although it is already past beginning of October, the days are still hot and the nights are warm. Here in the ‘South’ we have not seen much rain, whereas in previous years we at least had already had some sharp showers that brought some fresh air, cleaned the dust of the summer away, and dropped the temperatures a bit. This year, the beginning of autumn, the calendarium autumn at least was marked by a five day dust storm that crept upon the country from the eastern deserts of Arabia. In engulfed the area with dust, choking heat and low visibility for five days, endangering lives of people, especially the elderly, including 12 deaths in total. Like so many things that creep up from the eastern deserts, nothing good. Is the weather a forebode of what is coming from that direction?

"Tyre Corniche at night"

The heat is still on in the country about the unresolved problems of trash, electricity, water, president, accountability - list ongoing and changing often and daily. Beirut has become a hub of demonstrations in the city centre, hampering the economic progress and prosperity of that area, at least that is what the shopkeepers and business people are claiming. But on the other hand, a movement seems to have taken roots that is bend on enforcing change to the political as well as social system and fabric in this country, with the momentum still going and one will have to see how good their stamina is going to be. Anyway it is up to the citizens of each country to determine the way they will be going and how they will do it. The potential however for much more than the simple demonstrations with the occasional violence is all to present.

"only the rats are left..."

Back home in Germany, no more heat but pleasant weather with sun and some rain. It was a short visit, birthday of my dad and then some R&R with him on the Baltic sea coast in the parts what was the former East Germany. A very nice place and from my side highly recommended for visiting. Photography wise, I only took the x100s with the 50mm extension, which, I think did not use once during the whole trip. The 35mm lens was just fine, for what I intended to photograph, sort of documentary photography, it served the purpose very well. I also found that for the real casual photo and documentary, the Samsung S6 phone is ok, although mostly in good light only. As long as the print size remains ‘normal’ or on a screen it is fine. In order to distinguish those photos from my others, I use the square format. Together with the Snapseed application, I found that it is possible to produce some interesting images.

"Let's go to the beach" Beirut-Rue Hamra

Being back now in the Levante and in the office, whatever R&R effect might have been there as evaporated as quickly as water on a salt pan. Like I said, still too hot and sultry for my taste, not helping me to gain inspiration for any projects lately. Another trip to Dubai might be on the horizon in November when we have a long weekend, but so far it is only in the planning stage.

"Born to ride" - Rue Hamra, Beirut

When thinking of the cameras I own and use most, I must say that probably the most versatile is the Canon G10 and previously the G5. It is sturdy, has a nice range of zoom from 28 to 140mm, 14 MP and overall for me the results are very pleasing. The size is great, the lens retracts into the body and one can slip it into a jacket pocket easily without feeling disturbed too much or really at all. It definitely is the camera to carry if you do not want to carry a camera. Of course by now it is nearly six years old, bought it in NYC in December 2008, but it is working like a charm. It is the camera I have taken my most photos with so far, I guess do to the fact that I carry it nearly everywhere and it delivers the results desired. Yes ok, the sensor is not MFT or even bigger, but honestly, so far I have not seen for the work I do a major disadvantage in this. As I said, considering the overall use, durability, portability and it is the camera that has served me best so far. I think for anyone looking for a new versatile all-round camera I would recommend the latest G series model from Canon, the G 16 which is a further improvement over the older models.

" Got any breakfast?" (Canon G-10)

Also, my experience with the OMD 5 from Olympus and the x100s is great and I am very happy using them, the G10 is indeed the camera I carry if I actually don’t have any special project in mind and just want to walk around or are not planning to take any photos. Great stuff. Still working on the ‘Rue Hamra’ project, although lately I have been a bit lax with all the ongoing protests in Beirut and the garbage issue, especially if one never knows when and if the road to the south is or will be blocked. And in this country that's it, the coastal Highway or road is blocked, every movement becomes very difficult as the these roads are the main arteries in the country. Any detour, if possible, will take a long time and effort, taking into consideration if even possible for security reasons. Today we received the first rain after some three months of sunshine, humid and hot weather. The morning started with a thunderstorm, one of the those distant ones, slow rolling thunder and lightnings in the distant, accompanied with some rain that was heavy at parts but did not last for long. It was heavy enough so that water puddles accumulated on the roads, making then slippery leading to what else, road accidents, the same as every year. The grit of the summer on the road, mixed with the rain makes them slippery like ice. The temperature did not really drop much, it just became humid after the rain. Hopefully this will ring in the autumn now, enough of the heat. So much for now, until the next time. Bye.

"Northern Light - fading blue hours" Baltic Sea coast (Fuji X100s)