Stories

FALLING IN LOVE

Do you think you have control over falling in love?

I don’t know about you….. but I don’t have any control.

 

10 years ago, I was on a mission to discover Bern, Switzerland.

Getting known to the city and taking pictures.

 

The photo is one of the first photos of the “Happy Fountains”.

Back then I fell in love. No control.

 

It turned out to be a long relationship!

10 years, 170.000 photos, 250h observing and many hours editing.

 

That relationship gave me so much joy and excitement.

And even it has been 10 years now, it seems falling out of love seems impossible!

Don’t be the painting - Be the painter!

…..those thoughts came into my mind while taking pictures of the lunar eclipse.
Meaning: Don’t wait until something happens - Make it happen!
Eclipse, it's exciting. What a feeling! So strange.
BUT
For pictures: boring.

The next day you see all over the internet a photo of a red moon.
They look all the same, mostly. So….. I made my own version of the eclipse.

I was so happy when that plane came into my frame.
Must have been an amazing view up there.

NEW DIRECTION

Today I signed up for the gym. Again.
Many years I have been “dreaming” to get a perfect body.
A few times, it seemed I am getting there.
But you know….. “only an exception, just one” or “tomorrow I will go”
Those exceptions turned into habits. The worst one is “tomorrow”. There is no f**king tomorrow!
Either you DREAM or you DO.

There are many reasons I want a perfect body.
Not only you look and feel better, but also you get healthier on the way to your goal.
But the best of all is:

To look in the mirror and say: I beat you David, I won!
The biggest battle in your life, is the one with yourself.

If you can win against yourself, you can achieve anything!

Expired

What do you do when your milk is expired?
Throw it away?
NO WAY!

Who wants to come with me?

That’s what I thought when I went to take pictures of my boat.
Fantasizing about who would come with me on a trip.
AND then: After a few shots, I noticed: there is a passenger!
Wow! I positioned the boat at different places to get the best shot.
The passenger did not move. Probably the insect enjoyed the ride.
So, I left the boat there.

Bon Voyage my friend!

VIVA MEXICO

Cutting grass:

- Germany: tools, machines (small or big) & cleaning up the left overs
- Mexico: gasoline, fire - burn it!

That’s genius!

Less tools, less time & less work.

Work smart, not hard!

SPECIAL CONNECTION

The plan was to shoot photos outside at the laundry line.

Which I did.
When I came out there was a fly sitting on my laundry rope.
I took the opportunity. Many photos from different angles. A lot!
She did not fly away. She kept on looking at me.
Totally fascinating!
Who was more fascinated? Me? Or the fly seeing the giant with his black thing pointing at her?
Crazy! Never met a fly like that! Totally fearless. Or is she dead?
I turned the laundry rope. And she began walking! Like a hamster in a wheel!

Wow.

FIRST TIME

Today I took my morning cold shower, right before sunset. FIRST TIME.

I saw my bathroom in a "different light". FIRST TIME.
So excited, that I run to get my camera & took pictures without having clothes on. FIRST TIME.

BOOM, the dice show: ONE.

Rushing to the computer. What can I write to the photo?

If we leave our routine, we experience things for the FIRST TIME.
The feeling of experiencing something for the FIRST TIME is amazing!

Let's leave our routines and experience things for the FIRST TIME!

JOURNEY

Marcos is learning photography. Photography is a great tool to enhance your life!

We went for a walk with our cameras and I shared my thoughts with him.

A lot of information!

The most important is: to analyze the photos you like and understand why you like them.
Basically, it is learning and training to "be attentive".

Bon Voyage!

"The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail."

ONLY in MEXICO!

This is one of the reasons I love Mexico: it is full of surprises. So surreal!

On my daily late night walk, I went to get ice cream.
Eating my ice cream on the way back, I saw horses. HORSES!
In a residential area, without chains & without someone taking care of them.

Surreal. It felt like being in a dream.

Mexico, I love you!

THANK YOU

This photo is very symbolic for my journey as a photographer.

It is one of my favorites!
Those are my parents in the water.
Without them this photo would have never happenend.
Without them my story as a photographer would have never happened.
700 weeks ago my dad gave me a little compact camera to a very difficult episode of my life.

700 weeks of:

- seeing the beauty around me
- exploring new places
- being more curious about life
- seeing regular things with different eyes
- meeting wonderful people
- being in the moment
- becoming more attentive and appreciative of details
- training my imagination
- seeing people, situations, myself and my past with different eyes

The camera was and is a powerful tool in my life.

Thank you Dotore & Papo for your support and believing in me!

I wish I can give this gift to someone along my path. Who will it be?

PHOTOGRAPHY IS POWERFUL

It changed my life. Once I was lost in my life without a direction. Without hope.

Escaping reality with parties, alcohol & drugs.

My dad gave me a little compact camera. This day was the first day of my new life.
It is crazy looking back how that day changed everything.

It opened my tired eyes and made me curious about life.
The hunger to explore and to understand never stopped until today.

Also because of photography I got to known to wonderful & intersting people.

Laura told me that long time ago one photo of her changed her course of life.

Photography is powerful. Behind and in front of the camera.

INC-RED-IBLE

Red is a symbol for danger but also for love.

Two opposite feelings.
Dina and I were talking photos at different places.
But the one with the red light, was the the spot which fit to her best.
She can look dangerous, intense from the outside.
But.
She is has an attractive personality and big heart on the inside.

You know the saying:
"Not everything is black & white"
TRUE!
Everything is RED.
In your life right now, is there a situation or person - you could see differently than you do?

JUST DO IT!

Montserrat and I have never met before. We know each other from Facebook, having a mutual friend.

Recently I saw a photo of her with a turquoise T-Shirt, my favorite color!
I wrote her, that I want to take pictures of her. JUST DO IT.
She replied: "yes!". JUST DO IT.
It was a fantastic evening!
She is a Veterinarian and I learned a lot about animals and her job.
So much fun!

If you follow your impulses and are open for other people's impulses:
You invite life! New experiences, new thoughts and new friends.

Next time there is an impulse in your life: JUST DO IT!

PUSH YOURSELF

Manuel and I met 10 years ago.

Back then I had a project taking photos of strangers in the street.
Very close and with a hand held flash.
I was not comfortable doing it, but I pushed myself.
Many people where surprised, some even angry.
Manuel, was one of the people I "shot". He reacted positive and started talking to me.
It turned out that he is also a photographer.
Since then we had many photo and video sessions together.

Even if you don't feel comfortable, you can push yourself!
Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is rewarding!
Until today I did not have a bad experience while leaving the comfort zone.
Quite the opposite! I got more confident and happy.
The suffering is inside your small comfort zone. Not outside.

Next time your voice in your head is holding you back: push yourself, do it.

"Life begins outside of your comfort zone."

DREAM OR REALITY?

DREAM OR REALITY?

Did you ever in your life ask yourself this question?
I did today!
In the morning I got many fantastic news about my project!
It will help my career!
WOW.
You know, when you plant seeds - you won't see plants right away.
You have to nurture them and be patient.

One day you will see the results of your work and patience.

ANYTIME

Manuel and I know each other since about 10 years.
We met through photography.
In his spare time he was distributing flyers in downtown Bern.
I took a picture of him. He is also a photographer.
Since then - always when we met, we had our cameras with us.
Except this time.
But I had my cell phone and when I saw the silhouette, I asked him to jump for the sake of art.
I am so happy about the development of cell phones.
You can take good quality pictures everywhere & anytime!

WOW

Today on my way walking to the grocery store, I saw a perfect setup for a photo.
Yellow cross walk, yellow flowers and yellow sun blinds on the houses. WOW.
While taking the picture I heard a car coming and thought:
"It would be great if the car is yellow."
And it was yellow! WOW.
And on top of it, after the car came a man with a yellow helmet. WOW.
Only thing missing: a beautiful woman in a yellow bikini..
But I didn't think about that in this moment. Well.. next time!

Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not - It doesn't matter. It made me happy.​

BAD BOY

That's what a mum probably thought when she saw me taking pictures of the kids at a public fountain.
A car with two police men came and they started questening me.
I have been nice to them and explained everything and showed them the pictures.
Which I don't have to do!
I told them, that I have been there taking pictures over 10 years almost every summer.
Sitting, standing next to the fountains with my camera more than 250 hours in total.
My project has been in newspapers, I had exhibitions and won a photo competition.
The police knows that I can take legally photos there and also publish them.
They were nice to me. I could see that they felt a bit bad.
But if somebody calls the police, they have to check on it.
I understand.
What I don't understand: Why didn't the mum talk to me?
I would have showed her the pictures, explained the project and would have given her one of my prints (which I had with me).
Now I have a new story to tell!
I will never know who the person was who called the police - or maybe? If you read this article, write me & we get together for ice cream and good conversations.
We will laugh together about this situation!

PHOTOGRAPHY

A friend of mine is interested in photography.

I offered to give her some advice. She understood very quickly and could apply the new knowledge immediately!
It was a lot of information! And this is only a tiny part.
But she has potential and with regular practise she will be very fast amazing!

To summarize the most important:

- Be always attentive (even without the camera). You have to train your eye like a muscle.
- Be patient. If you find something interesting, stay with it longer.
- Observe it from different angles.
- Get closer to your subject.
- Don't hurry - Take your time! Slow down, stand still - pay attention to the details.

Photography has a lot of benefits! It teaches you:

- to be more attentive.
- to be more present (and get out of your head)
- to see regular things with different eyes
- to see more much more!
- to connect with other people.

And much more things!

The most interesting for me is:
You start to see people, situations, moments and the past - with different eyes (even without the camera)!