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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.