can see the martinsloch. we didn’t knew the sun was shining through that morning (around 9:33 o’clock), otherwise we probably would have been there earlier…

here’s my project 52 shot for the thirtyth week. the topic was

the big blue.

when i read this topic, i had to think of the morteratsch glacier, especially the dark blue grotto which is visible on some of the photos i took there. but when this topic was announced, my trip to the morteratsch glacier was already three days ago, and we are not supposed to take archive photos. besides that, i had no perfect photo from that grotto. so i waited, until i visited the next glacier: the rhône glacier. as opposed to this view of the glacier, the photo for this topic had to be taken inside the glacier, where it is deep blue. but this is not a problem at the rhône glacier, as every year, they dig a grotto into the glacier which you can enter. they also installed lights, usually hidden behind ice, which amplify the bluish tones. this was the perfect place to take a photo for this topic, in my opinion. and here it is! please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/100s, f/2.8, 16mm fisheye, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentyninth week. the topic was

gepunktet.

here, i chose another motive from norway, at the coast of the barents sea. while having my feet in the ice-cold water, i spotted this dotted rock. a closer look revealed that the dots actually have a nice structure. (if anyone has an idea what this is, please tell me.) anyway, this was the perfect motive for this topic. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/125s, f/5, 105mm, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentyeighth week. the topic was

postkartenmotiv.

as a motive for this topic, i chose the rhône glacier. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/2500s, f/8, 18mm, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentysixth week. the topic was

summer of love.

this is a topic i spend quite some time thinking about it. finally, while being in norway at the coast of the barents sea, i had a simple idea which i really liked, much more than all previous ones. at the coast, i saw a lot of mussel shells. broken open, and when viewed from the right direction, having a heart shape. mussels and beach are often associated with summer, so there was the connection. using something like a broken mussel shell, partially covered with sand and water, as an image for love is not that straightforward, i know. i chose it anyway. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/160s, f/5, 105mm, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentyfifth week. the topic was

architektur.

i like old buildings. in particular, fortified places, like castles, might they be still intact or broken into pieces. this photo is from turun linna, turku’s castle, a view into the courtyard. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/80s, f/8, 18mm, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentythird week. the topic was

friedliche idylle.

i took this photo of a peaceful idyll at the furka pass in central switzerland. silence, fresh air, a wonderful view, a few fluffy clouds here and there – just so beautiful, so perfect. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/1000s, f/8, 18mm, iso 200.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentysecond week. the topic was

kopfkino.

when visiting the morteratsch glacier, i saw a polar bear. well. i guess i was the only one, but in my mind, i had the clear image of a polar bear tromping through the the glacier’s fractures, ignoring its human viewers. not as cute and fluffy as knut, but in my eyes, just as elegant, polar bearish. (and much less dangerous.) for me, this really fits well to the topic mental cinema, since unfortunately, this polar bear only existed in mine… please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/800s, f/5.6, 400mm, iso 200.