April 13th, 2009 §
Vienna is a beautiful city. When you spend time in the central districts or in the north of the city, you might think it is the greenest place on earth, hardly a city at all.
The city's most prestigious districts are all to the north: Döbling, the 19th district.
But if you go south it's another story. Here are some photographs from the south of Vienna. Wien Sud is all railway tracks, ports, canals and airports. Even electrical plants and oil tanks (no pictures of the oil tanks this time).
wien energie
wien docks crane
The two photos above are not strange crops but enormous panoramas. More info, including large files.
There is a sort of strange beauty in industrial landscape so this post should not be seen as a condemnation but an investigation into the Vienna's industrial look.
Wien Sud - Vienna's Industrial South End Continues »
April 6th, 2009 §
Tomasz Stanko is a legend of Jazz trumpet. He's won more prizes than you or I could forget. So what has he done with his later years?
Instead of getting toasty around the couch playing old standbys (often what happens to older jazz musicians and even more so with rockers), boring himself and us, Stanko puts together a new collective every two or three years with hand-picked younger recruits.
With fresh blood in his veins (Stanko refers to himself as a vampire), he infects his young with his talent and musical ingenuity. The result tonight is called the Tomasz Stanko Nordic Quintet.
The music was langorous and melodic. An easy to degust, but complex pleasure.
Alexi Tuomarila's work on the piano was understated but overwhelming. Olavi Louhivuori showed more flash on drums but equal power. While less scintillating themselves, Jakob Bro and Anders Christensen on electric guitar and electric bass solidly held up the foundation under Stanko, Tuomarila and Louhivuori.
Not to be missed if you get the chance.
Here are some pictures of Tomasz Stanko Nordic Quintet in action at Porgy & Bess - I recommend clicking an image for the slideshow as that houndstooth jacket wreaks havoc with the ImageMagick thumbnail algorithms.
Alexi Tuomarila Tomasz Stanko (Leica 90mm 2.8)
Alexi Tuomarila Tomasz Stanko Jakob Bro (Leica 90mm 2.8)
Tomasz Stanko Nordic Quintet at Porgy & Bess Continues »
March 27th, 2009 §
On Monday, I thought I was dropping in on a young composers concert at Porgy and Bess. Something about the Konservatorium Wien. To my surprise, there turned out to be as much dance and performance as music.
MIR geht es gut - Petra Straussová
The best dance piece which I saw was called MIR geht es gut. It's about two girlfriends who meet repeatedly in the underground or at a joga class or via a quick handy call. If you've lived in Vienna any period of time, you are familiar with the persistenty shallow "Mir geht's gut und dir?" At first you think they really want to know. But not at all. It's equivalent of the empty North American. "How are you?" for which there is only one acceptable answer. "I'm great and how are you?"
MIR geht es gut - Petra Straussová
It's an absurd situation. Why do people speak at all if they have nothing to say. Both Petra Staussová and Simone Kühle managed to catch the inflection and frantic feel-good vibe of the modern urban woman perfectly.
MIR geht es gut at the Fidelio-Wettbewerb Konservatorium Wien Continues »
March 5th, 2009 §
It had been a long time since my good friend Kathi (now Dr. Kathi Kastner - congratulations!) and I sat down for a Viennese coffee and chat. Back at home in Prückel, one of the first Viennese cafés I visited and perhaps my favorite is Café Prückel, next to Statdtpark on the edge of the first district.
Winter in Cafe Pruckel Vienna 3
Winter in Cafe Pruckel Vienna 4
Portrait of Kathi
For a time I even tried to work in Café Prückel as it is wonderfully bright during the day. But it is just too smoky for more than an hour or two.
The goulash soup is classic.
February 24th, 2009 §
Sunday night in Vienna, fluffy snow floated throughout the city. Gorgeous.
Some of my friends (including the Viennese occasionally) wonder what it is about Vienna that I love so much. I wouldn't trade life in Vienna for any city on earth. So there will be a few photos to show you the magic of the city.
Here are the bikes outside my place.
Bikes in the snow
On the way across Stadtpark there was a lady in the park with a camera and an umbrella. I like how the traffic lights turned Stadtpark into a late February Christmas tree.
Traffic light
Crossing Statpark one passes by the old canal which flows into the main Donaukanal down by the Urania Kino, home of the Viennale. I have tried to photograph these lamps before but the snow really takes the whole scene back to the eighteen hundreds, one sees gas lamps and expects the sounds of carriages.
Licht Stadtpark
At Porgy and Bess it was the opening of the Austrian Accordeon Festival (next time you might want to order a website from Foliovision - we'll give you a special offer - and some photos from Max or I). I had come along to see child wonder Paul Schuberth play his orginal compositions but the fourteen year old was long gone replaced by some crazy raucous Polish accordionists, The Motion Trio.
Snow in Vienna | Motion Trio Accordeons | Oscar Night Continues »
February 24th, 2009 §
Rigmor Gustafsson Quartet at Porgy and Bess Vienna February 24 2009.
The club was quite full. The audience really enjoyed Rigmor Gustafsson's sets. The musicians were very professional. A good chill atmosphere. Nothing electric though. An agreeable evening of pop-jazz.
Something of a time-warp back to the days of James Taylor and Carly Simon. Amusingly enough those two are now bourgeois.
Rigmor Gustafsson Quartet 1
Rigmor Gustafsson Quartet 9
Rigmor Gustafsson Quartet 19
Rigmor Gustafsson Quartet at Porgy and Bess Vienna Continues »
November 11th, 2008 §
I've just shot quite a brilliant show - Nikolaus Adler's Oedipus is Complex. I got some good shots but I missed a lot of the most powerful sections while shooting. Was I not paying attention? No, I was paying very close attention and watching my shots go by while withholding fire.
Boris Nebyla lets loose in Nikolaus Adler's Oedipus is complex
Shot with Canon 20D and Canon 50mm 1.4 1/160 sec f2.2 ISO800
What happened then?
Shutter noise. Oedipus is Complex was a live event and my friend Jörg was shooting a film version. So what we agreed with producer Nicolaus Selimov was:
- no shooting in quiet spots
- no rapid fire bursts (not something I'm inclined to do anyway - I pick my moments)
- minimal number of photos except in very high volume sections
And following this prescription:
- the performance was not disrupted by my shooting
- the photographs are quite good
But I did miss a lot of the strongest emotional moments with the performer alone on stage. And some of the sections which I do have could be even better (but I had a choice of three images instead of ten).
So both inspired and frustrated by this evening I went camera browsing for the first time in a couple of years (I've been very happy with my 20D, particularly since I put the Canon 50 MM F1.4 on it). I started by making a checklist for the perfect camera for dance photography:
Here are the camera requirements for dance (or classical concert) photography in order of priority:
Seven Features of the Perfect Camera for Dance Photography Continues »
April 4th, 2007 §
Dan Heller doesn't seem to think that any company can dominate the stock photo market. Getty Images is making a play now by entering the low end in force (they have the middle and middle-high end under control).
Getty's objective is less about controlling the images as it is about controlling the places that sell them. And while they may achieve a short-term monopoly on certain distribution outlets, which may result in higher prices for some small specialty markets, that short honeymoon period for Getty will end once photo-sharing sites become new outlets for photographers where the open market can decide their rates. A photographer that may be working exclusively with an agency now will eventually find those greener pastures. Entities that currently have "exclusive" arrangements with agencies may also find those relationships aren't as valuable.
He has a point. A lot of people find my images on Google. Some people have licensed them. It just takes a single person or company to come up with a good photo catalogue and sales system and search itself can control sales.
Google Images, Getty and the Stock Photography Business Continues »
March 6th, 2007 §
A great online photo gallery. Damian Loeb's Unofficial Website.
Damian-Loeb-B35V6182
Loeb lets us see the images at a worthwhile size. I am so tired of galleries with tiny images (anything less than 1000 pixels wide and high). This is not 1997 anymore people. Broadband and goodly monitors are how the photo crowd surf. Copyright issues? A word: watermark.
Don't miss Loeb's out of date - alas - but very curious photo journal. Apparently for music fans Moby wanders these pictures.
January 30th, 2007 §
Great party on an icy Saturday night in Vienna.
Great dancing from this group of friends
this is what I love about goa
the music, the light and the joy
flowing through one's whole body.
Perfect moment.
Beautiful people. Nice atmosphere. Full, but not too crowded. Nothing worse than a goatrance party where there is no space to dance.
Austrian GoaTrance Photos: Cosmic Party WUK 27-1-2007 Continues »
