La photographie est aussi urbaine. La rue est le terrain de photos favori de Franck Holznagel, photographe amateur, qui poste ses images sur EyeEm. C’est un réseau social de photos, plus discret que celui qui commence par I, enfin le mien.
Click on a picture, for the portfolio / Cliquer sur une photo pour voir dérouler le portfolio
« Berlin est une ville en construction, il y a quelque chose de nouveau presque tous les jours. » Ainsi parle Franck Holznagel, adepte berlinois de la photo de rue. Habitant dans la banlieue Nord, nombre des photos qu’il poste sur EyeEm, sont prises lors de son trajet quotidien pour rejoindre la capitale. « Je vois un bâtiment ou une structure intéressante et j’enclenche. Si la lumière n’est pas optimale, j’essaie de nouveau le lendemain ou après. »
Une combinaison de gens et de choses
L’architecture et la géométrie urbaine inspirent ce développeur de logiciel qu’il combine avec la présence de passants. Toutes ses photos sont des instantanés qu’il prend avec son téléphone portable (Oppo find7). « Une bonne photo de rue doit être une combinaison de gens et de choses et doit raconter une histoire sans avoir besoin de légende. » Franck commence à publier ses photos sur Instagram. Mais la course aux likes et l’acquisition du réseau social par Facebook, l’entrainent à rejoindre EyeEm. Il apprécie la possibilité de zoomer et de voir des détails parfois impressionnants.
Il ne revendique aucun photographe de référence mais les autres photographes sur EyeEm ainsi que l’observation de la « vraie vie » sont ses principales influences. « Après avoir vu un nombre incalculable de photos excellentes, j’essaie créer des images un peu différentes. »
Interview in english
You live in Berlin. What’s your job ? How old are you ?
I’m a software developer working in Berlin but living outside of the city in the northern suburbs with my family. I’m 48 years old.You like urban geometry, architecture…
How do you work?
Most of my urban photos (geometrical or not) are taken on my daily commute. I see an interesting building or structure and snap it. If the light isn’t optimal, I try again the next day or the day after or next week.Berlin is a city under construction. Even though my way to work has been the same for years there is something new almost every day. Most of my « true » architectural pictures are taken on photo walks, sometimes in groups, sometimes alone. Berlin has so many interesting places that I probably won’t see all of them in my life.
What is your tool ?
I’m using my mobile phone (currently an Oppo Find 7) to take the photos and edit them in Snapseed and Handy Photo. Almost all of my pics are snapshots. Only in very rare cases I develop a plan for taking a photo.
What do you think that the streets are the best « playing field » for a photographer ?
The streets of a big city like Berlin are stages for everyone and everything.Where else would a mobile photographer find more motifs than there?
What do you prefer in the streets, sidewalks, street furniture or the facades of houses, people watching ?
In my opinion, a good street photo has to be a combination of people and things. It should tell a story without the need for a caption. I’m too shy for a good street photo because you have to get very close to strangers and there is always the danger that these strangers don’t really like what you’re doing. So I usually keep the distance and try to find interesting architectural details with people passing by.
How long are you on EyeEm ? Why do you like it ?
When I started posting photos on Instagram in April 2012 and on EyeEm in September 2012 I was eager to publish at least one photo a day. I was in bad need of appreciation and was disappointed when my post got less than a certain number of likes. It was the usual pressure a social network can put on you: the hunt for followers, likes and fame.After Facebook announced its acquisition of Instagram I deleted my IG account and EyeEm became my primary platform. I like the ability to zoom in to the photos and see so many impressive details. In contrast to Instagram EyeEm is very « quiet ». A photo gets likes continuously over more than a week. On IG a post is usually forgotten after one or two days. After having seen a countless number of excellent photos the most important thing for me now is to create images that are a little bit different from the rest.
Who are your favorite photographers ?
My main influences are my friends at EyeEm and in real life. I don’t have a favorite photographer but I love to look at photo books to get to know other parts of the world I will probably never see with my own eyes.
Villes en vie 