Rush!

is an ongoing project that, for lack of a better description, I often call abstract street photography. It is quite a stretch from my usual style, but to work on it is always fun to me and I gain a lot from it. That's why I thought it is time, to take it out of the shadows and put it up here...

The hustle and bustle everywhere,the multitude of ever-changing sensations, the traffic, people, lights, signs, shops, ads, and a few hundred things more. I can never quite blend all of that out, it´s still there and keeps me alert - constantly. There are people who strive in this environment. They drink it in and get energized by it. I am not one of them.

Only a couple of years ago, when I was giving street photography yet another try in one of the busiest areas of Beijing, my view of the problem changed. I was once again frustrated because I couldn’t get into the flow of shooting when it hit me: I realized I was trying to convey a feeling, that I simply didn’t feel! How on earth did I ever expect this to work? How am I to produce something „real“, when I am faking it to begin with? So I started using what I was actually feeling: the stress, the tension and the hectic, that get a hold of me in cities. And this way RUSH! was born...

 
 

To clarify this right from the start, I would never consider myself a street photographer! I admire quite a few incredibly talented artists, you could call traditional street photographers. I love the genre and the authentic scenes full of life and humanity these artists manage to capture. But whenever I find myself in a big city, which happens quite frequently as a nomad, I never manage to „see“ these scenes myself, even though they are undoubtedly there. The reason for that is quite simple: Cities stress me out.

I don’t turn into a phobic mess the moment I step out of the subway Downtown. There are days I enjoy everything a big city has to offer - especially all the superb coffee shops.

But nonetheless, cities are stress.

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