New series: Supernova

I’ve just added a new series called Supernova to the website.

These photographs sit in that gap between “everything’s fine” and the moment the body quietly disagrees. The work moves between a bedroom and the surrounding city, picking up on small scenes where people look more drained than present: someone shielding their face in strong light, figures disappearing into haze, beds that look recently abandoned rather than rested in. Faces are often barely there, washed out rather than clearly described, as if the brightness itself were pushing people to the edge of the frame.

What interests me is burnout not as a dramatic breakdown, but as a slow climate that seeps into daily life, shaped by money worries, self-control, and a city that never really cools down. While editing, I realised how many of these pictures were made when I was technically “on top of things,” but running out of real energy.

If you’d like to see more, the full sequence is now online under Supernova.

Deutscher Fotobuchpreis Bronze

My book Jigsaw Falling into Place received a bronze medal at the Deutscher Fotobuchpreis 2024.

The project looks at Düsseldorf as it slowly reshapes itself into a kind of amusement park, a quiet study of how everyday streets gain the polish and pacing of a stage set. I made the photographs while walking the same handful of routes over many months, watching small corners change faster than I could get used to them.

A mild drizzle accompanied the morning I heard the news, which felt apt for a book about surfaces and what slips through them.

You can browse the book’s details on the prize website or on my website.

Jigsaw Falling into Place

I just self-published my new book Jigsaw Falling into Place in a limited edition of 100 copies.

You can order it writing me an email (the address is on my About page) or send me a DM via Instagram. The price is 30 Euros plus shipping (6 Euros in Germany, please inquiry for Europe or the rest of the world).

The book consists of 80 pages and contains 57 images, the format is 20x30cm and is printed on 200g/sqm paper. 

I put some tear sheets of the book below, to let you have an idea of the layout.

25.03.2023

Cologne Street Culture Zine

Cologne Street Culture streetphoto magazine is now out, with photos by Simon Bierfreund, Simo Fettaka, Heike Frielingsdorf, Nathan Goldenzweig, Jonas Grauel, Michael Hampe, Christian Kasper, Ronald Kästner, Markus Kirchhofer, Oliver Kühnel, Lukas Lach, Björn Maletz, Andreas Ott, Karo Pohle, Timo Schumacher, David Shokouhbeen, Anemone Träger, Bruno Trematore, Kevin Wolf.

118 pages, 75 photographs, DIN A4, 170g matte paper

Last copies: 25 Euros + Shipping and Handling, if you are interested write me an email.

See below for a short video of the book

About the book:

“Köln, das sei ein Biotop für Bekloppte, stellte der Kölner Kabarettist Jürgen Becker bereits Anfang der 90er Jahre fest. Eine These, die sich auch heute noch mühelos bestätigen lässt. Sei es im Karneval, im Brauhaus oder auf den Ringen: Köln ist die Stadt-gewordene Zelebrierung menschlicher Absurdität. Es ist daher wenig überraschend, dass dieses Phänomen zunehmend auch in den Mittelpunkt kölscher Straßenfotografie gerückt ist.[...]

[...] Die Fotografinnen und Fotografen, die sich hier vorstellen, waren unterwegs, haben sich geduldig durchgekämpft und sich vernetzt. Und ganz nebenbei ihre Blicke geschärft für die kleinsten Sprossen des Absurden, des Komischen und des Poetischen in der grauen Einsamkeit des pandemischen Kölns. Sie haben gelernt, auch in der vermeintlichen Einöde des Vertrauten Sehens- und Zeigenswertes zu entdecken. Und sie beweisen, welch farbenfroher Flickenteppich entstehen kann, wenn sich Menschen verschiedener biografischer und fotografischer Prägungen aufmachen, ein und dieselbe Stadt auf ihre je eigene Weise zu interpretieren. Dabei herausgekommen ist ein kleines, aber feines Heftchen, gewissermaßen das fotografische Psychogramm einer Stadt, die ihre sympathische Beklopptheit wie eine Medaille vor sich herträgt.”

Cover photo by Michael Hampe, book design by Simon Bierfreund