AUGUST 2004 – The setting sun dips the harbour of Damp in Germany into warm light on a calm summer day. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
This image is from our sailing trip across the Baltic Sea in 2004. We stopped for a night in the yacht harbor of Damp. The sunset had begun already, casting long shadows and dipping the harbor in a beautiful warm light. We had just arrived and explored the surroundings.
Now, as beautiful as this image is, you may wonder why I did not capture the sunset with the sun in the frame? Well, there’s a very simple reason: the counter shot, with the sun in the frame, is as ugly as hell. A group of high-rise buildings that somehow contradicts the sentiment of this image.
Back in the 1960s the planning for a huge vacation village had begun, codename Damp 2000. I remember the talk and excitement of these plans very well from my childhood. A community name with a number in it? That sounded soo futuristic, so out-of-the-worldish, that I asked my parents more than once to visit the place. We never spent more than a few hours there, and today I can understand why: it has always been an ugly concrete hell with massive high rise buildings that have been planted into the beautiful coast of the Baltic Sea. Something to counter the competition from the Spanish coast. Not good.
At some point in time, the village dropped its futuristic name and replaced it with the more neutral “Ostsee Resort Damp” (of course, the futuristic name would have lost its appeal anyhow once the year 2000 had arrived.) Having said that, the beaches are still worth a visit, and if you don’t mind the high-rise buildings, it may be worth a consideration for a summer vacation.
The harbor, however, is perfect for a night or two. Especially when dipped into the light of the setting sun.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | 08-AUG-2004, 19:59 |
| Location | Damp, Germany |
| Camera | Sony DSC-P72 |
| Lens | Built-in |
| ISO | 100 |
| Exposure | 1/500 sec at f/4.5 |
| Digital Image Source Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 2048 x 1536 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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