Dave's Photo & Travelblogue

Old cars, cool cars, fast cars, blue cars…

Recently I visited the BMW Museum in Munich. I’d been putting this off because it’s a bit pricey at €12 for adults. But as I’m a car lover, I can say I really enjoyed it! There’s a lot of motoring and motorsports history tied up in this brand.

Let’s start with motorcycle sidecar racing. What the heck is this thing?

I found a short video that explains better than I possibly could with words. Let’s just say: the sidecar rider is the master of disaster.

Next up: a beautiful BMW 328. To be more specific, the 1939 328 Mille Miglia.

Here’s one of my favorite cars of all time: the Z8, as driven by James Bond. “Moneypenny, would you like to go for a ride?” . . . “Oh, James!”  You can see Pierce Brosnan’s previous Bond car in the background: the BMW Z3.

Here’s a little number I never saw in the States, though I’ve actually seen a few of them on the roads in Germany. In active use! See the door handle? That’s right… the front of the car, including the windshield, IS the door. And yes, it only has three wheels. But there IS a luggage rack. (if anyone leaves the comment “how cute” I may either buy you one, laugh myself silly, or become ill… I’m not sure which)

This one I have to include, if only because I have this car: the Z3 M Roadster, in Estoril Blue. Mine’s from the US, was bought used, and I didn’t pay as much as you’d think. But, really? I chose a car that’s museum-worthy? Sweet!

This last car was in the special exhibits section, which as of Jan ‘10 contained concept cars. The skin of the car is made not of metal, but of fabric which moves with the car’s wire frame! And the tailors, ahem, engineers did a fantastic job of making this car look alive. I’m not sure what scares me more, the double eyes or the flaring nostrils as it gets ready to accelerate toward me.

Let me say, the lighting in this room was very strange. I actually thought the car was light brown, until checking for more info on this blogpost about the GINA. (which has great pics of the doors opening… you’ve gotta see it!)

Finally, I’ll leave you with a short clip of the very cool engineering art piece / kinetic sculpture at the entrance to the museum.

Getting there:

• Google maps link to the BMW museum. Get there by car or by U-Bahn (U3 Olympiazentrum).
• Admission prices are a bit steep, €12 for adults, though there are discounts (kids, seniors, families, groups of 5+, etc).
• Check the BMW Museum website for the latest details.
• What else you’ll see: F1 cars; rally cars; the M1; many “series” cars; the first BMW car model; lots of motorcycles; rooms full of airplane motors, car motors, and racecar motors; art cars; etc… if this sounds exiting to you, go there. But it’s NOT for everyone.
• Right next to the museum is the free BMW Welt = BMW World, which is half displays and half showroom. You can always see the latest model BMW cars and motorcycles there.

Racing + Ice Rink + Motorcycles = ?

On January 6th, Germans celebrated “Heilige Drei Könige” – Epiphany. I had an epiphany of my own when I visited the racetrack in the town of Steingaden, where crazy people race around an ice-covered track on motorcycles with 1″ spikes on their wheels. Here’s what I saw at the 12th ADAC Eisspeedway races!

Each race was under two minutes, only a few laps. Here’s a YouTube video I took of one race:

There were 20 races for the day, with an additional 2 tiebreaker races and one special race (I didn’t understand what that was for; maybe to celebrate that no one was injured?).

Below, I got a lucky shot of the motorcyclist on the right just as his bike hit the hay-bale wall sideways! Fortunately he was OK and kept riding.

And here’s one of the closest finishes of the day. The rider on the left of the photo took it…

…and you can see him celebrating here, and winning the ever-prestigious “Dave’s Wheelie of the Day Award!” Just imagine doing a wheelie on a motorcycle. While wearing a leather snowsuit. While it’s -5C and snowing outside. While riding on a track made of crushed ice. Then, standing on the seat. With one leg. Yes… that takes cojones.

Finally, my little experiment with background motion blur: I believe this was at 1/100, ISO 1600, pretty high zoom on the Nikon 70-300 VR lens. To do this I just tracked the motorcycle as best I could, keeping it centered in the viewfinder. If only I’d had a press pass to stand in the middle of the oval, hehe. Next time!

Here is a full gallery of the Eisspeedway Rennen photos (even more wheelies!). If you want to experience snowsport craziness on your own, check out some other events on the MSC Steingaden website, listed below. Next up seems to be Skijoring, “where skiers are pulled across the ice/snow by motorized vehicles.” I assume that also requires spiked tires, mu-hahaha!

Getting there:

• Steingaden can be found here on Google maps. I believe the track is north of the town center, but you’ll see signs for sure. It’s about 1.5 hours from Munich.
• Here is the website of the MotorSportClub Steingaden.

Happy Holidays, from…

Vienna, with a gift of chocolate dipped nuts and fruits…

Salzburg, with a carol played on brass…

For the religious among you, there’s this from a Salzburg cathedral…

And finally, Happy Holidays from Munich!

Wines and fine foods at Forum Vini

By: David Douglas

The last three years I’ve attended Forum Vini, a fantastic wine convention at the M.O.C. Convention Center in the Freimann quarter of Munich.  Every time I enjoy it even more, and this has become one of my favorite Munich events of the year.  One can sample wines from all over Europe, taste unique liqueurs and brandies, and sample all kinds of delicacies from extra virgin olive oil to chocolate coated pumpkin seeds.

These are a few of my favorite memories from Forum Vini 2009:

Steinwaelder Hausbrennerei Schramml had a lot of interesting spirits on display! Stonewood 1818 Bavarian single malt whiskey, a Christmas liqueur, and a Zoigl brandy were nicely arranged in the front for my photographic pleasure.  The last was very interesting to me: it’s made from beer of small micro/home-brewers who are allowed to sell their own beer (I wasn’t exactly sure but it sounded like a kind of club or special organization).  So this is a brandy made from the very best of homebrewed beer!

Specialty liqueurs from Steinwälder Hausbrennerei Schramml

Next up: tasty pumpkin seeds (wasabi, dark chocolate, milk chocolate+cinnamon… choose your favorite) and other specialties from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg.  Here’s the pumpkin seed oil… which is GREAT on salads.

Pumpkin seed oil from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg

Here’s an Italian stand, Palmieri Weinshop, where the proprietor was fantasic and friendly, and I must say, the most enthusiastic person at the show… rightfully so, because the wines were great!  I especially loved the award-winning Unico Chardonnay.

Italian wines from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau

The stand with my favorite fortified wines of the evening: Bodegas Tradicion, where they have sherries aged for 20, 30, or more years.  I bought a 0.375 bottle of the Oloroso, which has an average age (in cask!) of 42 years.

Premium, very-long-aged sherries from Bodegas Tradicion in Jerez

I’ll finish this post where I finished the evening at Forum Vini: Weingut Michel-Roos has a fantastic array of German-made food delicacies as well as many specialty wines.  The Beerenauslese (dessert wine made with late-season, specially harvested grapes) was amazing.  When I was there they cracked open several different cans of German meat and slathered them on hearty bread with a bit of mustard on top.  Fantastic! (note, these folks aren’t the proprietors, but the pose was just perfect).

Hospitality award of the night goes to Michel-Roos where many cans of Worscht were shared around in a fantastic atmosphere!

A note about photographing at such an event: the main ceiling lights are all fluorescent.  This gives an evil green tint to everything.  If you use the camera’s flash, you’ll get better lighting… but all the backgrounds will look greenish where they are lit by the overhead lights instead of your flash.  The best is to use a D-SLR with a gel on the flash which makes it output fluorescent-friendly light, and set your camera’s white balance to fluorescent.

BUT… there’s one problem, because many of the stands have auxiliary “hot” incandescent lights with their orangey cast.  So you’ll get some photos that are hard to correct in a photo program because they have some green and some orange tints in different areas of the picture.  Not much you can do about this; I mostly chose shots where the lighting was consistent, and edited the h*ll out of the others.

Getting to Forum Vini:

• First off, check out the timing of this event for next year (likely November) at the Forum Vini Website.
• Don’t fret about the entry fee (which was €17 in 2009), it’s well worth it.  Arrive early and you can have hours and hours of wine tasting, all for the price of two cocktails in most Munich bars.
• The M.O.C. is located near the Kieferngarten U6.  There is also parking, although I wouldn’t recommend you drive to a wine event.  I always take the subway so I can sample as many wines as I please.  Google Map of the MOC

Full album of photos:

Forum Vini 2009

Delicious French wines Delicious French wines	Specialty seeds and oils Specialty seeds and oils	Chocolate-cinnamon pumpkin seeds Chocolate-cinnamon pumpkin seeds	Pumpkin seed oil from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg Pumpkin seed oil from Dr. Schätzl of Moosburg
Greilinger wines from Austria Greilinger wines from Austria	Weingut Beiser, German wines Weingut Beiser, German wines	Premium, very-long-aged sherries from Bodegas Tradicion in Jerez Premium, very-long-aged sherries from Bodegas Tradicion in Jerez	Italian specialties from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau Italian specialties from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau
Italian wines from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau Italian wines from Palmieri Weinshop in Dachau	The award-winning Unico Chardonnay The award-winning Unico Chardonnay	Olives of all kinds Olives of all kinds	Specialty liqueurs from Steinwälder Hausbrennerei Schramml Specialty liqueurs from Steinwälder Hausbrennerei Schramml
Golf-styled wines and brandy from Golf-Weingut Deppisch in Franken Golf-styled wines and brandy from Golf-Weingut Deppisch in Franken	Award-winning Beerenauslese (late harvest dessert wine) from Weingut Michel-Roos Award-winning Beerenauslese (late harvest dessert wine) from Weingut Michel-Roos	German specialties at Weingut Michel-Roos German specialties at Weingut Michel-Roos	Hospitality award of the night goes to Michel-Roos where many cans of Worscht were shared around in a fantastic atmosphere! Hospitality award of the night goes to Michel-Roos where many cans of Worscht were shared around in a fantastic atmosphere!
Specialty schnapps and liqueurs from Brennerei Hubertus Vallendar Specialty schnapps and liqueurs from Brennerei Hubertus Vallendar

Pink Bike

I was intrigued by this pink bicycle in Paris:

The angle at which it was hanging on that fence begged for an optical illusion shot.  The bright, contrasting colors and unrideable bent wheels brought it all together for me.

I wonder if it’s still there?

Demon’s Bane Book Cover Contest

Two important things:

• Here’s the prospective book cover for my upcoming novel, Demon’s Bane!
• You could win a free copy of the book! To enter, just comment on this blog post by Nov. 30th, 2009.

Thanks to the six friends who are in the cover photo. Bob, Nadia, Jim, Chung, Zippy, and Mr. Excitement: I will keep your names a secret for your own protection.

To view in higher resolution, just click on the photo:

This is a battle scene at night, lit up by a globe of magical light above the combatants.

To enter the drawing, which ends on Nov. 30th 2009, just leave a (non-spam) comment on this post to let me know what you think of the cover.  I’m still open to minor modifications.  Is it awesome?  Does it suck?  Is the text okay?  If you saw this cover in a bookstore, would you pick up the book and take a look inside?  The winner will receive an autographed copy of Demon’s Bane once the book is in print, sent free of charge anywhere in the world that has post.

The photo was taken in Munich with a Nikon D90, a Nikon SB-600, and a Vivitar 383.  You can see the Vivitar in the back with a red gel (a.k.a. the fireball). One subject in the photo is from the Taipei Zoo, although the wolf’s charred backside was only digitally damaged. No wolves were harmed in the creation of this cover. In addition, Bob was not shot with an arrow (which he then had to rip out from his own arm), and Chung was not mauled in the leg by a wolf.

I sincerely hope Nadia didn’t actually throw any fireballs at anyone after I taught her that spell.

Update: see the revised cover here! It’s an illustration instead of a photo.

Lenggries at Night

As promised, here’s the second post in the Lenggries series! To read the first in the series with “getting there” info, see my Hiking at Lenggries post.

On the way back to the car, we caught this fantastic moonrise over the mountains:

Moonrise at Lenggries

Moonrise at Lenggries

Along the fields on the way back, we saw this sign, which cracked me up.

Cow says: "And I'm supposed to feed on that?" Underneath: "Unsoiled pasture - everything's in the butter"

After leaving the Jägerstüberl restaurant, we heard heavy-sounding music and saw fire off to the north.  This demanded investigation.  It turned out to be a free open house evening at the Lenggries Falkenhof – a falconry park!  (Tourism site link with a bit of English).  Now I want to go back and see the falconry show during the day sometime.

All photos are 1.0s, f/11, ISO 1600 except for the fire breather.  That one is 2.0s, f/20, ISO 800 to avoid overexposure while still getting a long shutter speed.  These fire spinning and twirling photos are my favorites from about 60 shots.

Falkenhof Spektaculum Fire Show

Falkenhof Spektaculum Fire Show

Falkenhof Spektaculum Fire Show

Falkenhof Spektaculum Fire Show

Falkenhof Spektaculum Fire Breather

One thing is for sure: I’m going to check out next year’s Falconry Spectacular and evening fire event! This year it was in October (postponed from September), so I’d check for it on the Falknerspektaculum website next summer.

Hope you enjoyed my photos, and that you have the chance to make it to Lenggries for a beautiful summer hike — or snowboarding in the winter.

Snowboards 2009 Photo Shoot

Yesterday I talked with a friend about some Strobist stuff. I realized that I’ve hardly used my two off-camera flashes: a Vivitar 383 and a Nikon SB-600. Since I wanted some killer pics of my new Virus snowboard before I try some extreme carving with it, I thought this would be a good chance to play! The same techniques could be used for any shots, including travel photos if you choose to bring a bit of flash gear.

The flashes are to the top left and bottom right of the photo, with shoot-through umbrellas for soft light and less distinct shadows.

Santa Cruz 148, F2 Speedster SL 158, Virus X-Treme Carver Premium 162

For the next photo I just added color gels to the flashes:

Red gel camera left, green gel camera right, shoot through umbrellas

Now some solo photos, with no color gels. I also changed to the more focused reflective umbrellas here to get a better visual effect on the Virus’ nice carbon-fiber finish:

Virus X-Treme Carver Premium 162 - beautiful carbon fiber top for extra torsional stiffness, and super-sexiness!

F2 Speedster SL 158 - what a pretty board!

Finally, here’s a setup shot so you can see where I put the umbrellas for the single-snowboard shots. I had to do a lot of adjusting for the Virus board to avoid that anything from the rear wall reflected in the mirror-like finish. I even closed blinds in another room and took some pictures off the wall! Ah, to have a studio…

Snowboard photo setup for single-board shots

Empire State After Dark

Once the world’s tallest building, the Empire State Building is one of the first modern skyscrapers.  The last time I visited in 2006, I waited in line for hours. The view was great, but… long queues suck. When I returned in 2009, I decided to give it a go at night, since the upper deck is open very late (2am, although the last elevator up is 1:15).  There was almost no line at around midnight.  Tickets are expensive at $20 for adults, so be prepared with a fat wallet.  Found this on the website: “Military personnel are admitted free when in full uniform.”

View of the Empire State Building from the Flatiron Building:

The square beside the Flatiron Building offers an excellent view

Now, let me say: the nighttime views were not as fantastic as those from the Eiffel Tower. But this is partly because it was quite hazy on this hot summer day in New York City. I believe the view (and the photos) would be better on a crisp, clear day.

Times Square is a bit disappointing when seen from this angle. (0.8s, f/4.5, ISO 200)

The Flatiron Building is a well-known monument, and here you can see why it provides such a good view of the Empire State Building:

The Flatiron Building -- can you guess where they got the name? (4s, f/7.1, ISO 200)

I guess that just about every bridge in the NYC area is visible from the top of Empire State. Here are the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. One hint: if you want a great geometric picture with suspension lines everywhere, visit the Brooklyn Bridge on a clear, sunny day with your polarizing filter.

Beautiful view of the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge. (1.6s, f/6.3, ISO 200)

Given clearer conditions, I could have taken a superior photo of the Manhattan skyline. But I’m pretty pleased with this result. Now I need to return in a few years… perhaps when the Freedom Tower is complete!

On the far right of the Manhattan Skyline, you can just see the Statue of Liberty. (2.5s, f/5.6, ISO 200)

On the way out, I got this shot of the entranceway. That’s a beautiful inlay in the wall behind the desk!

You'll never see the lobby as empty as it is at 1am...

Although not as fantastic as the Eiffel Tower view, I would still recommend the Empire State Building at night — as long as it’s a clear night. If you want photo tips on how to take these great night shots, check out my Eiffel Tower post where I explain details like using a small tripod and a shutter delay.  These were taken with a Nikon D90; if you’d like to support an aspiring writer & photographer, purchase with the Amazon link below!

Getting there:

• Address: 350 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10018
• Nearest Metro: 34th St – Herald Square (also not far from 34th St – Penn Station)
• Building security: small bags are allowed but not large luggage.  Don’t bring drinks.
• Ticket sales are not on the ground floor, but at an intermediate level after going up some ways in the elevator.

Official website: Empire State Building Website

Sightseeing in Washington, DC

For those who are visiting the East Coast, don’t pass up the nation’s capital. I hadn’t been there for *ahem* “major sightseeing” since I was a kid. Memories of roasting summer heat, ice cream, and old spacecraft came flooding back as I walked along the National Mall.  One note: if you get an ice cream from a street vendor, it may be chilled with dry ice.  My Strawberry Shortcake bar was so damn solid, I thought there was something wrong with it and tried to return it.  But failing in that (”You open, can no return!”), I waited a few minutes, and it eventually thawed into edibility.

Here’s the obligatory snap of Obama’s house… I mean, the White House. One note: if you want a tour, book far in advance by contacting your congressman (or consulate, if you are not a US Citizen). You can’t just show up and get tickets for a tour of the White House.

What a nice garden... my tax dollars at work.

My advice on going up the Washington Monument: do it right at sunset. You can stay up there for 15 or 20 minutes: first to get great views of the setting sun, then later see the city lights at night. I’m not posting any pics, though, because the windows were a bit dirty and the photos are not great. You can get tickets in advance (go early in the morning to the visitor center on 15th St. NW next to the monument, they are free), or you might get lucky like we did because almost no one goes at sunset. The guards just let us in without tickets because it was not crowded at all (caveat: it was a weekday, during Congressional recess).

A sunset shot of the Capitol building from the Washington Monument

For the photography buffs, here’s a nice example of what a polarizing filter can do for your shots. I love to use it whenever there’s sky in a photo:

Capitol without Circular Polarizer

Capitol with Circular Polarizer

The sky is bluer, the grass is greener, and the Capitol is white instead of gray.

Now, war memorials and presidential memorials: I recommend renting bikes if you want to see them all, as you’ll save yourself HOURS of walking between them. The distances are pretty far.

As a University of Virginia student, I have a soft spot for TJ

The Washington Monument as seen from the Lincoln Memorial steps

In the gardens between/around these two monuments are memorials to those who fought in WWII, Korea, Vietnam… and several more.

The Vietnam War Memorial, one of many war memorials in the park between Washington and Lincoln

Okay, on to a less weighty topic: museums! The Smithsonian lines the edges of the National Mall and spreads out throughout the city. Aquarium, zoo, natural history, US national history, Native American history, Air and Space, amazing botanical gardens, and many more museums… they’re all here. And, THEY’RE FREE. My personal favorite is the Air and Space museum, with the botanical gardens as a close second.  Just pick your favorites and visit them all.  Bikes not required to get from one to the next, in my opinion.

Stephen Colbert had his portrait in the National Portrait Gallery for some time (also home of every president’s official portrait). Colbert was hung next to the bathrooms. When I visited the National Museum of American History, I found that the portrait had been moved there from the Portrait Gallery.  Of course, it was still hung next to the bathrooms.

Yours truly posing for my one-and-only "touristic" photo in front of Colbert's portrait

At the American History museum you can also see Dorothy’s red slippers, Seinfeld’s puffy shirt, Oscar the Grouch, a lot of boxing gloves, and countless other pop treasures. Then there are the “real” historical exhibits about the Presidents, maritime America, the First Ladies, and countless more.  However the highlight for me was the Star Spangled Banner: the massive flag that was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s song, which became our National Anthem.

Getting to DC, and traveling around the city:

• I would avoid parking in town. Take the Metro everywhere, as it’s convenient, except when it comes to the monuments. As mentioned, rent bikes to trek between them.
• Eat at the Brickskeller, a famous beer bar with (supposedly) the world’s largest beer menu.  They have thousands of beers in bottles, and several dozen on tap.  1523 22nd St NW.
• Catch a movie at the Uptown Theater, a large classic theater with a *fantastic* sound system.  I recommend a loud summer blockbuster with lots of guns and explosions.  3426 Connecticut Ave NW.
• Smithsonian website (list of museums): http://www.smithsonian.org/museums/

Hope these tips help you enjoy Washington, DC.  Any questions, ask away–I can probably find out the answers for you!