MATHIAS BOTHOR | BRETAGNE

Posted on November 15, 2009 by PFLOCK

BRETAGNE

Text from gosee.de: Following South Africa’s Coasts, this winter a new picture book, with an added calendar, takes us on a journey through breathtaking natural landscapes. This time round we are taken to Brittany and its steep coasts, which the French refer to as “land by the sea”. Mathias BOTHOR c/o GUNDA PATZKE spent months travelling across this wind and sea beaten land for Mare magazine. He met up with the headstrong locals and captured a highly unique image of the West French region.

From painterly houses in dreamy villages, to weather hardy fishermen on their boats – the photographer brings us closer to the phenomenal feeling of Brittany: a sense of nostalgia.

ADDED NEW PHOTOGRAPHY LINKS

Posted on November 14, 2009 by PFLOCK

For my world travel I preferred to be alone here on my blog and actually used it as my diary. Since a couple of months though I think about it more and more to make it less about myself again. I will still continue to write about my thoughts and projects, in case I have some. hehe. Nevertheless, I would like to turn the blog entries more in direction of photography, illustration, movies, lets say art in general again. Not only my stuff should be the main target here anymore. Other portfolios, exhibitions, events and so on will be more present in future.

I started already to work on it and added a couple of new photographers I like. H ave a look at there work if you like. alessandra sanguinetti, morfi jimenez mercado, olivier pin-fat or sean gallagher. Especially I’d recommend to have a look at is tim simmons, philipp ebeling and pieter hugo.

I’VE GOT ONLY THREE MORE YEARS TO LIVE.

Posted on November 14, 2009 by PFLOCK

Ooooops. Why didn’t tell me anybody earlier? I guess my ambitious goal to speak 5 languages until the age of 35 will not become true. What a pitty. The first sentence is the most important I guess. “Its not just California”. At least its California that gets hit first, so Hollywood can’t produce those Emmerich-destroys-the-world-monster-movies anymore. What a blessing.

NO NEED FOR A HEADLINE HERE I GUESS

Posted on November 1, 2009 by PFLOCK

This picture I took today on the wedding I photographed in Nanjing. I like it a lot. That’s exactly the kind of picture I like to take in my head. Maybe its the first time I just uploaded a copy of the image from my head instead of a photograph. Oh yeahh. Just wanted to share this. Now, the following lines will be my thoughts I had on the train from Shanghai to Nanjing.

Sitting in the train to Nanjing, I listen to the music I used to listen when I went for a run to the lake and around it, close to my place in Hamburg, where I lived. Listen to that music creates the images I have of that area, the people I lived with, the food I cooked and ate, but also brings me back to the way I felt during this time. Its almost like the music is the necessary button to push to project the movie on the screen. I have music that reminds me of certain times at certain places. It is a premise though that I listened to that particular music a lot and also had a special feeling, a special time at those places. Otherwise it doesn’t work.

When I now listen to that music I used to listen in Germany, it reminds me of Germany as other music reminds me of other places in this world I am not from. Does it mean I lost the feeling of being home in Germany? The last 8 months (6 months actually only, because of 8 weeks traveling) now just seems to be another stop on my world travel and I can’t really feel the difference anymore between my stop in New Zealand or China or Vietnam. Yes they are differences where ever I lived, where ever I stayed for a while. Different things that make me happy or bring me down. But non of those places feel like “That’s where I am from” anymore. Non of those places feel like breathing through and be who I am. Non of those places give me the feeling of “I have arrived”, “I came back, to where I belong to”. I became a citizen of the world. In English it sounds way more dramatic than it is. The german translation “Ein Bewohner dieser Erde” simply describes the name of the planet I live on.

In exchange of getting to know new cultures, speak new languages, see new geological wonders, I had to trade my home base. The base known as the place where I would be safe. Where I would be more taken care of. Its not like this anymore though. For sure not. Every place asks you to give your best, to except the rules, to get accustomed to a different way of life. It feels like I lost that base. Did I ever had it? Yes. I had it at a time where I didn’t experience different places, different options to live. To sometimes know less can be great. But I longed for it, so I have to deal with it now.

How was I supposed to know that back in the time when I decided to travel the world and take a break, I would change so much. That I am not just gonna come back, tell people about my adventures and sit down at the desk I used to work again was for sure. But further to the point where I would start a new chapter of my life and without the possibility to flip the pages backwards, oops, I guess I was to naive to think I could actually do that. Well I guess nobody really knew it and knows what is going to happen when starting such adventures.

I don’t want to complain, just explain. If the travel mode wouldn’t suit me
so well, I wouldn’t have decided to extend my trip for 6 months and now finally move away from Germany without any idea of a time when I will return again.

The funny thing is, what I am doing now isn’t that unique at all. Many people from all around the world wander around the globe to find their luck, peace, happiness, whatever they seek for. Everyone of those globetrotters is excited to be somewhere else, because nobody really misses the place they are from. They maybe miss the people and the food. hehe.

To live somewhere else for a longer time claims that you need to give up certain behaviors you grew up with. To do new things you haven’t learned in the place you lived before. And the more you change the place you live, the more you need to deal with your new environment. So there is less time to concentrate on yourself and I think many people like that. A life where its more important to be at a certain place than being yourself. It is great to travel the world, to see all these “other” things. The price I need to pay is to give up a piece of myself: My Home.

SHANGHAI 25° C

Posted on October 30, 2009 by PFLOCK

Hellooooooooooo people from the world, China and Germany. Maybe also Pakistan or India. (Or Russia, who knows) Whoever reads that blog, I am happy to see you here. After 2 and a half weeks in the states with my girlfriend Shawn Kathleen Russell, her daughter Zoe and actually the entire family, I am back in Shanghai. Actually I had serious breathing problems over there in Seattle. The air was so dry, that I had to pick my nose all the time. I guess I appeared as such a rude guy, people didn’t believe I am German. Now, back in 60% humidity, my nose holes are free like a bird and I can concentrate on more important facts. Sweating for instance. Its so hot here. Today we had 27°C and I can’t believe its almost November.

I do have a couple of jobs now I am working on which is a logo for a music producer in Hamburg, a website for a advertising company in Shanghai and a wedding I gonna photograph on the weekend in Nanjing. And lets see what else comes in next week. More meetings.

The picture you see above is the look out from my room I live in temporarily until the end of January. On this picture we can see the rising sun and the downtown monster buildings close to Jing’An temple. Well dear friends, that’s it. So far so good.

IN TRANCE, MAYBE

Posted on October 15, 2009 by PFLOCK

Right now, I have this weird feeling again.I remember having it a couple of times already in my life. Very rarely though. I am working on something and all of the sudden I get all those thoughts, ideas, unspoken sentences back in my head I had a couple of days ago. Maybe they are the leftovers from a dream I just had last night. All this weird thoughts come up and I want to remember them so much, because I know I had them before and I want to keep them, want to finish work on those thoughts, but I can’t, because they come all at once and really fast, like a shower of sweats: You want to catch all of them, but you have only 2 hands and are not fast enough. While having this weird moment of about half a minute, I totally forget about where I am, what country I am in, what place I am at, how the room looks around me and who the person next to me is. I have to actually look around and get a feeling of where I am and how I got here. I am totally lost in memories and flashbacks. Its actually a beautiful feeling and it usually comes in very intense moments of concentration. I don’t have to worry about anything anymore. What my problems are, where I live, issues with my life, problems, doubts, anger, fear, anything, because I don’t know anything anymore. Nothing is there anymore, because I am nowhere and I am a no one. A state of trance almost.

By the time I turn around and I realize where I am, look to my neighbour to see his face and look on my laptop what i am actually doing right now, I slowly remember everything. This moment though, where everything comes to mind again I experienced subcontiously the thoughts of the past few days, its beautiful. It tells me that nothing gets lost in my head. While writing this I am still in this state of being and I enjoy it. Its peaceful and quite and it feels good.

I don’t want to wake up again. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

COUNTRY CHARTS ON PFLOCK.COM

Posted on October 15, 2009 by PFLOCK

country chart

Hello. I just have a little note on the site, everybody is probably so excited about it. Back in the time the menu of my website used to be in order of the countries I visited. The new website doesn’t really tell that anymore, so I decided to bring a chart up front a series what tells you about the location in this world. So, it doesn’t tell you about every single picture where I took it, but I like it that way more anyways. I think about the idea to bring up a menu what lets you choose from what part of the world you want to see pictures. Still, I just think about it.

BOOK ILLUSTRATION AND VISA

Posted on October 7, 2009 by PFLOCK

After I told you about doing more illustration, I actually do and its so much fun, oh my god … haha. The one above is for the next book from Robin Russell. The first one was for A Prince in Peril. After spending a month in Shanghai and my visa expired, I had to make a decision going to the US or to Hong Kong. I actually planned to renew my visa in Shanghai, but obviously I have chosen the best time in the year, where everybody is asleep in Shanghai since the national holidays are more important than a a Germans problems, unbelievable. So, I have to leave the country and actually it makes a lot of sense going to Hong Kong. Funny though to got to the US, is more or less the same price as I would spend in Hong Kong. The travel costs are much more expensive, but the visa is way cheaper. So, in the end same same, but I see my girlfriend and have the chance to practice my English hihi. Its crazy how much I travel and how normal that feels to go to China, US, China, Germany, China, US, Germany and so on …. When I started to travel in June 2007, I didn’t know it will become a never ending story. Once a traveler, always a traveler, I suppose.

In Shanghai my job searching machine stopped for a while, first everybody is on holiday, second it takes some time to meet the right people. Although i have to say how amazing it is how many contacts I made in less than 2 weeks in Shanghai. 6 really new good contacts, and 20 new friends haha, maybe 508. What I really like about being here in Shanghai. When you talk to other foreigners, they first “welcome to Shanghai” instead of looking up and down on you, telling you within 5 minutes after viewing your portfolio to come back a year later like in Hamburg, Germany. I think I have chosen a very good time to leave Germany and go to China.

By the way: Anybody ever thought about going to China, who is also reading my blog and is a very big fan of my stuff and also things that I am a really handsome and intelligent person and met me at least once in person …. you are welcome to visit me and stay at my place. All the best and thanks to all the people who helped me through this really hard time the last 30 days. Special thanks to my mom and Shawnee.