severin koller photoblog

2008-11-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

This blog moved to:

severinkoller.at/blog

2008-10-23T01:41:00.000-07:00

update: added some photos to the swiss poker masters event

no i did not die. it was some other austrian who did.

i've been busy with all sorts of things and the next blog entry will be published on my own blog. so enjoy the last post at blogspot.com !

lea asked me via nina a friend for some photos (see flickr), so i went there to see what i can do.

these are the "not posed ones"

weather wise august was shit. september even worse. suddenly september turned great. almost 30 degrees, sun, blue sky... until this day when we drove to germany (mainz) for a shoot. that day winter said hello for the first time.

actually here is a gap in the story.. because i was totally wasted. i had dozens of gin tonic till 6am or something...

this photo was taken at around 10am. i was still so drunk.. it was one of the hardest commissions for me so far because i was so wrecked of the night before.

all these people were playing poker that day.. it's definately a hype.

it was a full tilt event, so some of their german pros and the head pros were in mainz to talk about this and that.

seriously.. i was too damn slow/drunk to take any more shots... but at least the few turned out ;)

gus hansen and his effect on women.

this is probably my favourite shot, too bad they didn't publish it in the mag.. probably too subtile for the readers (didn't say that)...

for those who aren't poker fanaticts, this is chris ferguson, they use to tell him jesus.. and it's his official full tilt photo on the blanket in the back. so that's why i took this shot. seems like this show "bores" him as much as some heads-up..

here we got some guy who dresses up like the jesus above

this is what poker is about. well when you want to make a cliché image of it. people who wear shirts like that are either very ironic or simply stupid. (i shouldn't always think out loud in my blog)

the battle of mainz..

that's what poker (the game) is about. a round table, chips (not the salty ones) some good and bad hands and 100% plastic cards.

others prefer the round tables in the net. may sound weird but some made millions with it, others lost them.

back in vienna, i stumbled across this poor fella.. born to limp (to use a poker term)

i moved flat once again. more in my next blog. didn't really decide yet how to decorate my room. don't remember why i took this one.. it's just the current setup i'm shooting with.. and no it's not like vincent laforet's peking setup... ;)
oh and i bought this screen recently. eizo cg222w. neat tool.

i met up with aschi. f2.0 8th i think, so not the circumstances for more photos..

he shoots with his deceased grandfather's leica r4.. but would prefer a M of course ;)

mr.morgenstern at his birthday. we were playing a small poker tournament. he got this tabletennis racket, customized for him.

going home. the new elevator.

next day we went to ikea. lorant got sick.

testing couches

ikea is swedish. swedish is cool.

didn't know you can get one of these at ikea too.. would be a bit too early for me right now..

seems like they also have weird names for their meals too, lykseleschnitzel with billysalade and hensvikdressing..

from ikea to baden. another poker tournament. the official poker european championship, well at least the name ;)

the do&co catering service having a meeting before the start.

mr.golser in his golden suit. he could play a james bond villain..

even in their break they can't stop playing.. the itialians playing token-boccia.

the sun lit this bar for a moment.

last preperations for the first final table.

some chairity poker game was happening downstairs.. i went there to take some photos, no official ones though, just for the fun.

a not-so-good elvis imitator opened the event.

austrias best judicial power about to eat the dealer ?

there wasn't much for me to shoot, so i left. took this shot outside the other day.

final table started.

time for a drink. these final tables can take hours..

Mr.Fest eliminating Lehmann.

they weren't stingy with cheesburgers!

getting the last one.

others got four of them !

a glimpse of poker taste !

at the bar for a drink.

dealers waiting for the cash games (i think). kinda felt like using the tilt here.

backstage, the dealers staring into the empty cookie automat.

upstairs again. the italian(s) wins.

wie würde ein karl moik nun sagen ?

at poker you can't choose who sits next to you.

poker is also all about bad beat stories.

the view of the terrace.

dealers getting abused. they are the poorest of these tournaments.. ;)

i've got dozens of such photos at the final table... i kinda liked this guy so i feature him with this little series.

sandra getting some hints from her manager... in the end she won the tournament.

ivo close to tears.

alexander kravchenko (pokerstars pro team) having a soup. he left the "fritatten" though.

stefan rapp (not raab) winning an important hand. his girlfriend crossing her fingers in the back.

perfect tilt-perspective.

sandra putting her cardguard on the poker-em headline. more a coincidence but i thought it will be a good shot if she wins it.. and she did.

rapp after he won the third place. the funny thing is that they laugh about something else.. because it's not about the money (85.000€) or the third place he made.. there is only first place or no place for the pros.

sandra, heads up with kravchenko.

a magazine publisher looking a bit lost.

one of the "pokerfaces" around giving me a smile.

there she made it.

a hug for the russian who doesn't like fritatten.

the first calls.

my competitors

this shot sums it up for me. money is something they take for granted. a third place is somehow good but too close to the first which is the actual aim, so it's kinda a dilemma. it's more about the title than about the money. money is a tool in poker.

i don't know who she called here.. but the person believed it was a joke, and we all listened.

it's funny that we put her on the cover before she had won any tournament. she was more an insider.. so we kinda pokered as well when we put her up on the cover as a "noname" she more or less was back then. now she is a full tilt pro and winner of the poker em 2008.

going home at 3am or something. we couldn't see much because of the fog.

back in vienna. (had to develope these rolls at home [which is a pain in the ass], because the darkroom currently is shut down)

Kati back from indonesia.

boy jumping around. i was waiting, but he never fell..

i don't see any reason in shooting people because they're, let's say not very attractive. i try not to shoot because of sensation. so i went for a detail here. a more authetic watch advertisement.

look who we got here !

miriam is one of those people who can't walk and drink at the same time.

a poker player's car.

i took this shot on a sunday. it was a special sunday. it was election day in austria. so i took this photo because i wanted to remind me that there is no chance that austria ever turns liberal or left beacuse the typical austrian is frustated. god bless the EU. i don't want to imagine austria without it..

getting the last decision support for the polling booth from the qualitative paper "österreich".

this happens when bad advertisment meets populist rightwing campagne. 3 thumbs up !!!

late breakfast at my father's.

an elderly women fell. i didn't realize what had happened first when i took the photo.

it says "after the election is like before the election". i was cynic enought to think this was meant as a critic, but the thing is, it's not.. who can vote this ?

he didn't want me to take his photo.. it wasn't soley about him anyway

still working on my room.

the face of the election result ?

ÖAMTC hilft wo er kann ! na die ÖVP hat ja auch ne kleine wunde zu verbinden... nicht ?

i like this one.

don't throw me awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy.......

sometimes when i take photos (colour) that involve traffic lights i'm unsure if i should wait till it's green or shoot when it's red. i always think it has a psychologic effect on the photo.. there is always a short moment when red and orange are flashing.. then again this shot is b/w so it doesn't matter.

austirans L-word.

i don't really like dogs or pets.. and i also don't think they're cute (except chris weeks dogs of course).. but this dog was falling asleep while sitting.. i found that fascinating enough to take a photo with the daylight film (125px) (f2.0 1/8th)

full moon. the other "planets" are developement errors i don't know where i got from once again.

half of a second in a vienniese cafe.

streetart

i never posted any commissioned photos.. because i wanted to keep my blog clean from non personal photos.. but i decided to post a few from now on when i put them on my website, because then i can show new material without making any "newest" section in my portfolio.

so i was shooting a Ylog machine the other day.. funky thing. these little "cabs" find their way to the boxes themselfs.. so they have some kind of artificial intelligence.

the machine is still a prototype.. so some cabs are still open.

they get transported with this elevator to other levels

took some photos in the aera on my way home.

i found the signs to be ironic in this scene.

he definately fights sexism !

at the airport.

since you can't take any bottles or other liquids with you, you have to drink it before.. i had a full bottle of coke.. this man just finished his water.

never thought about that babies have IDs too.

kinda geeky but i stoped down to 2.8 to have this nice starlight.. so i was forced to expose a 8th.. i was really wondering if it will turn out sharp.

just like this. f2.0 1/8th. the vibration of the plane made it even harder.

it was still pretty dark when we took off.. i didn't expect this motionblur though.. i think it makes the photo.

the sun was rising when we reached the flight height.

almost arrived. this looks like the steam of a locomotive to me.. but i guess they don't have such monstertrains in switzerland..

last trainride to the hotel.

i was covering another poker tournament for the acemag. the first swiss poker masters. it was a bit different to other tournaments to shoot. much less light, except on the final table. there i had much different coloured lightsources.. was tricky to handle sometimes.. shooting raw was a total must.. well see yourself.

severin playing online

there was this guy who was playing that game a few times..

people who wear shirts like that should be a hooker for one night.

she was cool.

the fogmachine was pretty new.. they had to get to know it first ;)

sometimes i had to convert, since it was only red or magenta light. but it's ok i guess.

shortly before the final table started.

of course i could have cropped.. but i think it's funnier this way.

mental smokers.

real smoker.

dealer counting the chip stack for an all in call.

brain ticking.. if there is much ?

a poker gadget..

time does not fly when it comes to final tables ...

when i got too much time.. i do things like that.

actually not permitted. swiss poker rookie of the year giving some tips. ed hardy branded of course.

a classic showdown.

i thought about capa. if your photos are boring, you're not close enough. so i tried to stick to the 35/1.4 most of the times... here i was definately close.

next day. we were watching a state funeral. haider died. finally i can have one of these

first time we went to zürich downtown.

i've been probably 2hours all together in zürich.. not much time for photos.. but enough for a few impressions.

the little boy in the middle totally makes it for me.

zurich was full of expensive cars.. mostly cayenne and co. i prefer the old ones.

went to eat italian.

thought i'd share this crop with you.

on monday sabine and i had some hours left in zurich. we spent the day with severin (swiss poker player). awesome weather !

this was a great place for lunch.

sabine and severin.

at the airport again. we were in a total hurry.. but i stoped for these two shots.

we spent our last franken on coffee. we met up with fabian. he was playing saxophone in zurich.

we had luck with the view. switzerland is full of mountains and the sun was about to set.

landing in vienna just when the sun was almost set.

back at the academy. finishing the roll.

2008-09-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

i don't know what crackhead has programmed blogger.com but it must be said once that it's a pain in the ass to blog here, especially when you put up many images... that's also one of the main reasons why i will start working on my own blog soon.

so posting this whole entry again (because blogger deleted it) !

starting randomly in the supermarked. old ladys just rock for b/w. right ?

going to bregenz with sabine. somtehing like 7am. rising sun

sleeping couple next to us.

shooting a poker event for the ACE

at one of the tournament's final tables.

can't comment much. a poker player facing another.. woohoo !

doesn't seem to go well for him that day. that moment, he wasn't knowing that he will win the tournament in the end.

dinner at the casino's restaurant.

of course poker is a "man's world". some players take their wifes and girlfriends with them. i first wasn't sure why some of them had great massage capabilities, when i later realized they were professional masseuses, who get paid each minute they knead the "pros".

had expected poker players to live less healty ;)

usually they try to hide emotions not their faces.. but when it's over, it's over.

looking a bit different now, after he won something like 20k.

most of the players where staying at the(mer)cure hotel.

the first of a dozen caipirinhas that night. we gently called them "caipis"

a hot palm !

the nikon AF-light of a party-photographers camera.

of course i was mistaken as a party-scene photographer too.. so i did my passage-photo.

at the bodensee. i felt like taking an artsy photo. DA would love it ;)

more of the "caipis"

one of the casino's dealers. looking different in nightlife.

a beer called "blackmoors brew" oder neger-brause..

more dealers partying.

rino having more fun on this table than on the pokertable.

too many caipis ?

red bull verleiht fluegel.

emptying the jameson.

going to another place.

shaking our bootys.

bregenzer aufrissjungs.

playing darts. works well, drunk.

on the way home, we crossed this fire engine from the 50/60s..

the next day. shooting for the cover and interview. sandra with the cuban.

2 versions for the ACE cover.

strolling around in bregenz.

found an old campaign for "PAS Post Adbortion Syndrom". funny is that they called it "Myriam why are you crying?"..a propaganda of the catholic church against abdortion. seems like some things survive on the country side.

cliche scene at the bodensee.

no paris hilton dog !

"blackmoore brew" sponsoring the stadtfest.

former box champion ?

a hobby magician, entertaining some kids. wouldn't make it far at america's got talent though.

poster for the arena bregenz. weirdly looking much alike the "blackmoor brew" symbol. of course they don't mean to be rassist(?), but it has always been the "nigger beer" so why change the name or symbol.. and aida is about slavery..so we can put a black woman in chains on it.. right ?

one last coffee in bregenz.

going home again

8 hours ride. we decided to have dinner in the train.

hello nina !

she's always so lively. hard to capture with 2.8 and manual focus.

later at the badeschiff with sabine. lately it's been sunny again (finally).

nina and the "jungle book" around her neck, unable to decide from the menu.

cornelia from romania visiting vienna. she wrote me a mail, knowing i was from vienna. it's been a while that i met someone from deviantart.com. (fistique)

luckily we had more than 30C° in the last days.

of course a polaroid camera with her ;)

we were at a photo exhib. (world press 08) as always a few good ones between less good ones. the prints are low quality, so is the framing... and i didn't know that getty-images was a photogapher ? he got a few prices.. same as newsweek.. weird names.. is it male or female ?

trying to meet her friend(s). it was a bit complicated.

so we went on.

the sun was setting.

having dinnner. she's a great model, holding still for a 4th second here ;)

the next day i was about to meet a friend. i had some spare time in between and walked around taking mediocre streetshots.

it's her second day in vienna. shame on me, i forgot her real name.. coming from portugal not knowing anyone in vienna, she decided to study for half a year at the technican university. she even doesn't speak german, but she recognized me on the street and just called my name. funny coincidence. (she's blackest.deviantart.com btw.)

a man carrying a bag with my deceased grandfather's name on it "Hans Krenn".

http://aschi23.deviantart.com/">aschi and i talking about his portfolio.

a car for suzi9mm ;)

2008-08-26T07:26:00.001-07:00

the following entry won't be anything special, i wasn't really focusing on photography lately because i was working on my website that is finally online ! would appreciate your opinion about it !

starting with trix:

a friend staying over in vienna.

this shot is pretty vienniese i'd say.

no need to comment this ad.

people dancing at the market.

at raffi's

these cookies...

now to plusx:

"oldschool porn". it's art now ;)

lost in vienna

a barefoot party

man buying medicine for somoene in the family. i just heard "yeah, she feels sick ..puking"

i had a total hangover of the night before. so i was walking around shooting some street, then went back home again.

that reminded me of the night before ;)

some people think this dog is cute, well some also think these glasses are cool...

found a very washed out newspaper. something for a darkroom print i think.

now efke25:

f2.0 1/2 second (in a pub) handheld.. seriously sick sharp frame considering the exposure time.

it's a joke i can't really translate in one sentence.

die freude an der arbeit !

cafe blaustern. i think the reflection in the back really makes the shot.

one of the most famous hotdogstands in vienna.

at the station. something for a big print. you can clearly see the leopard-bra on the highres scan.. 25asa is pretty sick.

a perfect day to wear all in black and leather !

left is kip from hawaii, me in the middle and lorant to the right.

i wish i had a midifile to this photo.

inside the supermarket. a guy wearing a jeans saying "i'd do anything for a fuck" on the left and "fuck you you fucking fuck" on the right.. seriously WTF?

f2 1/15. 25asa really are a pain in the ass sometimes

gigolo not being amused about being photographed. i bet he'd like the shot.

kip in the MQ

lorant still having a hangover

one plus two makes...

switching to trix here. a roll from hawaii ! ;)

the magician behind the bar !

playing pool till the morning

walking home at 6:30am.. crossing these pigeons.

seems reliable to me.

her shirt said something like "reconstructing the authentic couples.." whatever that meant.. made me take this shot.

it was just a matter of time ;)

girls talk

i know it's stupid.. but when i see a moment like this i can't just not release..

a squirrel jumping from one tree to another.

at my place (not decorated yet)

at the darkroom. had a frame left on the roll..

2008-08-14T05:25:00.000-07:00

we were driving to another family reunion.

my sister making sure i'm listening

miriam with the "evidence" of sleep on her face

my mother with a softgun

because i didn't manage to develope the films in the correct order, i seperated this post in parts.

now to some good ol' street.

he asked about the camera.. too bad it was the very first frame

that day i almost felt like this fella

first district tourists

german tourists

grumpy vienniese policeman with oversized icecream

someone must have been a real trent reznor fan

aspiring artist

analysing his artwork

austrian role model(s)

lazy scooters

umm... clash of generations ?

it's all about imagination.

dog watching TV

"und der hunger ist geggessen"

austrias answer to the rolling stones

the devil soon touring through vienna ?

and this is what we call a layererd photograph ?

lost and found?

lost ?

a japanese couple (i assume) canon 1d and 5d body with L glass.. you'd probably never see any couple from europe like that. that's what i call "good equipped"

individualism is overrated !

a little barbeque.. yum that was nice.

a bottle can say so much.

always a challenge making a self in that mirror

i like the dude who seems to sit in the wall.

now to some portraits.

trying to split the table with arguments ?

didn't work.

frisch aus dem kroatischen solarium.

don't ask. simply accept. it's art.

bianca. haven't seen her since years. she also modeled for my ballerina shot.

lorant wondering if the bottle can keep up with the 85/1.2L !

romy schneider from lesbos.

this frame reminds me of the organic part of negatives...

could i release any less mean ?

she heard about my mean photographs

miriam asking herself where she lost her hair again?

emanuel and the chocolate factory

don't ask. accept. it's genius vorarlbergerisch' advertisement.

men and vehicles..

emanuel learning italian.

we've been to the old danube a few times lately.

tobi and lorant working hard on their cancer.

she prefferes other sticks.

an old danube grace.

marius waiting for his bread dumplings with eggs, full of good old salmonellae..

ATV interviewing a moleboy. looks like another very sophisticated and captivating documentation of austria's quality channel.

Man(n)fred: Do they have my favourite strawberry protein-shake ?

Reinhart: Dunno, can u read ?

fallen angel

Kosename für Vater.. hmm.. Vier Buchstaben..

we forgot the fork.

2008-07-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

starting with my random folder june for digitals.

visiting tanja in her flat. she loves to be photographed ! ;)

after a match, don't exactly remember which, kati got herself a veggie-kebap.. some late night snack

another night after shooting for the graffiti project. i think it was russia - sweden.

the white dot got our attention

toilets in the WUK.

visiting my father. caprese deluxe style !

24mil-hipshot.. turned out kinda cute

watching italy - spain

my father really believed in italy ;)

starting with the b/w rolls.

i was reading some discussion about streetphotography on rangefinder.net or is it com ?

the title was "is streetphotography dead" or something.. my blog was mentioned to prove the opposite, cheers for that ! so i think it's time again to feature some of the not-dead-yet-photography !

the dark dots appeared because i didn't realize there was no stop-bath anymore during the development.. plusx seems to need more than water in between the developer and fix.. kinda sux, because it will be on the print.. well shit happens, even after hundreds of times developing films.

at my favourite italian restaurant.

katrin was checking my glasses.. well, i don't think they fit. she doesn't think they fit me either.. haha, seems like i wasted 200 euros...

when i think back, the euro feels like a dream for me.. maybe a personal thing.. but it went all quick and there was no time to think about the event, the photos, relation ships, a lot of work, not much sleep.. and all that.. now weeks later, looking at the photos, it feels like it has never happened in reality

talking about serious things never made me quit taking photos, especially when the light was that nice. efke25 btw.

looking for tv-coverage. we live in the 21th century.. but some things never developed !

oh the sunny days. unlike the last 2 weeks full of rain and clouds.

very simple message.. kinda weird. when i'm not able to think about something like this message, i just capture it, so that i have time to think about it later. i still don't understand the meaning behind this, if there is any.

a motif for a 25asa film i thought.

something about the euro..

the devils car got kidnapped !

this guy knows how it works !

veit at the project

turkish girls before the match against croatia, singing "tyrkie" and jumping in rhythm

claudia with flowers

yppenplatz. sun reflecting from a window

girl playing with a matchbox car.

a tuhrkish advert for women wear. some things don't need to be discussed.

guy with dollarsign-hood.

view on a church from 16th district.

turkish television.

mother and son at the graffiti project.

croatian boy drinking juice.

fans on the street

turkish market area

lorant being exhausted, in the train to a marriage we were photographing. we got the train just "in time" ;)

the only shot i took with the leica. more at the blog.

going back

back in vienna. monk checking the trains

at the garbage bins.

"art is war" sounds .. silly. well they look silly.

getting some icecream. first streetshot i was somewhat content with again after a while

good for him it's summer.

random photo after russia won against netherlands

random photo i like. trix with nd filter

probably my favourite advert for streetshots during the em. "live the emotion". i used it for the germans when they lost the final.

some deix guy.

one of my latest fav streetshots. something that motivates me for printing again.

i was always wondering about what kind of man is reading the "mens health" magazine...

he seems to read different "mags".

a photo for alice schwarzer.

i once put my brand new shoes in a cloth-collecting-box for chairty and went home barefoot. i was bloody drunk though.

felzl.

my father, doing some typical gesture.

dinner

black-white cat lost ! i probably took the only real b/w photo of it !

intresting way of sleeping

miriam trying herself in interior design

this guy still fascinated me

nina, not hiding with her rayban.

trying to make the batman face. i've read the new one should be good, is it true ?

it's a he. she doens't have a name yet though. florian would be funny. hoffe du liest das und findest es auch lustig HA-HA.

back to the turks.

at the "la salvia"

at the market. people throwing food straight in the bin. "space for new things" written in the back.

"the highlanders bride" and "the vikings concubine" two must-haves !

back to alice schwarzer.

back to my father. after 22 years of disaster, my father managed to empty the cellar and the balcony-room. i helped. so we could finaly eat on the balcony again.

R.I.P "Rumpelkammer"

back to the streetshots. to bad i'm listed as a judge here i'd rather participate ;) .. i hope you send in some quality, the camera is worth it !

the advert is saying "guck guck!" meaning "peep-bo!" loving the little details here.

lady with a useless shitting styling object.

talking about the weltuntergang and such.

hope my shots are motivating for the contest ;) one more classic

here is another one. vienna meets paris.

back to vienna ;)

train to salzburg.

trainstation salzburg.

some hobby-soldier.

train back to vienna. i was "chimping" on my 5D when i saw her typing with the apple in her mouth. couldn't resist.

almost arrived.. i decided to walk around.

piss.. and take the obligatory self in the train.

back in vienna. after the parade. still with the 24 ts/e.

mary poppins at the atm. right before the storm.

after some weiße spritzer.. changing location. getting some glimmstängel.

"praying for acception" may sound silly. never said i was native !

morgenstern barbecue. the following photos seem strange to me.

obviously a decisive moment !

ingo wondering about his dirty hands.

raffi laughing about lorant being a crackhead.

some guy spitting fire.

sophia in their new flat.

we were playing the game where you have to get to know who you are, well who the person or thing is on your head.

so here we have hillary clinton !

bernd das brot and yoda from starwars.

later schef was ötzi which was rather tricky to guess... :D

family portrait.

we were going to the cinema. watching "paris".

germans eat popcorn with sugar. something i find absolutely wrong.. but the funny thing is, in austria they don't offer sweet popcorn in cinemas.

we were going to get some drinks for the movie.. when miriam stumbled across this package of sweet popcorn.. we both didn't expect to find that in a tiny subway-supermarked.

now thats a face of joy !

boy with roses. take a random photo of people in the underground, it never will be boring as long as you dare to shoot.

after the movie. i'd rate 7/10.. i was waiting for miriam.

back from the toilet.

walking home.

wasting the last frame of the trix.

the next day. first sunny day after a week or longer. mother with two daugthers taking the bus to a public swimming pool.

we took the bus to a more silent place.

having a picnic.

haha.. what a silly moment.

there were lamas too! they came out of nowhere.

going back downtown.. we sadly met some vienniese redneck people in the train filming their utter stupidity..

waiting for the subway. it's not only underground ;)

taking a picture of the last sunrays, knowing there won't be many in the next days. this july is like april or worse.

i'd love to have this kind of watch at home.

punk is not dead. same for streetphotography, b/w films and rangefinders !

what's left of the euro.

cute puppy !

another must have photo i thought.

posh lady checking the sky. hope she's got her all-weather taft !

lady reading newspaper with glasses in her mouth.

someone missunderstood soemthing.

this is what the weather is like most of the time