Tadao Ando - Vitra Conference Pavilion, Weil am Rhein, May 1995

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Vitra is a furniture company located in the small German town of Weil am Rhein, with headquarters in nearby Birsfelden, Switzerland.

With a privileged situation near the German- Swiss - French border, very close to the Swiss city of Basel, its strategic position combined with clever and innovative management have made Vitra a leading name in design furniture, manufacturing the works of many internationally acclaimed designers.

The company was founded in 1950 and today the Vitra Campus showcases buildings by some of the most famous architects, like Álvaro Siza (Factory Building and Passage), Frank Gehry (Vitra Design Museum, Vitra Atelier and Headquarters Building), Herzog & de Meuron (VitraHaus), Nicholas Grimshaw (Factory Building), Tadao Ando (Conference Pavilion, the subject of this post) or Zaha Hadid (Fire Station).

And the list goes on… Since I visited Vitra in 1995, several new buildings were added to the “collection”.

The Conference Pavilion by Tadao Ando was the architet’s first building outside of Japan.

It was built in 1993, just two years before I made these images, and has a very interesting characteristic: a large part of its volume is concealed under ground level, greatly reducing its impact on the surrounding landscape.

Predominantly built out of beton, with floors made out of wood, it manages to transmit a rather “soft” sensation. If you caress some of its walls, you almost have the feeling of touching velvet… If I remember well, it was explained to me that there were some ashes mixed up with the cement…

Myth or reality? I am not sure, but the feeling is definitely there!





















I went to Vitra on assignment by Editorial Blau. I was commissioned to photograph the Vitra factory building by Álvaro Siza, to be included in the book “Álvaro Siza, 1986 – 1995”, and I was travelling to produce photographs for that publication.

From Weil am Rhein I would still drive up North to Holland to shoot further Siza buildings for the project, then I would go down again to Barcelona…

Taking a look around Vitra Campus I was enchanted by this relatively small building and decided to ask if I also could photograph it. Permission granted, I thought that it was a good subject to get acquainted with my new Corfield WA67, just shipped by Mr. Brian Gould from England before I hit the road.

To photograph an entire building with only one camera / wide angle lens combination?

Was I driving nuts?



















As a matter of fact, I believe that some pictures could have benefited from some other outfit not so extremely wide angle, but all in all I believe that I can say that the Corfield WA67 did rather well, mainly when I think that it is a very specialized camera, which design was not surely meant for universal use…

On Interior Photography this (relatively) small wide angle shift camera really shines!

And that from day one!, as these photographs attest.

(I had only shot a very few images of the Santiago Calatrava bridge in Mérida, while driving by on my way up to Germany; forgot to pull out the dark slide on some of them…).

On this very first experience with the Corfield WA67, I could be convinced that I had made the right choice, searching for an easy to use piece of gear for Interior /Architecture Photography.

Up to this day, I keep on cherishing this little marvel of a camera.

Long live my Cory!



P.S.: Should you be curious about the Corfield, follow the tags below, and find my former post about it, in case you missed it before.

Some of this color photographs were published by the Dutch Architecture Magazine “de Architect” from Den Haag.

The black and white negatives have been sleeping in my archive. It is the first time that I show them!



Technical Data:
Camera - Corfield WA67 (6x7 format)
Lens (not interchangeable) - Schneider Super Angulon 5.6 / 47mm
Film - Kodak
Location - Weil am Rhein, Germany
Date - May 1995


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The World Must Never Forget!

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Ora 25 / La Vingt-Cinquième Heure / The 25th Hour

(1949)

These books by Constantin Virgil Gheorghiu, a Romanian writer who would be ordained a priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1963, always impressed me.
I was still in Military College when I bought them in 1969.

Many, many years ago!

It is not my intention to describe both novels, but they constitute a poignant testimony of the suffering mankind went through in the agony of World War II.
In spite of that, or maybe because of that, the message of Virgil Gheorghiu is full of love and hope in the human race. Somehow, the sun manages to shine through all the reigning darkness, a little flame shines among all death and desperation.

The Twenty-Fifth Hour, was published in 1949. The scars could just barely be healed!

In 1967, a film based on the book was produced by Carlo Ponti and directed by Henri Verneuil. The film starred Anthony Quinn and Serge Reggiani on the main roles.

Mr. Gheorghiu died in Paris in 1992. May he rest in peace. He deserves it!

Treblinka was a Nazi extermination camp in occupied Poland, built by the Warsaw - Bialystok railway line, receiving transports from July 1942.

Treblinka I was a forced labour camp in support of Treblinka II, the death camp. The incoming deportation trains generally consisted of 50-60 cattle wagons containing six to seven thousand people in total. It is estimated that a minimum of 800,000 Jews lost their lives in Treblinka.

In the first months of 1943 a resistance group was organized, finally leading to an uprise in August 1943. Of the 200 inmates who managed to break out, only about 60 were alive at the end of the war and could tell the world about the nightmare of Treblinka.

For over forty years now, every once in a while I pick up these books and re-read them. I am always shocked by how filthy and guilty we can be for such horrible crimes.

Shame on mankind! Shame on us!



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Eles não sabem que o sonho...

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Sinto-me esventrado,
Sugado e esvaído,
Traído!

Dos tremoços já as cascas nos levam,
A matança continua, o festim prossegue...

Os sonhos, esses, nunca mos hão-de entaipar!







“Pedra Filosofal” - António Gedeão

Eles não sabem que o sonho
é uma constante da vida
tão concreta e definida
como outra coisa qualquer,
como esta pedra cinzenta
em que me sento e descanso,
como este ribeiro manso
em serenos sobressaltos,
como estes pinheiros altos
que em verde e oiro se agitam,
como estas aves que gritam
em bebedeiras de azul.

eles não sabem que o sonho
é vinho, é espuma, é fermento,
bichinho álacre e sedento,
de focinho pontiagudo,
que fossa através de tudo
num perpétuo movimento.

Eles não sabem que o sonho
é tela, é cor, é pincel,
base, fuste, capitel,
arco em ogiva, vitral,
pináculo de catedral,
contraponto, sinfonia,
máscara grega, magia,
que é retorta de alquimista,
mapa do mundo distante,
rosa-dos-ventos, Infante,
caravela quinhentista,
que é cabo da Boa Esperança,
ouro, canela, marfim,
florete de espadachim,
bastidor, passo de dança,
Colombina e Arlequim,
passarola voadora,
pára-raios, locomotiva,
barco de proa festiva,
alto-forno, geradora,
cisão do átomo, radar,
ultra-som, televisão,
desembarque em foguetão
na superfície lunar.

Eles não sabem, nem sonham,
que o sonho comanda a vida,
que sempre que um homem sonha
o mundo pula e avança
como bola colorida
entre as mãos de uma criança.

In Movimento Perpétuo, 1956



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Fátima, Portugal - February 25th, 2011 (Leica M2 + Leica R5)

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Technical data:
Cameras - Leica M2 + Summicron 50mm / Leica R5 + Elmarit 135mm
Film - Agfa APX 100 + Kodak Tri-X
Developer - Kodak XTOL (Full-strength)
Location - Fátima, Portugal
Date - February 25th, 2011
Scanner - Epson 4990 Photo


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Let the Sunshine In

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I see a very dark cloud obscuring this land,
Wind of Change blow away all these sick lies,
Clear up the sky!

Let the sunshine in!

"Aquarius"
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystals revelations
And the mind’s true liberation
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius

Aquarius!
Aquarius!


“Let the Sunshine In”
We starve, look at one another, short of breath
Walking proudly in our winter coats
Wearing smells from laboratories
Facing a dying nation of moving paper fantasy
Listening for the new told lies
With supreme visions of lonely tunes

Somewhere, inside something, there is a rush of
Greatness, who knows what stands in front of
Our lives, I fashion my future on films in space
Silence tells me secretly
Everything
Everything

…

Singing our space songs on a spider web sitar
Life is around you and in you
Answer for Timothy Leary, dearie

Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in
The sunshine in
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in
The sunshine in
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in
The sunshine in


“I Got Life”
I got life, mother
I got laughs, sister
I got freedom, brother
I got good times, man

I got crazy ways, daughter
I got million-dollar charm, cousin
I got headaches and toothaches
And bad times too
Like you

I got my hair
I got my head
I got my brains
I got my ears
I got my eyes
I got my nose
I got my mouth
I got my teeth
I got my tongue
I got my chin
I got my neck
I got my tits
I got my heart
I got my soul
I got my back
I got my ass
I got my arms
I got my hands
I got my fingers
Got my legs
I got my feet
I got my toes
I got my liver
Got my blood


I got my guts
I got my muscles
I got life
Life
Life
Life
Life
LIFE!

And you got a lot of nerve baby!

And I'm gonna spread it around the world, mother.
Yeah, I'm gonna spread it around the word, sister.
Yeah I'm gonna spread it around the world, my brother.
So everybody knows what I got.

From the musical "Hair" - The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (1968)
Lyrics: James Rado & Gerome Ragni
Music: Galt MacDermot





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My Friends the Cats

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Permit me to acquaint you with my friends

Pipoquinha, our new family member met some weeks ago

Mico, a nice amigo for some years now

Pipoquinha (little pop corn) is a young female cat we found a couple of weeks ago, while going for a walk.

A sister of other beautiful little kittens, we were not clever enough to avoid going back there "just for taking a look"...

When we heard that they didn't belong to somebody, we couldn't resist!

Mico (also known as Minhoco, Mircolino, Micanhoto... He always knows who I am talking to) was brought to me by my sons, five or six years ago.

An adult male cat, he adores to look cool and blasé, sometimes acting with full indifference and disdain. He is actually exceptionally pacific and a nice companion, except for the smell of his territory marking...

I get along very well with cats, it is easy for me to make friends among them.

For the photo-freaks:

Both shots made with Canon 30D + Leitz 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit (Pipoca) and Leitz 400mm f/6.8 Telyt-R.

I used an enjoyyourcamera adapter to get it all together.

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Rollei 35 S - Photo Gear (11)

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Not much bigger than a packet of cigarettes, the Rollei 35 is one of the smallest full-frame 35mm cameras, ever built.

Compactness was mandatory for its innovative design, the HFT Sonnar lens and the Rollei Compur shutter (on this version) being the guarantee for high- quality performance.

Coupled to aperture, shutter and film speed, the CdS exposure meter was of the match needle type. Like all classic cameras (the 35 S was built 1974 - 80), mercury batteries can be a problem to substitute, generally forbidden because of environmental issues.

I simply overcome the nuisance by using no batteries at all in such cameras.

I bring an external light meter instead!

You will notice that some dials and levers work differently, and are placed differently, than on most 35mm cameras:

Shutter speeds (1/2 s – 1/500 s, B) and aperture values (f / 2.8 – 22) are set by the two dials on the front of the camera;

Film transport lever is on the left side and winds to the left;

The film cartridge goes in the right side of the camera and the film travels to the left;

The rewinding crank, the exposure counter, and the acessory hot-shoe for flash are located on the underside of the camera;

Removable camera back to facilitate loading and unloading film;

You can release the lens by pressing a button, and turn and push it back into the body. It is then small enough to fit into a pocket (filter size 30,5mm)…

The Rollei 35 S is the smallest camera I use. Not much, I must confess…

Although the viewfinder is very satisfactory, and the shutter very silent, I miss the possibility of using a rangefinder (of course, it would make the camera bigger!) for exact focusing.

I can live with it, but 40mm focal distance is not really my dream for estimating the distance of my subjects…

For a little bit more size and weight, I definitely prefer to carry the robustness of a Leica M…

Nevertheless, the Rollei 35 might be an option in case you are looking for a small film camera with a price tag that can be better accepted by an average / not insane human being.

Long live the Rollei!




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Mies van der Rohe - Seagram Building, New York

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I don’t remember that much about New York!

I recall crowds of multicolored people dressed up in multicolored cloths in front of multicolored snacks, I remember a flood of Yellow Cabs claxoning their way through the lights.

We stood and stared at The Flatiron, we gazed at The Empire State, we marveled at the magnificence of The Twin Towers…
If we were already impressed by the Chicagoan skyscrapers, then New York really blew our minds!

Maybe I forgot a lot about New York, but Mies’s Seagram Building!

I don’t remember that much being in New York!

I know of cheap motels before and cheap motels after, I know about driving all the way from Chicago, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, I know about heading all the way up to Montreal and Toronto - and Detroit, and Chicago again, and Houston, Washington D.C., and, and... New York again… “Bye, bye, so long! See you soon!”

I still feel the miles running on empty under my seat, I can’t forget beautiful Connecticut and astonishing Vermont, I can’t forget the immenseness of America…

We were on a diet of fast food, so don’t ask me about New York tables, we were on a diet of everything, so poor Jorge and me we had tomatoes and milk for lunch, we pretended not to see elegant people sitting on hip restaurants, we faked city slickers in search of the Midnight Cowboy…

We have seen the rich and we have seen the beggars!

Who cares if I have memories of New York?

We drove by Central Park and MoMa, we wandered up and down Broadway, we figured out how to get cheaply closed to the Statue of Liberty, we knew nothing about New York, there was nothing to know about New York, but cheap thrills!

I had never before seen a photographic shop where the films and equipment boxes travell by cable car to the customer, now I know I have seen it all, “Do you have a credit card? Yes? Allright, now we can talk!” (and I will be hopefully nice and kind to you, that’s me reading his mind…).

There were a whole lot of things that I had never seen before! There are a whole lot of things that I have never seen after!

New York, I am tired, let me take a rest. The journey ahead is a long one, we must be ready!

I mainly associate New York with the sounds of “The Heart of Saturday Night” by Tom Waits, though I suspect that we didn't meet there…

“Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
I ain't coming, I ain't going
My confusion is showing
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
I'm gonna paint myself blue
At the depot”

All photographs made on Kodak Ektachrome film with a Horseman SW 612 Pro and Rodenstock lenses (Apo-Grandagon 35mm + Grandagon-N 75mm), except for the first view made with a Gandolfi Variant III and Schneider lens.



“(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night”

Well you gassed her up
Behind the wheel
With your arm around your sweet one
In your Oldsmobile
Barrelin' down the boulevard
You're looking for the heart of Saturday night

And you got paid on Friday
And your pockets are jinglin'
And you see the lights
You get all tinglin' cause you're cruisin' with a 6
And you're looking for the heart of Saturday night

Then you comb your hair
Shave your face
Tryin' to wipe out ev'ry trace
All the other days
In the week you know that this'll be the Saturday
You're reachin' your peak

Stoppin' on the red
You're goin' on the green
'Cause tonight'll be like nothin'
You've ever seen
And you're barrelin' down the boulevard
Lookin' for the heart of Saturday night

Tell me is the crack of the poolballs, neon buzzin?
Telephone's ringin'; it's your second cousin
Is it the barmaid that's smilin' from the corner of her eye?
Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye.

Makes it kind of quiver down in the core
'Cause you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before
And now you're stumblin'
You're stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night

Well you gassed her up
And you're behind the wheel
With your arm around your sweet one
In your Oldsmobile
Barrellin' down the boulevard,
You're lookin' for the heart of Saturday night

Is the crack of the poolballs, neon buzzin?
Telephone's ringin'; it's your second cousin
And the barmaid is smilin' from the corner of her eye
Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye.

Makes it kind of special down in the core
And you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before
It's found you stumblin'
Stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night
And you're stumblin'
Stumblin onto the heart of Saturday night

From the record “The Heart of Saturday Night” – Tom Waits (1974)



..

... and in the end...

..







The End (Lennon/McCartney)

Oh yeah, all right
Are you going to be in my dreams
Tonight?

...And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make.

From the record "Abbey Road" - The Beatles (1969)



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Assorted Moments - Sinar F2 (1988 - 90)

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Looking through my archive, I came upon a little box with several 9x12 cm / 4x5 inches negatives. Most of them unidentified: no date, no location...

I believe that they must habe been made in the last two years, or so, that I lived in Germany, prior to my return to Portugal in 1990.

In those times I was enthusiastic enough to travel with a Sinar camera and a couple of Schneider lenses...

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Mannheim, Germany



Near Mannheim, Germany
(can you see the Christmas tree?)



Carrasqueira, Rio Sado, Portugal



Carrasqueira, Rio Sado, Portugal



El Burgo de Osma, España

Guimarães, Portugal

Alentejo, Portugal

Alentejo, Portugal



Because (Lennon/McCartney)

Because the world is round it turns me on
Because the world is round...

Because the wind is high it blows my mind
Because the wind is high......

Love is all, love is new
Love is all, love is you

Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry
Because the sky is blue.......

From the record “Abbey Road” – The Beatles (1969)

Wish you all a good time!