The “Leaf Project” started my “White Period” of shooting objects against a white background. (That was a joke by the way! )

I met my friend Lynda on a weekend late November last year. I had told her I wanted to collect leaves and she was eager to join me. But where can you find them in the middle of New York City? In Central Park of course.

We met on the Upper West Side and made our way over to the park. I had a few big paper bags with me to try to get whatever I would find home undamaged. The moment we entered Central Park we were in leaf heaven.

Leaves everywhere. All these different forms and colors how exciting! I felt like a five year old kid again mesmerized by something  so utterly unimportant to an adult as a leaf. I had to think about how sad it is that we very often loose our “eyes of wonder” when we grow up because as soon as we see something we project past experiences onto it.

It is not necessary to look at a leaf because as adults we know how a leaf looks like. Over the years we have seen many of them. What could be so exciting about it? Why bother to look? I’m doing the same. Twenty years must have passed since I looked at a leaf closely and here I am in the middle of Central Park, in New York City the greatest city in the world where you can get anything you want ( as long as you have the money to pay for it) and I’m jumping up and down because I’m so excited about the leaf that I just found.

This time my search has a purpose though, I’m collecting them to take photographs. This is why I love what I do.

I would not have looked at these leaves or at the trash on Grand Street if I would not own a camera. As a matter of fact there are many things I’m not interested in at all but that completely changes when there is even the slightest chance to take photographs of them. Then I’m a child again, the excitement is back and I look at the world with eyes of wonder.

Two hours later Lynda and I were sitting at Starbucks with bags full of leaves having Soy Chai Latte. When I got back to the loft I laid them out and I must have had a few hundred of them.

Over the next couple of days I shot 34 images on film and uploaded the final 19 selects onto my website today.

“Leaves” Williamsburg/Brookly/”Leaf Project” November 2008

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

Months have passed since I started shooting “The Grand Street Project”. It began by me being fascinated by all the different kinds of disposed objects I would see on my way to and from the subway.

It evolved in having surgical gloves and plastic bags in my pockets for weeks and my room smelling like rotten food and cigarettes. I ended up shooting 88 images against a white background and edited them down to 19 finals that are on my website now.

I did regret the decision to shoot film many times. It is amazing how easy it is to forget how much more effort we had to put into that process. There is the way to the lab, the extra cost, the scanning and taking the dust and scratches of the scanned images. After all that work you are basically where you would have been the moment you release the shutter on a digital camera.

At the end it was worth it though and it is good to know that it is possible to scan the film to any desired size.

Was there a message in this project? I’m not sure I was just inspired to shoot it but after looking at the images again the message could be that it is always worth to take a second look. Maybe what we see is not reality but the projection of our ideas and beliefs onto our surroundings.

A piece of trash becomes beautiful even though we are trained to look down on it, despise it and disregard it. On the contrary things believed by society to be noble, desirable and valuable might be tremendously ugly when we give them a closer look.

When we approach life with an open mind we might find beauty or ugliness where we had never expected it.

“A Second Look” Williamsburg/Brooklyn/Duct Tape/February 2009

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

I made it one more time to the Sheep Meadow in Central Park last weekend. Friends of mine are getting together there every Sunday during the summer to play their guitars and to sing.

I met my friend Nina here in Williamsburg and together we took the subway to the city. One more time I stopped by at Subways to get a veggie paddy sandwich, one more time I picked up Kambucha tea at Whole Foods.

When we got to the Meadow Marco was already there waiting for us.. We were just hanging out and talking. It was a beautiful day but very cold for this time of the year.

After an hour or so we moved over to the guys playing their guitars about 50 feet away from us. It was a small group that day since a couple of them were sick. One more time Mr. Lloyed Floyed sang “Highway to Hell” my favorite AC/DC song that he always so well performs.

One more time I looked at the park dipped into the golden sunset light while buildings peaking out above the trees to remind me that I am in nature but that the city is not far away.

Shortly after it just got too cold to bear. This was it, the last Sunday in the Sheep Meadow for this year.

“Last Time For This Year” Sheep Meadow/Central Park/Portrait of my Friend Nina 10-11-09 at 03:56 PM

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

Mr. Loyed Floyed performing “Highway To Hell” in the Sheep Meadow:

Since there was no available light left we went back to the loft for one more studio setup. I did use the time we had spent outside to recharge the camera batteries. The camera was working I did not have to worry about losing the light, life was good again even though I was still limping badly from having dropped the big fan on my foot earlier that day.

With this last image I ran into the problem that the backdrop was not big enough but what applies to life equally applies to photography. What you can’t change you just live with. I kept the stands and part of the loft in the frame and at the end I think that makes the image more interesting then having only a black background.

For all those of you who have missed my blog post two days ago I want to mention again that Reut is an amazing trombone player. To find out more about her you can go to her website, her myspace page or buy her music on iTunes.

“Reut Regev” Williamsburg/Brooklyn/ Studio Shot of Reut 09-18-09 at 07:19 PM

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

It was a beautiful day and perfect for shooting some images outside. We did not get far though. The light in the staircase looked fantastic so we set up the next shot there. A few months ago somebody had spray painted “Love_Me” on the walls and I used that for this image.

But because I had shot so many frames for the portrait both of my camera batteries were completely drained. It is interesting to watch my mind work in these situations. I knew I had about 30 minuets of daylight left, what were my options? I remembered that this adapter came with the camera that allows you to use AA batteries. I ran back inside to get some freshly recharged batteries and the adaptor.

The problem was that somehow (I found that out after the shoot) rechargeable batteries don’t work when it comes to powering the camera. After shooting two frames a warning sign would blink to let me know  that I lost battery power. I had to turn off the camera and turn it on again to be able to shoot another two frames.

I was not happy! But what other options did I have? None! I kept on shooting this way until we lost daylight.

“Reut Regev (Part 2)” Williamsburg/Brooklyn/ Portrait of Reut in Staircase 09-18-09 at 06:03 PM

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

Reut is an amazing trombone player who was born and raised in Israel. Reut needed some new images for press releases and flyers so she came over to the loft for a shoot a couple of weeks ago.

We had a great time and both of us were really happy with the outcome of the project.

We started a day with a portrait of her. I must have shot hundreds of images to get the right angle of her and the trombone but love this shot. It might have even been a good that it took me so long. Often times your people get so much more accustomed to you and the camera the more time you spend with them.  That might be why to me in this shot there seems to be no barrier between Reut and the camera.

We took a minimal approach. Since Reut personally never uses any make-up we shot with almost none.

To lift up her hair slightly I used an old very heavy fan (about 50 pounds). Since I was working alone I leaned it against my tripod to get the best lift but it ended up sliding down and hitting my foot so badly that I was limping for the rest of the day.

To listen to Reut’s music please go to her website or myspace page. She will be touring in Europe later this month and in November. If you live in Berlin you can see her on November 5th at the Berlin Jazz festival.

“Reut Regev (Part 1)” Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Portrait of Reut with Trombone 09-18-09 at 03:59 PM

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

More then a year went by since I flew to the West Coast to shoot the music video for the amazing song “Somewhere” by John Shannon. The video was finally officially released and is now available for purchase from digital retailers worldwide.

The song was remixed by two-time Grammy award winner Eric Kupper. The remixes are also available from many digital retailers and on iTunes.

Please check out the Oblique Sound Press Release. To purchase the remixes, the album or the video please go to the iTunes store.

Here you can read more about me shooting the video, editing it and about John Shannon performing live.

“Somewhere Music Video Release” West Marin close to San Francisco/John Shannon 05-05-08 at 03:15 PM

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

Later in the afternoon I took some photographs of Julie up on the roof that ended up looking best in black and white.

It was a beautiful day and a perfect opportunity to escape the studio and get some fresh air.

“Julie (Part 2)” Williamsburg/Brooklyn 09-05-09 at 06:05 PM

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

Julie wanted some Maxim Magazine style photos. It was an interesting day and I learned a lot.

At the end of a long and grueling day (I did not have an assistant) I had captured some beautiful images of her.

I always believed that a photographer should be able to work in many different fields of photography. I never understood specialization. I love to take pictures of anything. One might say that taking photographs of a beautiful girl is more exciting then taking pictures of a broken Heineken bottle or manikins but to me they are all equally exciting.

The way you work is very different as well. While still-life photography has almost meditative qualities since your subject does not move fashion has a very fast-pace while portraits are somehow in between.

Who wants to do the same thing every day? Not me. I like to mix things up. One day slow, one day fast and the next day in between.

I have to admit though that my heart lies in portraiture because it gives me the opportunity to meet people, get to know them a little bit and challenges me to capture their personality in a photograph.

“Julie (Part 1)” Williamsburg/Brooklyn/Julie Sandberg 09-05-09 at 09:41 PM

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com

There is time to follow and there is time to lead. Who wants to lead has to have followed  and and who leads has to stop following.

But is this for the higher good of all? Who is directing the leader? His or her ego?

What directed Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini?

What was directing Krishnamurti, Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi?

All of them were leaders but did they perceive themselves to be so?

I have to admit I never met even one of them but I am pretty sure that Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini saw themselves as leaders while Krishnamurti, Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi would have said that they are being led.

Who did they follow? What will we do when our time comes to lead?

“Leading” Williamsburg/Brooklyn/The general in the loft lit for the party 10-04-09 at 05:57 AM

Please check out my website at carstenfleck.com