Germany and Europe take a look at a long history, which is reflected in the architecture of many cities. This romantic backdrop invites you to take an exciting photo tour, especially in the cold season. As a passionate photographer and history lover, Pablo Meilan Campagnale has been exploring forgotten corners and historical places since 2014 to document their timeless beauty. He has already visited more than 300 old cities throughout Europe and shares his experiences from the last ten years with you at C’T Photography.
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In his entertaining article, Campagnale first introduces his faithful companions – his photography equipment. These “heroes” help him to immortalize the beauty of medieval, mostly German, old towns. Its full-frame mirrorless camera with a high-resolution 45 MP sensor is like a knight in shining armour. It handles low-light conditions with ease and is tough enough to survive even a medieval siege.
The wide-angle lens looks like a faithful squire. It depicts vast landscapes and narrow streets, capturing both the grandeur of cathedrals and the intimacy of hidden corners. The 24-105mm zoom lens is the wild card, ideal for medieval old towns. It captures wide views and specific details without changing lenses. Finally, the 70-200mm lens, it acts as a spotter and isolates architectural elements from a distance, even in busy or inaccessible environments. As a faithful companion, the tripod provides stability even during long exposures.
Germany and Europe can look back on a long history. This is reflected in the architecture of many cities. Especially in the cold season, this romantic background invites you for photo tours.
requires patience
The most important thing when exploring old cities is to be patient. Lighting conditions are not always right right away or there are too many distracting elements in the picture, such as tourists, cars or garbage containers. With a little luck the place will be free of them later. A quick cell phone photo serves as a reminder for the next trip.
Finding the right moment is like the art of Zen. As soon as you find it, hordes of tourists suddenly appear from nowhere and photobomb the scene. Then you have to stay calm and wait – or tactfully pretend that you don’t want to take the photo at all.
Despite all the challenges, it is worth being patient. Because you end up with a unique recording in your hands that captures the magic and atmosphere of a time long ago. Old cities offer an inexhaustible wealth of motifs. So why not go on a quest yourself and start your own medieval adventure? Sharpen your eyes on hidden treasures and immerse yourself in the fascinating world of historic architecture with the help of your camera.
Games companies can reapply for fundingOther topics in issue
135mm lens – misunderstood focal length
Often overlooked and underestimated: 135mm fixed focal length with open aperture f/1.8 has a lot to offer. Due to its telephoto properties, it compresses depth graduations and enables flat but attractive images of portraits. The small angle of view and depth of field compression blur the background while leaving the subject perfectly exposed. Due to the longer focal length, greater distances are also possible with shy models. The excellent imaging performance also makes the 135 ideal for documentary photography, product shots and atmospheric details. In the test, models from Canon, Sony and Wiltrox compete against each other and show what they are capable of.
digital image management
Organizing our ever-growing image collections efficiently is a challenge. Thomas Gade examines the evolution of digital image management. In addition to classic methods such as meaningful file names, logical directory structure and embedded metadata, specialized image management programs are becoming increasingly important. These index image files, create databases and provide advanced search and editing functions. But there are lights and shadows here too: while stalwarts like ThumbsPlus 10 and PhotoStation Pro 8 are no longer regularly available, AI-supported software like Axire is moving onto the market – albeit with teething problems.
Adobe Max: Innovation for photographers and image editors
The annual Adobe Max brings product innovations and improved functions for Photoshop, Lightroom and company. The focus is on further development of AI-controlled tools such as Intelligent Denoising, now available for more raw formats and DNG files. Generative retouching has also been optimized: troublesome objects can be more easily marked and removed using three variants. There are also practical improvements like the ability to change catalog names directly in Lightroom Classic. The future of AI in image processing promises excitement – ​​Adobe Max foreshadows it.
painting with light
Olaf Schieche creates spectacular light paintings by “dancing” throughout the night with different light sources in long exposures. Light painting is a blend of artistry, dance and painting and requires fitness, fluid movements and the ability to visualize the final image. In the interview, they told us they use everything from steel wool to bubble swords to create unique shapes and tell stories with light. Most of his outdoor painted images range from body size, to large indoor spaces such as a gymnasium. Light painting attracts a community of experimental DIY enthusiasts with extreme imaginations. Shieche dreams of painting famous landmarks around the world and believes that as technology advances, the possibilities for light painting are endless.
The contents of C’t Photography 01 2025 at a glance.
you will receive Current issue of C’t Photography (1/2025) for 12.90 euros in the Heise Shop. There you will also see a complete overview of the content and information about the particular online additional content we offer through a clearly designed user interface, as well as preview images and editorials. The version for ePaper and Amazon Kindle costs 12.49 euros.
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