Vandersault

The last days I´ve been meeting my family from south and north respectively, and now recently with my grandmother going through perhaps some 500 slides yesterday. It is very interesting to see what my grandfather photographed and get these vintageness to the surface. They have a remarkable potential to become something else. Although I have to admit there was a lot of flat images in there as well, but you have to seek out the particular. I might just get addicted to play with them graphically and see what comes out of it. What is left out is still quite a lot, but what has been found is actually quite valuable. It set a new perspective on the life that has preceeded.

According to my grandmother, this was taken on a trip from Bergen to Oslo. Now check out the luggage compartment; today we just want to have everything in our cars, while here there was an authentic twist to it.

The more I have been away from my family, the more I am curious about them, also the evolution of the family. Yesterday I went to see my grandmother, whom has always tried to embrace family and friends with open arms. Have not since her since half a year, so that was really good to see her again, and always as a guest with her you feel cared for. And she is a world class chef.

She lost her husband, my grandfather over twenty years ago, and it´s amazing how strong she has been in the time after. I know she held him very high, yet I hear of many stories. She told me yesterday about a vision she had where she actually saw my grandfather walking across the hills to her; nothing needed to be said, it was a surreal encounter where the world she knows to be tangible submerged and time and space became interpreted fully diferently. She was wide awake.

I have a vague recollection of my grandfather but I was fortunate to play with him. He was also very passionate about photography and I rediscovered yesterday with new eyes, a wide collection of photos he made from the 60s up until the 80s. There is really a lot of treasures in that material, that both reveal cultural styles and people´s interactions. Not all is interesting of course, I actually think he photographed with the same frequency as a digital beginner.

To find a few street like photographs in there really got me excited, to be able to see the world the way he did. My grandmother has perhaps not seen some of these at all, or if so quite a long time ago. So it was a real nice discovery moment with her. When we saw this portrait of her taken by my grandfather we were stunned. It´s beautiful and classical photography. Filled with dignity and illustrating depth of a person.  I am quite frankly a bit obsessed with finding all these, they are sort of puzzles of their life, and also mine. Ancestry that were lit with the light of the 60s. Wow!

This image striked me! My aunt was already the best fashionable back then.

Seeing here a very released and spontaneous body language between my father and aunt. They had a nanny while living in Rotterdam. Today I think she is a priest. The man with the dark hair was my favourite uncle, very generous kind man.

From John F. Kennedy to Heathrow two winters ago.

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Pantha du Prince: Saturn Strobe

Flavour. Those guys are doing big business. Trial is downloadable.

A  well handled night photograph by Kevin Cooley. So it makes you wonder where is that little person who just set of the firework running out of the frame, or in it like a ghost. The first images are from Iceland; I see a cycling tendency of a lot of imagemakers to go there. It is a natural logic.

Most surreal and yet a bit of an intimidating experience. The 3d audio from the barbershop:

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Behold, this will only work if you hear it with your headphones. I warn you it might get a bit uncomfortable.

Just like those times when you involuntarily end up in a haunted house or something. Not pleasant but it is intriguing how our intelligence for sound is so sensitive and aware. And this “experiment” very much illustrates this phenomena. And the guy with the crazy accent will not stop from remind you about it. Insanse.

One of the most powerful films you will ever see in your life. From the salvage streets of Brazil. One little small soul with attent eyes and a camera can make a difference. I think you really have a counterpart in Slumdog Millionaire too. Incredibly strong films with nested messages of ethics.

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I thought it was going to be a pretty pleasant day, the weather certainly pulls you out, the chill is rather gone and there are delicate rays of sunlight. The river sweeps smoothly between the Englischer Garten and the day make you think are alright. Oddness took on, and I witnessed just recently a scene where I wish we had been more people in, to make an act. Actually I really wish mariposa had been there.

For my little walk through the englischer garten (it is quite an enormous park close to where I live) I brought my cameras to do some documentary. Anyways, as I had done my fresh tour of air and impressions I decide to walk back to see the surfer river scene; I´m not expecting any surfers today but surely something must be happening there. As the movement and figures around this area become prominent I was seeing some strange behavior of kids being very animated with their hands and immersed in something I thought, in the river. Then through the shadow reveals a kid stuck down there being throwed snowballs at. I immediately was provoked and cut through the naked vegetation to get a clear view of the scene. In my mind there was a strange conflict of saying to myself, that I want to take these kids and yell them out of this place for being such brats, but then on the other side the kid was walking towards my direction and I wanted to help him out. For a moment when I saw a new kid throwing a snowball I made a frame, because I was provoked and wanted this moment to not be one that would simply become invisible to those I´m sure (oh-so-good-i am-lawayer-son or something) brats who get together in groups of 5-6 and show total lack of respect for fellow beings. The kid stuck in the river (not really in the water, as it was low, but having to go through it) was someone you could identify would stand out from the crowd, but looked like the most innocent kid. He had his back all wet and had appearently fallen. The snowballs I witnessed throwed at him seemed to even make no indifference for what had already happened. 

I asked him if he was alright, and as he crawled up the side of the river side (it´s really a micro river) I gave him a hand and pulled him up. I think he was a bit perplexed and he knew I had a tool, which made him ambiguous. I kind of wanted to follow up and learn what happened, if he knew those kids, if they were classmates. As cowards as they were they had already disappeared the scene, and you could not spot them anywhere. I told this guy I was provoked and I just wanted to help. His english was not bad, but he did not want to talk, and I understand that very well. As i said, I really wish somebody else had been there because nobody did anything to the kids doing this. They were five against one! Come on, he was defenseless and what can he have done? They have this idea that they are perfect kids. And that is a sentiment that can come through Bavaria sometimes, there is this apparent ideal reality of rich, well established people, and then when an outsider steps into that world, it gets disrupted and those faces of society pop up.

Being a witness to this too put me in an ambiguous situation. I could have just quickly run up to them, shout at them, scare them away (surely to later have one of their lawyer father´s step in and say nothing happened), or be there, show that somebody is watching and wants to help. And making a frame, it may seem nonchalant, but it is this kind of documentation that also is important in society. It was provoking! 

The guy was worried that I had made a video and asked me to delete it. I nodded, and i will not publish this image. It might not have even turned out correctly as I was doing it so fast and spontaneous. But it was a story that we need to remember, everywhere in the world. It happens all the time. So when you and i see that again, let´s be better prepared and act in the name of justice and respect for others, whatever they look like.

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Munich last week. The world turned all white in a matter of a few minutes.

The refuge, the conversation, the fashion, maybe the generations too in their natural ascendence, I do not know but I moved fast to get this frame.

I struggle a bit with the fashion perception, both clothewise and hairwise. Nonetheless that´s their business.

This should put the frames in context. It´s the street where the particular light leak image occured. Also the same street as the french camera repair man has his shop. The hasselblad is up and healthy again too. So the plan is to take it out for a walk today.

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Happenings of the moment: planning, doing, calling, blushing, eating fruit, upgrading to leopard, finding photographic moments a little too late to take the camera out, meeting friends thinking it might be one the last encounters before for this time, but never a last anywhere. Designdrinking, nauge & sage´ing, observing snow, steeping on it at its too easily transformed stages, listening to the first bird songs (although that was last week), organizing, dreaming, wishing, taking care. 

The things that have happened in Sweden lately gives thought to the memories with the animated Irish Seter. I hope she is alright.

Here in Munich, done with my second interview, now better approach some more across the sea, just to have the options open, but all in all, besides tripping a bit on some words, I´m getting great practice and learning the process of selling your skills. What do they want, what can you bring to them. I have an interesting feeling for the things that might come. Have to see what the options are.

It feels so good to have upgraded OSX; basically my mac has been halting and bumpy and slow, and a clean has been called for. Better get the playlists on itunes right now :) 

Yesterday I found a beat by Paul Kalkbrenner that has been a pleasent listen the last hours. Everyone is wearing sunglasses as usual at night, which is total ridiculous. But the music, the feel. We know it when we hear it. And you want to dance. But not in the snow. Maybe though.

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Found this via the portfolio of Julius Brockermann, quite a beautiful intro to what is a game ( I´d say this has other potential).

I´m strike by the way it is animated, because the real foundation is the matte paintings, whereas the animation part itself comes out of what looks like some superimposed 3d, but for the most part working primarily with a camera moves in an already 2d world.

To add on the curiosity there was some illustrations in his collection that are an interesting take on textures and perspectives.

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From the isar ventures quite a few months ago. Ventured the same streets today as it was lovely weather (but very cold).

Track to go for a Sunday: Jesper Ryoms – Hold On

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As the MacBook decided to not collaborate anymore it has been harder to keep this blog alive. I went to a mac reseller shop in mailingerstrasse yesterday and it was at least promising that service would be covered by apple care. I was surprised how fast they were in detecting the issue, took less than 20 seconds and they had a full diagnostic.

This week I got to freelance for a few days which was fun because it involved the really last steps and seeing things come alive. Two of my colleagues have now left Munich and so it stresses the question of the future. I’ve had a dream since I was 16 and this is what I’m pursuiting. The sooner I can get the mac back I can prepare myself a little better.

This is it for now. I’ve got 16 rolls of neopan to shoot before I leave munich.

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a first try at posting via mobile; somewhat more timeconsuming but interesting to have the possibility..

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Michal Chelbin is one of my true heroes in the world of imagemakers trying to create a vision.

Always loved her work and can much recommend going to see her, if you should be in a city where she is exhibited. Michal has been featured in Aperture and won several prizes, among them her homecountry Israel.

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Experience Mobile Mobile from James Théophane Jnr on Vimeo. Very cool installation. Via SmashingMag

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There are only a few things left reminding me when a Friday is just that day. One is that I have no force left. I feel quite exhausted after this week; sleep is messed up and a new deadline is up. Above that this week is my last week at work in Munich. But it also comes in the name of change. It leads to fear but at the same time a form of relief. I have been the intern for 8 months. I never did not have work to do. Countless hours. Inspiring talks. Great lunches. Travels. Discussions. Encounters. Much. And Much more.

I wanted this to last longer, but I have come to peace with myself about dealing with not knowing what is ahead. It used to be an interesting feeling. This time it feels different though. It may be a force of nature, a call for something else. We will see.

For the first time, I actually have no more film in my cupboards that need to be processed. This week I got them scanned, and saw them for the first time this morning. There were frames in there I had forgotten I had taken, and those are some of the nicest moments. After all, memory has sandlike features; it may not be firm, but it dissolves and travels and reconfigures continuously. Sometimes it feels like memory pieces displace themselves, yet they are not gone, they just find new places to go, and you have to find those again.

So now, it is time to scan again, since I have the time and can´t wait. This man has a repair shop close to karsplatz in Munich. He repaired a camera my friend asked me to help him with. I was picking it up. And then I said thank you so much for selling me the 50mm 1.4 zuiko – for the olympus. He did not remember that, but he remembered me and went on about with his very likable French (so unexpected in this country).

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taken by a photographer who is really making her way. really like it.

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I hope we don´t stop photographing the small things around us. The last days I´ve seen black and wondering what course life is going to take.

I found the walk of these two men quite a story. They had no conversation together, well assuming htey were not in the awareness of eachothers company, and yet they behaved, composed the same behaior and crossed eachothers lifeline so close without realizing the parallelness.

I want to keep photographing but I´m finding it hard. Things are changing.  On the long run things are becoming a bit cyclical and that might not be the best thing. I wish for the sun to meet us. To write this, is perhaps to be inspired by the om1 and its master :)

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