[Irma]

We visited the Arts Club in Eutin, this weekend as they had this event. I tried to take my pictures with flash but I felt it was a bit disturbing, the place was not so big and in the two pictures I took with flash, everyone turned to see the flash. I thought it would be impolite, specially in the presentation.

So I set my camera iso800, Tv 1/60 sec. as the apperture was not much my concern, but not to have blured pictures.

Difficult situation, since they were wearing black shirts, against a white wall, some funny little bulbs lighting the pictures, and light from the window... Still don't know if another settings would have helped in this situation.

Anyway, I decided a bw here because of the people clothes. Here are some pictures.










This is my favorite of the series, I took it through the window, good thing it was open.




Thanks for your comments ...

[Pat]

I like these kind of shots, people going about life and enjoying themselves

[Irma]

Thanks a lot Pat....
It was a great experience....

[smarti77]

I think your photos are better because you didn't use flash. The higher iso has resulted in sharp images and there is no noticable noise at this size. I think onboard or direct flash often results in 'flat' images. Using available light only, as above, adds mood and atmosphere.

I like the third the most as I think it shows people 'appraising / appreciating' the art.

[Irma]

Thanks a lot Shane for your comment, and thanks that you talked about available light.

#3 is really a nice picture indeed, the photographer was very pleased with it. I think it shows a lot. It was great that he gave me permission to take pictures of the event. It was the first time we met, very kind of him, I think...

[Don Schaeffer]

Took a fair bit of skill to guess these settings. Good for you.

[Banded Drake]

nice shots Irma , i think the bw adds a lot to the shots . I can never seem to pull off candid shots like this ,very nice ..


..... Shawn

[Don Schaeffer]

These people look altogether too happy. It's scarey.

[Irma]

Thanks for your comments...

These people look altogether too happy. It's scarey.

These are the friendlest people I have found in my nearly 7 years living in Germany. They never talked about money, how expensive life is, about politics and new reforms, or the bad weather in Germany and global warming... They talk about art, next expositions in the club, similarities they have found in different countries/cultures they have visited... we walked through the garden admiring lots of sculptures they have made of the roots of the trees, some others made of stones, and one I liked a lot made of electronic waste...

They never questioned me why I didn't speak German, if I had been living here already too long, or told me I "had" to speak German to belong to the group, and they wouldn't speak English to me because we were in Germany. At the contrary, they told me they knew that for some people to learn another language is more difficult than it is for others. That really made my day!!

I think you might have been also happy there, since there were some poets discussing about poetry as well...

[wulinka]

They never talked about money, how expensive life is, about politics and new reforms, or the bad weather in Germany and global warming...

That's rare indeed!

will you exhibit there? It's always useful to make contacts!

BTW, why don't you speak some German? I don't mean to bug you, but don't you have a desire to speak the language of the contry you live in? I picked up quite a bit of Spanish very quickly when I was in Mexico, so that I could at least comunicate with the people. And even in China I make a big effort, and it is always appreaciated by Chinese people. I feel very uncomfortable surrounded by people whose language I don't speak.

Greetings, Uli

[Irma]

will you exhibit there? It's always useful to make contacts!

I don't know yet. The photographer had more or less 25 pics in the wall and I don't know if I have enough good quality work to fill up the place. Also, they haven't said anything about an exhibition of my work.
Let's wait and see...

I do speak some German, enough to pass the German exam to get my permanent visa. I got it last year. But not enough to have a fluent conversation.