I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. I for myself had a great time with my family in my hometown, and a most quiet and relaxing four days away from work and the stress of daily freelancer life. Now I’m back in Munich and shooting again, and it’s time for another blog post. As I mentioned previously, I’m going to post some older stuff along with new work to catch up on the two months that I’ve been working at the paper and not blogging. So here’s an assignment that I shot back in October:
As a newspaper photographer, you sometimes don’t have the time to cover an assignment as in-depth as you would like to or the subject matter demands. This one here is definitely one of them. The story was about a support group for parents of children with cancer. Once a week, they arrange a breakfast at the children cancer ward of the hospital München Schwabing where the parents can hang out with each other and with their kids.
I was supposed to take pictures of some of the parents and their children and I had two hours for the assignment – considering my regular schedule where I often only have an hour or less for an assignment including getting there and back, this was a lot. But confronted with the topic at hand I felt like the two hours were gone in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless it was incredibly rewarding to spend this – albeit limited – time with the kids and their parents. It was inspiring to see how strong some of the people I met that day were and how gracefully they handled their situation. It also made me realize once again how trivial a lot of our little daily life problems really are.
Jaqueline Thorwirth tends to her 15-year-old son Christoph while he is getting a round of chemo at the out-patient station of the children cancer ward at the hospital München Schwabing in Munich, Thursday, October 11, 2012. Christoph was diagnosed with Leukemia in April of 2012.
Seven-year-old Stefan picks a movie for his portable DVD-player as he is about to receive a several-hour-long round of chemo in the out-patient station of the children cancer ward at the hospital München Schwabing in Munich, Thursday, October 11, 2012. Stefan was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was six.
December 28, 2012
Last week I shot the opening of a new restaurant at the phantasmagoric BMW Welt, a billion-dollar glas palace that houses BMW’s own brand museum. The new place is run by Käfer Feinkost with Bobby Bräuer as the chef – both highly acclaimed names in the international food world. I submitted a couple of shots to the paper and they ran two of them. This one here didn’t make the cut, but it’s my favorite of the whole take. Bobby seems so concentrated on what he’s doing while the reflection in the glass suggests the intricate architecture of the prominent building.
Star chef Bobby Bräuer puts the finishing touches on a dish in the kitchen of the new Käfer restaurant "Bavarie" at the prestigious BMW Welt in Munich during the official opening of the restaurant on Wednesday, December 12, 2012.
December 16, 2012
Here’s another shot from a recent assignment. I had to get a feature of one of the Christmas markets that are all over Munich now. The paper ended up running a different picture, but I really love the moment here. There was this little Santa Claus on a bike that kept riding back and forth over a wire above people’s heads. When the little girls came, they were so amazed by it, they just stood there with their mouths open, holding each other’s hand, and watched it for what seemed to be an eternity. The moment kind of makes me jealous to be a child again, when something as simple as Santa on a bike can make your day…
Children stand and watch in awe as a tin-Santa Claus on a little bike wheels back and forth across a wire at Neuhauser Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) at Rotkreuzplatz in Munich. Wednesday, December 5, 2012.
December 12, 2012
Alright, here’s a short one with some pictures from two trips to Königssee National Park in Bavaria that we did this fall. The first one was THE trip to Königssee – the one where I proposed to Beth. The second one was a week later with our friends Jen and Justin who came visiting from St. Louis.
This little cove at Obersee, a smaller lake just southeast of Königssee, is where I asked Beth - right under that tree... This is literally the last corner of Germany. Everything around us here is already Austria. Sunday, September 30, 2012.
Jen is looking out the window of the tour boat on our way to the south end of the lake. Saturday, October 6, 2012.
The sun breaks through the clouds over the Watzmann family on the western shore of lake Königssee. Saturday, October 6, 2012.
The tour guide blows a trumpet into the famous "Echo Wall," a rock face on the Western shore reflecting sound multiple times. Saturday, October 6, 2012.
Sunlight caresses the rocks on the western shore just above St. Bartholomew's. Saturday, October 6, 2012.
The sun sets behind the Watzmann massive. Saturday, October 6, 2012.
The mountains surrounding lake Obersee reflect on the perfectly still surface of the deep blue water. Sunday, September 30, 2012.
The view east over lake Obersee. The horseshoe-shaped valley is the last corner of Germany, beyond the mountains lies Austria. Sunday, September 30, 2012.
December 7, 2012