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2019-04 – Reimund Schmidt-De Caluwe – Stolen glances

Interview with Reimund Schmidt-De Caluwe, …

…Professor of Public Law at the University of Halle and the photographer of the exhibition at the Baumwollspinnerei Leipzig.

I got into photography before I became a lawyer - through my father. He was an optician. He introduced me to photography and darkroom technology. And it has been a companion throughout my life ever since. I later studied law, but never stopped taking photographs.

Just taking a break?

When you start a career and start a family, you don't have time. At some point, however, you reach an age when you have the time and energy to take this hobby seriously again. And that's been the case for me since 2007, when I started taking it more seriously - with questions of image composition, camera technology, refining it, reading photography books, looking for role models and developing myself further. Then at some point you make contact with other photographers and become part of a community.

They photograph people eating ice cream or waiting. They often look into the camera and are surprised or amazed. When did you realise that you have an eye for special moments?

When others told me. I can't remember when that was. Maybe between 20 and 30.

My photos are black and white, but they are taken in colour. When I used to take analogue photos, I made a conscious decision between using colour slide film or negative film in black and white. In digital photography, you now have a sensor that always shoots in colour. I then convert the images to black and white.

Are there photos that look better in colour?

Yes, I have a parallel exhibition in Marburg, where there are only coloured pictures – including street pictures. In certain cases, the colour is important for the composition. That doesn't work in black and white.

And what is different then?

Black and white concentrates the view on people. The photojournalist Ted Grant once said: "If you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. If you photograph them in black and white, you're photographing their souls." There's a lot to that. On the other hand, there are situations where colour has its own expression. And then it's important to show colour.

They show photos while travelling. From New York, London, St. Petersburg, Havana and other places. When travelling, you leave your routine behind and discover something new. Is that a prerequisite for the special look?

I could also take these photos here. You can see that in the photo from Halle. There are also pictures from other German cities. It's rather the other way round.

There is no need to change location.

When I take time to photograph, no matter where, then I'm out of the normal world, out of the stress. Then I'm in a mode that is relaxed on the one hand, but also very alert on the other. When I walk through the city with a photographic eye – I'm sensitive to situations. That's independent of where I am.

These are strictly separate, different approaches. But there are also similarities. For example, you have to observe carefully in both areas. In legal work, you also have to observe a situation closely and not work superficially. It's the same with photography.

Of course, the "creativity quota" is higher here, but I have to say that it's a prejudice that lawyers don't work creatively. That's not true.

What is your favourite picture?

The picture "Good mood school bus". The story takes place in Cuba – in Matanzas -2010.

We were walking through the streets - my wife, our son and I – and we saw this bus. It said on the bus that it was a donation from US pastors for peace. That caught my attention and I walked up to the bus. When these boys and girls saw the camera, they laughed and waved from the bottom of their hearts. And I succeeded in capturing this mood –. That doesn't always work. I still benefit from it today. Whenever I see the picture, I'm always in a good mood.

Do people react openly when they are photographed by you?

Yes, I've had that experience. Of course, there are also - justifiably – situations in which someone says no, they don't want to be photographed. I have only very rarely experienced really aggressive reactions. There are more positive reactions because I take photos openly and not hidden. Then I can also be approached and create a communication situation.

Your photos are chance encounters – brief moments. Were the encounters always brief?

There were contacts, there were conversations. And in some cases I also sent a print of the photo. Even to Cuba. Just last week, I brought the photo to a girl I had photographed in Halle. But it often remains a one-off contact. Just the street situation. Then you're gone again, but you've captured it.

Would you like more time?

I would like to do documentary projects in which I spend longer and more intensive time with the people I photograph. That's what I have planned for the future.

Do you prefer to photograph people rather than sights?

Yes, that's the case. I also do landscape photography and photograph sights. But when I photograph architecture, I'm looking for that special look and not what's on postcards. There are also interesting moments that you can capture.

Mandy Weigel asked the questions.

The exhibition can be seen at the INKOVEMA Institute, Alte Baumwollspinnerei Leipzig, Spinnereistraße 7, administration building – during normal opening hours –.

Impressions of the vernissage in the INKOVEMA rooms

Reimund Schmidt-De Caluwe, Professor of Public Law and Social Law

2017-09 – Gregor Nobis – Form/Function

INKOVEMA

since September 2017

at the spinning mill in Leipzig/Plagwitz.

The site of the former largest cotton spinning mill in Europe

  • witnessed the industrial revolution in the past (in the 19th and 20th centuries),
  • is today a globally recognised source of art and culture (New Leipzig Schoolsuch as Arno Rink, Neo Rauch)
  • and is developing into an important starting point for the digital transformation in central Germany.

It is Good tradition The Spinnerei opens its doors every six months so that visitors from Leipzig and around the world can visit the studios, galleries, studios, offices and other workspaces. We are following this tradition.

INKOVEMA opens its rooms for thematically relevant photo exhibitions.

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