Autobahn

On the A7 while heading south on November 30, 2008. Not the first photo on this blog out of a car window, but this time I was the driver. I forgot how fast I was when I took the photo, but I like to think that it wasn't dangerous. I snapped this when it started to rain and it definitely came out as expected.

The M8.2 at ISO 320, converted using TrueGrain. Uncropped, but the photo needed a border.

Part 5

The next one of this series after a small break. A window somewhere in Braunschweig in October 1995.

Shot with the M4-P and the 50mm Summicron on HP5 Plus which was developed in HC-110.

Headless

This picture of a shop window in Hamburg is the first film photo on this blog that was cropped. And it was a considerable crop. In fact, I shot the photo in landscape format and then cropped a portrait format section out of it because this is how I should have framed it originally. Even after taking photos for more than 15 years I still don't think of using the camera in the upright position often enough.

Taken in January 2010 with the M7 and the 35mm Summicron. Tri-X in HC-110.

Love

Somewhere in Haifa on August 11, 1995.

Is it OK to photograph people from behind? Some people think it isn't and are very vocal in their opposition against it. I think they are misled - either by some "code of honor" which probably originates from watching too many western movies or by their notion (which they try to impose on everybody else) that street photography is only valid if you're shooting street portraits after reaching a mutual agreement between the photographer and the subject.

If that wasn't clear already, I totally disagree. There are lots of reasons why in certain situations "shooting" people from behind is OK. And you should never have to justify how your photos were created - if you think they're good, that's fine.

Shot with the Nikon on Tri-X which I developed in Rodinal.

Football

We'll have another World Cup this year, so it's high time to start with the preparations. My contribution is this picture that I took in Hamburg on June 10, 2009. The punchline, a bit hard to see at this size, is that the ball was Made in Italy.

M8.2 at ISO 160 with the 35mm Summicron, converted using TrueGrain.

Jungle

I always have to think of jungle and swamp when I look at this photo. But in reality it was taken in some forest on the island of Rügen after a rainy day.

In the summer of 2005, M4-P, Tri-X.

Rain

It's an interesting question why one likes some photos more than others. Trying to put this into words is a valuable exercise in itself but becomes even more crucial if you think about showing your own photos to others. Will they be able to see in your picture what you see in it? Will they share your feelings about it? The answer is most likely no although, if you're lucky, the reaction of your viewers is at least similar to yours.

I like this picture mainly because of how the foreground is separated from the background. There's no interesting subject matter to write home about, but due to the lens probably being wide open and the way it rendered the scene and due to the movement of the car while the two pedestrians are motionless the whole scene to me looks as if the couple wasn't standing on a sidewalk in Midtown New York but rather in front of the silver screen in a movie theater. And this, in turn, makes this image kind of a comment on photography itself which is often viewed as an objective way to take pictures but which can mechanically capture what (you think) you've seen and turn it into something completely different.

Shot on October 5, 1995 with the M4-P and the 50mm Summicron. The film was Tri-X which I developed in HC-110.

Obrigado

I recently started to apply a new words/numbers category to some of my photos and that reminded me of this one.

Taken in 1999 in Lisbon with the M4-P on Tri-X.

8 Eyes

In the Akihabara area of Tokyo on November 10, 2008. I'm not sure anymore if the title was inspired by the photo's content or if I was rather subconsciously reminded of a Japanese Jazz LP called "Eight Eyes and Eight Ears" which I've had for a long time.

Taken with the M8.2 and the 28mm Elmarit at ISO 320.

The picture was converted directly to black-and-white in Lightroom without the aid of external tools. It was then slightly cropped and I added a small border because it looked as if it would otherwise fall apart.

Gents

The entrance to the changing room of my gym in Hamburg. Taken last Monday - which makes this the first photo from 2010 and I think the photo with the shortest lag between exposure and posting so far.

It's also the first photo on this blog that I've shot with my new M7. It's a used one (from 2001), of course, and I swapped it for my M8.2 three weeks ago. Economically, that's certainly a disaster, but for me it was an important step towards concentrating more on "classical" film photography and I felt like Lucky Hans after I left the store.

Speaking of photos which rhyme with each other, this one seems like one that could be paired with one I posted two days ago. I always liked the idea of rhymes in photography. Just the other day, I was reading Wim Wenders's foreword to Sylvia Plachy's Signs and Relics again where he describes how he "discovered" that photos can rhyme. A good foreword for a very nice book from a great photographer.

The lens was the 35mm Summicron, film was Tri-X which I developed in HC-110.

Model

I'm a bit in a hurry today, so I'll just give you another dog. This fellow - in Lisbon in 1999 - actually seemed to enjoy posing for the picture.

M4-P, Tri-X.

On the run

It's the third time already that I'm mentioning Garry Winogrand in this blog. The funny thing is that I don't even like his photos that much. I do think, though, that some of his one-liners about photography are very deep. "I photograph because I want to see what the world looks like photographed," is one of my favorites. It sounds banal first, but in my opinion it isn't, and for me it also explains a lot about why I take photos.

I was reminded of the quote when I looked at this photo again more than half a year after I took it.  It's one of those shots where at least consciously I wasn't aware of what exactly I was photographing when I pressed the shutter.

Taken with the M8.2 and the 50mm Summicron at ISO 160 in Genoa on July 5, 2009.

Fence

A fence in Harlem in 1998.

M4-P, Tri-X.

Watchdog

Guarding a shop in Rouen in April 1995. Or maybe just guarding the little guy? Or the guy takes care of the dog?

Shot with the Nikon on Tri-X, developed in HC-110.

Desert

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert on the way from Vegas to San Diego, November 1997.

M4-P, Tri-X.

Graffiti

Under the Sternbrücke in Hamburg on December 29 last year.

M4-P with the 35mm Summicron, Tri-X developed in Diafine.

The tie and the monkey

It's easy and fun to shoot billboards. Somebody already did the hard work of creating a good layout and you just have to find the right detail and frame it. Expect more to come.

This one I found in London near Euston Strret on March 27, 1996. The shutter speed on my Leica was 1/125, the aperture on my 35mm Summicron was 11, and the film was Tri-X which according to my notes I developed in Rodinal.

The car

A battered car somewhere in Boston. I simply like the curved lines and the tones in the picture.

Taken in October 2008 with the 35mm Summicron on the M4-P on Tri-X. From the X-rayed series.

Leaving port

Winogrand was accused of always holding the camera at a tilt in order to introduce "graphical dynamism" into his photos. Yeah, maybe, but sometimes a skewed horizon really helps to make a picture - at least in my opinion. This here's from the Staten Island Ferry while leaving Manhattan.

Taken in 1998 with the M4-P on Tri-X.

If I counted correctly, this is the 100th post on this blog. I spent a bit of time finding a picture to fit this "anniversary". As I said in its description, the blog was intended to make me think about photography on a daily basis. It has, over the last months and due to some discussions ensuing from it, become pretty clear to me that a) it will have to end sooner or later and b) there will be something coming after it (but maybe not on the Internet) with the blog having been a stepping stone into the new direction. I believe that the photo from today exemplifies in several ways (that I won't discuss here and probably can't put into words yet anyway) where I'm heading.

Deer head

This must be my favorite flea market photo ever.  Flea markets are always nice if you want to find strange juxtapositions of things that usually don't belong to each other, but this wall certainly made my day.

Somewhere in New York in 1998. M4-P with Tri-X.

Tower

This photo was taken in August 1995 in Tel Aviv. And if I remember correctly it's the Shalom Meir Tower which at that time was the highest building in the Middle East but has long been surpassed by others.

The FM2 with the 50/1.8 loaded with Tri-X.

Poissonnerie

Again, someone looking out of a window, but this time it's not me.

Taken in Solliès-Toucas on July 14, 1995 with the FM2 and Tri-X.

Wedding photographer

Taking photos of the bridal couple at the beach of Rügen while other people are doing other things.

In the summer of 2005, M4-P, Tri-X.

Angles

The title says why I selected this picture. I was waiting for someone to walk by in order to shoot the person in the right position relative to the entrance - which already worked the second time I tried. Of course, in cases like this, digital photography is cool as you can instantly check whether you got what you wanted.

Shot in Hamburg on September 26 last year with the M8.2 at ISO 160, converted using TrueGrain.

Wrap

Remember when Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Reichstag? I was there and here's the proof.

Shot in July 1995 with the Nikon and the 50mm lens. Film was Tri-X developed in HC-110.

Snack bar

At Venice Beach in November 1997.

Shot with the M4-P on Tri-X.

Just do it

At the Christmas market in Ottensen in December 2009. The photo was unfortunately severely underexposed and I spent a lot of time trying to rescue it. It's barely presentable now, but - hey - it's a dog again...

Shot with the 35mm Summicron on the M4-P. Tri-X in Ultrafin plus.

Corner

So far, Ollioules must have the best photo per capita ratio of all cities mentioned in this blog. This is just some nice street corner which I liked because of the interplay of the buildings with the cables.

Shot on July 13, 1995 with the Nikon on Tri-X.

Gina Linda Manu

Through the fogged window of a hairdresser's shop in our neighborhood.

Shot in December 2009 using the M4-P with the 35mm Summicron. Film was Tri-X developed in Ultrafin plus.

Skyscraper

In a city like New York, it is very tempting to photograph the skyscrapers - especially if you're living in a place that doesn't have many tall buildings. Here's a variant that I like because of the small cloud on the right that is much lighter and takes up much less space than the house to the left but yet somehow manages to equal its visual weight in the picture.

Taken on October 6, 1995 with the 50mm Summicron on the M4-P. Film was Tri-X.

Addendum: See also this comment.

Fair

Preparations for Hanover's Schützenfest in 1995.

Taken with the FED 5 using Tri-X.