St. Pauli Didgeridoo

On the way to shoot a portrait for André, I heard the unmistakable but unexpected sound of a didgeridoo. In my street. In St. Pauli. Passing by this yellow alley I saw what can only be called one of our local characters, usually found talking to his or her self (not quite sure) on the street, sitting and playing in a trance of complete concentration.

Harbour sky

The sky was a flat grey, and although I started out with the best of intentions, and although I made over fifty pictures, I went home a bit disappointed, feeling I’d gotten nothing.

This summer, I enjoyed many hours of talks with a remarkable photographer and new friend, Tokpa Korlo. I had been suffering under a strangely moralistic attitude that less processing was better, and that the closer to out-of-the-camera an image was, the better it was. He disabused me of this notion by showing me the endless creative possibilities of Lightroom, for which I’ll always be grateful.

So when I got home with no worthwhile out-of-the-camera take, I had no choice but to start playing around, and ended up with something worthwhile after all. Thanks, Tokpa.

Let us in?

Usually, if I’m looking for something particular to shoot, I’m oblivious to anything else. Sometimes I’m lucky, and I catch something, like this buttery afternoon light on the bench, out of the corner of my eye. Rarely, I’m even luckier, and two kids bounce into my frame and ring the doorbell on their tiptoes.