Final Show

The opening of our show was really fun. Many people came to see our work and to celebrate the end of our Masters. For those, who couldn’t make it have a look below. You can still go and check it out, the show is on until the 15.01.2010.

MA Final Show

I know, I am at the moment horrible with blogging. However, I have an excuse to neglect my blog, since I am preparing my show for my Masters.

The show opens on the 9th of December. After that, I will find more time to put new stuff up. But hopefully I will also have my new webpage by next week up and running. Until then have a look at the work of  my classmates and me, and come either to the show at the LCC in London or check our page at http://www.28stories.co.uk/

Amy Stein

Soon is Halloween. That made me think of Amy Stein’s series “Halloween in Harlem”. How great are these photographs and kids?

A Foretaste

After disappearing for a couple of weeks, I am finally back in London! While working in the U.S. on my project about the elderly, I couldn’t bring myself to post something new. I stayed mainly in Palm Springs, where I had to face 46 degrees! Yes, I learnt my lesson about doing research!

Besides sweating and swearing, I met the nicest old people: Rae, Dennis, Thelma, Chris and others. I am planning to  make a book, in which I would like to tell their stories and share what they taught me:

Which is for instance that life even in an old age still can be complex and rich. You love, suffer, long, dream and have sexual feelings until you die. It doesn’t matter if you are 30, 50, 70 or 80 years old.

But more about that later. For now you can find below a tiny foretaste.

Rae, 80

Dennis, 76

Thelma, 82

Chris, 70 and John, 75

Meanwhile…

While working on my project about the elderly, I continued shooting for “Panorama”. The recession is in the U.S. so much more present and worse than in Europe.It is impossible how many stores are abandoned here.

Brian Ulrich

One of my favorite photographers is already for a while Brian Ulrich. I fell in love with his work looking at his “Copia” series. Now he put new stuff on his webpage. Like me in “Panorama” he did also a project about abandoned shops “Dark Stores”. Looking at these extremely beautiful and atmospheric photographs gives me truly inspiration. I think I haven’t looked at something I like so much for a while.

See more of his pictures at www.notifbutwhen.com

Gay and Lesbian Elderly

My new project will be about gay and lesbian seniors. There exists so little photography about the elderly in general and of gay and lesbian elderly there are hardly no pictures at all. With my project I attempt to make this group, which is mostly unvisible visible.

Richard Renaldi did some nice work about this topic: http://www.renaldi.com/portfolio/elderly1.html:

And I also love the work of Naomi Harris, who documented the last hotel in South Beach that catered to senior citizens. The project, called “Haddon Hall Hotel ” received The International Prize for Young Photojournalism. I feel her pictures are humorous but also sensitive. Check it out on her hompage: www.naomiharris.com

Elvis and my Family

I decided to continue my series about personal decorated workplaces “Elvis and my Family”. Two days ago I cycled around and found close to my house this Photo Store. The photographer, an old Turkish man owns this shop now for 30 years. We talked for a while about photography and as Goodbye he gave me a banana.

Alastair Thain

I started this week my internship with Alastair Thain. Alastair uses the same format cameras as NASA to photograph the Earth from the space shuttle. The cameras are huge and produce outstanding image quality.

“These hyper-real images have an unprecedented visual intimacy that reveals something about the people presented: their life, their history, their origins, their fate, their wishes and dreams. Sometimes a tangible sense of the abandonment of hope and aspiration is perceived. 

His large-format photographs possess a strange and special presence. This presence stems initially from the majestic scale of the works, whose extreme resolution and clarity exceeds what the eye can generally perceive, and principally from the intuitive choice of moments.” (http://www.alastairthain.com/)

Below are some pictures I particularly like of him:

560,000.00 Hours,London 2004

From the series “Marines”

Mekka Bingo

I went the other day to a Bingo Parlour in Hackney, not far away from where I live. In the parlour I met Cathlene, who is 91 and comes here since 40 years to gamble. While Cathlene used to go with friends in the past, her daughter  takes her now every weekend. After our meeting, I decided to spend one day with Cathlene on a Sunday bingo night to see what it is all about.