October 8, 2020

What it is like to speak with a corona denier?

I had the misfortune of meeting someone who believes in conspiracy theories. I knew she was critical about the corona media panic and skeptical about many government measures. To be honest I myself think that the mainstream media with it’s constant updating of infection numbers, personal tragedy stories and pictures of caskets and intensive care wards plays a significant role…

Categories Random Thoughts

October 5, 2020

The Book of Questions #3: Death, Regret and Honesty

If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with everyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet? The Book of Questions #3 by Gregory Stock, Ph.D. (1987) An absurd death scenario Again these are two questions at once. Let us for a moment ponder the absurdity of this…

Categories Book of Questions

October 2, 2020

My life in cameras: Part 4a Olympus PEN E-P1 and M.Zuiko 14-42mm F3.5 – F.5.6 (How I fell in love with mirrorless)

It has been seven years now with my trusted Canon EOS 20D and my little stable of lenses. At this point in 2011 I was working all day and did not really have the time to go on proper photo tours. I would rather just grab my camera whenever I left the house. You can guess that a few kilograms…

Categories Photography

September 30, 2020

Chock full of action and respect

Do you remember my post about the Canon EOS 20D and my first telezoom lens? I had a picture of what is called a brake shoe or chock. It was just there without much context. This is how a chock is actually used to secure train cars from moving down an incline. Sure the cars have brakes but those might…

Categories Photography/Society

September 28, 2020

My life in cameras 3d: Canon EOS 20D and Canon EF 28-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM

It was 2009 and I was earning real money. Time for a new lens. I was still very much into buying new stuff and heard about a thing called “image stabilization” which sounded like a great idea for someone like me who does not like carrying tripods. So I bought the Canon EF 28-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM lens which was…

Categories Photography

September 26, 2020

Dating and Politics

Let me tell you a story. I was once a member of an online polyamorous dating group. I will not say where and which one. I don’t want to be petty. There was a question that asked if a potential partner would need to have the same political views. Most gave a very enthusiastic yes. In fact they also made…

Categories Society/Thoughts about myself

September 24, 2020

My life in cameras 3c: Canon EOS 20D and Canon EF 50mm F1.8

I was really happy with my Canon EOS 20D and reviewing my images I saw that I was drawn to what is called available light photography. In short it means using only the light sources that are already in the scene and this mostly under difficult or low light. Prime examples are candids, concerts indoors (like old churches) or evening…

Categories Photography

September 22, 2020

Empty Playgrounds and Gentrification

Would you let your child play here? Would your child want to play here? I am sure both questions have to be answered with a no. This is a playground in East Berlin. There used to be some playground equipment from before Reunification but under the new West German regulations it was deemed unsafe. On the other hand the city…

Categories Economics/Photography/Urbanism

September 20, 2020

The Book of Questions #2: Ghosts and Evil Spirits

This is an ongoing series in which I answer every question from “The Book of Questions” by Gregory Stock. Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits? Would you be willing to spend a night alone in a remote house that is supposedly haunted? Stock, Gregory: The Book of Questions 1987 Now these are actually two questions so let’s start…

Categories Book of Questions/Philosophy/Psychology

September 18, 2020

What is “thedullchannel” and why is it dull?

This blog is mostly about photography but also about some thoughts of mine. In fact I don’t just want to share pictures but tell a small story, some facts or backgrounds or raise questions. So why is this site called “thedullchannel”? I could have called it [name]photos.com or something similar. But this seemed boring to me. It would sound like…

Categories Thoughts about myself