About this website
Ortsbild (German; plural: Ortsbilder): appearance of a populated place (literally: "picture of a place").
What is this all about?
First of all: It's not about architecture photography. The topic of this website is landscape photography – inside villages and towns.
Historical Ortsbilder of villages and towns have grown over centuries, but many of them were lost in the 20th or 21st century. In smaller towns and villages, most of the destruction happened after the war. Old houses were demolished to make room for wider streets or to be replaced by functional buildings or more convenient, but soulless residential architecture.
My goal is to preserve the authentic, timeless, nostalgic Ortsbilder that have survived.
In the beginning, I was mainly interested in the hidden gems among the villages and small towns. By now, I would like to create a consistent overall picture of Baden-Württemberg that also includes the major cities and tourist attractions.
What motivates me?
- Ortsbilder still disappear today. As a non-local, you never know if the old house in the centre of the village will be demolished and replaced by an unpleasant new residential block just a month later.
- It's a lot of fun to get to know my home state of Baden-Württemberg better — especially away from the tourist destinations.
- Nobody else does it. The photo collection on this website might already contain hundreds of perspectives which weren't available on the web before.
Why analog?
And why 6x6 medium format, Pentacon Six / Kiev 60 and expired film?
- Analog film is a physical medium that is more durable than digital storage media. The right choice for a photo project that is aimed at the long-term preservation of the documented conditions.
- The level of detail of an analog medium format photo is similar to a digital full-frame photo.
- The 6x6 square format ensures consistency in terms of the appearance of the images. For wide angle townscapes, a photo in square format taken with a shift lens is often the better alternative compared to a photo in portrait orientation. The availability of shift lenses is an advantage of the Pentacon Six system over more expensive systems like Hasselblad.
- Expired film has a built-in subtle retro effect that goes perfectly with the photo subjects. — Well, to be honest, fresh film is just too expensive. Using expired film was a compromise at the beginning. As time went by, it became an integral part of the photo project.
Why no car?
- Making room for cars was one of the main reasons why Ortsbilder got destroyed after 1945. And parked cars in front of historical buildings are by far the worst nuisance on my photo trips.
- I'm much more flexible with my e-bike. I can stop spontaneously almost everywhere, and I always have the camera handy on the luggage rack.
- Without a car, you experience the landscape and the Ortsbilder much more consciously. Furthermore, it's healthier, more climate-friendly and much cheaper. I rather spend the money on films instead of fuel.
When will this photo project be completed?
As soon as nobody sells me colour films for less than 10 € per roll anymore, I will have to give up. — No, I could actually go on forever. But one specific goal is to exploit all 44 districts of Baden-Württemberg photographically and to see all old towns of the state. There is still a lot to get done. It's surprising how many old towns exist that I would never have been aware of without this photo project.