Today we venture into what some would call an “Unknown Known”we “know” the person we are about to introduce. In all actuallity we have known him for a long time, he is in fact a mainstay in our industry. We are talking about Friedjof Feye, a photographer you might know. But even if you don’t, his work has been published in almost all skate magazines that are currently active and some that are but currently innactive. We also “know” that Friedjof and André Gerlich collaborated on making a small publication connected to the content you see below. One last “know” is that we are launching this as an continuous column of which Friedjof is the main protagonist (even if he, himself, is never himself seen). But what we don’t know is who will be the next subject(s), where this next column will take place and lastly what form other than this column it will take. To be fair, that is also a big part of the fun in following these things. Enjoy!
Intro by Roland Hoogwater.
Additional text by Julien Bachelier.
All photos & Booklet by Friedjof Feye.
The first time I met André was in Berlin at Hirschi’s place years ago (maybe 7)… During one night, he was totally weed green and I was totally red drunk and we had a good talk regarding Life expectations, Skateboarding and so on…
By my blurry memories (from this night) I remember the feeling that André was a true guy and going to his own legit path. The respect has been built and I kept to my mind he has the ANTIZ profile.
Since then I started to keep an eye on André’s evolment in our close skateboarding world. Originality, creativity, spot selection, style, a huge bag of tricks, and integrity. This is the recipe ! After receiving the approval of the entire ANTIZ family, it was time to travel together. In two trips André found his marks and became a masterpiece in the team. It is an example of gentleness, balance of life and perseverance. André deserves more than he has, he’s an underdog, underated and it’s like fine wine the older he gets the better it is.
This is only the beginning.
Julien Bachelier.
André is a 105 x 148mm risography zine made from just a single sheet of paper. Cut and folded by hand. Limited to 50 pieces.
Our very own dog Danny Sommerfeld just launched his website! On his piece of web space, you can take a virtual tour through his PLACE projects, his autonomous works and more. Basically, you will be able to sneak peek into his doggy brain.
To celebrate this event Danny delved into his archives and created something new out of something old, Upcycling his own work so to speak. All jokes aside though we have seen Danny learn a lot and transform his work into something worth looking at longer than your average picture
It is known to many of you that we like to hang out, skate, talk, and dance with a certain German professional photographer that goes by the name Conny Mirbach. Conny even shot some of the best stuff ever to make it into a PLACE Magazine. On the skateboard side of things, he can also hold his own and that is what we wanted to show you by bundling all his recent footage into this 2-minute video part. Enjoy the video and click here if you want to see some of Conny’s photo work.
Do you remember your first roommate? The one-of-a-kind mess he could leave behind? The mess that only one person could bring into this world? This is the portrait of your roommate. The tomato sauce on the dishes, the coffee stains on the kitchen table: All of this is a unique expression of someone’s past presence.
The same goes for a photo, for example. I explained it a lot of people like this. Look at a Danny Sommerfeld photograph. There are plenty of shots in this issue. Very often, besides dogs, old people, and bananas, you see Danny himself in the shots, although he’s not physically present in the photos. He brings the moment to life in his own way of capturing it.
A portrait doesn’t have to be a mug shot or a full body shot. It can be a lot of things. You can take a portrait of a landscape as well as of a war, or of a situation or even one of love.
We gave this issue as much personality as possible while keeping ot dreamy and abstract. This issue is about each and every character in our world that we find interesting enough to feature, allowing the subjects the space they deserve to shine.
For our “One From Five” article, we asked five photographers if they could send in one photo. The only allowance was the world of a “portrait” as a guideline. The first reaction from all of them was, “yeah, of course. That’s easy.” Five days later it turned out to be the most difficult task ever. “Only one shot?” they came back asking. “Yup, just one!” We responded.
You’ll find the result in the pages of this issue. For the longest time I wanted to print an interview without a single word in it. Just because most of the time the skater is not able to catch up with his body language. A good photo can be ruined by only a couple of words. Here’s Dane Brady from Portland/Oregon, with the first interview, with both question and answer captured in just the photograph, minus the typical skater chitchat. That’s all you need, if you bring as much to the table as Mr. Brady does. Same goes for Jerry Hsu, Sara Parson Texas, Giorgi Armani or K-Rod & Jon, a piece that even has a romantic twist to it.
All of these people are easy to draw because they have such a strong character. Give it a try: Draw your person of choice, in your eyes, buoyant with character, and you will know what I mean.
The guy featured on this issue’s cover might be new to you, but for us his visual presence had a big impact on this issue. Almost like a muse, he appears throughout this issue. For us, he’s pretty easy to draw. Get the point?
Alright guys, get your pens out and we all hope you will enjoy this issue. Thank you!
Skimming through this issue, a couple of things might have become appartent to you. The biggest question you may have noticed us grappling with is what, in fact, is a portrait, and maybe even more importantly, what constitutes a good portrait, and why? As you continue to browse, you might come to multiple, various conclusions. Each one of these will be an important part of you journey back to this central question; you might find yourself becoming increasingly interested in the way you, the reader, and the people featured in this magazine are trying to relate to this theme of the portrait. Coming back to this question will put you in the same state of mind that we were while brainstorming for this issue.
What constitutes a portrait? The current, most direct way to create one is to take out your phone and take a selfie, a sign of the times once reserved for artists who took the time to recreate their own likeness using more analog forms of art production. Our portraiture inquiries were broad in the early phases of creating this issue: we wondered about objects, whether an object could be a portrait of a person. Could a bed, a MacBook, or an internet browser’s history also constitute a portrait? One could argue, in a sense, that more could be said about a person’s character by scrolling through the chronicle of websites they’ve visited than looking at the way he or she renders his or herself via self-portraiture.
Another important question we tossed around is how can a group portrait be made, something we, as the magazine’s stuff, tried to do. What if we were to hire a detective to follow our interview subjects around for a day? Would that work? Could someone else portray you, or would that create a portrait of you both, in tandem, the portrayer and the portrayed, simultaneously, together, in one piece? All roads seem to lead back to Rome, but that doesn’t mean everybody in Rome took the same route. And that is what we wanted to discover as we brainstormed our way to this article. Five people all received one and the same assignment: Create a portrait in your own way, think about the question, yourself and the medium of photography and create something, whether it be an answer or a reflection on the question.
…And you should. There is a thin line between plagerizing and drawing inspiration. Generally, you should ask yourself if you’ve already crossed that line, but rather focus on what is best for your work by naturally developing content, material, and ideas in the process of production. But even if you take an abstract idea and articulate it, putting it in your on words, you will always find people that will see what other work or artist your piece is inspired by.
Our very own Danny Sommerfeld took the idea of David Hockney’s photographic collages and brought it into our world, which is that of skateboarding. While some seem to lose themselves in the photograph, others will always think of hockney’s famous works of classical L.A.: Backyard pools, open roads and cars. As such, in every image you encounter over the next few pages, you’ll also find a little Hockney. And like any other idea you have, there is always someone who might have thought the same, though one way or another, somewhat differently. Even your masters have found their inspiration in other works, just as Hockney sought inspiration from Picasso’s early cubism pieces. He took this idea and brought it into the world of photography.
Take your time to find the beauty in every shot and maybe you’ll find some little hints here and there – odes to photographic masters of yesterday, perhaps some pieces of inspiration for the artists of tomorrow. Nothing is absolutely perfect or unique. Here is to David Hockney:
by Daniel Pannemann
Photos: Danny Sommerfeld
Friends – Bremen, 2016
Farid Ulrich – Betonhausen Berlin, 2016
Johannes Schirrmeister – Alexanderplatz Berlin, 2016
Last Thursday Thomas Busutill launched the long-awaited Aus Berlin Yearbook at Civilist store in Berlin. As the De Paris and Of London ones the Aus Berlin Yearbook is also a great compilation of street photography from various photographers, which depict the life of skateboarders in one of Europe’s greatest skate metropolises. The book is a piece of art as it is a piece of history with photographies from Henrik Biemer, Benjamin Deberdt, Alexei Lapin, Alex Pires, Danny Sommerfeld and many many more.
The book launch was accompanied by a photo exhibition and a video premiere as well.
The man behind the Kaffeezigarette columns, Danny Sommerfeld, is back with a bunch of new snapshots. This time Barcelona was the travel destination of choice. But instead of shooting skateboarding, which would be obvious, Danny had a whole different approach.
It’s pretty unusual for skateboarders who pick up a photo camera to shoot subjects other than their friends skating. At least that’s what we thought before we met Stas Provotorov. The Muscovite is a really good skateboarder, with sponsorship from adidas Russia, and you may remember some of his appearances in Patrik Wallner’s documentary series Meet The Stans. But when he invited us over, we couldn’t find any skate photos in Stas’ flat in Moscow. He lives there together with his girlfriend Katya and is a rising star in Russian street photography – maybe by accident, or just by walking around the city open-minded, with a good heart and a roll of black and white film.
His street photography connects us with humanity in all its forms, and in turn allows us to be and feel more human in our day-to-day lives. We sat around on his carpet drinking red wine and eating pelmenies, while Stas showed us his photo collection. Besides some conceptual series of gay Russian men in a local park shot analog on a Hasselblad, he spontaneously captures anonymous moments of beauty, absurdity, grace, and sorrow. His evocative photographs show a deeper meaning in social relations and often bring it all together in a memorable way.
These days, Stas is studying at The Rodchenko Art School in Moscow and this PLACE feature is his very first publication. He’s kind of shy, but his images tell a different story.
Every now and then, you hear a name that for some reason gets stuck in your head. Either it’s because you really like what the person is doing, or simply because you like the sound of the name. Cameron Strand is a very pleasant and easy-to-pronounce name and we also really like what he’s doing. And while it’s always difficult for us to feature American photographers with photographs of American skaters on American spots – we’ll make an exception for Cameron Strand. With this portfolio we want to invite you guys to sit back and enjoy the sunshine in these photos, and get your essential amount of Vitamin D for your health.
As a skateboarder, it’s only natural to feel the urge to document your life: skateboarders are constantly honing in on the skill of observation, they are ocular sponges to a degree of absurdity, not to mention obsessive personalities, and if our interest is piqued, we learn the importance of not just asking how, but also to ask why. It is this second question that dictates the difference between understanding a motion and being inspired by a motion. We can apply this in so many other mediums – one of them being photography. Why we photograph is so much more important than how. Photography can inspire awareness; its power is undeniable. It is a medium that has altered the way we tell stories and perceive the world. As skateboarders/photographers we begin by pointing our lenses inward and documenting our own lives: we learn to create imagery with a pleasing aesthetic, and we travel all over the world with our friends shooting roll after roll of film, creating. I think there is a pivotal moment in this photographic career, when we decide to abandon our own story to focus on the story of the world, the stories of people, and the curious moments that inspire them.
A nostalgic edit about a whole different period of German skateboarding, brought to you by the good people over at Bonkers Shop in Frankfurt am Main. This video includes skateboarding by Schwarzi, Michel Lang, Sascher Richter at the famous Hauptwache spot in Frankfurt am Main.
French photographer Éric Antoine decided to self publish a high quality photo book named “Ensemble Seul”. To do so, he will need your help: If you appreciate his work and mind buying one of these beauties, please head over to ulule.com and support this project. Learn more about this crowdfunding project and see some previews below:
A poem in the form of a Japanese haiku consists of no more than three short lines, 17 syllables in total, and it’s usually a somewhat quirky observation of a fleeting moment in time. Often involving nature, seasonal changes, and featuring crisp punchlines, we felt tempted to present our first impression of the following photographs as haikus – flying down five steps, then seven, then five again. Here you go: No drafts or second thoughts, it’s all about pure expression of a sudden insight.
Karsten
following nature
modern kid of pure skating
total razorblade
Phil
in the gang of crooks
no one is leading the force
stop pretending please
Michi
they are watching you
you never live in freedom
pushing boundaries
Taipei
windows of the world
turning around in their mind
it’s a different view
Béziers
story of the bird
turning around in their height
endless energy
Nassim
time is ticking fast
go up go down round and round
irresistible
Ignacio
searching for a chance
still waiting for the big break
damn it don‘t give up
The Hauptwache spot in Frankfurt am Main was one of the best spots for the German skateboard culture back in the 90’s. Other than that it is located in the middle of a European metropolis. Bumfights, drug-dealing and skateboarding, this Exhibition shows all of it. Make sure to step by at Bonkers to see a documentation of a very important era of European skateboarding.
Silvester auf Malle ist nur einmal im Jahr, dachten sich die Oberhunde von TPDG Supplies und nutzen die Gelegenheit um sich ein paar schöne Tage im und um den Bierkönig herum zu machen. Drake war auch dabei und DJ Herzmann hat die vielen Busfahrten mit Hits am Fließband musikalisch unterlegt – gut aufgelegt.
Bestellt euch ‘ne Cerveza oder einen Café con leche por favor und genießt die folgenden #picofthedays mit ein paar klassisch schwarz-weißen Postkarten-Momente! In diesem Sinne #greetingsfromtpdg und welcome to the great outdoors.
Der Name Erik Groß steht für stilsicheres Skateboarding, auch wenn es in jüngster Vergangenheit ein bisschen ruhiger um ihn wurde – zumindest was Coverage angeht. Erik hat in einem schleichenden Prozess die Fotografie für sich entdeckt und ist bei seinen Reisen mittlerweile verstärkt hinter diversen Kameras aktiv – irgendwo zwischen Skateboarding und Portraits, Hauptsache analog. Grund genug für uns, ihn einfach mal erzählen zu lassen: Na, was denn jetzt Erik, Skate, Portraits oder Skateboartraits?
Alles begann vor knapp vier Jahren, als ich mir zu Weihnachten eine Canon AE-1 schenkte. Und was fotografiert man als Erstes, wenn man selbst Skateboarder ist? Richtig… Blumen. Nee Quatsch, natürlich seine Freunde beim und neben dem Skaten.
Irgendwann schnupperte man dann auch mal in die professionelle Skateboardfotografie, wenn man als Skater für Magazine Stufen runterflog oder Handläufe entlang rutschte. Ich begann zu verstehen, was der Fotograf da auf dem Boden eigentlich mit den ganzen Blitzen und einer fünf-hundertstel Verschlusszeit machte.
Letztendlich habe auch ich mich immer mehr mit dem Schießen von Skatefotos befasst und ich habe riesigen Respekt vor Leuten wie Henne (Herzmann), die am laufenden Band perfekte Shots abliefern. Aber sich um drei am Pennyrail für einen
Backsmithfoto zu treffen, war nie meine Art zu fotografieren. Ich mag mehr alles drumherum – das Pushen, die blutigen Hände und natürlich erst recht den Fahrer selbst. Ich habe angefangen, alle Skater, mit denen ich unterwegs war, zu
portraitieren und habe dabei gemerkt, dass ich mich beim Entwickeln der Bilder genauso auf das Portrait wie auch auf ein Trickfoto gefreut habe.
Dadurch wurde für mich alles persönlicher und interessanter. Nach und nach habe ich auch Leute außerhalb von Skateboarding fotografiert und fand es total spannend, die unterschiedlichen Gesichter auf Film zu bannen und sie gleichzeitig näher kennenzulernen.
Diese Serie von Danny ist für die Place #50 entstanden und beschreibt genau meinen Stil zu fotografieren. Wir waren zwei Tage zusammen unterwegs, skateten im Regen auf dem Tempelhofer Feld, fotografierten uns gegenseitig und hatten jede Menge Spaß. Dabei ging es nicht um einen bestimmten Trick an Spot XY, sondern eben um alles andere.
Sam Partaix ist ein leidenschaftlicher Mensch: Neben dem Skateboarding und den dazugehörigen Reisen gilt sein Interesse vor allem den Tattoos, sowie der Fotografie. Nach sieben Jahren, die der Wahlberliner mittlerweile für Vans unterwegs ist, wird ihm jetzt die Ehre zuteil einen eigenen Colorway zu bekommen. Seinen Slip On Pro zieren – wie könnte es anders sein – Motive, die Sam unter der Haut trägt, auf den Innensohlen finden sich Fotografien von ihm. Der Schuh wird ab dem 18. April bei ausgewählten Händlern, als auch online zu haben sein.
Und so sieht das gute Stück am Fuß aus – geschossen bei tropischen 11 Grad:
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