Moving House
Moved house. Again. First time with two children and at times it feels like losing them old marbles…
BOOM!
A few days ago I wanted to get a small chocolaty gift at Siegen’s Naschwerk and read that “This Shop is Closed”. When looking online for which one was open, I learned that they had all closed due to bankruptcy. And Boom! Siegen’s already utterly bleak food scene has become even more barren.
What makes the end of a four generation era dating back to 1912 even more heartbraking is the end of the message Markus Podzimek, the owner of Naschwerk, posted online: comments were closed due to the harsh reactions they experienced on social media. WTF.
Remontoir Watch
A historical golden Remontoir watch with cylindrical works and 10 rubys – an heirloom from my wife’s family. Difficult to see without a reference, but it’s only about 25mm in diameter
The lighting setup is “Melodi” and follows Martin Botvidsson fantastic tutorial utilising an IKEA lampshade. You can see more of Martin on instagram @botvidsson and his website.
Classic Deutsche Mark Coins
Front and back of the classic five Deutsche Mark coin (also called a “Heiermann” for whatever reason). It was a pretty large and heavy but also somehow reassuring piece of currency. Despite that it clearly shows some wear after years of service. I somehow like the memory of how handling it feels. The other one is a 10 Pfennig coin from 1949 balancing on a 100 EUR note. The 10p still has “Bank Deutscher Länder” instead of “Deutsche Bundesbank” written on it.
While doing research on these old coins, I found it interesting how the obverse depicting the German Eagle changed over the years. On the 5-Deutsche-Mark coin, that was designed 1952 closer to the second world war, the eagle looks very meagre. The design on the fiver shown here is from 1975 and the bird does seem to have been fed much better.
Australian Cricket Ball
My friend Luke gave me his leather cricket ball when I visited him in Melbourne in 1998. I love the way it looks and feels and also the memories it stores of a trip to see the other side of the world and, ultimately another side of myself. It has been sitting on my desk for all that time now, and posting this I realise it is more than a quarter of a century. Not to get too philosophical, but time flies like a cricket ball, fruit flies like a banana…
She Sells Sea Shells…
…with a glow.
This one is from the Hangar Project which I started with fellow photographer Rob Scamp. Our theme was “Something from the Sea” and I spent an hour with this shell, exploring angles, backgrounds and lighting set ups. On this one I particularly liked how the warm light radiating from inside contrasted with the toothed, rough outside.
Putting All Your Eggs in One Vase…
…might not be the worst of ideas if it’s such a pretty vase!
Cracked Vase by Kaheku Schönes Wohnen provided by Linh Duong Blumenkunst.
Cantina Pizzolato Bottle
This wonderfully crazy bottle by Cantina Pizzolato jumped out at me while shopping, so I had to take it home. if I remember correctly, it was even available in two more colours.
The best part of bottle photography: it comes preloaded with stuff to celebrate after the shoot. Looking forward to this organic sparkler!
Brandy Stemware by WMF
Working with fine glass is always a pleasure – if challenging. This time because I dropped a heavy steel washer into the liquid for a nice splash effect one too many times and destroyed my beautiful WMF brandy bucket (as a friend once called it because of the sheer size). At least it was a sacrifice for art…
Suzuki GT 750
Thanks to Matthias‘ hospitality I was able to spend a few hours with this beautifully designed piece of engineering. The three piston/four exhaust engine was liquid cooled, hence it was nicknamed the “Kettle” in Britain, the “Water Bottle” in Australia, and the “Water Buffalo” in the United States and Germany. Down to the last detail it is fascinating how much thought, work and craftsmanship must have gone into the scuplting of it, so the longer I worked, the more angles and aspects I discovered that deserved a picture. In the end I liked the side angle with the prominent the radiator most but also found the work on the exhausts pretty compelling!
Christmas Exhibition at Linh Duong Blumenkunst Siegen
Same as last year, I had the honour to collaborate with Linh of Linh Duong Blumenkunst again on her invitation for the traditional Christmas exhibition. Always a pleasure – and always fine to see one’s work printed!
Composer & Organist Martin Herchenröder
Composer, organist and music professor Martin Herchenröder at the historical Martinikirche in Siegen.
We met early in the morning and while I was setting up the planned shot at the piano, Martin Herchenröder played the organ. I noticed the gorgeous light he was sitting in, so in addition to the planned shot showing him as a composer at the piano, I came home with one of him as an organist, too.
Jewellery with Flowers
Replica of a Minoan Necklace of gold papyrus beads from the Archeological Museum in Heraklion (ca 1450 BCE) and a diamond ring with a rose and a clematis.
Hand Hammered Wok
To me not only a beautiful piece of craftsmanship but also a reminder of generosity and kindness as Birgit, whom I only know via Grace Young’s lovely and very helpful “Wok Wednesday” group, lugged that rather unwieldy pot all across China and then back to Germany just because she thought I might enjoy having it. And I really do.
For the lighting concept I am grateful to Swiss photographer and Broncolor ambassador Urs Recher for his Aubergine setup which I used here (after testing it on an Aubergine first, of course).
Everything you Need to Make Ramen
In early June I reached out to Ramen-Chef Erim Kreidel of Monaco Ramen to ask if he was interested in a collaboration on a kitchen utensils project. He was and we met at the Gasteig where he currently has his pop up location at Kulturdachgarten. Inside his incredible and custom made beauty of a Yatai (a Japanese food cart) we produced a shot that has all the tools you need for Ramen.
After finishing up with the kitchen utensils shoot, I asked if he had time for a portrait. Erim has been serving his incredible Ramen from various pop-up locations over the past years and instead of a more conventional approach we wanted to picture the taxing logistics, creativity and dedication involved when you have to move your whole restaurant to a new location every couple of months.
Christian Bazant Hegemark in his Studio
It took a wedding to lure us back to vienna after eight years of absence. Christian’s hospitality was overwhelming and the fun it is to take his portrait didn’t change either.
Wine Bottles
A nice editing exercise.
Each bottle bottle, surface, background, grapes and glass shot seperately and then composited in photoshop. Here’s the behind the scenes:
A Sandwich, Nutrition, and a Glowing Pineapple
A few food shots from the past couple of weeks.
Glowing pineapple inspired by Radu Zaciu’s “The Light Inside“.
Camera Obscura
Experimenting with a Camera Obscura, the mother of all cameras.
In the BTS below you can see how the church is projected onto a bedsheet through a metal washer I placed into the cardboard used to darken the study.
Lavera Lipstick
Some mixed reactions on this one – but awesome feedback from Lavera, and that’s what matters.
Binana
A Binana (as Marcel Kawentel fittingly named it).
Looking Sharp on and off the Track
Crankbrothers caps, modeled by an unwashed Specialized Stumpjumper.
At Work: Linh Duong Blumenkunst Siegen
Florist Linh Duong of Linh Duong Blumenkunst Siegen at work.
Unrest Sunglasses
Composite in the studio. Important note for next time: clean glasses firs….
Slokker-Serie
Das schöne Orange der Slokker-Sonnenbrille passt hervorragend zum blauen Anzug — ist aber auch zum Holzhacken stilistisch ganz sicher die richtige Wahl.
Endlich Frühling!
Set: Linh Duong
Foto: Jan Söhlke
Konzept: Jan Söhlke & Linh Duong
Easter Trip to Weimar
It has been a while since I last rubbed elbows with Goethe, Schiller and the likes in this neat little town — close to a quarter of a century to be precise. In total everybody in the family loved the experience, the only place we found somewhat disappointing was the Bauhaus-Museum.
Happy Easter
Frohe Ostern allerseits!
Zwei rohe Eier: eins mit eins ohne Schale. Mit Schale in natürlichem Licht, ohne im Studio mit einem Aufbau von Gary Perweiler.
Family Portrait
A family portrait in sunglasses during a terribly rainy spring.
Baume et Mercier Watch
Years (really: decades) ago, my wife won a beautiful Baume et Mercier wrist watch. I decided to shoot it to practice a one light setup, following a tutorial by the incredible Max Bridge. I ended up focus stacking 200+ picures for a 15 image composite and learned the hard way that from up close you see every. single. tiny. little. scratch. And dust. And misalignment. So the fun really began when I started reconstructing, cleaning and healing. Here’s the before and after:
Marcel Kawentel
Schlagzeuger Marcel Kawentel. Beruflich auch Kawentel der Drehbuchautoren Kawentel & Lombeck. Mit Dank an Sohn Luis, der assistierte.
Fast enough
“If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough” (M. Andretti).
Der nächste Sprung endete vorm Baum und ich war – einmal mehr – froh, dass Heike dabei war.
Fuel your Engine
Rocket fuel concept with background image by NASA via https://unsplash.com/photos/dCgbRAQmTQA
Naschwerk-Schokolade
Obwohl es zwei Tage vor heilig Abend war und somit die engste Zeit des Jahres, nahm Maître Chocolatier Markus Podzimek vom Naschwerk sich spontan Zeit, mir die besten Stücke herauszusuchen. “Boom!” wurde sogar eigens in die Produktion geschoben. – Vielen Dank!
Beate Weiß Keramik, Siegen
Besuch im Siegener Keramikstudio von Beate Weiß (http://www.weiss-keramik.de/).
Lilian Weiken
Deutsche Meisterin und Weltmeisterin im Ju Jutsu aus Siegen. Weltklasse-Athletin und -Mensch.
Walnussbaum
Das Geschenk eines Eichhörnchens wuchs zu nah am Haus und der Baum musste weg.
Linh Duong Blumenkunst: Adventsausstellung
Dokumentation der jährlichen Adventsausstellung bei Linh Duong Blumenkunst in Siegen.
Der Schiffhobel meines Großvaters
Making of:
Pour Shot
Behind the scenes:
