Master Organ Builder Mathias Mebold

10 April 2025

For my photo project At Work, I visited the workshop of master organ builder Mathias Mebold in Siegen-Breitenbach. Instrument making is always fascinating for me, but organ building is special as there are so many different materials to work with: metal for the pipes, leather for the bellows and wood for the organ itself. For the portrait, we chose the tuning of the pipes. At the end there even was a little time left for some still lifes of tools.

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Moving House

14 August 2024

Moved house. Again. First time with two children and at times it feels like losing them old marbles…

BOOM!

4 July 2024

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.

I don’t know Markus well, but when I asked him for a favour two years ago, he was extremely generous. I called because I needed impeccable chocolate to photograph on short notice, and not only did he make time to meet me one day before Christmas Eve (one of the busiest days of the year, if not the busiest day), he also halted production and squeezed in a batch of BOOM! because the ones he had were not in shape to have their picture taken.

I’m really sorry to hear Naschwerk is no more and it is a shame it got ugly on social media. Roosevelt called it “the man in the arena” and old Sam Becket said “Ever tried, ever failed. Try again, fail again, fail better.” Stumbling is part of building something, Boom! is part of the creative process.

Remontoir Watch

18 March 2024

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

11 March 2024

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.

As a side note: for the 10 p I used my home built tilt-shit-lens.

Australian Cricket Ball

4 March 2024

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...

26 February 2024

…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...

19 February 2024

…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

12 February 2024

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!

Heating Module

10 February 2024

Photography of interior and exterior views of a heating module with four heat pumps mounted on a container. The prototype was produced by a consortium of local businesses for a global manufacturer of heating and air-conditioning technology.

In the end there even was time for two portraits.

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Brandy Stemware by WMF

5 February 2024

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

31 January 2024

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!

Portrait Photography for a Hearing Aid Specialist

3 January 2024

A local hearing aid specialist hired me for portrait photography, capturing various scenes from a typical workday. I really enjoyed working with them as they had a pretty clear and realistic understanding of what was needed.

They were about to redo their whole website and needed fresh visuals to go with the fresh website but told me about the troubles they had finding a webdesigner who would still answer their emails and calls after first getting to know each other. It is right that, as they say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, but more important is matching the following imporessions to that first one. reliability is key.

The shooting of the portraits went very smoothly – also because the master hearing aid acoustician herself was extremely reliable – and in the end everyone was satisfied, but also a little exhausted from the rather demanding shot list.

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Wind Turbine Rotor Blade

15 December 2023

Photos from a research project at Center for Sensor Systems at University of Siegen on structural health monitoring of the rotor blade on a wind turbine using sensor technology.

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Staff Work for Center for Sensor Systems.

Christmas Exhibition at Linh Duong Blumenkunst Siegen

26 November 2023

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!

Rolling Stock Wheelset

12 November 2023

Photographing the wheels of a rolling stock wheelset with a sensor to monitor for structural health.

Staff Work for Center for Sensor Systems.

Composer & Organist Martin Herchenröder

4 November 2023

Composer, organist and music professor Martin Herchenröder at the historical Martinikirche in Siegen.

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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.

Setting up the light for the piano shot then took some time as it involved repeatedly running up and down a flight of stairs in between camera and light. I did not mind though as it happened to the sound of the most beautifully played Goldberg Variations in an otherwise empty church. Afterwards Martin Herchenröder also told me, he actually got some real composing work done while I was shooting – a great day at the office I say…

Smart Roller Turning Device

11 October 2023

This device is for very large thin-walled cylindrical steel components used in offshore windturbine monopiles. The photos were made for a research project located at Center for Sensor Systems at the University of Siegen, which aims to develop a smart roller turning device, on which the parts are manufactured, with an intelligent and active system for automated load distribution. Thus, by integrating elements of artificial intelligence, the currently limiting, production-related asymmetric load distributions and overloads, vibrations as well as drift phenomena can be largely compensated or prevented.

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Staff Work für Zentrum für Sensorsysteme.

Jewellery with Flowers

7 October 2023

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

30 September 2023

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).

And, just for laughs after a comment from Don Giannatti, one more with a vertical egg:

Everything you Need to Make Ramen

22 September 2023

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.

Then, the best part: Erim asked if I had some more time. He was hungry and was going to improvise a cooking session right there. Well. I’m glad I did have some more time! Amazing afternoon and ramen – thanks for having me!

Christian Bazant Hegemark in his Studio

8 August 2023

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

30 July 2023

A nice editing exercise.

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Each bottle bottle, surface, background, grapes and glass shot seperately and then composited in photoshop. Here’s the behind the scenes:

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A Sandwich, Nutrition, and a Glowing Pineapple

8 July 2023

A few food shots from the past couple of weeks.

Glowing pineapple inspired by Radu Zaciu’s “The Light Inside“.

Cycling in a City of Cars

6 July 2023

On a bad day it can feel like everything is an obstacle, but on a good day you’re just flying through traffic!

Camera Obscura

1 July 2023

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.

An 89 sec exposure at f5 and ISO 200 on my Nikkor 24mm.

Lavera Lipstick

27 June 2023

Some mixed reactions on this one – but awesome feedback from Lavera, and that’s what matters.

Ardbeg 10

25 June 2023

What could be a more tasteful farewell gift than a bottle of Ardbeg?

Thanks to Martin Botvidsson’s pointers!

Binana

17 June 2023

A Binana (as Marcel Kawentel fittingly named it).

Looking Sharp on and off the Track

14 June 2023

Crankbrothers caps, modeled by an unwashed Specialized Stumpjumper.

At Work: Linh Duong Blumenkunst Siegen

9 June 2023

Florist Linh Duong of Linh Duong Blumenkunst Siegen at work.

Unrest Sunglasses

11 May 2023

Composite in the studio. Important note for next time: clean glasses first!

Finally Spring!

24 April 2023

Set: Linh Duong
Foto: Jan Söhlke
Konzept: Jan Söhlke & Linh Duong

Easter Trip to Weimar

11 April 2023

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

8 April 2023

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

2 April 2023

A family portrait in sunglasses during a terribly rainy spring.

Baume et Mercier Watch

26 March 2023

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:

Beaume et Mercier Lady's Wrist Watch (before post processing). Copyright Jan Söhlke.

Beaume et Mercier Lady's Wrist Watch (after post processing). Copyright Jan Söhlke.

Marcel Kawentel

18 March 2023

Drummer Marcel Kawentel. Professionally also Kawentel of screenwriters Kawentel & Lombeck. Many thanks to son Luis for assisting me.

Anke & Me

13 March 2023

Two portraits of Anke and a self portrait.

Aubergine & Chili

4 March 2023

Concept by Urs Recher.

Fast enough

26 February 2023

“If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough” (M. Andretti).

The next jump ended in hugging a tree and I – once more – was happy, Heike was there…

Fuel your Engine

21 February 2023

Rocket fuel concept with background image by NASA via https://unsplash.com/photos/dCgbRAQmTQA

Naschwerk-Schokolade

5 January 2023

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!