Spring in New York City

Some things are really hard to capture in photographs.
Today I have a video for a change :-)

The annoying DKNY wall on Lafayette & Broadway

I always found this DKNY thing to be a bit annoying. Why? Because it screams for a photograph. You come around the corner and you get the feeling you just luckily discovered a great subject to photograph. The next thing you do is standing right in front of it noticing how large this thing is. A barely fits into the frame, and the result is a dull picture of a painted wall.

Now I think I know how to deal with those things. It is still the reason why I took the picture in the first place, but I pushed it a little bit in the background so the viewer's eye can have the pleasure to discover it itself.

The 4th prison chess portrait with text

In case you are wondering, I think I have another 20 or so. Some rather quiet, some more talkative.

My Photographic Evolution

If you are a strict chapel-goer, you might not be too much interested in evolution, but if you are, here is the missing link for 2009.

2005 shows what my early photography attempts looked like. In 2006 I was in the HDR-puberty which calmed down well throughout the following years.

2009 is my year of the fisheye, but the enthusiasm for using it outdoors is fading already. I also started to use tonemapping and HDR software less and less, and rather combine exposures by hand.


2005


2006


2007


2008




2009

Pink Window

Another cold night. This time I felt colder than usual.

OLIVA

This picture looks so random that I almost started justifying its existence, but I'll keep myself from doing that. Pictures that come with less text are often more interesting...I heard.

One thing that I noticed though, while going through those photographs for the first time was the name of this restaurant. It instantly reminded me of an ex-roommate of mine who used to always call me Oliva. She did this to mimick my pathetic attempts in pronouncing my own name in American English. I think I improved a lot in pronouncing it, but she still calls me Oliva. She does that with such a passion, I fear that she will keep doing that foreva.
Anyway, just a little story on the side in case this photograph doesn't tell you anything.

Prison Chess Champ

Giant Red Cube

You see the black car in the back? That's my Mitsubishi. I parked it there and shortly after the spot in front of mine got available. This silver-gray Mitsubishi that you see in the picture parked in front of me. I didn't notice that until he used his remote control to lock his doors a couple of times. That little honk his Mitsu made sounded exactly like mine, that's how it got my attention.
I don't know what this guy's problem was, and why he was remotely locking it several times. He acted like a German who parks on a New York City street for the first time :-)

The fun thing was that I was far away from him and still had my remote control in my pocket. While he was leaving, I pressed my key which made my car honk and sound exactly like his car. He turned around and I could see his confusion even from that distance.

So what did he do? Of course...pressed his remote control button again. So did I. So did he. So did I - a couple of times perfectly in sync. This went on for minutes...great entertainment :-)
At some point he probably noticed that someone is playing a game with him and walked away.

Not really a funny story? Well, that's about as much fun as one can have in Lower Manhattan on a cold Sunday night. That's seriously it. So be glad you are not there right now and let me remotely lay your eyes on this giant red cube.

Prisoner Portrait (without name)

NY Globe as Desktop Wallpaper

You can download it in 1440x900 right here.
If you find this useful thank @digideth on twitter - he had the idea. If you wish any other image in any screen resolution, just post a comment here or send me a tweet: twitter.com/fluck

NY Globe

First full Prison Chess Portrait

When I step back and look at this blog from a distance, I notice that the mix between colorful cityscapes, people in funny costumes and prisoners is a bit weird.

However, there are many things you can use a camera for, and besides catching nice colors, it can also be a very efficient tool to open up your own eyes for all kinds of things.

For me, that's the beauty of being an amateur. Whether intentionally or not, you can explore the world while hunting for good subjects, and as wider your hunting ground gets, as more you get confronted with people, situations, and places that are usually not part of your life.

Here is a first prisoner portrait.

Top of the Rock

Looking Down Looking Down