Swimming with dolphins... wooow... yesss... holiday... never been to Egypt, and afterwards roaming through temples and tombs with a friend who knows an awful lot about all of it? Absolutely! A long journey through rocky desert, on roads getting worse and worse, to a small harbour in the south. And then water and wide open space... ...first just enjoy, look, feel, arrive... water, warmth, wide open space. No idea what to expect — experiencing a few creatures in their comfort zone, visiting them, disturbing them? What makes us humans think we have to sail out there and drop anchor just to swim with them? Isn't that seriously intrusive? And then the first times in the water, in our own play mode, diving into the play mode of these creatures, inviting and being invited to play, to feel, learning to read fin and head communication, flowing, dancing. Being sized up, fixed by a few clear, piercing black eyes — and at some point feeling a deep acceptance. Even though it isn't our natural habitat, and in that sense we are intruders, there is no resentment or aversion towards us if you arrive with the right, pure energy. Instead, a big invitation to be here, to let yourself be eyed with curiosity, be invited to play, be explored by the little ones, who sometimes tear around so boisterously that we almost collide. Diving, turning, gliding upwards, spiralling up into the sunbeams, sometimes together with a dolphin who doesn't want to miss a good round of play, two hand-widths apart, eye to eye, locked in — sharing, in the middle of the movement, a still, static, endless moment while the world around simply, literally keeps turning... ...meditating into the red sunrise in the mornings, shuttling between “land” and water all day, being half down there and living there for a week... one of the most intense animal encounters I've had so far, in a shared joy and playful lightness that was special and always will be. Endless gratitude to all the wonderful beings, above and below the water, who made all of this possible!
❍ events
with heart
At Schloss Blumenthal, right after the famous Elfenfestival, Herzflug is exactly what its name says — a flight of the heart. For me, the biggest crowd of beautiful, clear, radiant people I’d seen in a very long time, and — for the first time in ages — three nights running of just properly losing it to good DJ sets. Favourite line, from Vish, the DJ and host, after a cacao ceremony for 500 people: ‘now I’m going to get every last one of them properly grounded again!’ And he did — himself behind the decks included. Sounds, chants, making things, flailing about, a clown-chakra workshop, bare feet stamping in the meadow, fire in a dozen forms = Herz-FluG!
This is what happens, when beautiful people with beautiful voices, skills, tastes come together at the beach with a bunch of instruments packed on the open stage... That's how things flow!
'In there it's like the world is shifting.' said a little girl coming out of the (big) barn where the main stage was set as part of the old four-side-farm in Austria where Paul Zauner is organising this extremely exquisite festival already since decades. Whine-bar in the pigsty, tents under the apple trees, granny helps everywhere, somehow this says it all...
Music has always pulled me in with the camera, because that's where the dimensions are at their thinnest, their finest. And people at their most unconditionally authentic and honest. No masks, pure expression from the inside out. And still ethereal, not holdable, not graspable, not reproducible, fleeting... So one summer in particular I went to countless concerts and simple jams with friends, and enjoyed my lens as one more instrument.
The Theaterfestival Isny quickly became my cultural pivot in the Allgäu. If I had a bucket list, 'pitch a circus tent' would definitely be on it — and thanks to this, it could even come with a tally. Ten days of workshops spread all over town, and in the tent concerts somewhere between 'theatre on 2 cubic metres' and 'big-city whispers', with Meret Becker and Jesper Munk among them, celebrating the whole range of creativity. Photographing the workshops enchanted me fast: how intimate the spaces were that I got to dip into for a moment each time — and sometimes simply join in, right in the middle of it. Still, by a long way, the most beautiful festival I have ever been to!
Lisa has long been one of our great sources of inspiration in the social-media world. Her beautiful, grounded way with spirituality and the topic of money made me see, learn and rethink a lot. When a live seminar came up, for my wife it was very quickly an ‘Oh, I’d love that’ — and since the seminar was in South Tyrol too, a favourite place and puuurely by chance nearby, there was the cheeky extra idea: ‘might she even need photos of the seminar?’ Hm… a bit cheeky to just ask, no? But what’s there to lose?! Write a nice email with the idea of gifting my wife the seminar, plus the photo option, send, wait. What could happen… …well, a quick, kind yes, for instance, two lovely direct voice messages back and forth, ta-daaaa, booked! Wow, nice — so it can feel like this too. New information for the business nervous system: it really doesn’t always have to be difficult and complex and scarcity-driven. Grande, more of that, that’s how it’s lovely. Big thank you, Lisa.
Winter solstice retreat with Shiva Rea on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
We got this invitation for giving a workshop at this little festival that we never heard of, but both organizers quite instantly felt so familiar and at home that it was out of question that we'd love to be there. And it was more than worth it! so much beauty and love around without being haughty or anything else too 'spiritual' was amazingly falling out of a cliche that definitely exists, but had no place here in this amazingly rooted and healthy atmosphere. The festival is on pause unfortunately, but some connections are still active and there even after two years... wow!
I really always called myself a not-people-photographer for a couple of reasons. 1) you have to deal with people, which i did not want to do for a long time for a multitude of reasons. Obligations to ask permission, not wanting to deal with masks and facades that people put onto themselves, etc... 2) not wanting to having to live up to other peoples expectations. Especially around weddings. The one special day of a lifetime and what if you miss THE moment?! 3) I really didn't feel like i was ready to feel confident about what i can do with the camera. So a solid portion of shame and lack of self-confidence was in the pot as well. And then of course it happend what had to happen... friends and family started to ask if i could take some pictures... 'mmmnnngngnggaaaaOkkkish (?)' Damnit, a serious lack of not being able to say clearly but lovingly NO pushed some buttons as well and there I was. On the wedding of some friends. And then... surprisingly I found that there was already enough self-confidence established, enough boldness, enough detachment from other peoples expectations, that i just dove into my viewfinder and my own flow, and enjoyed the day! Before going through the pictures the first time my brain of course was full of 'I missed this that' and 'there i should have been earlier or closer or whatever...' Just to find myself finding out, that wedding photography somehow seems to be really easy going! Nice people on a beautiful day for a really special occasion tends to be the easiest thing to shoot, even if you think you missed so much that you perceived, there are soooo many amazing shots that the missing out monster went quite silent rather quickly. It still likes to poke it's head out every now and then, but i learned to welcome it and unwind the energy that it likes to wrap into as disguise and re-wind it into faces, funny moves, unconventional poses and places to just enjoy a beautiful day with beautiful people and then beautiful pictures are sort of the by-product anyways.
❍ behind the cam:
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