Lightning as my flash

It was peak lightning season in Poland and there was a huge lightning storm going on outside of my train. As I watched lightning bolt after lightning bolt strike the ground, I was wishing I was outside photographing. It was not until after an hour of watching the power of the storm that the idea to photograph the storm from the moving train came to mind. I shot up, got my camera out, opened the window, stuck my hand out the window and held down the shutter of my Mamiya 7. Since it was so dark outside and because I was stopped down to f11 I was counting on nothing registering on the film until the lightning struck. In other words, because I was not on solid ground photographing with a tripod and cable release, I planned on using the lightning burst as my flash. I had no idea if this would work, but I thought it would be fun to try. I held my hand on the shutter button exposing the negative until lightning struck. I did this five times. My exposures varied from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. I then decided to brace my hand and the camera against the edge of the window, using it as a brace. Just as I braced myself and held down the shutter a train driving in the opposite direction drives by and two bolts of lightning go off. I close the shutter and think to myself, well that one is not going to be anything. I thought that the train driving by for sure ruined the shot. The exposure of that shot was 3 seconds max. I made 4 more shots and before I knew it I was getting off the train in a torrential downpour to visit one of my dear friends. Four months later I processed the film from this train-ride. Here is the shot that I thought was going to be nothing.

What if I had not listened to my inner voice and had not acted upon my idea of using lightning as my flash (using a lightning bolt instead of a camera flash does sound somewhat crazy). I would not have captured my Train Ride to Krakow series, the above image being one of the images from this series. No matter how silly or outrageous an idea may seem in your head, follow through with it. You never know where it will take you. If you are worried about what others may think, do not show it to them. Do it for yourself. This worry free approach will only fuel other ideas. One silly idea and another totally crazy idea may lead you to your best idea yet. Do not say no to an idea that you have. Hear it out. Follow through with it. And above all have fun doing it.

Omi

When my grandfather died in 1943, my grandmother, Omi as we call her in German, was left with two twin babies to raise and a farm to help run. Needless to say she had to be strong, fearless and loving. As the clock of life kept on ticking and time moved on, my mom, one of the twins, met my dad while vacationing in California. Ten days after meeting they were engaged. Six months later my mom was living in America. Growing up my sister and I traveled to Germany visiting our relatives every other year. These summers were a child's dream come true. Building fortresses in the hay stacks. Biking to neighboring friends farms. Playing in the fields. Riding tractors. All night BBQ's with big fires and the freshest meat you had ever tasted. Everything seemed like it was out of a fairy tale. After high school I deferred from college and went and lived on the farm for a year. This was the first time that I really experienced being with Omi. Being part of a working farm is no walk in the park. It really is getting up when the sun rises and working till it goes down. Everyday Omi would spend her entire morning making a big lunch (their dinner) for all the men working in the fields. I had many questions for Omi. Often times I would help her cook and during that time ask her questions about her past, my grandfather, life in the surrounding town; things that I knew to be a part of me, but knew so little about. Today Omi is 95 and still cooks the main dinner for everyone. She is one of the strongest human beings that I know. Of all the things that she has taught me one of the most valuable lessons I have learned from her has been about perseverance and believing in ones dream. In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, Coelho writes about how important it is to listen to ones heart and to never give up on your dream. "Wherever your heart is, that is where you will find your treasure."

Hello World

Poland Bunkers, 2011

Hi Everyone! This is my first entry on my new blog page, Hendrik Paul Photography. I have been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time now. There was something about today that seemed in-sync and right for me to make the plunge and start. Welcome!

For me the purpose of this blog is to talk about art, share art, and create art. Photography pulses through my veins. I am excited to begin sharing with you all my findings, personal work and projects and works of friends and colleagues.

I thought for quite some time about which image I might share for my first entry. The image that I decided to share I took this past summer in Poland. When I look at this image I find myself looking down both of the tunnels and questioning which one I would go down. Often times life presents situations that ask the same questions. "Which path should I take?" "Should I do this or that?" "Is this the right job or should I move on?" Which would...  Should I...  Is it better to...
I see it with the viewpoint of, take the path that you most believe in. Even if you know it to be the harder path, take it. Do not let outside circumstances thwart your beliefs and decisions. In Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations, Dickens said, "...think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." Standing in-front of both tunnels, listen to your intuition and take the path that you know to be true. Believe in your intuition. Listen to your heart.