Visual Diary of Joachim Falck-Hansen

This time around I want to get the spotlight on a friend of mine – Lars, a Norwegian singer knowns as Mr. Andresen. We have worked closely together over the last two-three years and it´s been one of the projects I´ve loved most working with. It´s been a nice mix of photography versus design work. Lars is inspiring to work with, he has much energy and passion in what he does; as I´ve learned him more I´ve been all the more immersed in his artistic world. It´s this reflective place where great songwriting is born.

Mr. Andresen released his first album in August 2009, and this is where we really got excited. For both of us, we wanted to create something special; detached from cliches and the shallow.

Over two different days, respectively January and March we had two shoots, there was snow on both occasions. The image above was the only 35mm used for the album art, as the majority was on the medium format front.

I´d been listening to the tracks a while before starting design work or the photographs. It helped feel the music for how to later portray the ambient and feel to the images.

From mrandresenmusic.com:

”A part of this puzzle” is a well composed record. It has a great flow, a large amount of catchy choruses and good guitarriffs, all accompanied by beautiful and melodic pianotunes. It is easy to get the vibe of years with perspectival development throughout this record, and surely this is something that Mr.Andresen will provide in the future. He is an out of the crowd-, interesting- and worth-listening-to – artist.

You can find the album ” A part of this puzzle” in record shops in Norway (platekompaniet), on spotify, last.fm and itunes. The music video for “Looking Back” is also online.

I promise you that you will hear his songs in a future not too distant.

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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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Reviewing old photos of mine, I realized these never got posted.

120 tx vs 135mm velvia @ hk ´06.

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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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A series of diptyches taken last October; it might just grow. They might be speaking in tones of romaticizing the area, but there really is something exquisite and clean about the place, in that it might sparkle imagination or zoom out and seeing cultures cross. What I´ve wanted to do is capture the experiencing of this place. I know half a million people go through her everyday, but the experience by itself is something interesting, particularily for the young and oriental.

Interesting rendezvouz.

One korean guy travelling with 4 girls. They had been through Switzerland and Paris, and they happened to sit in on the same wagon as me. We conversed, joked, misunderstood. Later we bumped into eachother by the entrance and I was amused by his manner of posing for photos. His spirit caught onto me and I decided to take the Hasselblad out and finish the color film. He showed me polaroids he had taken during his trip and I was impressed with the vividness and flavour of the “prints”.

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Prague series. Photographed with Hasselblad 503 CM. January 2010.

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January 1st, 2010; Binary date followed with slide play.

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Exploring Prague with misses mariposa. We were both fascinated about being in a new culture, and making the best of the little time we had there. Scanning more as I speak.

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on my way to work today :) she did not even notice me.

today´s learning: whenever you write about somebody, they are the first person you meet next day. you happen to be late because you were up very late. odd.

don´t talk to chinese people about chinese noodles being thick, they won´t pronounce it right. auch

whenever you do not bring your film camera wherever, you most likely will see something of a very particular nature. regrets. kid over 2.20 meters. with semi midgety friends.

so this afternoon i finally found the time to deliver some of my films to a lab; they should be ready by wednesday. the whole waiting thing does something to your body.

very well then, it´s time to read a book :)

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She and her heart. That was such a good walk. Place and time were of no significance. There was barely another soul crossing our paths.

Northern Sweden / summer of 2009
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very true and honest photographic documents by Mark Steinmetz.

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Fuji Provia 400. January 2009. Photoshoot with my friend Lars. A prolonged entry with his album and the work soon.
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Isar river / Fall / Winter 2009. Ilford delta 400 w / Hasselblad 80mm 2.8

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2 days,7 ilford delta 120´s, 3 neopan 1600 and some regular ilford delta. What am I trying to do? well, the Madame and I have been reflecting on that on the trip back.

so last week we were planning a trip to Berlin, but it did seem a bit far fetched to buy train tickets there for the price of a trip where you could cross the atlantic. I don´t think so. Vienna was still an option but just for curiosity of possibility we checked Prague, and found a very good deal on a train/bus journey from Munich via Nurnberg. Took us 5 hours. We did some useful research on where to stay, and although none of us have been there we recognize that the older parts of Easter cities can pull of charm and offer something authentic. In the case of Prague that meant proximity to the castle itself, which we loved. It was very cold, I partly lost my voice (as I know it) on saturday, and it was tricky for misses Mariposa to not get caught by the motion of the cough and sore throat. This meant we had plenty of tea and took it generall easy. Even some shoes hopping was not a bad idea, given summer shoes won´t last much this winter. A little late to figure, but shopping is not a top priority.

We had a very awkward day today, very different from yesterday, twofolded though, a great morning with the slowest snow dive and beautiful light. we were listening to classical music in the hotel room in the morning, opened our windows towards the river and it was something i will always remember. i´ve never been so eager with my hasselblad.

there is little hesitating the statement, Prague is a work of Art! Now art is not about beauty only. It is a ground for communication, what is reality. It may be an escape, but with the tools at hand it is working towards truth, at least attempt wise.

In only these two days we had many encounters, those which were the regular meetings, for food or drinks, accommodation were of course mixed. i dare say we were lucky with the hotel but we have mix feelings for the attitude among some people we met. whenever that is the case you have to zoom into the landscape of tourism, and look at the fact that you are part of this conglomerate, and Prague does pull great force and god knows what crowds overall look like going in and out of this place all year long. anyhows, we are small dectectives who strive to find beauty but today we found ourselves in a complete discomfort on the return trip.

I am reminded by Obama´s speech at the nobel conerence, not of which originality should be claimed, but of who a big crowd will listen more carefully at, and that is which is the dark side of our existence, which cannot be denied.

my brave lady made a small clip with her new ipod on the train, while we were sitting next to what we believed was explicit anti semitism. her ipod is pink flash and we were sitting opposite isle of these very obnoxious people. we acted in with as if we were listening to music, but right now we would just be happy we are safe home and have what we recorded translated. I dare say it was not any good. maybe we will find a way of posting it. the only thing we know is that ( although we don´t understand german) we know when you hear a muslim prayer on a ringtone disrupt into the sound of a bullet, you are not surrounded by people of any good intentions.

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Today I finished a 10 week project; it has been very much to complete the last days and its been a number too many late nights the last week tweaking timelines.

No room for failures of any sort.

After a certain point (such as the middle of the night) the focusing sharpness has simply a dubious efficiency, but writing this now, is only happening because I managed through it. Now I can finally find some time for all the other interesting things outside work ( work has also been interesting lately, although I sometimes wonder how incredibly strong pressure it must be when you are hired, when just being an intern can pull out a lot of your energy; as in: where is this path going to?). My lady is in town and since we now have seen Munich it would be interesting to see Berlin or go back to Vienna. Both are new for her. Philip, who studied in Umeå with me, is in Vienna and it would be great to see him again. Anyways we need to figure that out the next days. Or better, tonight. One very strong reason for going to Berlin is to go to “All Saints”, both of which we dig as fashion.

We are both a funny sight, cause we are both walking around the streets of Bavaria with our small olympus analogue cameras, just a model apart, and we now exchange lenses and all. We photograph the same people at different times without knowing of it.

For the time she is her, I don´t find myself doing any scanning of any sort. I do have plenty of film though, and really wish for an adventure to another city.

So for now, here are some frames I scanned from oktoberfest; they were frames that for me talked to you.

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Do you believe that imagination can be one the most valuable features of existence and conscience? The author of ´Where the Wild Things Are´has made a beautiful narrative which surely has alivened in many minds. Had the chance to watch this film tonight with my dear and it was enchanting and interesting beyond. The kid is such an admirable actor, it makes you wonder how many more kids out there have talent unscouted.

December and January are great movie months. It will be a root of this blog to bring to light good cinema.

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Velvia slide – one of the better films out there. The 100F is the less saturated version, and looking at the slide itself feels like a micro replication of the real thing. It´s so incredbly vivid. I made this frame in late August I think, quite the stretch down the isar.  Scanned with epson v500.

note: I do not know if this refers to the limitations of a flatbed scanner or the slight compression to jpg, but the original image is much greener, so was the sight at view too. I have to try out some more slides, and get comfortable with color vocabulary, it seems intricate.

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The first scans from the epson v500. I´ve waited for this moment for so long; will see if I can make next weekend a scanning intensive. Now out.

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Photographs by Hance McElroy worth examining. This strings a recollection the the very well told animation film ´up ´where imagination would escape matters of cynicism. But imagination alone cannot exclude that this is totally messed up. Why is architecture becoming a beast?

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