My favorite Photos and how they happened
WELCOME TO MY FAVORITE PICTURES & STORIES
Welcome to my favorite black and white photography! I am sometimes surprised by which pictures I shot people like most. Besides some technical parameters and some general esthetic rules that need to be considered, there is no guarantee that a picture emanates a more profound meaning or emotion and is considered to be a “good” photo. In this series, I like to showcase some of my favorite pictures.
Because I love authentic photography, I like to present all of my photos here were created in spontaneous situations. That always includes an inevitable subluminal imperfection, which ensures the beholder with his assumption that the position he is observing is not staged. Ideally, it seems like every subject on the picture is unaware of the camera at all. Some of those here showcased photos might seem tedious at first glance. That’s why I like to include the background story behind each black and white image, which might reveal the emotional charge those pictures have for me.
STREET KIDS IN BANGUI, CAR
STREET LIFE IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
In 2015, I was still working for the Physis Foundation, which included a project in the Central African Republic. Filming and taking pictures in this country is a tremendous challenge.
TAKING PHOTOS IN C.A.R. IS A CHALLENGE
First of all, you need special permission to take pictures at all. As a white person, you are always the center of attention, and making authentic photos where the camera is not changing the behavior of the people involved is almost impossible. This one evening, I was roaming through Bangui, I had a hoard of people following me. I even included some of the street kids who were carrying my tripod while I was praying they won’t run away with it.
One of my favorite black and white shots is the photo of these two boys loitering in front of one of the city’s few gas stations. While everyone else seemed to be pretty shy regarding the idea being portraited, those kids just came to me pretty self-confident, demanded to be photographed, and were striking poses like professionals.
Panasonic GH2 | 50mm Canon LF Lense | F1.4 | 1/1000 | ISO 800
A RANDOM SHOT OF A LOVER
ANTJE ROAMING THE STREETS OF VENICE, ITALY
Here is one of my favorite black and white photographs. May I introduce you to one of my best friends and ex-partners of mine. She is hard to come by when it comes to photography.
The photo above is one of the many shots I took during our Italy’s vacation with my back then-lover. Antje never felt too much confidence in front of a camera. So it took me a couple of days till she accepted me running in front of her like a Paparazzi without showing any resistance.
GET THE MODEL TO BECOME RELAXED
In this rare moment, I had her relaxed and blending out the fact the camera is pointed at her. In the end, this photo became one of the iconic pictures of our holiday in Italy. It’s a lovely memory of our 4-year relationship as a couple.
What I like about this photo is the attitude she is expressing at this moment. She emanates self-confidence and self-awareness. It seems like she is getting all the attention of men on the streets, and she is aware of the fact without giving it too much importance. This picture could be the cover shot of a random fashion magazine, in my opinion.
Panasonic GH2 | 25mm NOKTON Lense | F1.2 | 1/2000 | ISO 200
MY BELOVED PASTA MONSTERS
JASMINE AND AMELIE IN MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND
Oh, how I love this b/w photo! It might be my favorite pictures of all. Between 2014 and 2016, I was living with friends in Montreux, Switzerland. During this time, I regularly took responsibility for their two girls named Jasmine and Amelie. At least twice a week, I picked them up from school and cooked them something delicious for lunch.
The girls preferred the simple meals. It was never appreciated to prepare something fancy where the kids could not identify the ingredients anymore. For this reason, pasta with just a little bit of pesto or, in this case, some cream was an excellent solution to satisfy them.
COOKING AND SHOOTING PHOTOS
As a photographer that likes to document my daily life, I always tried to keep my camera close around me, ready to grab and shoot. In this case, it worked out perfectly. Sneaky like a Ninja, I was able to take a photo without the girls even realizing it. So this picture became an iconic moment portraying my daily life during this period. The feeling toward the girls was as if they were my kids. Today this picture still reminds me of the beautiful bond we once shared.
Panasonic GH2 | 25mm NOKTON Lense | F0.95 | 1/80 | ISO 800
CALIFORNIA DREAMING, MALIBU
PHOTO ROAD TRIP ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST
Somehow, I managed to find the perfect spot to park my motorhome just behind Malibu beach’s fancy houses. For a couple of days, I was living next to Hollywood stars and celebrities. This beachfront is the place were series like “Two And A Half Men” were produced. So imagine how surreal this scenery appeared to me.
One of those evenings, a massive cloud formation was closing in, which created fascinating color effects during sundown. Nevertheless, this very picture is B/W. It still showcases some excellent contrast elements. This photo is a beautiful remembrance of a unique road trip. You can see even more pictures I shot during this period of my California journey in my Road Trip Photo Blog section on this website.
Panasonic GH4 | 24mm Canon Lense | F2.8 | 1/1000 | ISO 300
BLACK AND WHITE SUNSET
RANDOM PHOTO OF BERRY IN OTIS, OR
During my stay in Oregon, I was documenting many daily life situations. I made a whole series of my friend Berry working in his gardening service or playing with his band “JaSkaMon.” Still, this very picture is iconic to me and my time in Oregon. I took this photo almost at the very end of my visit, so my friends were already used to the situation where I continuously point my camera.
Because of that, Berry gave absolutely no attention to the camera. I guess he even expected me to take a picture of the sundown, but instead, I focused on him and took this picture of a man meaningfully starring in the sunset.
Panasonic GH2 | 25mm NOKTON Lense | F1.1 | 1/80 | ISO 800
A BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
MEETING BETWEEN NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA
Here is another top member of my favorite black and white pictures. In 2016 I met a friend at Lake Tahoe in Nevada. Before we separated, he asked me if I ever picked up a hitch-hiker along my road trip through the U.S.A. I replied that I never had the chance to do so, but I would not mind in general.
This question was like a preparation for what would happen soon after. Only a few miles in front of the border to California, I spotted a friendly-looking guy beside a long straight of the road right in the middle of nowhere. It was perfect for stopping and picking him up.
TEMPORARY FRIENDS
I told him about the synchronicity that just happened and that my friend I just departed from is appropriately the reason why he is sitting in my car. This confrontation immediately triggered a long and intense conversation, which lasted for the next 5 hours. When our paths split, we gave each other honest hug as old friends do.
The camera took a photo of us, you can see above. I had placed it on the dashboard to capture a time-lapse recording. We shared my pizza from last night’s dinner, and my companion rolled us cigarettes. This encounter resonated very deep inside of me. It felt like I just had met an old friend from a past life. This very photo is the only documentation of this beautiful moment in space and time.
Panasonic GH4 | 24mm Canon Lense | F16 | 1/25 | ISO 100
Girl in Guerrero Negro
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY IN GUERRERO NEGRO, B.C.
In late 2016, I am in the middle of a road trip with my friend Jens. We are southbound to the tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico when his tooth started to hurt. So, we stopped in Guerrero Negro, a small town in the middle of the desert, to find a dentist.
After Jens got his tooth pulled, we decided to stay until he could fully recover. The next morning was a big surprise because it was an important day in Mexico to celebrate the revolution for independence. The whole city was on its feet. I grabbed my camera and took literary thousands of photos. One particular shot that I immediately started to like most was a random picture of a small girl looking out of a car.
ICONIC SHOT OF GRUMPY CHILD
Even though this photo looks a little bit offensive because of the grumpy look on the girl’s face, it became an iconic balck and white image of my road trip down the Baja California. I can’t even say why I like this photo so much – maybe the answer lies in the dark eyes of the grimly child.
Panasonic GH4 | 24mm Canon Lense | F2.8 | 1/2000 | ISO 200
SURFER DUDES AT “THE WALL”
PHOTOGRAPHY OF BAJA BEACH COMMUNITY
Finding new friends and travel mates has been pretty comfortable there. After we left “The Wall,” we formed a pack of six people. Two guys came just came north from San Diego. Two other boys we took along traveled from New Zealand to surf the Baja California. This constellation lasted for more than two months, and what an excellent time we had together.
FAR FROM PERFECT B/W PHOTO
One of the moments this bond was formed happened at a spontaneous gathering at the beach. We enjoyed the sundown together. This evening at “The Wall “was unique, and I took a couple of photos. The one black and white picture you see above is far from technically perfect. I couldn’t even correctly decide where to focus on, but it perfectly portrays the situation with a wiggling dog tail photobombing the scene.
Panasonic GH4 | 24mm Canon Lense | F1.8 | 1/80 | ISO 200
HIPPIES AT REID’S FARM
PHOTO OF THE COMMUNITY TAUPO, NEW ZEALAND
What a time that was! Undoubtedly one of my favorite black and white pictures. On Reid’s farm was a free camping site close to Lake Taupo in New Zealand. This place was a breeding ground for a new form of traveling hippie community. I wrote a whole article about my life in this tiny paradise. Unfortunately, it got closed meanwhile.
During my stay in Reid’s Farm, I took thousands of photos, but the image you see here is the most iconic depiction of life like this little valley along the river. All individuals in the picture were like me, longterm visitors.
WAKING UP IN A HIPPIE’S LUCID DREAM
I just came back to Reid’s Farm from a three days road trip. When the car stopped, I saw the small crowd of musicians and bystanders joining in harmony. The scenery was a pretty common situation. Still, I felt like it is worth taking a black and white picture because I realized it was precisely this kind of unity between strangers that I missed most during my three days absence.
Panasonic GH2 | 25mm NOKTON Lense | F2.0 | 1/1000 | ISO 200
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