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.
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.
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.
Florist Linh Duong of Linh Duong Blumenkunst Siegen at work.
A family portrait in sunglasses during a terribly rainy spring.
Schlagzeuger Marcel Kawentel. Beruflich auch Kawentel der Drehbuchautoren Kawentel & Lombeck. Mit Dank an Sohn Luis, der assistierte.
Besuch im Siegener Keramikstudio von Beate Weiß (http://www.weiss-keramik.de/).
Deutsche Meisterin und Weltmeisterin im Ju Jutsu aus Siegen. Weltklasse-Athletin und -Mensch.
Mit vielem Dank an Markus Boßlet, Küchenchef und Inhabe des Restaurant Bar in Siegen, der sich so großzügig Zeit nahm und Jakobsmuscheln “Ras El Hanout” und ein herbstliches Calamari-Risotto für mich kochte.
I did not have my gear with me and there only was an hour left in between the idea to go for the shoot and me having to be through the door for the train station, so in order to put the opportunity to good use we had to move fast and I had to borrow Marlene’s old Canon. Of course time was even scarcer after the usual displacement of furniture had taken place, and the combination of time pressure, borrowed equipment and a different camera maker resulted in a couple of technical blunders on my part, but we all had a fun time and in the end were pretty pleased with the results.
My friend and colleague Doc Babel not only taught me rudimentary Spanish, he and his wife also provided me with a home in Munich during the last few years, which made many things easier than they easily could have been.
And now that it’s their turn to look for a new home, they pack some aluminum boxes bound for South America and thought that some decent head shots would make their new start easier. I was of course more than happy to provide that part of their luggage.
Once again I learned that photography sometimes is like cooking: when you want to try something exciting for the first time, don’t do it in the presence of important guests. But I also learned that in Marianne’s presence, failing means that in the end it still is going to be an awesome afternoon resulting in pictures we both like – good to work with a professional. And just like Beckett writes: »Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.«
I am also happy about the three derivative works that came from the shoot: a portrait of the photographer by Marianne (seen in pictures 4 + 5); a Feiyue »Vlaschits Edition« by me (from slipping on paint) and »Painting the Artist« by Hyo Lee.
And despite my clumsiness (that not only led to Feiyue »Vlaschits« but also saw a falling SB 800 just miss Marianne’s head), the Comme des Garçons-robe Marianne’s neighbour and fashion designer Thomas van der Jeught gave us in his infinite trust stayed clean.
Next Monday (23.6.2014) at the Archiv für Gegenwart (Mühlfeldgasse 5, 1020 Wien) you have the opportunity to see Marianne Vlaschits – who by the way is also responsible for the highly acclaimed cover art of Hercules and Love Affair’s latest album The Feast of the Broken Heart.
The first installment involved a poster for a party that was stuck onto many distribution boxes. We narrowed it down to two location options that were close to each other: one spacious and quiet, the other at a busy tram stop in the middle of an equally busy crossroads. We decided to opt against comfort and for better looks, which unfortunately meant I had to shoot from the tracks with trains rattling in from three different directions by the minute. Thus, I was constantly shifting my light and tripod and Daniel, who was kind enough to act as assistant, not only patiently braved wind and coldness but in addition held on to the contraption for the black background with cars whooshing past very close by – thanks a lot Daniel!
Secondly, it was the first time I shot tethered, which meant we continuously discussed all changes, thus the final images really feel like a joint effort.
And finally (probably also a result from second), the approach was very methodical. Usually I move around quite a bit while shooting, but this time we first looked for a frame that worked, then nailed the tripod to the floor. Then moved furniture in and out, tried a bunch of clothes to match the environment etc. So in the end, we settled with just two shots: her favourite (first) and mine (second).
If you are looking for a thorough physiotherapist, I really recommend him. He is setting up shop at Lindengasse 27 in 1070 Vienna and offers very work-compatible times. For an appointment dial +43 699 17161420.
Big thanks to Valentin Rosegger’s colleague Julian Gullner, who played the patient in a manner that can only be described as patiently. It involved holding a very strenuous position for a very long time (see above), neither minding Valentin (»straighten the back Julian, involve the abs a little more«) nor me (»great, stay just like this, only a few more shots, almost done«).
Furthermore, I had just bought her a used mini trampolin (after I had a go it unfortunately is now defunct) that coincidentally matched her urge to jump with joy after a streak of successful undertakings. And lastly, I had just thought up a contraption for a home grown diy beauty dish which I really wanted to try. And so it went and I am extremely happy about my wife finally being part of my project, too.
I am also very grateful to Roman Berka of the Arbeiterkammer Directorate, as he didn’t hesitate for a second when I asked for permission to shoot at that wonderful place. A big thank you also to the porter for his relaxed attitude during the shooting.
Certain people keep saying that apparently asking for forgiveness is easier than asking for permission. Not only was the opposite true here but while asking for permission, I also learned something: Mr Berka told me that Barbara Kruger’s »Questions« was due to be taken down at the beginning of May. This meant that a) I wasn’t going to run into unexpected construction work and b) I could do the shooting when the opportunity was still there to incorporate one of her pieces which is a very apt motto for every Ph.D. student: »Is work ever done?«
He wanted to combine a photo of himself with a painting he is currently working on. The painting shows a boy on a children’s tricycle and my job was to place Christian so that his position would resemble the trike-boy’s as much as possible and at the same time keep the background relatively easy to edit out.
In the words of Douglas Reynholm: I am no Truman Capote when it comes to Photoshop and I am excited about what Christian is going to do with it, but what I pictured while shooting was something like this:
It goes without saying that Christian riding an imaginary tricycle whilst resting his feet on a broom and sitting on a bar stool that was itself placed on a table was also calling for a more serious portrait.