Olaf Protze Photography Blog

Video Hosting and download

2011-11-14T20:35:00.000-08:00

Finaly I have the video hosting facility on my German website running and my videos can be viewed and downloaded directly. As of now I have uploaded only Dresden (Germany) and Switzerland videos so fare but new ones of Singapore and Thailand will follow shortly.

Thailand and Cambodia Stock Photos - Images by Olaf Protze

By the way, I will be traveling to Thailand from November 9th - December 5th in case anyone is interested in pictures or video footage of Hua Hin, Phitsanulok, Sukothai or Bangkok just drop me a line olaf@travelbild.com.

Full HD Video Travel Footage

2011-07-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

It was time to get into moving pictures so I recently purchased a good quality panasonic full HD camcorder and added recently my first video footage of Singapore, St.Moritz and Dresden to my website at Zenfolio since its still quite difficult to add them at Photoshelter. I hope this will change in the near future...

There is still only a small selection of the 150 short clips. Most of them I have placed with Pond5 and Clipcanvas and Age Images. I'm working frantically on adding more in the near future. At the moment I am working on a serie of clips related to Swiss alpine trains, such as the Glacier and Bernina Express, so stay tuned....

Featured Location: Singapore

2011-03-02T22:01:00.000-08:00

The English name of Singapore is derived from its Malay name, Singapura or "Lion City", a term commonly used when referred to city state. According to studies have lions probably never lived on the island; the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama, founder of ancient Singapore, who gave the city its name, was probably a tiger. Despite this another lion, the “Merlion” a imaginary creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, became the mascot of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the “sea” and "lion".

Even Singapore is just a city state, it has quite a few tourist attractions and beaches, such as Sentosa Island or its southern islands.

Famous is Singapore for its Skyline and shopping, some call it “the largest shopping mall in the world”. The heaviest shopping mall concentration is in Orchard Road, while skyscrapers are clustered around the Singapore River, but also check out Bugis to see where Singaporeans shop.

Go and see the ethnic quarters Chinatown for Chinese treats, Little India for Indian flavours, Kampong Glam (Arab St) for a Malay/Arab experience or the East Coast for delicious seafood, including the famous chilli and black pepper crab.

Nature and wildlife attractions include the world famous Singapore Zoo, with the Night Safari and Jurong Bird Park. Finding "real" nature is a little harder, but the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in the same area is Singapore's largest. Pulau Ubin, an island off the Changi Village in the east, is a flashback to the rural Singapore of yesteryear. City parks full of locals jogging or doing tai chi can be found everywhere.

Since Singapore is a multicultural and religious country, it has many different interesting, as well as historical places of worship. In Singapore Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha'i faith, Christianity, Islam and even Judaism all exist in sizeable numbers. Religious sites can be easily visited and welcome non-followers outside of service times. Particularly worth visiting include: the vast Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery near Ang Mo Kio, the colorful Sri Mariamman Hindu temple in Chinatown, the psychedelic Burmese Buddhist Temple in Balestier and the stately Masjid Sultan in Arab Street.

The new star attraction is the recently opened Marina Bay Sands Casino and Hotel and Sky Parks, with three interconnected 200 meter high towers that impressively compliment the skyline of the business district. This and the second of the "Integrated Resorts" on Sentosa Island, are part of Singapore's new Fun and Entertainment drive, with the aim to double the number of tourists visiting and increasing the length of time they stay within the country.

Watch out for more attractions in the future!

I travel to Singapore from April 12th for 4-6 weeks to upgrade my stock photo portfolio and will be free to shoot any assignments in and around the Lion City, as well as Malaysia or Indonesia. Please contact me olaf@travelbild.com for further information.

Olaf Protze Reisefotografie bei Zenfolio

2011-02-03T18:05:00.000-08:00

Für deutschsprachige Kunden und Interessenten habe ich eine neue Webseite unter www.olafprotze.com eingerichtet und würde mich über viele Besucher selbstverständlich sehr freuen.

Unter anderem habe ich auch kürzlich habe ich den Snow Polo World Cup 2011 in St. Moritz besucht und viele interessante Fotos gemacht die bereits auf der neuen Website zu sehen sind. Schaut doch mal rein!

Polospieler während des Snow Polo World

Cup 2011, St.Moritz

Winter in St. Moritz, Switzerland

2010-12-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

Winter im Engadin, Switzerland - Images by Olaf Protze

For anyone who needs Winter images, I will work over the winter season until beginning April in St.Moritz, Switzerland and will be free to shoot any assignments in and around the Swiss Engadin region.

Please contact me olaf@travelbild.com for further details.

Featured Location: Mindelo, Sao Vicente Island, Cape Verde

2010-07-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Mindelo, is a harbour city in the northern part of the island of São Vicente and the second largest city in Cape Verde. The city is with almost 80000 people home to 96% of the entire island's population

Mindelo Bay is part of a mighty underwater volcanic crater which is about 200m below sea level and is used for cruise ships and other commercial traffic.

Mindelo, Sao Vicente Island, Cape Verde - Images by Olaf Protze

For a few hundred years was the natural harbour a famous hideout for pirates which was stopped by the Portuguese by building a castle in the 18th century. The building was later used as a prison and offers great views across the harbour and the Bay of Mindelo.

The well preserved historical town centre has many old colonial buildings, including the governor’s palace and some memorials. Right at the waterfront near the fish market is the odd replica of the Lisbon 'Torre de Belem'. It has many small shops and it is recommend to visit the historical market hall 'Mercado Municipal' in the city centre, built in 1874, that has been renovated with Swedish help 10 years ago. There you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, meat and souvenirs. The market is not far away from the Centro National de Artesanato, where you can watch local crafts man at work and buy nice souvenirs.

Mindelo became the cultural capital of the Portuguese-speaking country/state along with the Lusophone capital in 2003. Mindelo is also considered as the cultural capital of Cape Verde. The town is also known for its colourful and animated carnival celebrations. Carnival has its roots in Portuguese traditions and has also absorbed some Brazilian characteristics.

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

New Images of England

2010-07-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Image updates

I have continued uploading new images of South East England and the British Midlands to my England image collection that is getting close to 1000 images now with plenty of more, particulary North England pictures to process within the next few weeks, before I continue processing my Italy images.

London in Spring 2011

Since the London region has not been part of my portfolio yet, and in anticipation of future image requests before the Olympics in 2012, I am planning a 4 weeks photo trip to London next spring to take fresh and up-to-date images of the region. For picture requests please contact me olaf@travelbild.com

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

New Page for Circle Stock Images

2010-04-22T01:05:00.000-07:00

We have just launched a brand new website for the travel photography agency Circle Stock Images.

The site contains a host of new features including the ability to request images to be photographed from destinations around the world and is packed with information and updates from the team of photographers at Circle Stock Images.

You can now use our new contact photographer service, simply click the contact button next to your selected photo to discuss your exact image needs and requests with the photographer before you purchase. All this means it is now easy to find your perfect travel image that fits you exact needs all in one place.

Take a look at the new site now on www.circlestockimages.com and should you require any further information please contact me olaf@travelbild.com or use our contact page where one of our team will be happy to help.

New Images at my South East England Gallery

2010-03-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

I slowly get through the England images, but was only able to add about 300 new pictures to the Arundel, Brighton, Eastbourne, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Windsor and Winchester galleries.

Recently I am working on new images of the Isle of Wight at England's South Coast, including pictures of Ventnor, Godshill and Sandown, as well as coastal landscapes near Freshwater Bay.

I hope I can manage to upload all Isle of Whight images within the next few days.

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

New Gallery of the Cote d' Azur Travel Images

2010-01-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

I recently created a new gallery with images of Southern France travel locations that I took last Summer on my way Italy. Image locations include small villages in the back country of the mediteranian coast such as Tourette-sur-Loup, St.Michel and Le Bar-san-Loup, as well as coastal cities and towns as Menton, Villefranche sur Mer, Vence and Monaco.

Unfortunatly I did not have a lot of time due to my tight deadline, after all Summer season is not really a good time to travel there. The heat and the amount of tourists at some locations can a nightmare, even in the most beautiful places.

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

New Stock Photo Gallery about Hindu Religion

2009-12-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

Since I had noticed some interest have just added new stock photo gallery about images related Hindu religion that I took during my time in Singapore and Bali.
The image gallery contains images directly or indirectly related to Hindu Religion, such as images of hindu gods and religious ceremonies in Singapore and Bali.

Some of the ceremonies are quite scary to western people's eyes such as the 'Tooth Filing Ceremony' and 'Kris Dance' in Bali and 'Thaipusam Festival' held at many locations across Asia, such as Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore and, of course, India.

The tooth filing ceremony is one of the Hindu rituals in Bali only conducted for adult who has stepped on adolescent. During the ceremony their front teeth are smoothed down including the eye-tooth as a meaning of the elimination the nature of passion, arrogances and savageness. See (www.balistarisland.com) for further details...

The Thaipusam Festival is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb). On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common. Enjoy the gallery...:)

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

Stock Photos Swabian-Alemannic-Fastnacht

2009-12-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

I recently created a new gallery of stock photos of the Swabian-Alemannic-Fastnacht (Carneval) in Lucerne. The image gallery includes portraits and close up's of traditional masks and costumes during the Fastnacht celebrations.
Fastnacht or also called Fasnacht, is a old tradition in Southern Germany and Switzerland when the reign of bad spirits of the cold and grim winter period is over and these spirits are symbolically being hunted down and expelled. By the end of winter, each year around January and February, people dress up as demons, witches, earthly spirits and dreadful animals to enact this scene of symbolic expulsion. What happens in fact is an expulsion of the winter season that symbolises death, silence and destruction.

Traditional Swiss Swabian-Alemannic Fasnacht Masks

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

New Images of Montreux and Lausanne

2009-12-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

I have just uploaded some new Spring images I made this year in Montreux and the Old Town and Parc Olympique in Lausanne at Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Next in line will be more images of towns and sightseeing spots around Lake Lucerne.

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

Christmas Market (Striezelmarkt) Dresden

2009-12-04T01:13:00.001-08:00

I recently visited and took images of the historical Dresden Christmas Market, also called Striezelmarkt, which is one of Germany's oldest documented Christmas markets. It was first mentioned in 1434, under Friedrich II, an Elector of Saxony, when it was held the Monday before Christmas on the Altmarkt square. This year has the Dresden Striezelmarkt its 575th birthday.

This year the market has been reorganized, back to the more original middle age design and arrangement, to blend better into the historical city structure and create a more romantic and cosy atmosphere.

I will be visiting the market a few times until Christmas day to take more images, so any requests for specific themes and locations please contact me olaf@travelbild.com

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

New Image Collection

2009-10-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce you to our new photo stock website www.CircleStockImages.com. I've teamed up with eight other photographers to bring you an even bigger variety of photographs, we now have a library of over 47,000 images which we are continuously growing. We've put together a site where you can view all of our images side by side giving you an even greater selection of photographs to choose from. Our images cover a vast range of topics including travel, nature, people, children, documentary, cultural, rural, agricultural, food & many more ensuring we have the image you're looking for.

For general or picture inquiries regarding Circle Stock Images please contact me olaf@travelbild.com

...on the road again

2009-09-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

I have uploaded some new images of Liguria and England with a mix of locations such as Sheffield, North England and the Isle of Wight. I will be leaving for Italy this weekend to complete the Italy tour. This time I will cover Umbria and Emilia Romagna, and if I have time take autumn pictures at some Tuskany locations.

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

The Umbria & Marche locations I have visited and where pictures are available are:

Acqualagna
Acquaviva Picena
Ancona
Assisi
Ascoli Piceno
Castiglione del Lago
Citta di Castello
Civitella del Lago
Castelleone di Suasa
Fermo
Foligno
Gubbio
Isola Maggiore
Mondavio
Norcia
Numana
Loreto
Orvieto
Perugia
San Leo
Sassocorvaro
Sirolo
San Marino
Senigallia
Spello
Spoleto
Todi
Tuoro sul Trasimeno
Umbertide
Urbino

..short break

2009-08-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

I finally found some time to upload some Italian images, I had to take a short break and go back to Germany to fix my teeth and my car, and also escaped the high season and hot weather of more than 40 degrees. I look forward to a new start beginning of September. I will go back to Italy from September 5th. First I will go to Emilia-Romagnia and after that to Umbria. I have uploaded only a few images of Liguria so fare, I have finished Liguria but uploaded only a pictures of some of the locations like Genua, Noli, Portovenere and Rapallo, there are still plenty of images to process. After all I have to find some time to process all the images I took before the new tours start in 2010...

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

Here are the travel locations for the upcoming trip to Emilia-Romagna (Italy):

Piacenza	Reggio Emilia	Riccione
Busseto	Modena	Gatteo a Mare
Castell'Arquato	Carpi	Cervia
Fidenza	Nonantola	Ravenna
Parma	Vignola	Goro
Colorno	Bologna	Ferrara
Torrechiara	Forli
Canossa	San Marino

...on the way to Italy

2009-07-25T01:40:00.001-07:00

Just for info, I have uploaded some more images of Oxford and Cambridge, sorry I have been a bit lazy and its also not easy to get a decent Internet Connection down here. I have finished my England Trip with 2,5 month travel and nearly 10000 Miles...my car is getting pushed to the limits this Summer. I had a very pleasant trip, sometimes frustrating because of the bad weather, but I guess I can call it successful if the client is happy.

Now I am already in Menton at the Cote Azure in Southern France in the boiling Summer heat of the main season... I hope I have the chance to upload some new pictures soon once I have a little bit time.

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

...finally Summer has arrived

2009-07-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Finally the English Summer has arrived and I managed to finish Middle England despite quite a few rain breaks. Apparently they talking about a 'record summer' with the 'unbelievable' temperature of 28 Degree...well my friends in Singapore would call that a cool day I guess :)...
I have uploaded some more images of the Isle of Wight and some new ones of the Jurassic Coast , Warwick Castle, Oxford and Stratford upon Avon, Shakespeare's hometown. Again only a small amount of the pictures available have been uploaded. In the next entry I will publish my itinerary for the upcoming Italy trip (to make you jealous)

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Here the itinerary for the North England travel locations:

...change of plans (again)

2009-06-21T11:59:00.001-07:00

Well, Well...its amazing how quick plans change....I was looking forward to see Wales and finally get to see some mountains and beautiful landscapes, but now things have changed and after finishing North England in about a month, I will be traveling to Italy to continue the job I was doing in England.

I will travel along the Ligurian Coast across Emilia-Romagna to the Adriatic Sea, taking pictures of about 180 sightseeing spots. Looking forward to some nice (predictable) warm weather and a few days holiday afterward...

Ventimiglia	Genova
Alessio	Camogli
Bordighera	Santa Margherita Ligure
Apricale	Rapallo
Baiardo	Chiavari
San Remo	Moneglia
Imperia	Monterosso al Mare
Albenga	Manarola
Noli	Riomaggiore
Isola Palmaria	Portovenere

2009-06-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Finally I have finished the first part of my trip, driving along the South East coast of England, covering most of the well known beach resorts such as Brighton, Eastbourne , Bournemouth and Portsmouth before going over to the Isle of Wight. The Isle has been one of my favorite spots on this trip because of its laid back life style and beautiful landscapes. In particular the small town of Ventnor and Freshwater Bay were the nicest places I have seen so fare in the UK. Unfortunately so I didn't have the time to upload many of the pictures because of the deadlines I have to meet, and of course I had to use the rare good weather conditions down there...So stay tuned and wait for many more pictures to come.

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Here the list of locations for the upcoming trip through Middle England:

Aldeburgh	Derby	Norwich
Bakewell	Dudley	Nottingham
Belton	Easton, Grantham	Oakham
Belvoir	Edwinstowe	Peterborough
Birmingham	Ely	Ravenshead
Broadway	Exton, Oakham	Ross-on-Wye
Bury St Edmunds	Fountains	Shottery
Buxton	Hereford	Shrewsbury
Southwold	Ironbridge	Skegness
Cambridge	King's Lynn	Southend
Chatsworth	Leicester	St. Albans
Chelmsford	Lincoln	Stamford
Chesterfield	Ludham	Stoke-On-Trent
Colchester	Stratford-Upon-Avon
Coventry	Malvern	Warwick
Cromer	Matlock Bath	Woburn Worcester

2009-06-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ok I finally made it into the blogging world since its time to spread the word about the crazy travel time here in England, and and stay in touch with all my friends spread all over place. For those who dont know yet, I currently travelling through the greater parts of England and Wales shooting images for a Travel navigation system called Merian Scout Navigator. The trip covers about 150 cities and places, for anyone interested which places, they are published at my webpage http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/wwwtravelbildcom/about and some images can be seen already at my webpage www.travelbild.com .

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Travelbild Stock Photo Collection

The travel locations in South East England include:

Alum Bay	Fortuneswell	Sandown
Arundel	Freshwater	Seaford
Athelhampton	Gloucester	Singleton
Bournemouth	Guildford	Tintern
Brighton	Hastings	Ventnor
Canterbury	Lyndhurst	Wareham
Carisbrooke	Maidstone	West Lulworth
Chichester	Oxford	Whitstable
Chipping Campden	Poole	Wilton
Cirencester	Portland	Winchcombe
Dover	Portsmouth	Winchester
Eastbourne	Rochester	Wisley
Egham	Rye

I am trying hard to upload more images as I travel along, but its not always easy since McDonalds is not in every town.

Anyway, lets get the ball rolling and drop me a line if you like or search my images:

Alnwick	Hawkshead	Ripley
Beamish	Haworth	Scarborough
Berwick-upon-Tweed	Hexham	Seatoller
Beverley	Kendal	Selby
Buttermere	Keswick	Sheffield
Carlisle	Lancaster	Shipley
Chester	Leeds	Staindrop
Danby	Liverpool	Stanhope
Durham	Malham	Sunderland
Gateshead	Manchester	Wakefield
Grasmere	Middlesbrough	Whitby
Guisborough	Middleton-in-Teesdale	Windermere
Harewood	Newcastle upon Tyne
Harrogate