Kzenon Überforward

When shooting standard situation you typically do standard things. More craft than art. Skills and equipment are there so you simply use them in the fashion you are comfortable with and you know that works. Therefore, to not get too boring, it is a splendid idea to do not so standard things in photography from time to time.

Two days ago I had the opportunity to shoot in a disco club with ten models, two make-up-artists, my full set of equipment, some time, and no force that kept me from experimenting. Now, if you ever worked in disco club with a party going on you know that due to the people moving, the light show, the dry ice fog etc. there is nothing you really can prepare for or count on. You more or less have to let go and simply try your best in every situation. Which simply means: having fun.

This is how I found out for example, that you can actually picture laser beams flashing through a group of people dancing. Never thought this could be done yet it can. I’ll have more of that later I think.

Last October the kuhl crowd and I packed our stuff and drove (me) or flew (them) to Portugal’s amazing Algarve Coast to do a lot of stock photo shootings. I absolutely liked the mix of work and play (all work and no play makes Kzenon a dull boy): a nice old fashioned shoot on the beach in the morning, relaxation on the pool in noon, some sport and a bit party in the sunset for the camera in the afternoon and evening. I could have gone on forever but, of course, lasted only a week. I do not know if you ever had that thing of losing your spatial and temporal awareness completely because you are so absorbed by the things you do. This was what happened with all of us. I hope to be able to do something on this magnitude again this year of 2011.

It’s summer here. Finally. Kind of. That has, of course, a lot of disadvantages such as unbearable heat (we had close to 16 degrees today), sunburn (shone nearly one hour today) and general dryness (only 45 hours of rain in the last three days – the plants are suffering!). Then, on the other hand, there are the Dults and Waldfeste (traditional festivals) and there will be, finally, the Oktoberfest as the ending point of this season. After – and in case of the Oktoberfest which happens mostly end of September: before – a long and hard winter those festivals are a celebration of life, love, and beer.

People will wear colorful Tracht, the boys Lederhosen and the girls Dirndls which can be had in all colors and stylewise from straight laced to frivolous and where I personally and as a photographer prefer the latter option. Glorious times. And the best thing: they reappear each year.