Alaaf! In my series on German traditions I cannot possibly overlook Cologne Carnival. The Brazilian one might be the best-known celebration worldwide, but carnival in the Rhineland is legendary. Party people from all over Germany (and increasingly our European neighbours are making an appearance, too) gather in Cologne to celebrate the foolish season. Crazy costumes, fancy parades and the happiest crowd of people - it's an event not to be missed. And a perfect stomping ground for your very own photo safari!


 
Today, the 11th of November, is the official kick-off for this 'festive and foolish' season: at 11.11h on the dot the new season is declared open. But the real heydays, the Street carnival, also called "the crazy days", take place between Thursday (Women's Carnival Day) before Rose Monday and ends on Ash Wednesday. For a full program please visit www.koelnerkarneval.de



But of course Carnival is not only celebrated in Cologne - all over Germany people are dressing up for regional festivities. In parts of East and South Germany the carnival is called "Fasching", whereas in some other parts it is called "Fastnacht". In the region around Dresden, where I come from, Fasching is one of the biggest festivities of the year, too. Several cities such as Koenigsbrueck or Radeburg have their own carnival clubs that organize big carnival parades on carnival Saturday right before Rose Monday with a special theme each year. Here you can see some photos of the Koenigsbrueck parade February 21st 2009.



My brother Hendrik and his friends celebrating carnival

It's worth joining one of the committees just for the jolly planning process alone - some people like my brother are thinking about their yearly costume months in advance, and some of these hilarious creations definitely deserve to be photographed and shared with the world. Numerous groups on Facebook also document the funny season.



Now, here are some final facts and funny figures to get you in the party mood:

• Business men visiting Germany on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday beware, "wild" women roam the streets in places, cutting men's ties wherever they get hold of them. Also, as a tradition, women are allowed to kiss every man who passes their way...
• Everyone with a sweet tooth: Rejoice! Every year more than 300 tons of sweets (700.000 chocolate bars!) are thrown into the audience.
• Almost every town has a special carnival cry, the most famous being Alaaf! (Cologne) and Helau! (Dusseldorf and Mainz).

Keep a lookout for special Kodak activities to capture the foolish season!

This summer we spent a day at Watkins Glen State Park, about an hour away from Rochester, in the heart of the New York State Finger Lakes.

Watkins Glen is well known to car racing enthusiasts, and nearby Ithaca is well known as the home of Cornell University and Ithaca College.  But did you know the area is also well known for gorges and waterfalls?

The gorge was once visited by Native Americans, and became the site of a mill. In the late 1800s, there was a well known tourist resort known with an impressive hotel.  It's long gone, and was converted to a state park in 1906. Through the early 1900s, walkways, bridges and tunnels were created so you can walk the length of the one and a half mile (2KM) gorge. The walkways and many of the bridges are made of beautiful stone masonry.



It was a cloudy day, with light rain on and off.  I had a hard time deciding if I would carry my new Kodak Z1015 camera.  I'm glad I decided to take it.  Even though there was almost no sunshine, this camera seems to do a great job showing off the landscape.  I captured great contracts of light and shadow, and the greens of the ferns and trees popped nicely against the stone and water.

Here's my daughter Julia climbing one of the main tiers of stairs cut into the sides of the gorge.



Here's another stair during a moment when the sun tried to peek through the clouds.



It took millions of years for the water to cut the gorge out of a somewhat flat land above. Now, wind and rain continue the work, eroding the loose shale rock.  

Since it was raining, we were able to see this in action.  This is a beautiful "curtain waterfall" that comes over the ledge above and falls in two perfect tiers.



 While you peer over the edge and the rushing water, listen for falling rocks from above!  We saw some rock fall on the trail ahead of us once during the walk.

I love the light and shadow contrasts in this picture:



There were plenty of other photography subjects Flowers, birds, and this little guy.



A little more than half way you reach this rewarding place, with a rushing waterfall crossed by a pretty stone bridge.



The water flows into Cayuga Lake, one of the "Finger Lakes" that grace western New York State. Although we took a picnic lunch, the nearby villages are full of country inns, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and county shops. I think I need to spend more weekends out with the new camera!
 

Steve Kelly
Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA West

Steve tell us, "the desert courses out west are beautiful, where else do the mountains come right up to the fairways?" He captured this shot early in the morning when the light was low which allowed for the definition of the mountains which, in midday sun, would look flat.  This pic as shot with a telephoto lens that allowed the mountains to look closer.



Brian Wilder
Hole #16 at FBR Open

This photo was taken during Brian's first trip up into the Blimp.





Steve Kelly
Hole #18 at Pebble Beach

Steve tells us that hole #18 is the most beautiful of all he's photographed. This picture, where the players are at a distance, allows for the landscape shot to capture the beauty and the action of the event. 



Brian Wilder
Fans line one of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes.

This photo captures another key element of the Kodak Challenge - the fans. 

Read more about the Kodak Challenge and this week's finale.

This week is the finale of the Kodak Challenge, where a winner will be crowned on hole #17 at Disney's Magnolia Course at Children's Miracle Network Classic.  From the start at the Mercedes-Benz Classic, through 29 of the most beautiful holes and memorable moments in golf, players have carded scores hoping that their best 18 will be enough to win the $1M prize and the historic title of the very first Kodak Challenge winner.

With the Viking Classic cancelled, Kevin Streelman goes into the finale with a very strong 2-stroke lead, looking likely to be that winner.  Hole #17 on Disney's Magnolia golf course hasn't seen an eagle in years, so there's a very good chance Kevin will be the one grasping the spectacular Kodak Challenge trophy, designed by Tiffany.  The trophy won't be revealed until the winner is crowned - and will have a special added "Kodak" touch - but here's a sneak peek:



Kevin has had some very memorable moments this year, most recently with a dramatic a 41 foot putt for eagle on hole #16 at TPC Summerlin at the Justin Timberlake Shriner's Hospitals for Children Open.  That eagle allowed him to retake the Kodak Challenge lead from J.J. Henry, who had eagled #16 during round 2 to tie Streelman at 14-under-par.   Earlier in the week, Kevin had stopped by the Kodak Fan Photo Zone to visit with fans.  Check out the interview with Kevin from the booth.  Since then, Kevin extended his lead at Frys.com Open.




Hole #17 at Disney is a very difficult Par 4.  I had the opportunity to walk the hole earlier this year, so here is a little video overview of the hole:


Along with the finale action at CMN, Kodak will have a Kodak Fan Photo Zone on Hole #17 where fans can get free souvenir pictures.

Back at home, be sure to tune in to the action on Golf Channel, where fans can play the Photo Challenge and Text-to-win for chances to win great prizes from Kodak, Disney and Golf Channel.



Visit the website, fan us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter to stay up on all the action.

• KodakChallenge.com
• Kodak Challenge Fan Page on Facebook
• @KodakChallenge Twitter
• PGATOUR.com Kodak Challenge Arena
• Kodak Challenge Fantasy Pick'em Game
• Golf Channel Photo Challenge
  

Last week even more great features were added to the new Kodak Gallery!

- Big Beautiful Full Screen Slideshow
- Facebook Sharing - cool!!!
- New photobooks and a new way to make them

Check out this blog post over on Plugged In to get the scoop on these new features.

Thanks Man is still working hard giving out a million free $15 gifts in 21 days as a thank you for everyone's help in making the Kodak Gallery better.

Here is the latest chronicle of his progress.



We have been amazed at the outpouring of love for Thank Man. We have seen comments on YouTube such as...

"Thanksman for president!!!"

and

"Thanksman is my hero!"

The hard working Thanks Man is nearing the end of his mission, so you better hurry to get your free photo gift from the Kodak Gallery.