Crashing Cameras
Three days ago I posted about my successful bidding and purchase of a large format camera. I was very happy when I bought this beautiful Crown Graphic 4×5″ camera on eBay. Two days and an email later, I learned that the seller – a large camera store in New York – was unable to ship [...]
Large Format Film Cameras
Since I saw Walter Iooss’s beautiful portraits of athletes I’m tinking about large format film cameras… Walter Iooss used a 4×5″ Crown Graphic large format camera for some of his his ahtlete’s portraits. His book Athlete is one of my favourite photo books of 2008. Guess what – I was lucky to grab a Crown [...]
Using the iPhone as a Modem
Let’s say you’re on the road. And let’s say you have to upload photos to a remote server, for instance a photo agency. You have your laptop with the jpg photo. And you have an iPhone… Now what? To use the iPhone as a modem to connect your mobile computer to the internet, you need [...]
Advertising Photographer Mark Zibert
The F Stop Magazine features an article about advertising photographer Mark Zibert shooting the Adidas Campaign in Beijing. Very impressive stuff! Some more hints to photographers: A master of portrait lighting is Marco Grob, a Swiss photographer. He was awarded the Hasselblad Masters Award in January 2007. His website shows his stunning portfolio with portraits [...]
Snow, Fog, and the Last Sunrays
Just a few minutes before sundown – which is early these days! – I managed to get over the fog to see the last sunrays. Within minutes, the world turned from warm gold to cold blue.
Around the World in Eighty Days
Just found this video with Michael Palin (know Monty Python…?) broadcasted by the BBC in 1989. Michael Palin travelled the world in 80 days without using a plane. I found out that he stayed at the same hotel as I did in Cairo… In fact, there’s a photo of him in the lobby. The show [...]
New Yorkers
One in 8 Million – a NY Times portrait series about New Yorkers.
War Photographer
Photojournalists are not allowed to enter Gaza, AP reports. In some cases, photographers were arrested by Israel’s military police, their cameras seized and the images erased. What is today’s role of photo journalists in war? Early War Photography The visualization of war scenes goes back to Renaissance. However, those paintings did not reach a mass [...]
Photo Book 2008: Walter Iooss
My favourite photo book of 2008 is Walter Iooss’s book Athlete. Walter Iooss has shot about 300 covers for Sports Illustrated and looks back to a 40 year career as a sports photographer. The book includes more than 150 beautiful photographs – from kids playing baseball in Cuba to captures of Tiger Woods taken with [...]
Smiling Eyes
Early in the morning, I met this man cleaning the streets in Cairo. He smiled at me very friendly with very clear eyes and came over. We were standing there – both smiling- without speaking. It was a very intense short moment.
Spice Market in Cairo
The man was slowly walking through the narrow lanes of the spice market in Cairo, Egypt. It seemed as if he was thinking about something or wondering. There was this beautiful backlight on his head – after a second he went on and disappeared in the crowd.
The marquetry maker in Cairo
The marquetry maker works near the spice market in Cairo, Egypt. He produces marquetry made of mother-of-pearl. It takes about three days to finish a box. Besides of boxes, he also makes board games like chess or Backgammon. He sells most of the boxes to the luxury hotels located downtown at the bank of the [...]
Traffic in Cairo… “crazy number one”!
Here’s an audiovisual slideshow about traffic in Cairo… Traffic in Cairo is “crazy number one!” says Ahmed, the taxi driver. Ahmed’s taxi is 30 years old and has 1’000’000 kilometers. The older the taxi, the better the price, Ahmed says. Cairo traffic is overwhelming and overcrowded, especially in the rush hour around 4 o’clock. Drivers [...]
