The Light-Painting Adventure On The North Sea Part One

Every year, Geane and I go on a bike tour somewhere in Germany. Last year I reported on a tour to the Wasserkuppe

Light Painting Tour By Bike Through Germany

This year we decided to take the North Sea route. I'd had the Obereversand lighthouse monument and the pile dwellings in Sankt Peter Ording on my list for a long time.

First we took the train to Bremen. The Night of the Museums was planned for the day of our arrival. We chose a visit to St. Peter's Cathedral from the numerous attractions on offer. A very interesting organ tour awaited us there and shortly before midnight a fantastic organ concert on two organs. This alone would be worth a separate post.
The next day, we cycled the first stage north by tandem (106 km) via Bremerhaven to Spieka Neufeld. We had dinner in the popular hotel restaurant before setting off on our bikes and camera equipment to the lighthouse in Drummer Neufeld.

Once there, I looked for a suitable place to take the first photos. There are probably already thousands of photos of this unusual construction, a combination of steel grid substructure and solid metal superstructure. However, I also wanted to take a few pictures home for the photo album before I put my idea into practice. I had just set up the camera and taken the first picture when it started to rain. So I covered the camera and waited. We had already put on rainproof cycling gear, so we were prepared.

As is the case in the north, the weather quickly changed its mood and the sun appeared on the horizon. In the meantime, I had changed the position of the camera and dried the lens.

I couldn't realize my picture idea from this position. So I went further onto the bridge and set up the equipment there. The play of light with the sun was worth another photo. I used a polarization filter and an ND64 filter for the first three shots.

The sun disappeared on the horizon and the blue hour set in. Now it was time to realize my picture idea for the night. After all, I had traveled a long way for it.
First, I rotated the camera by 180°. You can see the repetition in vertical format as the cover picture. I had already accomplished my actual mission. With everything already set up and adjusted, I rotated the camera in 30° increments. Et Voilà, the following picture was taken.

The next rain clouds were approaching. I was able to take a picture just in time before the next shower. This time with the camera rotating 60° around its own axis.
I quickly packed the equipment into my backpack and we took the tandem the 7 km back to the hotel through a heavy shower.

Finally, a few remarks about the monument. The lighthouse was built in 1886-87 on behalf of the Hanseatic City of Bremen in the middle of the Wadden Sea at the mouth of the Weser. Over time, however, the fairway silted up and shifted. The tower lost its significance and was dismantled in 2003 and rebuilt 40 kilometers away at the port of Dorum-Neufeld. The tower is now a museum.

Below, as usual, is a picture from the set. As you can see, I was well protected from the rain and wind.

The next day we drove on to Stade (91 km), a small town at the mouth of the Elbe. From there we continued north. But I'll report on that next Sunday. So stay tuned!