I attended this annual photography festival for the first time last year. I had become aware of it quite late and only had time to attend one workshop. The trip was such a great experience that I decided to go again this year, for the entire festival – and a bit.
In-between the below activities, there were about 20 photo exhibitions around town. This year, the theme was “MENSCH”. Not my favourite subject :-).
I did make a point of visiting the exhibition in the Ponton Pop-up next to Kranichhaus: Seminar Umweltfotografie – Bilder machen Zukunftssicherung – Abschlußprojekte. I am actually hoping to sign up for the seminar which begins in September this year.
Other exhibitions to prioritise: Esther Horvath – Danger Islands. Or rather, I would have liked to, but it is eight km away from where I am staying, and there is no public transport. It is not that I can’t walk 16 km, but finding the time that that would take is another story. This festival tends to assume that everybody has arrived in their own, private cars. Not very “Umwelt”-ish, despite the title. (Personally, I am now so anti private cars that I don’t accept lifts in them). In any case, I don’t believe anybody over 70 ought to be driving. There – I said it. Cue the shitstorm.
Thursday: Travel to Zingst early
In the evening – unrelated to the festival – session 3 of a Webinar with Blende2-Hamburg (a series of webinars I always look forward to). And – despite the fact that this is Germany – the hotel internet coped beautifully with a three-hour zoom session. Surprise, surprise.
Just a quick rant about the hotel (Strandhotel Zingst): I booked a long, long time ago, and asked for a room on any other floor than the ground floor. They confirmed by e-mail that they would give me a room higher up. But what did they give me? A room on the ground floor facing the street where everybody in town pasess by (so close that I can almost reach out and touch them from the “French balcony” double doors) to and from the beach, to and from the workshop venues, etc., and making a lot of noise in the process. And security people assembling there at 3.30 am, laughing and talking and finding it hilarious when I ask them to be quiet or go somewhere else. On several occcasions, I was envious of the person in the room above mine who was snoring like a sailor.
Also, the room, though very large, did not have a writing desk. I am not sure I have ever before been in a hotel without some kind of a workspace, however tiny, and with adequate light. Considering all the laptop work I had to do, eleven days without a Schreibtisch was a long time. And now that I am at it, some of the toiletries were empty on day one. (What happened to checklists?); they are pretending to have CNN on the TV, but they don’t (and also no BBC World); and the hairdryer is barely functioning (but I have by now come to the conclusion that mentioning any of these to anybody here is pointless, and just let my hair airdry which happens almost as quickly
Having said all that, the restaurant staff is extremely friendly, and the (“enforced” – i.e. included in the room rate) breakfast adequate and traditional.
Rant over.
Friday: 08.50-19.10: All-day boat tour to Hiddensee
Saturday
Last “free” day, but I did not venture far away. My “main” suitcase (given the length of the stay, the unpredictability of the weather, need for a tripod, gym mat, raincoat etc.), which I had left in the capable hands of Deutsche Bahn luggage service, was due to arrive, and although the hotel reception had agreed to receive it, by this time, I no longer trusted them to cope with such a complicated task (I am being sarcastic ….). By the way, that DB luggage service works really well. I had used it once before, when I was going to “Reha” in Sankt Peter Ording for four weeks and not supposed to carry anything heavy, so now I can vouch for it :-).
Sunday: 10.00-18.00: Workshop Schwarz-Weiß Hochkontrast.
The first morning made me realise that being confined in a small room full of people for hours is no longer my thing. I was desperate to get out. From now on, zoom courses in a room by myself is the way forward for me :-). (Except I have day 2 of this one, and two more workshops here to survive.
Anyway, below are all the photos I took on this day, and some from Friday which I think might be better for this workshop. From all the black and white photos below, I have to pick a small number to use for day two tomorrow.
In the evening, a walk on the beach, during a non-spectacular, cloud-covered sunset:
Monday: 10.00-14.00 – Workshop Schwarz-Weiß Hochkontrast continued
Or that was the plan. Instead, a quick decision in favour of freedom against a small room full of people.
I went to Arenshoop with a nice little harbour on one side and a lovely, long beach on the other.
Tuesday
Today was one of those days where I woke up and found the sadness too overwhelming. (Actually, with so much, and especially so many, to be worried about, it is amazing that there are not many more of those days), and I knew I would be on a collision course with the world for at least a day. I therefore decided that most likely, I would not go to Stralsund in the afternoon as planned.
14.00-21.00 Workshop Stralsund Schwarz-Weiß
After a walk along the habour in the late morning, I did turn up at the workshop at 14.00 because I thought there would be some kind of presentation of the themes that perhaps I could learn something from. That did not happen (but the usual, dreaded and incredibly long and boring intro round did), and when I then learned that we would be going to Stralsund in private cars (ten people in two cars – something I cannot and will not endure in the best of moods – EVER) that decision was a no-brainer. Actually, I should have known – this “Umweltfotofestival” is obsessed with private cars.
By the way, surprisingly, talking about obsessed – people here this week are still equally obsessed with Adobe – Lightroom and Photoshop, and it is assumed that everybody is still using it. Nobody seems to have heard about boycotting US goods and services. ????? Before I came here, I thought most people had long since changed – in most cases, and certainly in my case – to DxO Photolab (which is actually much better – and European), and if needed Affinity (free, and European). Here, there is even a workshop teaching Lightroom. Why no workshop teaching DxO Photolab? Is this so-called “Umwelt-” photography festival lagging behind the rest of the world?
Anyway, so I had the rest of the day – AND the next day – free and to myself. Just as well, since interacting with people does not seem to do me any good these days.
In the evening, I hopped on the weekly sunset cruise from the harbour:
Wednesday
I’ll be damned if I am going to leave Zingst without at least one photo of the Reed Warbler. There are so many of them in the harbour – when I am there, I hear them all the time, and also catch glimpses of them in the reeds now and then. So that was the challenge I had set myself when I went to the harbour at the crack of dawn. And I did manage to get some quite decent photos, and also one or two of the cuckoo which of course is never far away from communities of reed warblers.
Thursday 10.00-17.00 Worshop Motiv Finden
Great presentation by Alexander Lang. On the way there, and later, I took a number of photos but am not sure I will use any of them. It also started to rain in the mid afternoon. I actually took a number of photos yesterday that would be more suitable, but I don’t know if that is allowed. If it is not raining at sunrise tomorrow, I will go back to the harbour and see what I can find.
Friday: 10.00-17.00 – Workshop Motiv Finden continued
I was woken up by the security people having their 3.30 am meeting what felt like about two meters from my bed, so started the day backwards and went to the harbour very early, then showered, and then had breakfast before going to the workshop.
I did manage to sit though the workshop, though I did not manage to present any interesting photos.
Saturday: 11.00-14.00 Seeadler Wanderung
Before that: an early walk on the beach:
The beach in the evening, waiting for the sunset and the showing of photos selected from the day’s workshops (too late for me):
Sunday 7 June – my last full day in Zingst
I went out walking from 5.00 to 9.00 hoping to avoid most of the rain that was forecast.
Monday 8 June a last walk on the beach around sunrise before departure
And finally, JUST enough time before catching the bus to Barth, to go out and get annoyed at my inability – as can be seen below except for perhaps one of the photos – to get the hang of using the macro extension tube. Any tips are more than welcome.
