27 November 2008

Fleeting Beauty

Domiciled in Berlin for the past 4 months has meant that I'm experiencing my first real Summer to Autumn to Winter because, in the Southern Hemisphere places that I've lived in, this just doesn't happen with the same intensity.

Dog_LakeDog Lake through the trees

We've been on walks around one of the nearby lakes with our friends S&C who have 2 dogs that need regular exercise. This particular lake is a dog area, and thousands of dogs and owners converge on it during the weekend to run free and socialise. It's been quite beautiful in the afternoon.

CiroCiro (Chiro) pauses from retrieving sticks to enjoy the sunset

Lake_Sunset3pm sunset

We were graced with a visit by a beautiful butterfly who sadly didn't survive much longer after I took the photos, given the combination of cold weather and its naturally short life span. I was surprised that there were still butterflies around so late in the season.

Late_ButterflyKaleidoscope Wings

The colours of autumn have been stunning and I've taken to a new sport which I call Power Photography. Run with a camera in my pocket; see something worth photographing; stop; power up the camera; fire off a couple of shots and carry on before my pulse rate drops by 10bpm. It's challenging!

Autumn_Tree
We're also now faced with icy pathways on our exercise runs around Schloss Charlottenburg park - 'tis almost time to get out the skates.

Birch_Stand
Berlin has now seen the last of autumn, and winter fired a warning shot this week, with the first snowfalls of the season. Unfortunately, it didn't hang around for long. I really want it to snow heavily, and then I'll be sick of it equally fast, I'm sure!

The first fall didn't touch the ground before melting.

First_SnowfallFirst snow for the season

The second heavier fall happened at about 1am last Sunday morning and was mostly gone 12 hours later, leaving slow-melting patches in park areas.

2am_SnowThat's more like it!

2am_Snow01
We're ensconced in our friend H's apartment while she lives in Pakistan, but she's now back in Berlin for 3 weeks. It's been great getting to know her better, as my time with her up until now has never been for more than a couple of hours per visit. While J was in Dubai for 4 days closing down our business, H and I took to the streets for long walks in the cold.

Pigeon_holedPigeon holed

Most of my travel around Berlin has been in the subways, but this time H suggested that we take a tourist bus tour which proved to be very interesting, and for me it was a time to get a good sense of the city's layout. I didn't get any photos on the trip, as taking blurry shots through glass in a moving bus just isn't my thing.


We did notice a lot of Christmas markets being set up, and hopefully there'll be a few images in the making when we visit these after they open this weekend. H is a fellow camera buff, so I have found an accomplice with whom to mount night attacks on photogenic places. Hopefully we'll get more images like these ones.

Watch this space - and pray for snow so that the images are more interesting!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos!

Your blog is taking longer to load; where there is slow Internet, it can't load at all.

All the best!

Jones. Bridget Jones. said...

Lovely autumn colours, thanks for sharing!

Bridget enjoyed your contribution on The Unusual Stalker's blog! ;)

Sandie said...

Great pixs! We miss Nature. It is nice to be reminded of Nature's beauty! Thank you and oh, by the way, you guys must be some kind of professional photographers!

Bravecat said...

Loved the photos, thanks! I SO miss the seasons! Autumn is my favourite (and I was born in Autumn, so there), and I mourn the total and absolute lack of it in the Gulf. Here, it just turns cold overnight, and that's it. It's been raining for a week now and everything is flooded. So much for Autumn.

:)

Jayne said...

The changing of seasons is something I really miss, but with friends like you & your superb photography (ok, I'll stop gushing now!) I'm reminded of just how lovely autumn & winter can be.
Hope it's not too colf for you hon. The kids are freezing their arses off in Dublin - eeeek!

moryarti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
moryarti said...

superb

Sandie said...

Happy Holidays Guys!

nzm said...

Omar: Thank you! I'm working on a blog revamp to bring it up-to-date, but I'm not having much joy in finding a template that I like.

Bridget: Welcome to our blog! It's a pity that the stalker took down the blog, just as we were getting warmed up!

Sandie: Used to be a wedding photographer many moon ago, but no longer. Landscapes are a hobby. Thanks for the wishes!

Brave Cat: Thanks! Real seasons are a novelty for me, because in Fiji we had a wet season and a dry season and in NZ, it was just varying degrees of cold!

Jayne: Very cold, but I actually enjoy the change. Hasn't snowed over Christmas though so it's a bit disappointing.

Mory: shukran!