The Origins of Aus der Traum Photography

Since many have asked, I decided to write an entry regarding the choice of "Aus der Traum" as the name of my photography company. There is actually a negative connotation associated with this term, as the phrase is most notably tied to graffiti that appeared throughout Berlin during the Soviet occupation of the city after WWII.

The meaning is simple, "the dream is over".

I've decided to resurrect this phrase and try to give it a different spin. Instead of the obvious failure associated with the third German Reich, I wanted to see "the dream is over" as a state of living in and capturing of the moment that affirms life and all the beauty it contains. I try to stand outside the dream and see the world for what it is. Not that dreaming is futile or foolish, however, I want to show the world in all of its forms, some revolting and caustic, others gentle and passionate.

That is the goal of my photography. Although my new photo project will be pushing the bounds of what is considered beautiful, I find beauty in that also.

Great Photographers of the Twentieth Century

The father of modern photo-journalism

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to “give a meaning” to the world, one has to feel involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry. It is by economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression.

To take a photograph is to hold one’s breath when all faculties converge in a face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.

To take a photograph means to recognize – simultaneously and within a fraction of a second– both the fact itself and the rigorous organisation of visually perceived forms that give it meaning.

It is putting one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart on the same axis.