PHILIPP MEINDL

Well, it seems at least some of my new year’s resolutions for 2012 went into effect. I finally got around to developing all the random rolls of film that were laying around here and there. It’s always a nice surprise to take a freshly developed roll out of the fixer and see what’s on there. It refreshed some great memories. It took me a while to make sense of the chronological order but it should be about right now. I think this post has been a draft for about 6 weeks now. I did some heavy editing, trying to keep the numbers of images lowish while not leaving too much out. Then went back to take more pictures out. Then some more.  It still ended up being a fairly long post but you’ll have to stay with me on this one. Let’s go back to the summer of 2011 for a trip to Mahdia, Tunisia.

 

 

Got up at around 5 am to see the sunset. So worth it. I shot colour too with my Epson but when i got back home the sd cards were broken and there was no way to recover the images. Film 1 : Digital O

 

 

Contrary to what the images suggest we were by far not the only ones up this early. Some people going for the obligatory postcard-sunset-shot, some to claim the best spots on the beach.

 

 

 

 

Peek-a-boo.

 

 

After getting some more sleep we took a trip to the city of Mahdia.

 

 

It was the last day of ramadan, so everybody gathered on the streets to socialize and start eating again.

 

 

Some just slept.

 

 

Others hustling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t overthink this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This will see the darkroom for sure. Probably something for my own wall.

 

 

Fully manual fare.

 

 

Some serious multitasking.

 

 

 

 

Finally enough light for Efke 25.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in Germany.

 

 

Pretty obvious.

 

 

 

 

 Some randoms from Würzburg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lea almost late for work.

 

 

Emergency exit seat on the way to china. A very charming purserette.

 

 

First day in Changzhou. Shot from the bus.

 

 

 At the train station, leaving for Shanghai.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Contemplative moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Absolute time and space.

 

 

Progressive tripod usage in Shanghai.

 

 

 

 

Lost in translation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homeboy wasn’t amused.

 

 

Chameleon pants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since it was the national holiday week in china, Shanghai was even more crowded than usual. Military was lining the streets.

 

 

At the bund.

 

 

It’s all a matter of perspective i guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woke up in Andrea’s appartment. On my way to take a shower i noticed a note on her roomate’s doorstep.

 

 

Hey there stranger!

 

 

As promised only shot film in Beijing. On the plane.

 

 

Off the plane.

 

 

Slow day at the airport.

 

 

 

 

Leaving the aiport.

 

 

 

 

I went out to explore the neighborhood for a bit.

 

 

For my first night i booked a single room so it ended up being a pretty uneventful night. Went outside on the fire escape to get some fresh air.  The battery in my Leica had died so this was pretty difficult to expose.

 

 

 

 

Tricky with a rangefinder.

 

 

 

 

Obviously impossible to meter this. But my guess turnded out to be correct. A second later the lizard was gone.

 

 

Next day, new hostel.

 

 

Same neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erwitt style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m sure the wedding photographer will crop this a bit differently.

 

 

 

 

Judging from the water quality this guy was pretty confident about his immune system.

 

 

I went on to study China’s favorite pasttime.

 

 

Saw some gambling.

 

 

Some more.

 

 

Got lost in the hutongs.

 

 

Didn’t really care.

 

 

Even more gambling.

 

 

Listened to some surprisingling good music.

 

 

Climbed a hill in the middle of Beijing.

 

 

Discovered the forbidden city through the smog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A phrase you will have to pick up very fast in chinese: ” No, I’m not a famous actor.”

 

 

Or else there will be crowds photographing you. I guess we all look the same to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the hostel.

 

 

After a short night with 5 other people in the new hostel i got up at 5.30 a.m. to get to the great wall.

 

 

Shot a few frames from the bus.

 

 

Not sure why there was a guide. She explained the map (in chinese mind you) and dissappeared shortly after.

 

 

 

 

So i set out to explore the great wall with my new french friends who shared their breakfast with me on the bus since i didn’t get any.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to say her name was sophie. But really i can’t remember.

 

 

 

 

Still life.

 

 

 

 

Lots of locals asking for money.

 

 

 

 

Don’t remember his name either but i remember calling him Asterix in my head. Mean, I know.

 

 

After a long ride back on the bus we gathered on the rooftop for drinks.

 

 

 

 

Leaving for a club.

 

 

Interesting enough, a couple of hours later when we came back to the room i took almost the same shot. Got 2 hours of sleep until i had to get up and leave for the airport.

 

 

Laundry day back in Changzhou. Having no warm water and pretty much doing all laundry by hand was a PITA.

 

 

In the office. Alan on day one without cigarettes. Still feeling good.

 

 

Drive by chinese style.

 

 

Trying to dry my broom after cleaning my room of course i dropped everything out the window. When i went down to get it back somebody had already taken it. This happened 3 times (!) to me during two months. The last time i just went directly to the store to buy a new one, knowing it would be gone before i got there. Luckily they were selling those for about 0.9 bucks.

 

 

Intense after-work basketball match.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some weekend, arriving in Nanjing looking for my hostel.

 

 

 

 

Koller comes to mind: “Individualism is overrated”

 

 

 

 

Smart girl.

 

 

 

 

Again, smart.

 

 

Her? Not so much.

 

 

Not sure what made him chose this spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything in this frame is chosen for a reason.

 

 

Ego booster.

 

 

 

 

Only in China.

 

 

 

 

Feeling like Gulliver .

 

 

At the Nanjing Massacre site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Hangzhou.

 

 

 

 

I liked the geometry here.

 

 

 

 

Rather surreal.

 

 

 

 

Inside some store that was lit quite nicely.

 

 

 

 

#thatawkwardmoment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chasing a butterfly.

 

 

This might make it on fiber when the darkroom is back up. It’s exactly as i imagined when i took the shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my way to the west lake i took some detours.

 

 

Got lost again.

 

 

But somehow made it to the westlake area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repetition is the father of learning, i repeat, repetition is the father of learning.

 

 

Needless to say she solved it faster than her mother.

 

 

 Suzhou.

 

 

 Please don’t kiss me!

 

 

Some relaxed street shooting through a window while having breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I fell asleep in one of the the gardens, when i woke up i noticed some girls taking pictures of me (they weren’t very sneaky about it) so i shot back.

 

 

 Narcissism 2.0

 

 

 The future demands your participation. He wasn’t too impressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youporn now availible on mobile platforms.

 

 

Some Test Prints. Editing this way is much more fun than on a screen.

 

 

I got to the airport for my flight back to Frankfurt way to early. So i killed some time with my newly acquired camera.

 

 

Some Italians reminiscing about last night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I watched this guy restlessly walking around while chewing on a cigar, waiting for his flight. I wondered wether it’s because he was nervous or if he just enjoyed the taste of his cigars. I’ll get back to him shortly.

 

 

 

 

Finding my seat on the plane, sure enough Mr. Cigar shows up and sits down next to me. Even before the plane took off he took out a leather case containing 6 cigars and immediately started chewing on one (he went through all six during the flight). We started chatting a bit later. Turns out he was a nice fellow based in Madrid who travels to China every two weeks for business.

 

 

Back home going out for some  delicious non-asian food.

 

 

 

 

Elisabeth at my graduation ceremony.

 

 

Traditional family gathering in december.

 

 

A lovely shot of my mom.

 

 

Simon stopped by. It’s always nice to have him around.

 

 

A special image to me.

 

 

My dad struggling with ikea furniture in the new appartement.

 

 

We had siberian guest over. So i went downstairs for some caviar and vodka.

 

 

And some bavarian beer. And some more vodka. Judging from the state we were in the next day; too much.

 

 

Badly hungover we went to a factory visit at Ghost Bikes the next day.

 

 

 Waiting for the general manager.

 

 

 

 

Some friends were filming in Lea’s room for a movie project. We came to watch.

 

 

Setting up a remote shot with the 5DMKII.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lea excited about raw meat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went back to Regensburg for the “Christkindlmarkt”. If you ever go there, stay in the hotel Orphée. Trust me.

 

 

 

 

Decorating the christmas tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spending a fun night back in Regensburg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Italian business dinner.

 

 

I can’t speak a single word in italian, but surprisingly i understood almost everything. Thanks France.

 

 

Corporate party at the Glashütte. Almost finished new furnace.

 

 

 

 

Igniting the new furnace for the first time.

 

 

Würzburg. Not much to shoot there.

 

 

Then again…

 

 

 

 

A rather uninspiring exhibition we ran into.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way to the first acting gig.

 

 

 

 

Again at the new appartement checking out the almost finished bathroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Went to Hamburg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather wasn’t exactly what i was hoping for. Having gotten soaked in the rain i spent some more time in the trainstation to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally some light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not the smartest idea as it would turn out shortly after.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NONSTOP LIVE SHOW

 

 

 

 

 

Tired. On the train back home.

 

 

 

The day before christmas i met up with the boys for some heavy drinking.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Eve with the family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for staying with me. Next post is already in the making. Stay tuned for some images from NYC.

 

More t.k.

– P.