The Scars of Decline – Buildings and Architecture in Liège (Lüttich)

Liège once had been a rich industrial town in Belgium. But with the decline of it’s factories you can see the scars poverty has left.  Without wanting to be cynical: in almost any aspect it’s far more interesting to photograph in a city, which once had great times but now struggles to find a new […]

Searching the right Colors – Street Party Le Bloc in Cologne

Colors. It’s not easy for me to get them right in my photography. That’s one of the reasons I ususally prefer black and white. To get rid of the endless possibilities to influence the character of a picture. And to spoil it. But this weekend with bright afternoon sunshine I decided to give colors another […]

Political Hardship and the Eternal Beauty of Paris

Praising the Beauty of Paris is somehow like bringing owls to Athens. But what’s beauty in the face of political hardship? Somehow I tend to visit Megacities during election campaigns, and this time the clash between the nationalist Marine Le Pen and young Emanuel Macron, the (maybe?) poster boy of globalized capital, overshadowed our stay in a […]

Testing the Rolleiflex as a Street Camera – Cologne Funfair 2017

It’s April, time again for the Cologne Funfair. I didn’t want to bring my Rolleiflex with me, too many crowds, too much movement. I’m definitely not a Rolleiflex street shooter, just graveyards and forests with that camera: photographing objects, which can’t move too fast. But then again: I had several 120er films in my drawer […]

The Grey Dawn of a Right-Wing-Party and a Demonstration in Cologne

After years of permanent success maybe Cologne is the final turning point. The party-convention of the right-wing ‚Alternative for Germany‘ (AfD) results in political decisions which reveal the power-possessed and erratic nature of it’s leaders and let’s the party stumble into growing insignificance. That’s astonishing, because also in Germany the voter potential, which seeks sanctuary […]

Köln Mühlheim – Visiting the Past on a Good Friday

Ich war immer schon beeindruckt von großen Industrieanlagen – besonders, wenn sie geschlossen sind, wenn kein Mensch den Anblick einer gewaltigen Architektur beeinträchtigt, die dazu bestimmt ist, tausende von Menschen einzufassen und zu benutzen, um Profit zu generieren. Es liegt eine Atmosphäre von Erleichterung, Vergeblichkeit, ja Freiheit in der Luft, wenn man solche verlassene Anlagen […]

End of a Myth – Amsterdam today (Black and White)

In wenigen Tage wird in den Niederlanden ein neues Parlament gewählt. So wie es scheint wird die Frage der Immigration eine Schlüsselrolle beim Ausgang spielen. Das alleine scheint mir deprimierend genug. Vielleicht also reflektiert diese SchwarzWeiß-Strecke meine Gefühle bezüglich einer politischen Entwicklung, die nicht auf die Niederlande beschränkt ist. Im Stedelijk Museum gab es übrigens […]

End of a Myth – Amsterdam Today (Color)

Mein letzter Besuch in Amsterdam war in den späten 80er Jahren. My beloved studierte damals  Tanz an der Theaterschool Amsterdam. In der Zeit hatte die Stadt einen ziemlich wilden, rauen, schmutzigen Ruf, wenn auch auf die irgendwie charmante Weise. Alle Spielarten eines individuellen Lebensstils in einer der schönsten Altstädte Europas. Ich erinnere Myriaden von Tauben, die die Fritten […]