End of the Day

This weeks theme over at Friday My Town Shoot Out is 9 to 5 - People at Work. Well, I chose to show the 5 from that theme, people returning from work. There is something in the air at that time of the day. Especially if the sun has already set by the time people come home. 

click on the images for a bigger view

Happy Friday!

A Family Lunch [Happy Thanksgiving]

Thanksgiving Season is upon us, and even though we here in Europe don't celebrate it, I thought it would be nice to mark the occasion for my dear US readers. And just because we don't celebrate Thanksgiving it doesn't mean the we can't have a nice family lunch to go with it.

click on the images for a bigger view

I have a wonderful Garden Salad recipe that I would also like to share here. If you have a big feast a nice fresh salad can lighten it up and provide that extra something.

What I put in the salad (you can of course vary this):

- Iceberg Salad

- Radicchio Salad

- Carrot (in stripes)

- Red Bell Pepper (in strips)

Now for the crown jewel, the dressing. It's so good, and transforms everything into a wonderful meal:

- Juice of one lemon

- The Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil (three times the amount of lemon juice)

- 1 tablespoon of mustard (I use Tafelsenf, but you can use Dijon mustard)

- 1 clove of garlic (minced)

- Pinch of good quality Sea Salt Flakes

Put all the ingredients for the dressing into a small jar, and shake thoroughly. You won't need all of it for the salad (maybe you will). If there is some left over put it in the fridge for later use. It really pays to use the best ingredients you have at hand for the dressing, because you will be able to taste it all!

How about some crisp potato wedges, golden brown, and roasted with the Chicken on one tray. And inside of the Chicken I put some fresh sage, and the rest of the lemons I used for the dressing. A nice way to use it all up.

A very easy but filling lunch, that you can have ready in an hour, but it only requires 15 minutes of your time, the rest happened in the oven.

I hope you are at home now, happy with your loved ones, serenely taking it all in and being thankful for it all. I  know I am.

The House of Terror

There is one story from Budapest I have left untold. It's about the House of Terror located in the Andrássy Street. The house contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes in 20th century Hungary and is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building.

click on the images for a bigger view

With regard to communism and fascism, the exhibition contains material on the nation's relationships to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It also contains exhibits related to Hungarian organizations such as the fascist Arrow Cross Party and the communist ÁVH (which was similar to the Soviet Union KGB secret police). Part of the exhibition takes place in the basement, where you can see examples of the cells that the ÁVH used to break the will of their prisoners.

Outside of the Museum, you can find candles and images of people that have fallen under the communist and fascist regime.

One of the images on the wall showed Mansfeld Peter. We saw a statue of him while visiting Buda Castle, that showed him falling off  a wall, and wondered what that was about. We found out here. At 15 he and his family became victims of state terror. He became a freedom fighter at 16 years of age and participated in the 1956 Revolution against Soviet oppression. He was betrayed and arrested by the AVH. He spent the remainder of his life in a political prison, called Hell's Hallway, to reach the legal age of 18 before his death penalty was carried out.

In front of the Museum you can find a literal iron curtain, symbolizing the heavy historic past of this part of Europe. 

It is not a place that you will want to visit first when you come to Budapest. It's a place filled with heavy stories that are not for everyone. But all in all it is a place worth visiting, and a story that shouldn't be forgotten.

How to Sharpen Images like a Pro

In no way I am to be considered a professional photographer, but this method of sharpening images comes straight from them. It's an easy tip, that might come in handy, when you need to bring that extra something to your image. Oversharpened images can be awful to watch, so please be careful, not to overdo it.

Here is an example of an image, sharpened this way:

click on the screenshots to get a bigger view

Step 1

Open your image

Step 2

Add the filter

Select Filers > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask...

Step 3

Apply the filter 

Now this is the part where this filter differs from a usual sharpening filter. You have 3 sliders that you can adjust. The Radius and Threshold should be kept low; 0.5 - 1 works just fine. The Amount slider can be adjusted to your liking. For example for this image a 100 worked. For some that turned out sharper in camera a 80 will suffice, where sometimes, images that come out soft need a 120.

Amount. The Amount slider is used to control the amount of contrast between differing pixels, which affects edge contrast. Higher values equal more contrast and lower values equal less contrast. 

Radius. The Radius slider is used to determine the number of pixels that are changed when the filter sees tonal variation. Higher values increase the size of the halos, causing the sharpening to be obvious. Be careful because of this, since high values can cause oversharpening. Keep in mind that this value is going to vary depending on the subject matter. A lower value works best with photos rich in edge detail, while a higher value can be used for photos that don’t have as much detail in them. 

Threshold. The Threshold slider is used to determine how different in tone the surrounding pixels need to be before they’re considered edge pixels, causing them to be sharpened. For example, a value of 5 affects only neighboring pixels that have a tonal difference of 5 units or more (on a scale of 0 to 255). The default value of 0 causes all pixels in the photo to be sharpened.

This is a quick filter that can help you out when you have that image that is a bit on the soft side. It's also a filter that can be used for internet publishing, because when you scale down your images for web presentation they can come out softer. Apply this tutorial, and you're good to go.

I am also linking this to T for Tuesday. Hey, it is a Tutorial after all! :D

Back at the Cologne Christmas Market

Tomorrow it's that time of year again. The Cologne Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) opens up in full swing for new visitors. It made me feel nostalgic of our time spent there last Christmas, and I went back into my archives to search for unreleased images, and indeed I found some images that I hadn't posted previously. In honor of this festive tradition, let me take you back to this magical place...

click on the images for a bigger view

This is the central place of the market, filled with immense glow from the lights, decorations and the big tree in the middle. But let's back up a moment.

Of course, the Weihnachtsmarkt is best visited by night, but there are sights to be seen during the day. Before arriving to the market, we stopped by the Cologne Cathedral.

With about four million visitors a year, the Cologne Cathedral Christmas Market is one of the most popular Christmas markets in Germany. Apart from the selected artisans, culinary highlights and a free entertainment program of more than 100 Christmas events, the market is especially impressive thanks to its unique lighting concept.

Cologne has seven Christmas Markets during this time of year. Every market has his name and entrance gate. I loved discovering the various locations, spread out over the city, and also seeing what each had to offer.

After walking around the city for the day, we decided to go back to the main market at night. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I used to live in Germany as a kid, and I visited this place when I was 7 or 8, and I being back was like a dream. There are a lot of people here at night, but it was never crowded or loud. In fact, the calm spirit of the season took over and transformed every corner into a fairy tale location.

At an impressive 25 metres high, the 80-year-old Norway spruce is highest natural Christmas tree at a Christmas market in this part of Germany. The majestic tree and the unique Starlights tent shine festively with over 70,000 LEDs and power LEDs.

The famous Glühwein (Mulled Wine) kept us happy and warm during the night.

And every corner offered something delicious to eat. From savory dishes (like the Bratwurst), to sweets.

I love the way this tree is lit. The blue light really brings out the red hearts hung all over the tree. A unique way to decorate the city.

Closing time is around 10 at night. You can see the various stalls closed for the night, as we departed back to our apartment, waiting for another day to begin.

I was really glad, that I found previously unreleased images to share with you now, and mark yet another year of this wonderful tradition. If you would like to see more of our Cologne trip I'll list the links to all the posts from the stay, down below.

The Cologne Series includes:

Part One: A stroll down the Weihnachtsmarkt (1)

Part Two: A stroll down the Weihnachtsmarkt (2)

Part Three: Cologne Cathedral

Part Four: Modern Cologne (1)

Part Six: Modern Cologne (2)

Part Seven: Phantasialand - Theme Park (1)

Part Eight: Phantasialand - Theme Park (2)

Part Nine: Phantasialand - Theme Park (3)

A View from the Other Side

For most of you this will be a normal view of things, but for me it was about taking snapshots of my city where most locals would say: "Where is this?". I love discovering new locations to take photos in, but sometimes, that new location can be in a really familiar place. Like in the case of the photos that will follow. Most are taken in backyards, lonely streets and behind buildings. 

click on the images for a bigger view

  

Stones of the Past from Mostar

This weeks theme on the Friday My Town Shoot out blog, is about things that make you stop, and draw you in. In my city, that's definitely the Old Bridge, but since I posted already about it, I thought about something else. There is a small garden nearby the Old Town, that houses a couple of interesting artifacts I want to talk about more.

click on the images for a bigger view

First there are relicts of the old Old Bridge. During the war at the beginning of the 90s the Old Bridge was destroyed by enemy forces, and then rebuild. The garden houses parts of the old cobblestone that made out the walking path of the bridge.

On a plaque it says: Original Cobblestone of the old Bridge from 1566 - Exhibit from the World Museum Exhibition "The Old Bridge - The Monument of Peace" - Center for peace and multiethnic cooperation Mostar - Mostar 2004

The Garden also houses a different form of Stones from the past: Stecak.  A Stecak is a monumental medieval tombstone, that dates back to 11th century. The word itself is a contracted form of the older word stojećak, which is derived from the verb stajati (stand). It literally means "the standing thing".

Their most remarkable feature is their decorative motifs, many of which remain enigmatic to this day. Spirals, arcades, rosettes, vine leaves and grapes, suns and crescent moons are among the images that appear.

This the new cobblestone on the Bridge. You can see that its new and shiny, and that the old stones had more history and life behind them. Nonetheless, they were recreated to look like the did a long time ago.

I hope you enjoyed this short trip into Bosnian History, and for more weaknesses in other people towns and cities, make sure to visit the group blog.