Amateur photography is not only my hobby, it is my passion. Even as a young boy I felt the need to capture special moments in my surroundings and share them with my family. It didn’t matter if they were beautiful or sad. Photos are an image of the daily abundance of different moments, all worth capturing. Sharing my photos with others still gives me great pleasure, so in 2008 I shared some photos on Panoramio. Google Maps still reaches the majority of users and is therefore a useful way to share photos.
I got my first camera when I was a kid. It was an East-German Beirette. On the film reel was only room for 12 pictures, therefore I had to think carefully before pressing the shutter button. The camera’s film cartridge was similar to the system of Kodak Instamatic. Later, as a teenager, I got a used Praktica LTL2, my first SLR camera. Now I like to take pictures with my Nikon DSLR but also with my smartphone. Because all you need for a good picture is passion and the love for composition. I prefer to photograph landscapes and architecture. I am always on the lookout for the best viewing angle and the best lighting mood. But sometimes there is no time – then I just press the shutter-release button, not to miss the moment.
The following photos show a mixture of thoughtful, hopeful, beautiful and impressive moments as well. Every photo has its own story, for four of them I think it is worth mentioning.
The first photo was taken at the memorial site Auschwitz-Birkenau. I deliberately focused on the railroad track. On it, the Nazi extermination transports rolled into the camp of Birkenau. The blurred outline of the Death-Gate in the background is enough for the history-conscious viewer to recognize which place it is:
The next photo I took in the Museum of the Former Sobibór Nazi Death Camp. I went by bus from Lublin to the city of Włodawa on the Belarusian-Polish border. I wanted to visit the state-owned museum in Sobibór which is located 12 km from Włodawa. Unfortunately, there was no bus connection that day. So, I asked in a pharmacy to call me a cab. Spontaneously, the hospitable pharmacist offered to take me in his own car, he also picked me up there again. He closed the pharmacy on the spot and drove me to my destination. During the ride he told me how important memorials like Sobibór are. It is important for our collective awareness to visit these places and to deal with what has happened. The sooner mankind forgets mistakes, the sooner they might happen again. The photographed memorial stone on the so-called Heaven’s Road is one of my most personal photographs against oblivion:
The actual moment of the shot decides whether a photo good or bad. The next picture was taken at the perfect moment. It was taken during a demonstration in the Polish city of Szczecin, in the background it shows a monument that stands for freedom. The main focus is on the drawing the woman holds up. Reason for the demonstration was the protest against a decision of the government to restrict the freedom of public media. Later, this photo was published on the front page of a local newspaper:
The Carlyle building in Miami Beach is a special place for me. It plays an important role in one of my favourite movies from the nineties: The Birdcage. During my stay in South Beach it was one of my popular photo motives. On this picture the sun is just rising and the building lighting still is switched on:
It is important to me to communicate my view and the atmosphere experienced on site. It doesn’t matter whether a photo merely fulfills a documentary function or is dominated by artistic influences. In any case, it makes the beholder curious about the building, the district or the landscape. Amateur photography is my way to give other people interesting insights of important and beautiful places because often, a picture says more than a thousand words. Every motif has the potential to become a great picture. It makes me happy when family, friends or users of Google Maps enjoy my photos and give positive feedback.