Peter Thoeny

@peterthoeny.bsky.social

2591 Followers 999 Following

Photographer, tech exec, serial entrepreneur, innovator, consultant, software architect, open source BDFL, rocketeer

---+ In anticipation Last month we spent a week vacation in Okinawa. I took this reflection shot at the Ishikagi Airport. I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a JPG exposure, blended them, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, added some vignetting, and desaturated the image. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments. -- HDR prints - http://bit.ly/qualityHDR -- Photos look better on Flickr - see large format at http://bit.ly/qHDR -- ƒ/1.6, 26 mm, 1/120 sec, ISO 32, iPhone 15 Plus, HDR, 1 JPG exposure, IMG_1026_hdrj1bal1pho1-bw.jpg -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2026 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Gen-AI Vibe #12: The One-Person Powerhouse I am one person. With AI agents, I produce like a team of 7 to 8 software engineers. That is not a boast. It's the new baseline, and it changes what a single person or a tiny team can build. Right now I am testing that idea in practice. Together with my son I am building a new product, a mind-map application called BubbleMap, with almost no resources. Where I am weak (marketing, business development) I get a helping hand from the AI. The barrier to starting something has collapsed. But the breathless version of this story is wrong. The barrier to starting has collapsed; the barrier to winning has not. In my latest article I dig into the divide a VC acquaintance put well: companies that use AI to improve the existing model versus companies that rebuild the model around AI. The real bottleneck is not technology, or even resources. It is mindset. Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4eqtxPW
In the near future: Open the door Hal! I am sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. Cartoon by Horsey, The Seattle Times
Distorted cat face through a full glass of water
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS ANOTHER TIME WHEN SCIENCE WASN'T TAKEN SERIOUSLY AND RELIGION RULED THE WORLD. WE CALLED IT THE DARK AGES.
Taste the Magic Where Redwoods Witness Forever Promises We recently attended a friend's wedding in Saratoga, California. The celebration took place at a magical place in the forest. We were surrounded by redwood trees that were decorated in a gazillion lights, perfect for a bokeh shot with the wedding cake. -- ƒ/0.95, 50 mm, 1/250 sec, ISO 400, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Earlier this year my son Alexis spent 3 months in a fellowship at DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that was the birthplace of ARPANET in 1969, which became the Internet. Here is a key lesson he learned: "Everyone runs as fast as they can at DARPA. From program managers to contractors to IT support, everything is focused and moves with urgency." This resonates a lot with me. I work from tiny startups to large organizations. Startups are able to compete with much bigger organizations precisely because of this. By operating wth a sense of urgency you can move much faster. Take risks, fail fast, improve fast, and if you need, pivot. - Naval Postgraduate School article: https://bit.ly/4lya9ka - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) call for participation: https://bit.ly/4mDQmkZ - Video interview: https://bit.ly/3V5LHMg
Karl is Visiting Us Again San Francisco has a lot of fog in summer, typically creeping in from the sea. I intended to show visitors from Switzerland the San Francisco skyline from Grizzly Peak, a hill above Berkeley, California. Usually you get a nice view from above over San Francisco, the bay, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate. When we arrived after dinner we only could see a few feet. Karl the fog was back. On the way back to the city we stopped at Treasure Island, where we finally had a clear view of the San Francisco skyline. The taller buildings disappeared in the low hanging clouds and fog. -- ƒ/6.3, 150 mm, 1/15, 1/4, 1 sec, ISO 800, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
---+ From Cosmic Event to Biker Hangout I went to a business meetup organized by the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco. On that day Earth was subjected to strong solar winds, which caused auroras way into the continental USA. After the event I drove along the Skyline Boulevard, a road that follows the ridge of the hills that separate the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. After taking some shots of the aurora, I drove home and stopped by Alice's restaurant on the Skyline Boulevard, a popular hangout for motor cyclists in daytime. -- ƒ/4.0, 50 mm, 0.3, 4, 10, 30 sec, ISO 200, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
Me: "Good, it works now. Time to sleep." AI agent: "Glad to hear it’s all working and looking good now! 😄 Have a great night and restful sleep. If you need more help or want to add features in the future, just reach out." I am using agentive AI every day now to write code. In fact the AI is writing the code for me. This app I am working on is 99% written by AI. This is the next evolution compared to a simple chat box interface like ChatGPT. I can describe what I need at a high level, and the AI agent creates files, modifies files, debugs code, writes a test framework with all tests, and executes commands for me. The AI agent is like a knowledgeable full stack developer who is eager to help. Welcome to the future!
Celebrating Swiss Independence Day Swiss Independence Day is coming up on first of August. The Swiss community living in the San Francisco Bay Area will celebrate the occasion at the Swiss Park in Newark, California, on Sunday, August 2nd. Would you like to join? This candid people shot is from last year's event. -- ƒ/0.95, 50 mm, 1/1000 sec, ISO 100, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
---+ Witness Transylvania's Most Reliable News Source During our Transylvania, Romania journey, we stayed at a hotel in Valea Drăganului. At breakfast, we met a Canadian woman who had grown up in the area and returned for a visit. She graciously offered to connect me with an elderly man living in the village for documentary photography. Unfortunately, the gentleman was unwell that day, so our plans didn't materialize. Instead, we strolled through the village streets while the Canadian woman explained that elderly residents enjoy sitting on benches to observe daily life and socialize. We met a spirited 90-year-old grandma dressed in black robes who was quite talkative and amusing. Thankfully, our Canadian acquaintance served as a translator. -- ƒ/4.0, 135 mm, 1/250 sec, ISO 125, Sony A7 II, Pentax Super Takumar 135mm f/2.5, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
Journey Through Time in Transylvania On our trip through Transylvania, Romania, we stayed at a B&B in Miercurea Ciuc. We explored nearby villages. It was raining when we passed a horse carriage in the small village of Nădejdea. They are still in use in the countryside. -- ƒ/7.1, 24 mm, 1/500, 1/2000, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1600, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
---+ The Underground Lake That Outshines Dracula's Castle During a week-long car tour of Transylvania, Romania in May, we visited Salina Turda, the historic Turda Salt Mine that operated from the 13th century until 1932 before reopening as a tourist attraction in 1992. At its deepest level, 26 floors underground, lies a subterranean lake. It was a wonderful experience to row across this dimly lit lake. I captured this image using a fisheye lens and combined two exposures to achieve an even more expansive perspective. -- ƒ/4.0, 12 mm, 1/30 sec, ISO 6400, Sony A7 II, Rokinon 12mm F2.8, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
Feel the Bass That Makes Green Screens Vibrate I attended an art gathering on Saturday evening at Nicholaus James Dalton's industrial building near downtown San Jose, California, where he provides studio space for artists. Nicholas was unveiling the new LionHouse Productions Studio, which will be a space for filming using green screen for music videos and movies/films. DJ music and reggae dance performances provided entertainment for the guests. -- ƒ/4.0, 50 mm, 1/15 sec, ISO 800, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
Chicano Pride Meets Chrome and Dreams I attended an art gathering on Saturday evening at Nicholaus James Dalton's industrial building near downtown San Jose, California, where he provides studio space for artists. Many of the artists belong to the Chicano community. Two lowriders made an appearance at the event. This car culture is deeply rooted in Chicano/Latino communities, particularly in California, and has been an important part of Mexican-American cultural expression since the 1940s-50s. The hydraulic systems allow the cars to bounce and hop. A proud owner poses for me at his vintage Buick Regal lowrider. -- ƒ/4.0, 50 mm, 1/50, 1/200 sec, ISO 400, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
Diamond, Granite Rocks, and Half Dome A photographer friend and I went on a road trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains to photograph the Stone Columns at Crowley Lake near Mammoth Lakes. The following day we returned via Tioga Pass through Yosemite National Park. This is the highest highway pass in California at an elevation of 9,945 ft (3,031 m). We stopped at Olmsted Point, which offers views of Yosemite's iconic Half Dome. I scaled a nearby rock formation to capture this diamond-shaped composition featuring the granite landscape with Half Dome in the background. -- ƒ/6.3, 125 mm, 1/800, 1/1250, 1/3200, 1/4000 sec, ISO 400, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
A Journey of 1000 Performances The Takumi Kato family is back in town, visiting from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dad is a world-champion Taiko drummer from Japan. They plan to tour all 50 States and do 1000 performances. What an uplifting experience for the kids to travel and be on stage! This time they performed at the Japanese Art & Cultural Center in San Jose. Unexpectedly, they asked me to be the MC, which I happily accepted. It was their 498th performance. -- ƒ/6.3, 49 mm, 1/50 sec, ISO 1600, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC2601_2_3_hdr3bal1pai5rea1e.jpg -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Mister, Catch Me If You Can A friend came visiting from Mexico. We drove over the Sonora Pass, a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada in California. On the other side of the mountain we stopped for coffee in Bridgeport. I noticed a barn next door with an oversized flag. A man waved at me when I took a photo. I hopped over the fence to talk to the person, who happens to be the owner of this place -- a wedding venue. He said it's fully booked on weekends in summer. -- ƒ/8.0, 22 mm, 1/400, 1/1600, 1/4000 sec, ISO 320, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Dance of the Giants We went to a small art exhibition in Vallejo, California, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. We invited our friend Jerry Downs for dinner at an Italian restaurant. After that he showed us around the historical Mare Island Naval Shipyard at night. What a delight! -- ƒ/4.0, 12 mm, 2, 6, 20 sec, ISO 800, Sony A7 II, Rokinon 12mm F2.8, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2023 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
Where an Ancient Explosion Becomes Modern Art Photographer friend Armando and I went on a road trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains, with the goal to take photos of the Stone Columns at Crowley Lake near Mammoth Lakes. The columns look man-made, like designed by Antoni Gaudí. However they are a natural wonder. Crowley Lake was buried and hidden for ages under the tons of pumice and volcanic ash from a cataclysmic explosion 760,000 years ago. The columns were created by the melting snow seeping down into the hot volcanic ash. As the water boiled, it created evenly spaced convection cells similar to vertical heat pipes. These pipes were cemented into place by minerals, which were able to resist the erosion of the surrounding forces such as wind and strong waves. We waited until nigh fall. Armando operated my camera with Dream Lens. I took off shoes and socks, and waded in the dark with a strong LED light. I illuminated the columns from behind to give the scene a mysterious look. -- ƒ/8.0, 50 mm, 1/15, 0.3, 1, 4, 6, 8, 15, 30 sec, ISO 100, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Follow the Path That Makes Every Car Feel Like a Sports Car A photographer friend and I went on a road trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains, with the goal to take photos of the Stone Columns at Crowley Lake near Mammoth Lakes. The next day we drove on the June Lake Loop. I noticed some nice S-curves in the road, which I captured here with a long lens. -- ƒ/6.3, 160 mm, 1/500, 1/2000, 1/4000 sec, ISO 400, Sony A6400, SEL-55210, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
Rain Can't Dampen Transylvanian Spirit On our trip through Transylvania, Romania, we stayed at a B&B in Miercurea Ciuc. We explored nearby villages. It was raining at Văcărești just as the school was out, and the kids were waiting for the school bus. I could not verbally communicate with the kids, but there is no need to. They say a stranger with a camera, I encouraged them to have some fun. There you go! -- ƒ/7.1, 16 mm, 1/500 sec, ISO 800, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography
Descend Into Transylvania's Secluded Underground Gallery On our trip through Transylvania, Romania, we stayed one night at a Bed & Breakfast in Galonya. We were introduced through a mutual friend to owner Nagy Kemény Géza. The next day tour guide Robert showed us the nearby Kemény Castle, owned by Géza. The castle was built in Hungarian Renaissance style using the remains of a Roman fortification. The tour was very informative, we learned a lot about its history. This is the cellar, which serves as an exhibition space. -- ƒ/7.1, 16 mm, 1/15, 1/4, 1 sec, ISO 400, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography