How’s life at the end of November?

Thoughts

So what’s new? Two weeks ago I removed my pictures from Café t’Bolwerk. I am actually very happy with how things went. I got to hear a lot of kind reactions on the images.

Furthermore I am busy with teaching and also I am working as an author now. I am in a team for an educational publisher and we are writing a school book about German literature. This consumes a lot of time, but also means a lot of fun. Having literature in my life, makes me very happy.

Two months ago I decided to quit my 365-project because I did not want to get bored by my own frames. After a few exciting trips in 2019 my horizon would be rather fixed. I still think it is a pitty because the chain of the days is broken, the diary is kind of broken. But hopefully there will be new chances in the future.

Two months ago I also bought an iPhone and I have to admit that its camera is quite nice, so I find myself very often using the phone instead of my bigger cameras. However I do have made some concrete portraying plans with people and as always I am very excited about them. I am so curious how the collaboration will turn out. And how the (November)-light will be of course! I will keep you posted.

Keep making plans, they mirror how you are

Summer pictures and fall

Announcement

I still have – ahum – about a thousand pictures from our summer trip to North America. These pictures are waiting for postprocessing and some organization. I am planning on making a picture book, which I actually never have done before. I did not because I like to have loads of pictures and coming across them for serendipity reasons. But having a complete book of a phantastic trip has its advantages of course. I can see that. Today I had a look at pictures of the first days, our stay in Toronto. It honestly is magical how you can catch moments of time within the images. It makes one’s life so much richer, don’t you think?

There is more: my exposition at Café t’Bolwerk was supposed to be shown only for the month of September, but now I got an extension and so the pictures will stay until the end of October. There were some changes: I removed some images of the Emily-series and added some pictures of the I am not an astronaut Or will you know it when it’s over-series. Have a look when you are in town!

When the outdoor pool season is over

365, Announcement

If you know my pictures for a while now, you also know that I am very fond of water blues. I just love swimming in pools in the sunshine. I even do it in the rain. And I love taking pictures of these moments. But now the season is over, in fact I went to the indoor pool this morning, which is quite an adjustment. During the last open days I took some more pictures of the water in order to take the beautiful blues with me throughout the eight months until the pools open again. I will sort them out in the next few weeks.

I have another announcement to make: I quit my 365-series. I do not feel good about it, but is was too hard after traveling North America to start working again and having somehow no choice than taking pictures of sofa cushions at night. So I reminded myself that it is me who actually makes the rules. It sure is a pitty, creating a collection of one year feels quite meaningful. It is nice to try out different styles and concepts. I hope to be able to continue later. A form does help me.

A new exposition

Announcement

Bad news first: On the first of September the meteorological summer will be over, but the good news is: my new exposition will be officially opened! In Cafe ‘t Bolwerk there will be the phantastic jazz singer Janina Stopperka, a friendly reader of the poems and of course some words from me. The show is called Emily because the pictures are based on six poems of the great Emily Dickinson.

Today I installed the pictures and I have to say, I am quite happy how it turned out. The photographer Cyril Wermers helped me with the practical hanging and took a picture of me afterwards, I like to share it in order to give an impression:

In the café under one of the Emily-pictures photographed by Cyril

The series is shown for the whole month of September, so if you have the chance please go to the café and check them out!

After holidays in the new world

365

Two days ago we returned from Toronto, Canada. We have also been to New York City and to Boston, the trip was just wonderful. I took my new camera with me and after a while I kind of learned handeling it. Of course I took many many pictures. And now it is quite a job to look through them. As I will continue my 365-series I only have to choose one picture for each day. Maybe I will make a new set later.

My new camera and me in the window of the commuter train to Penn Station, Manhattan

July is on reflection

365

The 365-series continues. We already have passed the longest day and thereby entered summer, the biggest time of the year lays behind us. In June I used CLOUDS as a topic and I very much liked how my photosream turned into blue. The picture one by one were not that spectacular but as a series they turned somehow into a blue carpet. I really dig this process: it is like moments are woven in a bigger frame: they turn into time. For me it is a way to actually catch time.

For July I chose a new topic and this has become: REFLECTION/MIRRORS. I am afraid there will be some selfies involved, but not exclusively. For the obliged title I continue using fragments of Susan Sontag‘s lovely essay “On photography” (1977), she covers a lot of very fascinating aspects of taking pictures. For me this works very well.

Have a look if you like!

CLOUDS is June’s topic

365

Every month a new topic, that’s what I decided last February. This is how I work on my 365-series of 2019. I know, also me is suffering from the dullness and repetitiveness of this chains of days. And of course it is not possible for me to keep shooting exciting 1 000 000 dollar shots every day, ahum. I try to cover up by using a title, but I not always succeed. Of course this is the purpose of the series: no day will pass by unseen, I face all of them and invariably I will catch them. So actually I offer here a view into my workshop, later I will hopefully arrange new combinations of new emerging series. The first day of a new month always dictates the new topic. I happened to be in the Alps at the first of June, which led to the new topic: CLOUDS. Enjoy!

High in the sky

365, Thoughts

The last days of May I was lucky to spend in Munich. I was looking for interesting shots involving WATER since this was my topic that month (for that month or the ones before check my 365-album). My friends let me use the window seat and so I was able to take some nice shots. First it started with some grey of the tarmac, then green of the surrounding grassfields and then the ascending started. This makes you immediately realise how little nature is left, how huge the actual footprints are that mankind leaves on the ground – I mean: just have a look at this first picture. Your mouth shapes an O when a few moments later the fog is starting to show and is veiling the sight of the city. One tick later everything changes into a thick blanket of fluffy clouds which makes you forget everything humans did. Heaven is on your mind. It is the beautiful s-shape of the river Rhine that totally conciliated me.

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The topic of May

365

I am still shooting a picture a day for my 365: a picture a day-series. After April’s topic of Shadow I chose water for this lovely green month. Of course water is an opulent topic in photography, just think of reflections in surfaces and tiny drops catching the light. Also it is everywhere to find. But the best thing is the fact that the pools opened again and watching (and catching) the playful lines will never ever get dull. Just have a look:

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One week in Morocco

365, travel

In April and May my father and I travelled Morocco for a week. We only visited three cities: Casablanca, Marrakesh and El Jadida, but all impressions were really overwhelming. Of course I took pictures, although very often the foreigness made me a silent observer not so much a documentary photographer. For now I only will post a handful of pictures, some more you can see as a part of my 365-series of course. During that week my SHADOW-month ended and I decided on going on by the topic WATER. Have a look if you like.

Some pink wall and an olive tree at Marrakesh

Seen from the car the landscape is very alternating and dry, but still green in spring

A flat tyre, speed controls, but impressive landscapes

Just love the red soil

Once you got your tyre fixed you will notice the workshops just everywhere

After the desert and the dry Atlas mountains we reached the Atlantic ocean

Dorothee Kellner

Photography

Author: d. kellner