Harvest

The pear trees are as old as their marriage. For the past sixty years Herr Straub has been removing the unripe fruit in the autumn then storing it until St Nicholas day, when it will be ready for eating, or transformed into a host of pear fladen by Frau Straub. While he attends to harvesting the apples and pears, she collects the quinces from the tree in the garden. Overhead the birds circle then alight on their favourite tree branches.The Council asked Herr Straub to cut down the trees that line the stream meandering through his land. The trees that have given him a livelihood, are also home to a diverse range of birds and insects and they stabilise the waterway. Herr Straub refused.
The Straubs are farmers who know that if you look after the land, it will look after you. We say goodbye and Herr Straub brings us a pear; the only ripe one he has collected. We suspect he had kept it aside for Frau Straub, and accept his offering with thanks, assuring him that we will share it.

Zeppelin

My hometown, Arbon, is situated on Lake Constance in Switzerland. Right across the lake in Germany, is the birthplace of the Zeppelin. So it’s not unusual to look up in the sky and spot this!

Arbon – Switzerland

Wrong camera setting produces a surprising image.

Andong

Street portrait in Andong, South Korea.

On the lake

Back in Switzerland, photographing one of my favourite subjects, Lake Constance (Bodensee)