A Good Reason

Hello!

Lately I have been  taking a lot of photos. It's spring, the light is coming back and the more I go outside, the more I see. I walk, halt and shoot photos. Without a good reason. Having worked as a freelance journalist half my life, I can't help but ask – ask myself – what is it that makes me going? Halting and taking all those photos. I could not come up with any satisfying answer yet.


Looking at my parents, I see a young woman shooting film. Cuttings film with this cutter on rainy afternoons, me and my sister looking thoroughly at those tiny tiny frames, finding ... us! And I see a young man, strolling around the city, early mornings, on his way to work, preseving moments on the corner of the streets of N.Y.C..

Sure, photography and film, both were huge in the late 1960's and 70's. Still, not everyone my age shares my love for photography. In my eyes, the brand KODAK was as strong as Coca-Cola. Recently, film has been experiencing a revival.

This year, my love for capturing the street – the city, the light, reflections and details –  seems to have reached a new level. A friend of mine says it's our age: the older you get, the more you appreciate the seasons. However ;-) it seems a good time to show you some Viennese corners you might not be familiar with. At the moment the DP2 Merrill is my workhorse.

Lets start ...

The light that greets me in the morning when I leave the house

The light on my way home, in the centre of Vienna, close to Volkstheater

 Austrian tradition, happening in Vienna. Yes, this is actually in Vienna, you have to trust me. I know my hometown. ;-)

 This is one of the oldes hospital complexes in Vienna at the moment, seen from the street. A few years from now people will live in these premises. A new housing complex is on its way.

 I fall for nostalgic typography, every single time. My nostalgia already starts in the late 80's.

One thing I like about Vienna is the distinction between its West, East, South and North. The West has it's own atmosphere, framed by hills. Those hills are – you have to believe me – the Eastern tail of the European Alps! That's where it ends. Or starts. Depending on your point of view.

One of my big loves is the love for sunlight reflections. Sunlight which is not supposed to lighten those corners and walls, because the sun at that time of the day is already behind the buidlings, those buidlings meant to be in the shade in the early evening, since they are facing East.

 This building works as the sun's giant reflector:

Around the corner of the giant reflector you can find a place which welcomes you with beguiling odour at this time of the year: the Vienna Volksgarten. Men enter the park, shouting "It smells like perfume!" It smells like perfume!"

 Syringa / lilac ready for full bloom

I have been told that the scent of lilac is one of the rare scents you won't find in a bottle. Maybe because it sickens people after a while? There is a chance to escape the odours, one of the more neutral parts of the gardens:

 In the rear you can see the building of the Austrian parliament.

Oh, and those cuuuute ducklings. 

They were floating around a small bassin.

They were also racing around the bassin. Not pictured: the crowd of adults, admiring the ducklings.

Maybe you have noticed (probably not): I have been playing with proportions, getting familiar with the square format, a format I am not familiar with. You, who own and use a smartphone are probably very familiar with the square. One word: instagram. I am taking a different, a more analogue approach.

Speaking of analogue: we are done! For the last 3 months we have been listening to 30 years of 33rpm. Every single side, including the B-sides :-) Approx. one third ot the record collection is going to leave the house. 

Two folders with 45rpm are left,. I enjoy listening to them a lot. Except for this rare single:

What you can't see is how they sing in "standard German", an absolute no-go when it comes to Austrian folk music.  

Have a nice day!

Paula