As a photographer returning to my birthplace, my trek across Germany’s back roads during the early harvest season is less of a standard vacation and more of a high-stakes game of "dodge the tractor." I am bypassing the usual tourist traps to capture the real countryside - tiny hamlets where the most exciting local event is a parking violation, and wide-open landscapes so quiet you will wonder if the cows are on a meditation retreat. Armed with my camera gear and zero sense of direction, I am spending my days chasing the perfect light across bumpy rural lanes, all while trying to survive historic cobblestone streets that have been actively plotting the downfall of ankles since the 1400s.

Udo