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.

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…

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!

Composer & Organist Martin Herchenröder

4 November 2023

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

Martin Herchenröder komponierend am Flügel

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…

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!

Wine Bottles

30 July 2023

A nice editing exercise.

Winebottles-Separate_CopyrightJanSoehlke-01

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

Winebottles-Separate-bts_CopyrightJanSoehlke-01

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.

Finally Spring!

24 April 2023

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

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: