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Fire Brigade - Architecture

Norbert — Fri, 26 May 2023 20:36:52 +0000

The Rescue Control Center of Fulda Fire Brigade

In May I spent a few days at the “Fototage” at Burg Fürsteneck. As part of a workshop on architectural photography with Rolf Nobel, the new rescue control center of the Fulda fire brigade was also on the shortlist. Lucky me.... I love modern architecture with clean lines, and this building had taken my fancy for a while on Steimle Architekten's website.

Many thanks to the great staff of the rescue control center, who put up with us for hours with great patience and supported us perfectly in all matters! It was a pleasure!

Lorsbach

Norbert — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 14:12:38 +0000

The first 7 years

…of my life I grew up in Lorsbach, a small village near Frankfurt. I still remember the street light near our house, which was attached on both sides of the street with a rope. At night, from my bed, I could watch moths tirelessly circling the light in their strange ups and downs.

Sometimes the light swayed in the wind and conjured staggering shadows on the walls of the bedroom until I fell asleep.

Roadtrip Rhön

Norbert — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 14:36:00 +0000

4 Days in May 2022

In May 2022 I spent 4 days in the Rhön and tried to capture with my camera the landscape with its low mountains, the lonely roads, and the small towns where you sometimes meet more cats than people.

Silence

Norbert — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 20:13:03 +0000

It took us 9 months to clear out the apartment where I had grown up during my school years and where my mother had lived for 55 years until she passed away.

In the first weeks I was rarely in the apartment, just taking care of the flowers and taking only books and small things with me. The silence was so unfamiliar that I called out "Hello" after unlocking the door, just as I always did. With each box of clothes I took to the Red Cross, with each piece of furniture we cleared out, with each lamp, with each carpet, the silence became more bearable, less personal, more normal, more past, more memory.

June 15

Norbert — Sat, 02 Oct 2021 18:02:00 +0000

At the age of 93,

On June 15th, 2021 at 15.20h she died, while I was on a business trip in the east of Germany. When the nurse called me, I was walking on a crossover at a chemical plant with a client, and could not take the call. But I knew it anyway.

That evening, alone in the hotel in a town where I have not been before, I went out for something to eat and found a small Italian restaurant with a lovely terrasse, touched by the late evening sun. The wind was chilly but I didn’t care.

Ward E2 West

Norbert — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 18:51:27 +0000

On Tuesday after Easter, April 6th, I took my mother to the hospital. She knew long before we did that her time was almost up. It was not the fear of death that worried her, it was the sadness that her time with the people she loved would irretrievably melt away, that she would no longer be able to participate in our lives, would no longer be able to take care of us, and would leave us alone for ever.

. . .

As I wait outside the ward door for my Corona test result, the hospital seems deserted, as if the virus had sucked the life out of the corridors. No other visitors, no staff with beds, no doctor with a stethoscope in his pocket. Only distant noises and the omnipresent hospital smell of floor wax and disinfectant distract me.

The ward door opens.

1875 km East

Norbert — Thu, 20 May 2021 20:03:00 +0000

Belarus…

“Due to computer problems, your direct flight to Minsk has been cancelled.
Please proceed to the counter for further information.”

That’s how my business trip to Belarus started early in the morning, some time ago. Lufthansa’s always friendly ground staff managed to get me to Minsk via Warsaw, so that finally, five hours later than scheduled, our business partner picked me up at Minsk airport. We drove by car some hundred kilometers further to the northeast, until we reached our goal, a small town, 1875 km from home. I had never been to Belarus before, and the most surprising thing for me was the utter flatness of the country. Endless, mostly straight roads, sparse birch forests alternating with some coniferous trees, and flat plains whose main color is green in all shades.

I stayed two nights in a huge hotel that seemed to be a remnant from the USSR and accommodated few guests. The predominant color of my room was green: pale green walls, heavy dark green curtains with a green woven pattern, a worn greenish carpet, white sheer curtains, and a formerly white ceiling that seemed to reflect all the different shades of green, merging them into a dim light that reminded me of my early childhood and the mood in my long-dead grandparents’ bedroom. Time seemed to stand still.

We went out for some food, a few beers and vodka.

Later, when dusk had given way to night, I turned on the TV and zapped aimlessly through all the Russian-language channels I didn’t understand, until I stopped at a music channel called “sexy”.

I decided to capture my feelings on film.

P.S.: My luggage arrived from Frankfurt just in time - to check-in for the return flight! (That’s the reason why I own some Belarusian underwear, shirts and toothpaste) … So please don’t complain about the image quality, it’s just my phone and an app for a bit of green. From now on I will always keep my camera in the hand luggage…

Oct. 2017, Late Afternoon

Norbert — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 17:19:39 +0000

Sometimes…

Sometimes I lose track of my photos for a while, sometimes I don't feel like sifting through and editing them right away, sometimes they gather dust on the hard drive waiting to be rediscovered at some point down the line.

It's been 4 years since I took these photos in downtown Frankfurt - without a face mask, in the old days, long before the Corona virus. How much life has changed since then, how little we have been aware of the freedom to go anywhere, to have a coffee in the sun, to meet friends...

I love the late afternoons, when the low sun conjures slowly moving shadows in the urban canyons, colors suddenly light up and are swallowed up elsewhere, and reflections of large glass fronts create surreal illuminations.

Memories

Norbert — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 21:48:00 +0000

Plants of my Childhood

The New Frankfurt II

Norbert — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 21:25:38 +0000

Römerstadt

I have never been before in this part of Frankfurt called "Römerstadt", another Siedlung planned by Ernst May. There is always anticipation in exploring something new, but carefulness and distance as well, especially in late autumn, when dusk comes early.

Shot with Fujifilm X100F and X-Pro 3 + 14mm f2.8

The New Frankfurt I

Norbert — Sat, 14 Nov 2020 21:09:40 +0000

Westhausen

Although I am living near Frankfurt for many years, I don't really know this city. My small trip to “Siedlung Westhausen” was a positive surprise, Westhausen welcomed me, open, colorful and more spacious than I had expected.

Westhausen is one of several settlements planned by Ernst May (1886 - 1970), a German architect and city planner. In the context of a housing shortage, May assembled a powerful staff of progressive architects and initiated the large-scale housing development program “New Frankfurt” in 1925. May's developments were remarkable for the time for being compact, semi-independent, well-equipped with community elements like playgrounds, schools, theatres, and common washing areas. For the sake of economy and construction speed May used simplified, prefabricated forms.

Wide-Open Sky

Norbert — Sun, 23 Aug 2020 14:21:34 +0000

It’s more than a year ago now. We spent a day on the Wasserkuppe, a large plateau formation at an elevation of nearly 1.000m and the highest peak in the Rhön Mountains. Near the summit there is an airfield used by gliding clubs and pilots of light aircrafts and some crowded restaurants.

I spent the hours walking aimlessly around the plateau, the sun on my skin, the fresh air clearing my mind. Disappearing between the hikers, roamers and visitors, going unnoticed under the wide-open sky.

Organized Jungle

Norbert — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 20:56:00 +0000

The last few months of the Corona lock-down have passed me by, at least in photographic terms. I hardly picked up my camera, and if I did, I did not leave the house, instead I just took a few shots around the homeoffice. Fortunately, I was really busy in my real-life job (and I still am), but moreover, I was just not in the mood to document the “new normal” life. On the streets I am still in a crazy, dreamlike mood, putting on my mask before entering a shop, preventing to touch anything, planning my steps carefully to avoid crossing the paths of other people and to keep distances. Back in my car driving home I feel safe again - the golden harvested fields on both sides of the street, the skyline of Frankfurt bathed in the pale blue of the sky, the gentle summer breeze caressing my skin through the open window - it feels so normal, so beautiful, so familiar, so protective…

Hanne could not perceive my mood, when we met some weeks ago. She told me about the Botanical Garden in Frankfurt. Botanical Garden? You mean “Palmengarten”, the famous garden with all those exotic plants and trees? No, she said, the Botanical Garden. It’s a beautiful small place near the Palmengarten, and you should go there and take photos.

Hanne was right, the place is indeed a small oasis of calm, a kind of organized jungle, structured in different habitats according to the plants’ needs, traversed by small trails and paved paths, most of the plants neatly labeled. My mood cleared up.

Leftover

Norbert — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 16:40:42 +0000

“Don’t wait home for me darling,
I’m not coming home!
Draw the blinds and set the alarm,
'Cause I’m not coming home
In the morning you will rise
With in your eyes
'Cause I’ll be gone,
I’m moving on
Goodbye, so long!”
Melody Gardot

The Challenge

Norbert — Sun, 24 May 2020 19:49:00 +0000

Cloth

The challenge from Ina:

“Take anything made of cloth from the attic, place it somewhere in the castle and show me some emotions. I’ll see you in the afternoon.”

Shadows and Lines

Norbert — Wed, 06 May 2020 20:23:13 +0000

The emails…. all sent, finally. I closed the laptop on my desk. Out of the window the sky was tinted in soft pale grey colors, the light slowly starting to fade. Evening of another homeoffice day. When will this Corona mess come to an end, the virus finally be stopped?

I got up from my chair, collected the empty coffee cups from the desk, turned round, ready to open the door and leave the room. The white magazine file holder, from which I had taken out the project papers, still stood empty on the dark floor tiling… Why hadn’t I ever noticed the pure, contrasty lines before? I put the coffee cups down again and picked up my camera instead, lines on my mind, all troubles gone for the time being.

X100F, X-Pro 3, Acros, ISO 2500…8000

I Failed...

Norbert — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 20:18:11 +0000

I am a rational guy with strong principles. I love taking photos, and my Fujifilm gear is still excellent, even though it is some years old. I am not interested in new photo equipment. I don’t need new gear, although my photos could be much better. But that’s my fault, not my camera’s fault. I am sure, I don’t suffer from G.A.S.*

I am still in love with my 7 year old Fujifilm X-Pro 1. I mean, I still love my X100, too (which I have given to my daughter recently). And my X100F, I love it too. And, of course, my old analog Contax ST. And all the glass, Zeiss and Fuji… I am an engineer, and being informed about new, fascinating technical gear is always very interesting, it is a must - but I don’t need to buy new equipment, I am well supplied.

On the other hand… nothing is wrong with having reliable gear, new gear, any camera could fail anytime, so a spare camera is absolutely vital! I did not look into the X-Pro 2 or any X-E or X-T model lately … but… the new X-Pro 3 is such a lovely camera, isn’t it? And this beautiful video from Patrick LaRoque is so convincing in every aspect: emotionally, technically and… the camera is so beautiful… and technically top-notch: fast autofocus, a new sensor with some more megapixels, a much better electronic viewfinder, a hidden fold down display on the back, usable for waist-level street shooting, a small rear status panel, and so much more new technical stuff! I am sure, the camera would let me re-open my eyes and senses for colors, details, feelings…would help me to get better as a photographer, to feel better… Did I mention that my X-Pro 1 is 7 years old now and may fail ANYtime?

Recently, something really unexpected happened. A lovely black X-Pro 3 sitting all alone in the window of a small camera shop, directly looking at me, when I strolled by aimlessly, just accidentially. So I had to get in, my heart pounding, just to take a closer look, just for technical reasons and just to remain confident that my gear is good enough…

After some seconds, the new camera in my hand, I could not resist. I failed. I failed completely, but I am happy :-)

The X-Pro 3 is so much better in every aspect than the X-Pro 1 - with one exception: the decision of Fujifilm to use a single magnification optical viewfinder (OVF) means you can't properly judge your framing though the OVF if you use a lens wider than 23mm. This isn't an issue for me, since the new EVF is excellent, and I have always been a lover of the EVF, but anyway, the new OVF is on the negative side.

Last week I have spent some time playing with the extended tone curve settings of the b/w Acros film simulation. With my other cameras I often use softer highlights (-2) and deeper shadows (+2). Finally I came up with a new favorite setting: highlights +2 or +3, shadows +4. I really like it…. All pictures are jpegs OOC, size adjusted, shot with the 2.4 60mm.

*) For those who don’t know G.A.S: Gear Aquisition Syndrome, wanting to buy new cameras, because you feel like your photos aren’t good enough, because your camera isn’t good enough. For those who really suffer: How To Conquer G.A.S.

Bad Kreuznach

Norbert — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 19:28:00 +0000

“Whether you’re looking for wellness, hiking, cycling, good local wines, a health holiday, spa treatments or simply want to explore the magnificent natural landscape of this area, Bad Kreuznach offers it all… Shoppers can find everything here, from food, textiles and shoes, to electrical goods and DIY stores… There is a lot to see and discover in Bad Kreuznach: buildings and churches steeped in history, monuments, museums, works of art, and also the beauty of the landscape…”

The claims of the tourist information webpages of Bad Kreuznach (a small spa town near Frankfurt) seem bright and appealing. And I have seen it all, at least a small part of it :-) the famous old houses on the beautiful bridge over the river Nahe, the natural landscape, the historical walls, the nice cafés, friendly people. Except… What I have felt roaming through the streets was completely different. Maybe you can blame it on the grey, cloudy and cold German wheather, on my desire for shadows and black color, or you can imagine me in doomsday mood - my pictures do neither look like the pictures of the Bad Kreuznach website nor like the photos my friends brought back from the same day.

Sorry… I am sure I have been unfair to Bad Kreuznach…

A Children's Game

Norbert — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 15:26:01 +0000

When I was a small boy, we used to play hide-and-seek in our flat at some of my birthday parties. I remember having a lot of fun with my brother and my friends, but when the darkness crept up in the evening, and all lights had been switched off, the shadows and objects started to turn into blurry creatures.

My mother is still living at the same place. While the decades went by, little has changed, except I have grown much older.

The challenge “Take photos of a children’s game” has been an idea of Stefan, my friend and photography teacher, to whom I owe much.

The Colors of NYC

Norbert — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 18:00:00 +0000

It was my first stay in New York City, and it will not be my last.

I have never seen a light mingled with colors like this. You can see it, you can reach out and touch it, you can feel it: the dark auburn and light clay brown of the apartment blocks, the rusty weather-beaten brown of the iron bridges, the hundred times repainted black of the bony fire ladders, fences and railings, the filthy grey brown of the pavement, the impenetrable reflective blue and brown of the skyscrapers’ glass panels, the earthy yellow of the buzzing taxis, the humid grey of the hot sky, the fathomless blue green of the sea.

All those soft nuances and vibrant tints blend to the brownish colors of the light, the light that shines on people, buildings, parks and streets, placing everything onstage for a split second while the shutter is released.

Shot with iPhone 4.