A quick weekend hop over to East Frisia sees me drive from Hamburg over to the very western point of Germany’s North Sea cost. Join me for some open landscapes and plenty of wind farms!
I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of time to go for any long photo walks on this trip, but that didn’t stop me bringing along my newly acquired Hasselblad Xpan in search of some classic East Frisian views. Hamburg is a quick 60 minute flight from London and from there we had a 250km drive through Lower Saxony and towards the border with the Netherlands. I was hoping for some decent weather (although it is known to be very changeable up here) and had packed a roll of Kodak Ektar 100. Actually this was a bit risky given changing lighting conditions but I figured it would be the best for landscape shots and hopefully some autumn colours.
The 250km drive from Hamburg to the very west of Germany. You can spot the East Frisian islands on the map too.
Lovely sunrise on an early morning flight out of Terminal 2, London Heathrow Airport.
The bright & airy main Terminal check-in area of Hamburg airport, actually the 2nd oldest commercial airport in the world (established in 1911).
I really like the subdued lighting in this shot, taken right beneath the main check-in Terminal.
One of the many field views of Ostfriesland. Just at the end of the shot is a very long dike, and right behind that is the North Sea.
I really like the contrasts in this shot.
I saw this on the other side of the Autobahn and decided it would be a good panoramic shot. It is 1 blade of a wind turbine.
A pretty representative shot of what East Frisia (Ostfriesland) looks like!
I really like the shadows in this shot and I think the vertical composition works well.
My favourite shot from the roll, I was driving along a really small side road and spotted all the cows feeding so I decided to jump out quickly to take a shot. As soon as I walked over to position myself for a nice panoramic shot they all looked right up at me - talk about being the right place at the right time!
A cropped version, it really made me laugh seeing them all staring at me.
Cold winter morning, some lovely lighting!
My cover shot of this blog. The blades from each wind turbine are enormous, you can see 1 blade in the following photographs sitting on an extremely long truck.
A break in the clouds for some fantastic light.
Luckily on the way back to the airport these were still parked there (typically vehicles of this size, and trucks in general, are not allowed on the German Autobahns at the weekend so they park in service areas).
I’d say this shot was made for my Hasselblad Xpan!
A close up of one of the massive fan blades.
The Ostfriesland sport of ‘Boßeln’, according to Ostfrieland Tourism (reference text from their site):
“When you go to „Boßeln“, you throw a bowl made of wood or rubber and with a diameter of nine up to twelve centimeters powerfully over the street. The throw technique is similar to the technique of playing skittles.
Professionals are able to throw the bowl over 400 meters. According to the rules, the bowl is thrown again, beginning at the point where the bowl stands still. A team consists of five players, and so, during a competition, they make a distance of 10 kilometers.
Then, the streets are cordoned off or chosen in a way that only a few cars can disturb the "Boßler". A competition goes ca. two and a half hours. The "Boßler" are accompanied by "Käkler" and "Mäkler", these are spectators and fans who cheer their team and give comments to the throws.”
We got through security just as the sun was right on the horizon and I managed to grab this shot, with some really nice colours and patterns with the clouds.
Wide angle terminal!
I quite like how this vertical shot came out, it is very immersive!
Last shot of the roll and a bit of a light leak to add a bit more personality to this empty shot!
Overall observations
Despite some very changeable weather and barely enough time to take any shots, let alone go out on a photo walk, I am pretty happy with the shots I got. It just goes to show that it pays to have a camera with you at all times. There is more to East Frisia than big empty spaces with wind farms, but I will save those views for a different post.
I was happy I had the panoramic Hasselblad Xpan for this post as the landscapes deserve as wide of a lens as possible! Kodak Ektar is becoming my go to film for landscapes, however sometimes Kodak Portra 400 is more suitable for changeable lighting, but on a good bright day Ektar really comes into its own.
Thanks for stopping by and see you next time!
Neil
