Smile

I found this little fellow sitting on the wall of my study:

Pumpkin Harvest

One of my favorite fall joys are pumpkins -- the shapes, the colors, and also the taste! Moreover, I like the pumpkin plant itself with its curly knots and gorgeous blossoms. One of the many grasshoppers living in the garden chose a huge pumpkin leaf to enjoy the morning sun. Anyway, summer has nearly come to end in the meantime, so I recently harvested the eight pumpkins which grew alongside the house. Aren't they great?

Spider

Look who lives in the garden:"The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship."

-- William Blake

Enchiladas

I always enjoy cooking ethnic dishes. One of my favorite dishes are Enchiladas. I recently made them again -- a fantastic chance to use the funny western-style plates I bought at Auer Dult:

Strawberries

Aren't strawberries are a fantastic treat? They taste exceptionally delicious when the sun is shining and you freshly pick them yourself, eating them right away. What a fabulous taste of sun and summer! In June, I had the chance to pick strawberries on a nearby field.

Dragonfly

Aren't the colors of this dragonfly amazing? I found it resting on the patio and took the chance to take a photo:

Kaleidoscope

Don't you just love kaleidoscope patterns, too? I made the picture below from one of my photos applying a kaleidoscope filter first to the whole image, then to the diamond-shaped piece in the middle. I really like the result.

Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day! This year I don't have enough time to bake a cake, so the photos of the red-white-blue 4th of July cake from last year have to suffice:

More fractal art

Lately, I have been on a roll with all those gorgeous fractal images! Here are two of my fractals and how I further worked with them in Paint Shop Pro 9:

Fractal Art

Lately I have been more and more fascinated by fractal art. Apophysis is a fantastic software to create stunning fractal images. I enjoy making fractals very much, often using the images as background for digital collages. A word to the additional images I use in my collages -- I use as many of my own as possible, yet at times images I receive through sharing groups suit the mood of the collage better. Often enough people who share graphics can't name the image source, so it's frequently impossible to credit the original artists. In any case, the copyright always belongs to the original artists -- no copyright infringement intended. Anyway, here are a few examples of my fractal images and the collages I made from them:

Beautiful sunset on Mother's Day

On Mother's Day there was a beautiful sunset -- all those vivid colors and interesting cloud shapes! Of course, I had to take a couple of photos.On the last photo you can see the moon if you look closely at the middle of the photo. By the way, what do you see in the big cloud on the left? For me it's a teddy bear looking towards to the moon. Anyway, I used the photo for the tag below -- it was perfect to make an interesting texture!

Auer Dult

The Auer Dult is a popular fair which takes place at the Mariahilfplatz in Munich three times a year. Its history can be traced back to the Middle Ages. There's a midway with a couple of amusement rides, booths where Bratwurst is sold, and lanes where you can hunt for antiques. The open-air market is centered around the Mariahilf church. It's neat to look through the many goods which can be bought -- tableware, new household products, bags, clothing, leather products, candy and much more.Typical Bavarian clothing!

Spring garden

"Winter's done, and April's in the skies,
Earth, look up with laughter in your eyes!"
- Charles G. D. Roberts, An April Adoration, 1896

Slowly but surely spring has come to Munich. April brought lots of mixed weather, but lately there was a lot of sunshine which made the flowers -- and weeds -- grow fast.

Sea Life

In early March I visited Sea Life in Munich which is situated in the Olympic Park. The entrance is somewhat bleak, but the aquarium itself is very neat.

You walk from room to room full of tanks showing the life in the local river Isar, the river Danube, the Black Sea, various other displays, and finally a Mediterranean Ocean tank.

We found Nemo! At times it felt like being under the sea -- enchanting! Yes, that are sharks you see in the photo.Feeding frenzy!The large sea horse display is very beautiful. It was such fun to watch those sea creatures.

Orchid Angel

Here's a new digital collage which I titled "Orchid Angel." I blended layers of some of my own photos showing clouds, fireworks, water, orchids, and an angel statue. Enjoy!