Playa del Carmen
Escaping the German winter and my slow but ever present work (not to mention Sabine’s not so slow and ever present ICU shifts) became increasingly important. So important, that I am now posting this from the pool in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We have been before, and each time a bit of the Cancun awfulness creeps down into Playa, taking away and hippy/lonely planet edge it may have had. But for us to forget the rigors of the German winter and sleep of the jet lag, it works. We will not stay here long, as it really has nothing to do with Mexico, but it is a kick in the ass. Too bad about all the Canadian hockey fans (and the sports bar below our hotel).
But best of all, it is Sunday, which is Mexican go the Beach Day. About 4 km north of Playa is the “locals” beach, with I always enjoy.
Take a look at more here
Playboy
It’s true. I like Playboy, and no, not for the articles. It is sort of the Grand Dame of softcore and still has, well the German edition at least, some truly great erotic photography. So when my wife gave me a a workshop in Munich with Andreas Reiter, Playboy photographer, I was pleased. Stunned perhaps, but pleased.
Doreen Seidl at the Playboy Workshop, with Andreas Reiter, 2010
While it was a bit pricy as such things go and it was the first time he had done such a large and complex workshop, it was also very much a success. The locations were great, styling fun and the entire team extremely open and helpful. Recently, I have started to shift away from travel and street photos and started to do more production work, thanks to the ever interesting influence of Bitch Kitty Racing. It was a pleasure to learn that we weren’t doing everything wrong, and even a few things right.
I certainly am not satisfied with the results, here a pose wrong, there some poor lighting, but the for the 15-20 minutes we each got and the sheer number of people wandering around the set, I really can’t complain. It was of course disheartening to see the shots Andreas made as a short demonstration for us, as they were vastly better. The 10,000 hour theory at work!
You can see more here. And some behind the scenes shots of the workshop itself here.
Doreen Seidl at the Playboy Workshop, with Andreas Reiter, 2010
Leica M9
Though I am afraid to mention it, I doubt that anyone is really surprised. I had one of the first M8s, which in retrospect may not have been such a great idea. And now I have one of the first M9s, which seems to be working out pretty well. No, it does not have ISO 25,000 like the Nikon D700, but who really gives a f***. Really. It is awesome.
Singen Kunsthalle, 2009
Something Different: Platinum Printing
Platinum printing came up again a few days ago on one of the forums I lurk about in. It is so rarely mentioned among photographers, I just had to post something.
Last year, I started do real photography with a digital camera. Up to this point, I had been using a Nikon D70, then a D200 for paid work, but for personal and fine art photos, it just didn’t work. The Nikons are beautiful cameras, but compared to my old Leica they are huge, loud and clunky. Plus, I only have one lens for it.
New Site Over at Bitch Kitty Racing
Well, me fabulous blogger that I am, I have gone and made myself another blog. One will fall, but who knows which? It is actually more of a random photo blog, but does tie into that project of projects, Bitch Kitty Racing. In any case, please check it out, there is much to be seen there, new photos, John’s underwear and the newest updates on dating and the Internet.