West Coast, wild coast
Five years in California. The tallest trees, the steepest mountains, a big fat photo book.
Five years in California. The tallest trees, the steepest mountains, a big fat photo book.
Multimedia feature for the NGO Welthungerhilfe, published with the Global Hunger Index on October 11, 2016 >> or >> Ideally watch it on a large screen, Pageflow is very limited on mobile phones!
India has 84 dollar billionaires, but they don’t contribute much to reduce the country’s life-threatening poverty. India also has laws which guarantee the poorest the right to be alive, but they are not well implemented in the villages. However, in remote Jharkhand, 1,000 women stand up against this injustice. They search for 1 kg of rice per person that did not reach them. But they have more on their mind than just grains – they demand respect.
As students and friends often ask me this question, I have created a little flowchart to help you find a camera that fits your ambition, experience and purse – without endorsing specific brands. If you need more help, feel free to ask any question.
part of the photo exhibition “…und plötzlich diese Stille” (…suddenly there is silence), on display in the townhall of Wadersloh, Germany, as of April 20, 2016 >>
When the air raid warning went off, Samer* und Gazi* ran for their lives before bombs transformed their neighborhood into a landscape of rubble. Today father and son live in rural Liesborn-Göttingen and fear for their family whom they had to leave back in Syria.
part of the photo exhibition “…und plötzlich diese Stille” (…suddenly there is silence), on display in the townhall of Wadersloh, Germany, as of April 20, 2016 >>
In Germany, Kainat can finally go back to school. Her family fled from a remote Pashtun village still ruled by the Taliban, who forbid her to leave the house. In rural Westphalia, the eleven of them easily make friends as they are all avid football players. All of them except one-year-old Sana who prefers sitting on the ball to kicking it.
part of the exhibition “…and suddenly there is silence”, on display in the townhall of Wadersloh, Germany, as of April 20, 2016 >>
Sulyman is angry. Angry with himself, because he cannot do anything but “sleep, eat, drink” – in a house with 40 other worrisome men. And he is angry with the authorities. Six months have passed since his application for asylum; six months, in which his wife and small children have persevered between the front lines waiting for a family reunification visa. What, if the Syrian war is faster than the German authorities?
part of the photo exhibition “…und plötzlich diese Stille” (…suddenly there is silence), on display in the townhall of Wadersloh, Germany, as of April 20, 2016 >>
Farkhondeh*, Kurosh and their two daughters were betrayed. While they were on vacation, the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution broke into her house in Tehran and found figures of angels and crosses. Evidence. As Christians, they would have been immediately arrested upon entry. A smuggling truck was their salvation – but first, it was nearly their end.
part of the photo exhibition “…und plötzlich diese Stille” (…suddenly there is silence), on display in the townhall of Wadersloh, Germany, as of April 20, 2016 >>
Marjeta and her friends aren’t refugees – and yet they applied for asylum because they can not apply for a visa. They come from a so-called “safe country of origin”, Albania, and might be deported anytime. To rid her family of hospital debts, they need to earn money in Germany. A local company wants to employ them, but their work permit is still pending.
Why are portraits of women so often limited to their beauty, while men get all the rest – the quirky, the mysterious, the interesting look? My photography class at the Stanford International Center couldn’t care less for these conventions and took portraits of women who struck us as being strong, witty, brave, funny and expressive.
This is a small presentation that I gave on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2016 at the I-Center.
The German NGO Welthungerhilfe has chosen a picture I took in India for this year’s christmas card. I would love to tell you that this family is as merry as it seems here, but while we were joking with the adults, the children’s faces tell the real story. Like most inhabitats of the coastal Sundarbans area, this family is terrified by the increasingly strong cyclones that hit their homes. The last one killed thousands in their area, turned many of their neighbors into climate refugees and left this family traumatized. I often think about them and hope they are well.