I like the various lines coming together in this and set off against the solitary figure.

So we return again to the photos from my walk along the Rhine last week. I don’t know what tree this is but they seem to waiting for spring to bloom again.

This is the final photo in a series of three connected with the carnival preparations of a friend. That strange white color on his face is not a PP artifact, it is his make-up!

Here is the second photo in a series of three connected with the carnival preparations of a friend. This is the same guy as yesterday. In this, he was being given some expert help by another friend. While she touched up his make-up the rest of us were wondering aloud about all the strange stuff women use to beautify themselves, lip liner, eye liner, lip gloss, blush, foundation, glitter…and the list is endless! It is a whole different world, cosmetics for women!

Since today is the beginning of carnival I thought it would be appropriate to post something connected to it. This is a friend of mine putting the finishing touches to his make-up that would go with his costume before he ventured out.

This was one of the rare instances of me shooting in jpeg format. Later, while reviewing I realized how much more ‘safe’ shooting in RAW is. Since I’m still not very good at getting proper exposures the original of this shot came out very dark. In RAW, the latitude for error correction is much greater, not so in jpeg. Still, I managed to get something back and I think the photo now conveys something of what I wanted it to in the first place. If you are looking at the focal length in the exif data and wondering where the rest of the image has gone, yes, this photo is cropped!

Yesterday, after days of dreary rain, the weather here cleared suddenly. To not miss the window of opportunity I immediately took off with my cameras and went towards the Rhine river. I got a few pics which I’m happy with. You can expect to see them over the next few days.

This one is from the top of one of the bridges over the Rhine. This photo has gone through substantial PP as I wasn’t happy with the way it had come out. Mainly, I increased the dynamic range to make the clouds stand out better, which was the original intention behind taking this shot. In the end, I’ve to say I like the way this photo has come out. When I started PP I had no idea I would end up with this!

Since I haven’t shot anything new, here is something from my old film archives. This is from a trip to Keukenhof-the famous tulip gardens in Holland, roughly two years back. I’m not sure if you will like this as it is quite abstract and there is not much detail in the photo. But it somehow appeals to me.

Thanks for the nice comments on the previous photo. Today’s photo is from the same shop window as the one [here](http://www.visual.arthedains.com/index.php?showimage=129). Only this time, I included a whole lot more in the frame. Somehow, I’m not very satisfied with the PP on this. Something is missing. But I decided to post it all the same. Do let me know what you think.

Today, after a long time, I managed to go out and shoot something. This is the magnificent Gothic cathedral of Cologne, also the tallest Gothic structure in the world. It is one building that overpowers your senses with its sheer size. Even after being in Cologne for more than two years now I never got around to photographing the Dom (as it is called in German) properly. So I’m glad that I finally got some decent shots. This will be the first in a series of three shots. This one was shot towards late evening. I blew out the sky during PP to let the building stand out better.

The Dom has a lot of interesting history behind it. Including interruptions, it took more than 600 years for the building to be completed (1248-1880). It was even the tallest structure in the world between 1880 and 1884! It’s Sarcophagus of the Magi is thought to contain the remains of the Three Wise Men. It was hit 14 times during aerial bombing in WWII but managed not to collapse. And it also has the world’s largest free-swinging bell!

One suggestion, this photo is best viewed full screen. Press F11 to go into full screen mode (and press F11 again to exit it).

I seem to be posting only b/w photos of late here. But I could not think of posting this in color. Instead of doing the same old thing with such shots I tried to do something new, as the title of the photo suggests. I hope you like the result.