December 2008

In December I travelled a lot ( as usually ) which didn´t leave too much time for photography beside my trips. I took a lot of images in Dresden while waiting for my plane to get home. In my sparetime I took my pocket camera on biketrips and the 5D on some walks. But the majority of my images in December were done on business trips. As a result the picture of the month has to do something with travelling.

Why the image above? I like it because of two things. First: In 2008 I discovered that sometimes an image can have more impact if it has a technical flaw. Sometimes such an image can transport a certain mood better than a technically perfect shot. In November I took a very good portrait but because of the shutterspeed there was some subject movement. The shot was blurred. Somehow I really liked it. I liked it more than others because of the natural expression in the face and the overall effect. Strange thing is that I think that a perfectly exposed and sharp image can impress us but it seldom is able to touch us. I will try to do more out of focus, blurred shots in 2009. Images that rate emotion higher than technical perfection. Second: 2008 was the year of the sun. 2008 the year of the sun? The summer was mostly wet, gray and cold. But the big difference was: We left Vienna and live now on the country side. Now we see the sun rise and set. It´s great and that´s why 2008 was the year of the sun to me.

The second image shows the Cafe Prag in Dresden. Well just the entrance as it was closed. After I got home I checked on the internet: It was closed in 2007. It opened in the 50´s when Dresden was a city in the DDR and part if the east block countries. It was used for dance and theatre and after the wall came down it was home of the first Italian restaurant in Dresden. 2007 it was closed. I hope that a place like this will find a new use and reopen as a restaurant or coffee house again.

And finally a portrait again. Done with the 35L on a walk with friends. It was windy and biting cold but sunny. The image was taken during sunset. The constrast of the warm late afternoon light and the blue of the lake is clearly the key element of the picture. I asked Gabrielle to look into the sun instead of looking into the lens and it worked. Eyecontact usually is essential for good portraits but sometimes a portrait without eyecontact is stronger. Gabrielle already appeared in a picture of the month: September 2004 I was the photographer of her wedding.

setting main shot: 80ASA, focus on dirty window

Cafe Prag Dresden: Panasonic FX100

portrait: 5D + 35L