FocratesPhotography

Articles

Travel photography: Spain - Nature and National parks - Part 2

August 7, 2022

The conclusion to the 2022 Spain trip features some more of the great landscapes, especially of the Ordesa y Monte Perdido and Monfragüe national parks. The former being my favorite park in terms of landscapes (the towering mountains never fail to impress) while the latter provided the pinnacle of bird life to observe.






Travel photography: Spain - Nature and National parks - Part 1

July 19, 2022

From the spectacular Picos de Europa National Park to the lush forests of Asturias this article contains all kinds of landscapes from northern Spain. Additionally I mixed some wildlife in there to keep things interesting.







Travel photography: Spain - Cities and Architecture

June 20, 2022

In this first installment of the second article series on Spain I'm showing some of the of the cities I visited. From Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Oviedo, Pamplona, Zaragoza and Madrid - the highlights and best views are collected in this piece.







Travel photography: Poland 2020 - Part 2

October 23, 2020

After exploring the southeastern part of the country I headed north towards the capital Warsaw and the famous Białowieża National Park - one of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe. There I encountered one of the most majestic wild animals this continent still has to offer: the European bison.






Travel photography: Poland 2020 - Part 1

September 18, 2020

For obvious reasons, this year posed a bit of a challenge for travel and travel photography; however, I didn't let that stop me from embarking on a trip to Poland for a nice balance of landscape, wildlife and even a bit of cityscape. This first article in the two part article series focuses on the High Tatras mountains in Slovakia, Pieniny National Park, Bieszczady National Park and the cities Krakow, Zamosc and Wroclaw. I hope you enjoy!



Photo Statistics

April 11, 2020

I'd like to show some of the insight I gained from analyzing the meta-data (the additional data that is written by the camera apart from the actual image) of all my photos since 2010. Some of the questions I'm exploring here are
How often do I use certain lenses?
What is the distribution of focal lengths or shutter speeds?
Where and when do I take pictures?
and many others.

I created this article because I find the results to be quite interesting and worth sharing.


A weekend in Kyoto

September 14, 2019

This is a very short piece about my weekend in Kyoto, Japan. Due to the short period of time I was able to spend, the selection of images is limited but still well worth a look.
I hope you like Temples.








Travel photography: Montenegro 2019 - Part 2

August 6, 2019

The last Montenegro article had one national park, this one has three! Lake Skadar, Lake Biograd and Durmitor are the most prominent places that I included in this part. But apart from those, there are also quite a few other places that are worthy of exploration and documentation. That is what this one is all about.




Travel photography: Montenegro 2019 - Part 1

July 9, 2019

If you have never heard of the small country of Montenegro before then it's about time, because it has so much to offer, especially in terms of its immensely diverse landscape. The sunny seaside, spectacular mountain ranges, woodlands and countless lakes are just some of the amazing aspects of this small Balkan country. This part is mainly about the west, around the Bay of Kotor and the Lovćen National park.



Travel photography: Rome 2019

May 11, 2019

In the nine days I was able to spend in Rome I had ample opportunity to photograph the best spots of the city. From the world famous remains of the ancient Roman Empire over the architectural treasures of the middle ages to just some cityscapes there's a little bit of everything to be found in this piece.





Travel photography: Portugal 2018 - The South

November 24, 2018

The final part of this series leads me to the southern-most regions of this extraordinary country.

From Sintra, the home of some of the most iconic Portuguese architecture, the journey leads down to the Algarve coast, which is a unique landscape and well worth a visit, until returning to Lisbon - the final stop.





Wildlife photography: Portugal 2018 - Birding at the Algarve

October 21, 2018

To mix things up a bit I'd like to make the second part of the Portugal series wildlife themed.

I had some very limited time to spend on bird photography and the result can be seen in this article.







Travel photography: Portugal 2018 - The North

October 1, 2018

In this first installment of the Portugal series I'd like to show some of the most important places in the northern part of the country.

Starting from Porto my trip leads me to Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra and Obidos down to the most western point of the European continent.

Particularly the Baroque architecture in combination with the landscapes of the Atlantic coast are typical for this region.



Travel photography: Italy 2017

October 29, 2017

In this trip I was able to explore some of the most scenic places on the southern part of the Italian peninsula.

Follow me from the bay of Naples all the way down to sunny Puglia!








Travel photography: Ireland 2017 - Part 2

September 10, 2017

The journey continues down to the stunning cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry with Killarney National Park all the way to the southern end of the Island at County Cork.

This article contains more tutorials!








Travel photography: Ireland 2017 - Part 1

August 12, 2017

This leg of my Ireland trip led me from the northern Atlantic coast in County Mayo along the Wild Atlantic Way down to Connemara in County Galway.

Additionally to some impressions from Ireland this article series also includes some background information on how the images came to be. These shall give you some tutorial-like hints on what settings and gear to use for similar situations to improve your own photography.


Travel photography: USA - Maritime wildlife

January 21, 2017

I'm happy to conclude my article series about the USA with yet another wildlife related article. Wildlife photography is my favorite kind of photography after all, and so I tried to capture some of the - from my perspective - exotic fauna I don't normally get to see. I had some nice opportunities on the Californian coast, which harbors a variety of marine species.





Travel photography: USA - Southwestern Landscapes - Part 2

December 23, 2016

In this article, I'd like to present another selection of photos of the landscapes I was able to behold while on my trip. Included are shots of the Rocky Mountains and surrounding areas, some of the famous landscapes found in Yosemite as well as a few sights I discovered while hiking in and around the park.






Travel photography: USA - Wildlife - Big Game

December 4, 2016

This article contains some of the iconic big game that I had the chance to encounter during my visit to the US. Most of the big game that I saw was in Colorado, particularly in the National Parks, where much wildlife is still found roaming in their natural habitat.








Travel photography: USA - Cities

November 12, 2016

The third installment of the American Southwest article series shows some cityscapes and urban views in general. Especially San Francisco and Los Angeles are featured in this article.






Travel photography: USA - Southwestern Landscapes - Part 1

October 22, 2016

The second article in the USA series is dedicated to some typical southwestern landscapes. From the Colorado Plateau to the Grand Canyon it contains pictures especially from the very hot and dry regions of the area. Another landscape article that will focus more on vast green meadows, woodlands and mountains will follow later in the series.



Travel photography: USA - Wildlife - Small Game and Macro

October 1, 2016

I am starting the first US segment out small ... literally.

Here are some of the pictures I took throughout the trip of rodents and deer among others, as well as some macro shots of various insects.







Venice 2016

March 12, 2016

In February I came to the conclusion that it's finally time to pay the world famous city of Venice a visit. Even though it's just a few hours away from where I live I had never been to Venice before.

Even though February is not the ideal time in regards to weather and temperature it is still pretty good from a photography point of view since the huge tourist masses haven't arrived just yet.

In this article I'd like to give you a short summary of my stay including the best pictures I managed to take.


Is digital ruining photography?

January 6, 2016

After so many travel related articles I'm happy to present to my latest piece that has been on my mind for a while now.

I have been thinking about the impact that modern digital photography has on the quality of the images we take, regardless if a smartphone or DSLR are used. If you are not satisfied with the results you get take a look since I'm trying to describe the essence that lies underneath every skillfully crafted photograph.


Travel photography: Spain - Special places

December 23, 2015

Aside from the main cities along the Mediterranean coast there are some not as well-known but just as interesting spots that are well worthy of a visit. In this article I'd like to introduce you to some of these, which were among my favorite spots from the trip.






Monkeys!

December 5, 2015

The Barbary macaques of Gibraltar are the only monkeys in all of Europe living in the wild. They are probably the most famous aspect of the city and it's a real experience to see them interacting with each other and especially with humans from up close.

I included not only some images of the monkeys but also a story that I actually witnessed during my visit and that is exemplary to the animals behavior.




Travel photography: Spain - Cities and Architecture - Part 2

November 14, 2015

Cartagena, Granada, Malaga and Seville are the center of attention in this article. I had the opportunity to shoot some of Spain's most beautiful and well known Landmarks such as the Alhambra of Granada, the Casa de Pilatos or the Plaza de España in Seville.







Travel photography: Spain - Cities and Architecture - Part 1

October 30, 2015

The first part of the Spain article series contains the highlights of my city trips to Barcelona and Valencia.

Barcelona, heavily influenced by Catalan Architect Antoni Gaudí, offers some unique modernist structures while the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias in Valencia is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia and one of the most relevant in Spain.



Travel photography: Scotland 2015 - Part 4

August 23, 2015

The final leg of my trip led me from the port of Oban to the industrial center of Scotland – Glasgow. Apart from landscape photography in the area of Inverness and of course quite some cityscapes in Glasgow, this article also contains a bit of wildlife photography.

Also worth mentioning is that in my final words I'm summarizing my experiences on the weather sealing of my gear, so if you are wondering what a 'weather sealed' camera is actually capable of don't miss out on this one!


Travel photography: Scotland 2015 - Part 3

August 1, 2015

One of the main reasons for my trip were the photographic possibilities offered by the incredibly dramatic landscapes on the Isle of Skye. Due to the very changeable and in general rainy weather I was confronted with, many of my ideas couldn't be accomplished. This article however, should demonstrate that bad weather also often creates unique opportunities.




Travel photography: Scotland 2015 - Part 2

June 27, 2015

This article focuses on the Scottish Highlands – mainly the area around Loch Ness and the picturesque Glen Affric. I also had a very interesting shoot at world famous Eilean Donan Castle, that is described in detail.








Travel photography: Scotland 2015 - Part 1

June 14, 2015

The first of four articles in this series about my trip through Scotland is dedicated to Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city.

The city is often said to be built on seven hills and especially the most prominent one - Arthur's seat - offers an unforgettable view. The old town in particular is full of narrow lanes and closes, each with a different story to tell. But the city has much more to offer than that - come in and find out.



Travel photography: Estonia 2014 - Part 2

November 22, 2014

The second part of my article series is intended to offer some impressions of the Estonian countryside and especially the island of Saaremaa.

Saaremaa is the largest of the Estonian islands and is well known for its beautiful landscapes, small towns, lighthouses and wide variety of bird species.

The island is a very remote location - even today only reachable by plane or ferry - which resulted in the conservation of its unique appearance.

Come in and get to know a very special place that you probably weren't even aware existed.

Travel photography: Estonia 2014 - Part 1

November 2, 2014

May 2014 was a very special month for me. For the first time in my life I traveled abroad specifically for the purpose of pursuing nature and wildlife photography.
In this article I'm concentrating on my stay at the mainland including the cities of Riga, Tartu and Tallinn, their surroundings and the Endla Basin with lake Endla at its center. It is mainly focused on urban photography mixed with some nature images as opposed to the second part, which will mainly deal with landscape and wildlife shots on the Estonian island of Saaremaa.

Post-processing images and why it's important to shoot raw

April 3, 2014

One question people ask me constantly is if my images really looked that way when I took them or if they are 'retouched'. In this article I'm trying to describe what post-processing actually means, how it impacts my photography and what typical steps I apply to my images. To make things more interesting for you a variety of examples before and after processing are shown that should make the difference obvious at a glance. Additionally if you are one of the photographers that isn't sure what is better – shooting raw or jpg, or even if you are a committed jpg only shooter this article may give you some food for thought.

Configuring your 5D Mark III AF for fast action

March 12, 2014

The Canon EOS 5D Mark III has a very sophisticated AF System, with a vast number of options to setup its AF behavior, which is capable of some really stunning results. The possible combinations to tweak the AF properties are basically unlimited, so especially for beginners it can be hard to assess which configuration will yield the best results. In this article I'd like to give some insight on how to setup the 5D Mark III AF-system for the most challenging of situations – small, fast moving objects who change speed and directions quickly – such as birds in flight. So if you'd like to substantially increase your action photography hit rate feel free to take a look.