2020-01-10 My favourite images of 2019

This is my most favourite image of 2019.

Taking images of fireworks is most often a question of luck, if one get a interesting image or not. Of course one has to make sure, that the image is sharp, but once this is set, camera on tripod, in manual mode and a remote release attached, focus settings do not change anymore.

You never know what is coming next in a firework. Just release the shutter and hope, that within the next 8, 10 or 13 seconds, or whatever shutter speed you’ve dialled in, something interesting is going to happen.

For that reason I’m really lucky, having captures this firework monster, with his bright eyes, his big, hairy head and his hands grabbing for something.

Sony A7R3 200-600mm at 463mm, ISO 100, f/6.3, 8 sec

Just click on any image to view a bigger version of it

The following images are my favourite images of the year 2019. Those images are displayed here in chronological order.

One of my first photos of the year, taken shortly after midnight on 1^st January 2019. People are celebrating New Year with firework. In this hill station Grimentz in the Swiss Alps on about 1700 m altitude and the beautiful winter scene, this all adds up to a magic ambience.

Sony A7R3 16-35 at 16, ISO 100, f/4.0, 15 sec

Sunrise on the rooftop of our office building in Vouvry, Switzerland

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/60 sec

In the beginning of the year I participated in an online training course called “Fresh Start” from Matt Kloskowski. It turned out to be an excellent cours giving new ideas, refreshing old ones and giving the right kick to complete some tasks that were pending for eternity.

I never did this kind of photography before, but I really enjoyed trying some new things and I like this image quit a bit.

The whole team is waiting in line to kick the ball.

Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 240mm, ISO 100, f/18, 10 sec

The younger one of our picardy shepherds has a fun time in the snow. He can’t get enough snow to play with.

Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 139mm, ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/1250 sec

Photo taken near Remaufens in the French part of Switzerland during a cold day in January. The dogs liked it, me a little less …

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/1250 sec

Sunset view from home. Every sunset is different, many of them are nothing special. But sometimes there is a colour palette which is just amazing.

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/250 sec

Tried some long exposure photography out of a hotel room in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The light trails prove that not everyone is observing the traffic rules.

Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 24mm, ISO 64, f/18, 30 sec

Early February I was invited to a marriage in Ahmedabad, India. What a magic time those four days of celebration, joy, music, dance and pure fun. For privacy reasons I don’t show personal photos here, just two examples of more detailed view of one of the ceremonies.

Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 240mm, ISO 4000, f/6.3, 1/250 sec

Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 240mm, ISO 2500, f/6.3, 1/250 sec

Part of those wedding ceremonies took place outdoors and I saw this squirrel watching the scene from his high observation place.

Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 240mm, ISO 320, f/6.3, 1/500 sec

Long exposure photo taken from a hotel room in Hinjewadi, Pune, India, my usual hotel when visiting our factory in India. That time of the day there was intense rush hour traffic.

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/18, 30 sec

Sparrow in our garden. We host a whole clan of sparrows. They can be very active and noisy, but always fun to observe.

Nikon D500 300-800mm at 800mm, ISO 560, f/5.6, 1/1600 sec

This boat is running on the channel linking Lake Neuchâtel with Lake Murten. I didn’t carry a bigger camera that evening and took this photo with my phone. No post processing done, I like the colours and contrasts of the photo.

Apple iPhone XSMax

Dandelion photographed during a walk with the dogs in the forest.

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/400 sec

Took this image of a marmot near Bendolla above Grimentz. Maybe the marmot was checking on us, more likely on our dogs. Only later on the computer I saw that behind there is a second marmot also watching down to us.

Sony A9 100-400mm at 400mm, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/500 sec

Cabane de Moiry and behind an impressive glacier. Beautiful day but much too warm for that time of the year.

Sony A9 100-400mm with 1.4TC at 487mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/1000 sec

Clear night, no moon, up in the mountains, a good time to try some night sky photography. This panorama is stitched from 5 vertical images and then a little cropped in order to eliminate some unwanted foreground elements. It was not the best time of the year to see the milky way, but it’s still very impressive.

Sony A7R3 24mm, ISO 400, f/1.4, 20 sec

I didn’t had my A9 and the 100-400mm lens for a long time and needed to get some practice using this equipment. So I went down in the garden and took many pictures of insects flying around the blooming lavender. I experimented with various configurations and love the result. The sharpness of the insects and the blurry background make these images special.

Sony A9 100-400mm with 1.4TC at 560mm, ISO 1600, f/8, 1/2000 sec

Sony A9 100-400mm with 1.4TC at 560mm, ISO 1600, f/8, 1/2000 sec

Pretty low light conditions where those damselflies stayed. I had to crank up ISO a lot, but still the result is beautiful.

Sony A9 100-400mm with 1.4TC at 560mm, ISO 6400, f/8, 1/320 sec

This is my office elephant. I took this shoot during a safari in Botswana in May 2018 and had it printed in this big size. That morning I arrived, the blinds were still closed in my office, but already open in the office next door. From there sunlight flooded the window that separates our offices and on which my elephant is attached. The result is a beautifully backlit image.

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 800, f/4.0, 1/60 sec

Distance between the place from where I shoot this firework and the firework is several km across Lake Genese, from Corseaux to Le Bouveret. Still the result is great and gives an impression of the magnitude of this firework.

Sony A7R3 200-600mm at 452mm, ISO 100, f/6.3, 8 sec

2019 we had the Fête des Vignerons in Vevey, a festival held once every generation. On 1^st August, Swiss National Day, an air show was demonstrated above Lake Geneva, right in front of our home.

So I didn’t have any choice than we watch it. I’m not a big fan of such air shows, but I took the opportunity to check and learn about the auto focus of my A9. A hunting cheetah is also fast, so if I can get some experience with fast moving subjects, maybe I can use this during my next safari.

This fighter jet fired a whole series of those objects and I just keep the A9 pointed in that direction and the shutter button pressed. I took about 150 images at 20 frames per second. Each photo is tack sharp on the fighter jet, where ever he is in the frame. Under this conditions the auto focus of the A9 is working just perfect.

Sony A9 100-400mm at 400mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec

Later during this air show, Swiss passed over the scene with a C300 air craft with a special Fête des Vignerons livery. This aircraft was followed by the Patrouille Suisse.

Sony A9 100-400mm at 400mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec

Another firework, this time for Swiss National Day on 1^st August. This firework took place in Vevey and one can see the big arena built for the Fête des Vignerons right in The Center of the old town of Vevey. The area could hold about 20’000 spectators.

Sony A7R3 100-400mm at 154mm, ISO 100, f/6.3, 8 sec

No post processing on this image. There was one last sun beam hitting this one orchid flower in our living room.

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 800, f/2.0, 1/160 sec

In our garden are several species of birds and insects. On regular basis I try to get some photos of the wildlife around the house.

The first image shows a starling flying from one tree to another. The second a butterfly resting on a leaf and the third a young Eurasian blue tit.

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 3200, f/9, 1/2000 sec

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 3200, f/9, 1/2000 sec

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 3200, f/9, 1/1000 sec

Part of our usual clan of sparrows is using the bird bath for an early evening party.

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 700mm, ISO 800, f/9, 1/1000 sec

A panorama stitched from three landscape images showing one of our impressive sunsets.

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/80 sec

Leaving Zurich again in direction of India. This image shows the main terminal of Zurich airport. Behind the terminal is one of the currently biggest constructions sites in Switzerland, The Circle a mix of commercial, residential and industrial park, close to the infrastructure of the airport.

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/1000 sec

During monsoon time we always have some weaver birds close to the pond in front of our factory in Hinjewadi, building their hangings nests on the trees nearby. The way they build their nests is just unbelievable. The nest looks delicate but is in fact very resistant and withstands even quit strong winds. Both partners participate at the construction. Even after the young one hatched the parents continue to reenforce the nest.

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 3200, f/9, 1/1000 sec

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 3200, f/9, 1/1000 sec

This butterfly used a break in monsoon rain for an outing. I could take this photo right in front of the main entrance of our factory. Despite ISO 3200 the noise level in the image is very low.

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 3200, f/9, 1/1000 sec

Two more birds photographed next to the pond in front of our factory.

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 1250, f/9, 1/1000 sec

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 800, f/9, 1/1000 sec

Three image panorama out of a hotel room in Hinjewadi.

Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 24mm, ISO 100, f/8.0, 30 sec

Bird enjoying a nice bath in our garden. The bird bath is surrounded by some stone sculptures.

Sony A9 100-400mm at 400mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/500 sec

We went for a walk with a group of friends and their dogs. I took the opportunity to photograph some of the dogs. We had excellent weather and a lot of fun.

Sony A9 100-400mm at 400mm, ISO 250, f/5.6, 1/500 sec

Sony A9 100-400mm at 300mm, ISO 125, f/5.6, 1/500 sec

Sony A9 100-400mm at 247mm, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/500 sec

Sony A9 100-400mm at 198mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/500 sec

I like how the stone bird looks at the robin and how the lizard does not care at all what’s going on behind him.

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 1600, f/9, 1/1000 sec

There are not only animals to photograph in the garden, but also beautiful flowers, like this rose.

Sony A7R4 24mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/1000 sec

If you look closely you can see a small spider sitting in the right rose starring down at me.

Sony A7R4 24mm, ISO 100, f/9.0, 1/200 sec

An impressive bird of prey circling over our area. My camera was not far away so that I got a few nice images.

Sony A9 200-600mm with 1.4TC at 840mm, ISO 500, f/9, 1/1000 sec

I’ve already made hundreds of images of a sunset view from our home, but I never saw this kind of sunlight beams. It looked impressive and the photo made it into my sunset collection.

Sony A7R4 24mm, ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/125 sec

One of the last days of autumn. Colourful trees and a lonely swan swimming peacefully near the harbour La Pichette close to Vevey.

Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/500 sec

Early November we got the first snow of the coming winter. We took our dogs to a place where we were sure to find enough snow. It was extraordinary to see how they enjoyed being back in the snow after a couple of month without.

They jumped, fought, ran, dug and had a good time until they were completely exhausted.

I had a good time with my camera capturing their joy in the snow.

Sony A7R4 100-400mm at 229mm, ISO 250, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec

Sony A7R4 100-400mm at 148mm, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec

Sony A7R4 100-400mm at 100mm, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec

Sony A7R4 100-400mm at 100mm, ISO 160, f/4.5, 1/1000 sec

The sun is down, the colours are still out.

Sony A7R4 24mm, ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/60 sec

For Christmas time we went to Grimentz, a hill station in the Valais, Swiss Alps. With almost no moon, light conditions were favourable for some night photography.

Sony A7R4 24mm, ISO 100, f/1.4, 10 sec

At sunset a very small moon was visible, which shortly after disappeared behind the mountains.

Sony A7R4 24mm, ISO 100, f/1.4, 1/50 sec

To celebrate New Year a firework and other activities took place. Here a paraglider flew over the village. First he used a flare and after this one was exhausted he switched on a blinking LED light. The flight direction of the paraglider is from right to left in this image, but from left to right it looks like a dragon with fire in sky.