Out of all the cafes I have hung out in over the years, I consider the Zoo Bar to be one of the finest. The elegant simplicity of its interior design, its location next to the Stadtkirche of Darmstadt, the small square it faces (an oasis of tranquility in the busy city center), the great coffee (double espresso in my case), its very attentive staff — all these elements elevate it above the norm.

Although it is hardly obvious from the images themselves, these photos were taken at a railroad siding close to where I live in Darmstadt. I have included them here because their subjects represent many of the things that attract me when I have a camera in my hand.

I started taking photographs in mid-august 2008. Sometime after that I came across the beautifully iridescent blue petal in the photograph above. No flower or flowers, just this lone petal on a bed of green. The photo remains one of my favorites. Fast forward to late spring of 2009. I’m in the same area where I took the photo of the petal and lo and behold there was the type of flower from which this lone petal had come, the photographs of which are included here.