Nikkor 20 mm | f/1.8

After the siege of the German leased area and trading base Qingdao by the Japanese army, the German troops in China surrendered on November 7, 1914 during World War II. Around 4,700 Germans were then interned in 12 camps in Japan. The Bando camp occupies a special position here, because while torture was reported from other Japanese camps, thanks to the liberal attitude of the camp commandant Matsue Toyohisa, a good cooperation between the local population and the prisoners developed here.

The Principality of Moldova, founded in the 14th century, reached its cultural heyday in the 15th century under the province of Stephen the Great. Stephan cleverly managed to assert himself against Hungarian, Polish and Ottoman expansionist desires and he promised to build a religious building for every victory. His successes over Hungary, Poland and Turks finally led to the construction of over 40 churches and at the same time to the largest expansion of the Principality of Moldova in the areas of what is now Romania, Moldova (Republick Moldau) and Ukraine.

During one of the 200 shots, a calculation of the trees was dodged with a bright flashlight in order to be able to recognize them later in the finished picture. The tree now points to the North Star, which surrounds itself completely unimpressed with a star wreath.

=>Interest in recording technology?

And then the clouds came from the sea - despite a recording altitude of 1,600 meters above sea level, this series of recordings was a race against time. But surprisingly, the clouds behind the trees waited until the last picture was in the box and now convey a special look in this black and white composition of the finished star trail picture

=>Interest in recording technology?

We had rented a nice little house at over 1,600 meters above sea level, which offered ideal conditions for star trail photography. Light pollution is generally low on La Palma and was particularly low here, in the vineyards and above the clouds. In some nights, the sea of clouds over the coastal regions even shielded the light of the towns and settlements there.

The interesting rock formations in the north of La Palma can also be used as objects for star trail photography. Here is an example on a - unfortunately - somewhat busy road, so that only about 100 of the 200 pictures were usable. But the picture basically shows the idea of the composition ... even if it is more suitable for documentation than for wall decoration. Or is it?

Opening a star trail tent over the palm trees of La Palma is not easy with wind and long exposure times. But it worked just fine with a single palm. Alternatively, a photo of the desired scenery could be taken with better lighting, which can be added to the star trail recording using the appropriate software. But it didn't happen here.

=>Interest in recording technology?

The market halls in Ljubljana, which are reflected in the Ljubljanica, the river of the capital of Slovenia.