Blog Archive: June 2016

Berlin Schönefeld Airport

| Airports | 24 seen

Berlin Schönefeld Airport ( Flughafen Berlin Schönefeld) )was an international airport near the town of Schönefeld at the southern border of Berlin, the capital of Germany, 18 km (11 mi) southeast of its city centre.

On 25 October 2020 the Schönefeld name and IATA code ceased to exist, marking its closure as an independent airport, with large parts of its infrastructure being incorporated into the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA: BER, ICAO: EDDB) as its Terminal 5 with its sections renamed to K, L, M and Q.

Schönefeld was the major civil airport of East Germany (GDR), and the only airport serving East Berlin. It will be merged into Berlin Brandenburg Airport when it opens in 2019 or later.

Berlin Schonefeld airport

This is already second airport in Germany I have visited (about a year ago I first landed at Frankfurt-Han airport. We get here from Riga using cheap Ryanair flight and used as middle point for further travels to Spain (Malaga).

We had a couple of hours (well more than 12) between our flight…

My First Star Trail Photography

| | 8 seen

I have wanted to make star trail photography ever since I saw one. It took me some time to actually get out in the dark and capture one, as I knew it wont be so simple as it was with HDR photography. 

My equipment for this night's adventure - DSLR camera and a tripod. No remote control (not even a duct tape), I pressed shutter release button, after each 30 second long exposure, by hand this night.

It was fun experience, as I choose to shoot from our rural house nearby meadows - distant dog barks, frog noise from pond and a lot of stars. 

My first star trails - didn't had much clue what I'm actually doing here tonight... no remote, no duct tape, manual shutter release after each 30 sec exposure, a little bit light paint
... Adobe Photoshop Stack.... Will do better next time.

First attempt of star trails

It is a combination of 10 30 second long exposures, in one exposure I have used light paint to paint out birch. ISO 200 (I should most probably rise it a bit higher - 800 - 1600, but tonight I was not eager to go with higher ISO numbers)

Second attempt of star trail photography…

How To Stitch Panoramic Photos with Adobe Photoshop (Photomerge)

| Digital Photography School | 18 seen

I have wanted to write about panoramic photography technique I have been using for a very long time already, today finally I decided to put my knowledge on paper (blog).

Panoramic photos are cool and easy way to fake a wide angle lens, you don't have to own fancy DSLR camera and super wide angle lens to fit more into frame. For today's tutorial I'm using my Canon Rebel T5 DSLR camera with kit 18mm-55mm lens. I'm always trying to shoot at widest (18mm) to fit more details in frame. 

Tools you will need: A camera, Adobe Photoshop

Let's start with basic photography:

Single landscape photo (f11, ISO 100, 18mm)

Yup, that's my backyard. I trim grass here a lot. For shooting this photography I'm using a tripod from low angle (close to ground). Thus, in daylight you don't need to use a tripod mandatory, but it still helps.

Next, I change my camera on tripod head to portrait mode and shoot 6 separate images (manual focus), rotating tripod head for about 10-15 degrees after each shot. then I will use Adobe Photoshop to stick those 6 images together and will make following panoramic image:

…

Postcards from Riga

| | 6 seen

It was still and tranquil (most probably Friday evening) after visiting my dear grandmother in Riga, I decided to take Riga in night pictures.

Experimented with long exposures and HDR photography tonight.

View towards Old Riga from Radisson SAS hotel 

River Daugava

View towards Old Riga

Vansu bridge in Riga

Classical Old Riga photography

River Daugava

Riga: Iron Bridge, TV Tower and National Library

Short Day Trip to Lithuania (Curonian Spit)

| Travel guides | 6 seen

At start of May 2016, we went on a short two day trip to Lithuania, we had no goal or destination planned. Just a spontaneous trip idea. Unfortunetly our car broke somewhere in middle of nowhere (Barta- Rucava road) and we had to stay overnight in Liepaja. 

Next morning we booked a rental car and our spontaneous trip started. We visited Palanga, Klaipeda, Juodkrante and Nida on Curonian Spit. 

Apple tree blossoms

| | 8 seen

A couple days ago I introduced you with first sprouts in our garden. Today allow me to show first apple tree blossoms from our apple orchard.

Apple orchard in mid-May 2016

Apple tree blossom

Akropolis Shopping Mall in Klaipeda

| Shopping Venues | 81 seen

Shopping and entertainment center Akropolis in Klaipeda most probably is the largest shopping venue in the area. Those of you who have traveled to Vilnius most probably will recognize this brand. I first discovered Vilnius Akropolis in 2003 or something. 

Now it is time to put Akropolis Klaipeda on map. We were returning from Curonian Spit and decided to make shopping somewhere in Klaipeda, I noticed few Rimi and Maxima stores when we approached Klaipeda from Liepaja, but after we left Smiltyne Ferry Terminal Akropolis crossed our way. It was time to make a stop.

Akropolis shopping mall in Klaipeda 

I was tired and I even didn't visit this shopping mall actually, instead I spent few hours in parking lot, well, that's a shopping experience also, right?

Parking lot near Akropolis Klaipeda

HyperMaxima, Drogas, Douglas and many other locally known brands here.

My Summer Office 2016

| Home Remodeling | 7 seen

Finally I have a good working place, a year ago I had to spend my days in front of house, while two years ago I reported very scenic working place - Turtle Lake in Tbilisi. 

After several days of improve back at our rural house, the room meant to be an office / guest bedroom is finally done, except it asks for some interior decors and other details, which makes overall mood.

Summer office 2016

Well I haven't done much digital work from here yet, but I hope I will spend these Summer nights not only by trimming grass, but hopefully patching some Drupal modules, developing new things, of course blogging, and post processing my photography (Adobe Lightroom, you rock)

As for Digital nomads, the place means nothing until you have good internet connection, well this is a problem a bit, we are using routers built in our phones to connect our laptops to the rest of the world (or in my case with Linode in London data center). The internet is pretty slow or is not available during daytime, thus it is fast as a rocket in night (strange, right).

Ok, enough talking, it's time to trim some more grass!

Taking the Chimney Down

| Home Remodeling | 7 seen

This is a task we had, most probably, to do already a year ago, together with roof replacement, but trust me, last year's summer was one of the hardest, as the new home owners we didn't have much clue how to handle all those many things, the house asked us. 

So it took about a year before we actually decided to tear town that huge manfetel chimney. Well. I actually hired two workers to help me with it, meanwhile I was in the other part of loft painting and photographing the small room.

Chimney to be taken down

In past, most probably by time, when this house was built (1890) this chimney was not only just a chimney, but also a bread oven, kitchen and maybe even a bath. Nowadays its leaky, non functional, beneath it a ceilings are made with out any good reason. It asks to be removed, to free up space. A year ago we lost a top of this chimney while doing roof replacement works, see: Replacing Roof - Part 3: Removing the old roofing (Losing Chimney)

For making above and most of the rest pictures bellow I had to use light painting technique while shooting from a tripod (about 10 sec exposure)

Workers a top on…

Kavine Kolibris in Nida

| Restaurant reviews | 15 seen

Kavine or cafe Kolibris is located in Lithuanian seaside town of Nida. We paid here a short visit to have a meal. I was not hungry at all this time, so all I tried was just a cup of coffee and milkshake. Girls thus tried some local Lithuanian specialties. 

Kavine Kolibris in Nida, Lithuania

Soup

Some fish soup. I didn't tried, but was told that pretty good one.

Ice cream

The Bottom Line

Kavine Kolibris is a very decent place. Try, you won't regret it.

Another Layer of Paint (HDR)

| Home Remodeling | 6 seen

In part 1 I told how we scratched chalk from ceilings and removed old wallpapers, in part 2 I showed how I applied base layer of white paint and did some photography tricks. Today I applied second layer of white paint, both for ceilings and walls, and also mastered a technique, I felt bad about in previous two articles. 

I had to use HDR photography technique to get the right exposures of window. Who said a construction worker cannot be a good photographer or vice verse?

Second layer of white paint applied

I hope that stove in the middle of room will keep us warm in cold winter nights.

HDR trick helped save the exposure

Anyway, its time to apply paint for floor and move in, right?

Nida - Resort Town on Curonian Spit in Lithuania

| Travel guides | 16 seen

Nida is a resort town in Lithuania, the administrative centre of Neringa municipality. Located on the Curonian Spit between the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea, it is the westernmost point of Lithuania and the Baltic states, close to the border with the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. It currently has about 1,650 residents.

We arrived to Nida just shortly we paid a visit to Juodkrante (both are located on Curonian Spit). One of my first observations about Nida were simple, it's some artists paradise or something - a lot of workshops. And later by reading on Wikipedia, turned out I was right.

 Thomas Mann Summer house in Nida

In 1929 Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann visited Nida while on holiday in nearby Rauschen and decided to have a summer house erected on a hill above the lagoon; it was mocked by locals as Uncle Tom's Cabin (Onkel Toms Hütte). He and his family spent the summers of 1930–32 in the cottage, and parts of the epic novel Joseph and His Brothers (Joseph und seine Brüder) were written the…

Paint Job - White ceiling, white walls

| Home Remodeling | 6 seen

Today I'm continuing works in second floors room. Yesterday we did a wallpaper removal and chalk scratching thing. Today is the right time to apply base layer of fresh paint for ceilings.

I had an idea not to apply white paint for walls this time, as I did it in first floor last year, see: Room One - Wall and Ceiling Painting with Water Based Paint; Removing Junk And Adding First Layer of Paint (Kitchen Works);   instead to glue new wallpapers here. Thus after finishing paint job for ceilings I decided to apply a test layer  with paint on walls, just to see. The result was pretty much satisfactory, and after a short consultations, we decided to go white again.

It was interesting experience not only to excel as a paint dude, but I had a time to improve my photographer skills also (or apply my latest knowledge). It is hard to make a decent photography in a narrow space. I experimented with panorama technique and got pretty decent result (see bellow)

Ceilings and walls before paint job

This is a default photo I could get shooting at widest with my kit lens (18mm). 

Paint applied…

Juodkrante - Lithuanian Riviera

| Travel guides | 16 seen

Juodkrante is a seaside resort town located on Curonian Spit in Lithuania some 20km from Klaipeda. To get on to the Curonian Spit you will need to take a ferry at Smiltyine terminal at first.

I was really surprised of different architecture I seen here on Juodkrante and Curonian Spit. I you have ever been close to the Netherlands, you will find some similarities with Dutch architecture here, thus, most probably the architecture here is kept from times when Curonian Spit was part of Germany (prior to WW2). I did find some similarities here with Dutch town of Leiden, for example.

Juodkrante in Lithuania

Juodkrantė (literally: Black Shore) with permanent population of about 720 people is a quiet Lithuanian seaside resort village located on the Curonian Spit. A part of Neringa municipality, Juodkrantė is the second largest settlement on Lithuania's part of the spit.

Situated in Old Prussian territory it was for centuries a fishing village named Schwarzort, which underwent a tourist boom in the late 19th - early 20th century. After World War I this northern part…

First Sprouts of Spring

| | 4 seen

A few days ago we constructed our second veggie garden in wooden boxes, then we planted. Few days latter first sprouts were observed.

I was busy with scratching wallpaper from the other room we decided to improve this year, while my better part took some lovely close ups and macro's in garden.

Strawberry plants

Bought these plants at local Kuldiga market

Rhubarb

You can make a lovely jelly out of these, or you can try to make a rhubarb wine later. We decided to try later this Summer and brew our rhubarb wine. 

Plants of tomatoes

First sprouts of radishes 

First sprouts of dill

A dandelion 

Crabapple

Rhuburb