The old cargo sailing ship Rickmer Rickmers, moored at the Landungsbrücken in Hamburg Harbor, is always specially illuminated for Blue Port. The water around it also turns deep blue.
This perspective also allows the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in the background to come into effect.
I am very proud that one of my photos has been featured in the renowned German magazine GEO!
My photograph “Amrum – with the Odde in golden light” is featured on double page 96⁄97 of GEO Perspektive 2025 – An extremen Orten (GEO Perspective 2025 – In Extreme Places). It is part of the photo essay “Bühne frei für großes Drama” (Clear the stage for great drama) alongside other international photographers!
Back in May 2022, it was an exciting experience to climb into an ultralight aircraft with the side door removed so that I could take good photos from the plane. When I slipped into the harness and heard the pilot say: “Your left shoulder has to stay outside, otherwise you won’t be able to lean out!” my heart sank a little. The takeoff was smooth, but I still clung to the roll bar. After a while, the first motifs came into view, and I had completely forgotten that we were at an altitude of around 600 meters and could only see the islands and Hallig world below me.
If you would like to see more pictures of the flight over the Wadden Sea in addition to this one, you can view them here in the blog.
HHLA (pronounced HALA), Hamburg Hafen und Logistik AG, celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2025. This was one of the reasons why Blue Port lasted 10 days this year instead of just a long weekend. The company’s internal celebration took place at the Altona fishing port, opposite Athabaskakai.
Perhaps this is also why they installed the blue illuminated HHLA logo at Athabaskakai this year and also included the cranes at the Elbe quay in the illumination.
To see the blue-lit Köhlbrand Bridge, I drove to the Altonaer Balkon and the underlying Altonaer fish market. It is always nice to look down on the harbor from the high banks of Altona. The Köhlbrand Bridge spans the harbor area in a wide arc, visually stretching from the Köhlbrandhöft sewage treatment plant to the A7 highway, which can be seen running in an arc under the western ramp of the bridge.
Later, I went down to the fishing port and spent some time at the Dockland. Here, too, there is an interesting view of the Köhlbrand Bridge from beneath the office windows of the Dockland.
The last time I was in 2015 at the Blue Port in Hamburg, at the musical theaters on the south bank of the Elbe. I like the view of the Elbphilharmonie from here. At Blue Port, the Hanseatic Trade Center and the building at Kehrwiederspitze are also interestingly illuminated.
But this is also where the differences begin. In 2015, the Elphi was illuminated not only on the roof, but also at the level of the Plaza. Nevertheless, I like the garland of light like a crown on the building.
This year, not only was the Hanseatic Trade Center illuminated, but also the building at Kehrwiederspitze. Both buildings merge so interestingly from this angle!
The contrasting color of the lighting at Stricker’s Kehr Wieder Spitze restaurant in pink makes this view even more interesting.
Like a lighthouse, Hamburg’s Michel rises above the museum ship, the white swan of the South Atlantic. The ship itself is not illuminated in blue, but the tall ship Rickmer Rickmers downstream is illuminated in blue right up to the yards, and the elegant hull of the Cap San Diego shines in soft blue tones. The red stripe of the waterline provides a beautiful contrast.
The first buildings and ships were artificially lit up in blue, all the photographers were looking at the Elbphilharmonie, which was crowned with a blue wreath of lights, and I looked west to notice this amazing evening sky. What a gift from nature!