Richard Renaldi

I’m looking more into portraiture these days, taking some time studying other photographers work. Below three of my favorite images by Richard Renaldi.

© Richard Renaldi

© Richard Renaldi

© Richard Renaldi

Alec Soth

As most people know, I am a big Alec Soth fan. He definitely has influenced me a lot. But crazily enough I had today for the first time a real book of his in my hands. I looked at Dog Days, Bogota and Niagara and loved them both. Pictures I had overlooked before I realized for the first time. I also found his notes at the end of the book very inspiring. Especially since I am still looking for a way to combine text with images in my East Germany project.

“Driving around Niagara, I have a list of thing I’m looking for taped to my steering wheel: High-school yearbooks, polaroids, men in pajamas. I almost never check anything of the list. I just drive in circles around the falls – listening to Roy Orbison for the thousandth time. ‘Dum-Dum-Dum-Dumby-Dob-Wah.’ I cruise the motels. I ask women in bars if they have love letters. I ask couples if they can pose nude. Most people think I am a pervert.”

© Alec Soth

“This picture of the Flechs was taken right after Aaron and Nicole were married at the Quality Hotel Love Chapel. There was no photographer. The only guests were children from previous marriages.”

© Alec Soth

“I went to a boxing tournament at the Polish Hall in Niagara Falls, Ontario. After each match, I would ask the battered boxer to come down to the basement to have his picture taken with his girlfriend.”

Sunny Days

Because it is winter and it is ENOUGH now!

© Stephen Shore

Steven Shore was one of the first photographers I admired.

Peter Bialobrzeski

Speaking of landscape pictures. I find the work of Peter Bialobrzeski Paradise Now very interesting. In Paradise Now Bialobrzeski hunts for remnants of nature on the periphery of Asian cities, under the artificial suns of sodium lamps, automobile headlights and illuminated skyscrapers. Some compare the look of his pictures with science fiction. True.

©Peter Bialobrzeski

Larry Sultan

Being so busy, I just found out today, that Larry Sultan died in December 09 aged 63 years. I was a bit shocked, since I admire his work very much especially his series about his parents ‘Pictures from Home’ and about porn sets in L.A. called ‘The valley’.

Pictures from Home

The valley

Amy Stein

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

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