new flickr upload

Please, check out my new pictures from India on Flickr. The latest are from Calcutta and Varanasi and more. Send this links to many people, so I can get attention and will hopefully have a job sooner than later. Yes, because I go back to Germany in 2 weeks after 18 month traveling, and I guess I need something like connections and stuff to get a contract as a freelance photographer. Thanks.

to nirvana | Varanasi

A new selection of picture is on my website. However, I want to show some pictures here as well to explain a couple of things, mainly about the process of how people are sending their relatives to Nirvana in Varanasi. Its not allowed not to take pictures at all, since the family wants to spend the last minutes with their relatives alone. I could manage somehow though. Read the rest of this entry »

India on pflock.com

You’ll find my first selection of pictures I took the first 2 days in India on 10 india | pflock.com. As I said, I want to quit my career as beauty shooter and go more into pictures, I really hesitated to take before: less composition, less touristy and more on the lower classes of society. There is not much to see but a first impression.

… and something else

When I started my traveling in 2007 in New York, it took me a long while until I was able to take pictures of people. Nowadays I don’t care anymore, I just shoot when I feel like and people getting irritated yes, but they going to survive. Its time no in India, and especially India, that I photograph the things we don’t want to see in our country. Basically means: Yes, travel photography will be still there but I am definitely going now in the direction I always wanted to go, photojournalism.

it is what it is

India, what a difficult country to travel, India, what a pain in the ass it can be, India, everybody is cheating and have no moral for right and false. India, the place where people are really incredible ruud.

Those quotes are very often to hear from backpackers who are in India or just came from India. I got really influenced by those opinions and I had a hard time not listen to much to those things instead make my own experience. So far, I really try to find these people in India, but everybody is nice and fair and I am coming slowly to the point that not the indians are the people who act strange, the backpackers are. They have sometimes expectations of other countries that I would like to know what they think when they come over in this country.

India isn’t that crazy as people say and I think people really like to exhaturate. Especially when traveling alone, people talk more and want to be heard. When I stayed in Karimabad, the very nice place in northern Pakistan, people told me about Rawapindi and its shit hole qualities. I went to Rawapindi and I thought its a really great place to explore.

India has been great so far and I think when show people you treat them with respect and show them in the same time that they can’t cheat on you, you gonna be fine. Its not only the way they deal with you, it is as important how you react as well.
people jut want to see the positive things of a country and as soon as they get confronted with more difficult issues they can’t deal, they blame the country and its people instead of think about their own attitude. I am very surprised how many tourists you find here who just came for a couple of weeks from their country, traveling in groups or even booked all inclusive.

I remember when I left Germany that India should be a thing you shouldn’t start with, because the difference will be enormous. But I never thought of the idea that those people might be wrong and India isn’t that crazy as everybody says. Maybe I am a little crazy too and therefore can deal better with crazy countries. Whatever it is, India is a great country, it is a great country yes, as every country in this world. And if you show the people that you are not afraid of them and respect them, you will be always on the safe side. Exceptions exist.

Its going to be my last country I travel to after 17 month and I am trying to get the most out of it, even though its only 3 weeks.

India, BUCKLE UP. I am going to annoy YOU. hahahaha

last night

I will spend my last night tonight here in Gilgit, in the north of Pakistan before I head down to Islamabad again to pick up my visa for India and carry on traveling the same day to Lahore. Long sentence, puh. I will have a look to Lahore for about three days and see a local dance thing what somebody told me, before I go to India. Its gonna be more or less a tough journey in India, since I want to see a lot and do not have much time for it. I will go to Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Kolkata, fly from there to Goa, hang out in the South and finally to Chennai. Within this incredible fast journey I’ll try to visit also one of these places where you only eat, sit and sleep for 10 days. I don’t really know how I want to manage all those things, but I also don’t really care if I do it or not. Most of the times I set myself a plan up to change it afterwards again – more exciting that way.

Sounds good to me. On this journey I will finally start to take pictures, where people gonna say: “Haha, That’s funny, look at his head” or “Wow, he has only 1 leg” or “cool, his face looks so funny”. Since people need to be excited or shocked when confronted with pictures and since I want to make my money with photography I should go for it. Instead of finding the soul of people and capture it in picture and … whatever. I see where I have to go on my way of photography and I know what is still missing in my pictures, which is a good thing to know isn’t it ?!

So, buckle up and enjoy the most incredible pictures you ever have seen before. Well, that’s more my expectation and actually shouldn’tbe yours.

Gilgit and the Polo tournament

I am back in Gilgit (the north of Pakistan) where everything is much colder: the water, the air and standing in the shades. But the air is much much cleaner the people more relaxed and the scenery more beautiful. Once a year there is the Polo tournament where people come from the neighbored areas to figure out which town is the best. So, I went to the Polo tournament and would like to tell you some Read the rest of this entry »