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19. Oktober 2024

Crows are punk, they sound rough and act like a gang. I’m fascinated by their look, and I tend to see them against an urban backdrop.
There is a black and white series in the making: every once in a while I go out and capture some images of them, mostly in the Olympic Park of Munich.
This photograph is demonstrably not the one I have in mind, though. I’m in for some 20´s style architecture images in the background, in the feel of Lewis Hine of New York, but with a focus on these birds.
This juxtaposition tells the story of a distinctively new species, a Corvus Urbanis maybe, that long inhabited a built environment and acquired an urban character different from their natural, now only close relatives.
I’m posting this picture above, as it will not make it to this new essay, but I love it nonetheless. It’s so studio-like and crisp. The morning sun acts as the main light but also reflects on the side of the BMW building opposite to provide the perfect backlight. I like this picturesque character to it, though it is not the clean metallic look I aim for.
Best explained I include an image below: it has those large bolts, kind of the timeless, or more like modern picture elements I would very much like to see in the background.

14. Juli 2024

i Wish

July 2024. Munich, Germany

I got up early today, drank my coffee, and went for a photo walk.
Upon my return, I’m amazed by this picture, all these colors and divine details are mesmerizing.
But only as long as I’m looking at it over my 4K monitor.
I mean, i exported a copy for Instagram, but i threw it out as soon as i saw the draft on my phone! What a shocker, it did not work, not even a bit, although it shone full size, in its entirety with all its depth.
It’s insane to spend all that money on a Z8 body and a 4K monitor (that sets you off 2,7K alone), then present your work on an sRGB smartphone about 2-3 inches wide.
I recently started having fine art quality images printed for me, though!
How about we meet up for a coffee, and i grab a few fine impressions to show you in person?

25. März 2024

This Blows my Mind

New York City, NY, 2000

It just blows my mind how lucky I am that I had my first year of photography education in a still completely analog medium!

I happen to belong to a micro-generation, just a 6-year cohort called xennials. We were born 1977-1983 and grew up analog, but we were still young enough to fully learn digital. Looking at this year 2000 hand-made print of mine reminds me of how far we came from those analog times. We used to take a long breath to decide how to compose a single shot, and even leave the black edges to show that it was indeed what one captured on the spot.

Just recently I was part of a team on a large commercial shoot that involved some creative packshots as well. One product label was somewhat damaged, so the question came if the customer already had a 3D image of said product, or if we indeed needed to go on and build a white tent around a bottle, in order to properly photograph a very reflective chrome like logo. (Chrome surfaces tend to look black in a studio unless you see the reflection of something white or bright.)

It couldn’t have been funnier as one of us proclaimed: „Guys! This is a historic moment, we do this manually for the very last time, before CGI takes over! Lets do this!“ and we went on to hold a huge white fabric around the product to expose just the label to be comped in later.

And there you have it. Mere 20-something years down the road we are now experiencing the next adventure, that is computer generated imaging, CGI.

A difficult shape, a ribbed glas is still easier to picture in a studio playing around with lights, but a label, a shiny logo is almost an old-school craftsman´s passion to do in real life.

What a time to be alive.

15. Oktober 2023

Lana Grossa Casting

There were so many amazing kids showing up for this casting session we did with a lovely team. I really enjoyed that day creating these images. All we wanted was to match the outfits to our fine young models. These photos were thought to be used only internally, but why not share them over here? They are just too cute to hide in the archive.

Aug 2023. Munich, Germany

1. November 2022

Work holiday in Verona

No assignment, no NDA, no customer or guidelines: there only was a cancelled job in Munich and a spontaneous idea for a 2-day city break in Verona Italy.

I love the freedom of pondering around and discovering new places through the lens. Kind of level 2 to that is when pictures match up and pairs, sets of 2´s emerge.

On day 1 i´d see a tree trunk being washed down the river, the other day im suddenly in front of a bush seemingly swimming on the water. The light goes up: of course if i put these 2 images together, they really start to enhance each other and call for a new way of reading. In my mind, it becomes a tragic story of a single tree: once the trunk is shown next to it, the bush appears to be the crown of the tree.

Verona, Italy, 2022

20. September 2022

Business Card as Film Negative

London, UK, 2007

One had to hold this business card against the light to read the contact information as if it was a film negative. Once handed out, folks instantly started to zoom in and out composing a picture through the unexposed middle section of the translucent foil.
I always got a great response to this creative card. It’s a shame i still have so many of it. Soon after i had them made, i decided to leave London and embark on a journey that took me 8 years of travelling, not exactly needing a business card in anarcho-primitivist, permaculturist, activist, and let´s admit it, hippie circles.

8. April 2022

Glass Ceiling

New Series / Work in progress: I´m currently looking for participants, feel free to get in touch.

A glass ceiling is a metaphor used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic (typically applied to women) from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy. – Wikipedia

An unacknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities. – Oxford Languages

The term „glass ceiling“ refers to the sometimes-invisible barrier to success that many women come up against in their careers. – BBC

13. März 2022

Full Frame No Cut – Haha

Radio City Music Hall, New York, 2000

This A4 enlargement was to see how to dodge and burn a final print of a 35mm film negative.
It has my lab instructions on it: where to make it darker, to watch out for the middle to have an even gradient, but also to have it cut! I´m surprised because I remember myself taking pride in not cropping at all, respecting the moment to compose the shot.
It seems I cheated indeed!
The actual final print is in a private collection.

(Now thinking back, I´m pretty sure it got a new fake black edge.. One had to expose the paper using an enlarger, then remove the negative, mask the undeveloped image so that the desired new edges remained uncovered, and then give some extra white light to have the emulsion turn black, hence creating a new frame.. as if it was the unexposed shine through outer side of the full frame negative..)

12. Februar 2022

Erwähnung in der Süddeutsche Zeitung

https://jungeleute.sueddeutsche.de/malerisch/ Süddeutsche Zeitung 28/08/2017

21. Dezember 2021

Imagekampagne für eine Kaffeerösterei

[Ad] Recent work for a coffee roasting manufacture in Munich.
These are typical images i enjoy doing but i would not showcase them in my portfolio. I particularly like to use a 3-light setup shown on the first image here, though. Two soft lights from the side and from behind, and a beam of rays hitting just a strip: kind of a morning sun atmosphere that goes well with a cup of coffee.

15. November 2021

Der kleine Prinz der Gentrifizierung

Apr 2016, Budapest, Hungary

To the Memory of Attila Ónodi (2003-2020)

Attila was a gifted young singer, he lived in the 8. district of Budapest, a rapidly changing, once ghetto-like part of the city. He made it to talent shows of a major network and had regular appearances at events across town.

We knew each other from a nearby cult pub and community center called Golya, seen in the background in some of these images. I used to take pro bono photos for him as he came from a financially stricken family and was badly in need of portraits ahead of a major TV show.

Attila welcomed the changes in his neighborhood thinking that his left-behind community would be able to stay there. He admired the new glass buildings, he envisioned cafes where he would have his pictures exhibited as a well-known singer.

He climbed up to this little island with a single tree, that once stood in the backyard of buildings 100 meters to his home. He posed there and suddenly started throwing stones towards his very own block of flats.

He hoped to ride the wave of fame of the TV publicity, though dropping out of the show at an early stage. The rumors were that his social media following was not presentable enough.

The next time he entered national attention was his tragic car accident: he drove without a license double the speed limit through red lights onto a lamp post.

11. Januar 2021

My First Tutor and My First Print

Federico Savini, Pratt Institute, New York, 2000

This is probably the first portrait photograph i made in all its phases of analog production. Federico Savini, our tutor at Pratt Institute in New York kicked off the Portrait Class by setting a continuous light and called us to take some pictures of him. I loved his classes: this hands-on approach. Once we developed the rolls and enlarged our own prints, I was pumped that he singled me out for this shot. He liked the stance of stepping back just a bit to include a wider story.

1. März 2020

Self Portrait at a Yoga Aktuell Shoot

This is a quick snapshot kind of self-portrait at a Yoga Aktuell photoshoot back in September 2019.

Chiemsee, Germany

19. Januar 2020

Cover for a Series

Under pinkish clouds, a large BMW approaches on some rail tracks vanishing under a patch of asphalt. A bike freak in trousers matching the clouds jumps off his bike and takes his hat off to the viewer.

This was an Intro picture to a previous version to my website containing 2 cyclists´ portrait series.

I particularly like this photo so I decided it was worth bringing it over here and letting it feature as a blog post.

August 2015, Budapest, Hungary

17. Januar 2020

RadlKult Making-of

Juni 2017, München, Germany

photo credit: Kai Neunert

16. Januar 2020

Critical Mass: 20 Thousand

It was 20,000 cyclists demonstrating in Budapest, occupying the streets on the car-free day. Double the number compared to the previous spring event.

The gathering started late, so I had to work a bit more in advance. I, therefore, asked the main organiser, Kükü (pictured) to pose for me just before they went on to peacefully regain Budapest. He shouted: Critical Mass!

Upon arrival at the publisher´s office, I loved the layout the editors chose.
In general, Magyar Hírlap was home to many creative minds, and I could always be sure that they would come up with the best choice of the material I could offer. This time was no different.

I was enthusiastic and stayed until the first copies arrived, took a few and brought the paper of tomorrow to the Critical Mass afterparty.

It was 2005, still before smartphones´ instant-news times. Many shouted joyfully to find out that we indeed cracked the 20,000 that year!

Critical Mass Budapest has been said to be the biggest in the world, with the spring 2008 figure reported at 80,000.

15. Januar 2020

Self Portrait

Sept. 2005, Budapest, Hungary

Yes, that was real grass covering the top floor of Tüzraktar, a 10´000 square meter atelier complex where I had my own studio.

15. Januar 2020

Accreditation? No, just do it.

16. August 2005, Downtown Budapest
11:45 AM – End of the 1st meeting to start the paper.
Incoming call right after from my editor:
– Some plane came down in Athens, we will write about that, but it may well become the day´s topic as the aviation industry in general. So we need 2nd and 3rd, but if good the front page as well.
– Do you have accreditation to the airport?
– No we don´t, they won´t give it that fast. Just do something. The pages close at 6 PM.

This is how these 2 images featured as pairs on the earlier version of my home page. I enjoy the power of photographs enhancing a particular reading of one another. Its a direct way a photographer can invite the viewer towards a set of ideas.

2005, Budapest Airport, Hungary
2005, Paulahof, Austria

14. Januar 2020

My Set in Vienna

This is a snapshot of a shoot in Vienna.
For the photos made during this session, see the Portfolio section of this site.
Just to mention my Seaport Digital laptop case on this picture:
it has become a superb companion for such occasions. Sturdy aluminium tray with a socket for a tripod makes it an invaluable tool to have a work station safe and comfortable.

October 2019, Vienna, Austria

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