Last Saturday, I had to shoot one of the numerous costume parties that happen in Munich during the carnival season. It was co-hosted by a Turkish gallery owner and the vocalist of the German-Japanese ethno-blues band SaSeBo and themed – surprise, surprise – Japanese-Turkish. It was a visual treat and I had lots of fun shooting it. The icing on the cake was the band, though; their music was amazing, and I can’t wait to hear them play again. Following are three of my favorite frames:
From left, Klaus Köstler, his wife Angelika Köstler and Alexandra Hack chat at the Japanese-Turkish costume party at gallery Kullukcu in Munich, Saturday, February 9, 2013.
Party visitor Thomas Sachs, left, and the guitar player of SaSeBo, Yutaka Minegishi, cast shadows onto a projection of Japanese movie clips.
From left, Klaus Köstler, his wife Angela Köstler, a man who introduced himself as Ali Escigeoglu, and Alexandra Hack pose for a friend's camera.
February 11, 2013
This morning, Beth and I got up at 4 a.m. to cover the Kocherlball, a traditional Bavarian dance. Held once a year in the early morning hours of the third Sunday of July, the ball was originally an opportunity for the cooks and maids of the 18th century Bavarian nobility to find their future spouses. Nowadays, it is organized by the Cultural Department of the City of Munich to celebrate the city’s Bavarian heritage. Every year, thousands of people flock to the Chinese Tower in the English Garden to dance to the traditional music under the guidance of two dance masters.
It was one of these events that sound so amazing to shoot – Lederhosen, Dirndl, traditional dances, etc. – but turn out to be much harder than you think. The sheer masses of people everywhere are overwhelming, and you don’t really know where to begin. It is hard to get a good sense of place and an overview over the dancing crowds, and you quickly feel like you’ve exhausted all your visual possibilities. Nevertheless we had a lot of fun, and I think we complemented each other fairly well. Where Beth had some great moments, I think I got some nice scene setters. Look out for Beth’s pictures on her blog, here are mine:
July 15, 2012
When we were in Verona, we went to watch the opera Carmen in the Arena di Verona. Built in the year 30 AD, the arena has hosted everything from gladiator fights to medieval executions and more civilized gigs such as operas in later times. It was an absolutely unreal feeling to sit on the very marble that 70 generations before us have polished with their butts.
Spectators leave the Arena di Verona during intermission of the premiere show of the opera Carmen during the 90th Arena di Verona Opera Festival, Saturday, June 30, 2012. If you look closely, you can find Rita and Beth in there, too...
July 4, 2012
A while back, my sister Antonia had a gig with her band The Chartbreakers at the famous Munich bar Roy. As you can tell from the decoration, it was around Christmas time. If it’s not on deadline, stuff sometimes disappears from my radar, which is why I’m only posting these now. Business as usual…
February 6, 2012