Jiri's Panoptikum

Guerrilla Gardening

2009-05-26T11:51:00.001+01:00

We are back in Sipson, Harlington and Harmondsworth - the three villages threatened with extinction should the controversial plans to build Heathrow's third runway go ahead. After Airplot, it was now time for the locals to get creative and participate in some creative gardening schemes. Greenpeace teamed up with top garden designer Tom Hoblyn, Guerrilla Gardener Richard Reynolds, a bunch of activists of all kinds of persuasions and many local residents to give some of the plants from the Chelsea Flower Show a second lease of life...

Empty Docklands

2009-05-25T17:37:00.000+01:00

As the layout stage of my first book, the Empty London project draws to a close, I heeded some advice and went and shot the docklands whilst I had a chance: between 3 and 5 am on a Sunday morning, the only time that nobody seems to be around. It is private property and therefore I had to get a permit. Kindly issued by the Canary Wharf press office, my permission to take pictures was granted for a whole of 30 minutes, between 4 and 4:30 am. Guess who showed up at 4:33 a.m.?

Yep, you guessed it - a bored security guard. In less than friendly terms, he asked for my piece of paper granting me permission and promptly proceeded to tell me that my 'time is up'. Would you believe it? I mean - picture the scene - the place is deserted, nobody anywhere, zip, nada, niente, except for this guy ushering me on because of a misprint on a piece of paper. As if taking a picture after 4:30 a.m. would serve a different purpose than one taken during the time allowed... No doubt I have malevolent intentions.

I realise he's only doing his job, but I thought that this sort of moronic, mechanic acting had only been possible in Nazi Germany. Anyway, it all ended amiably, and here's the results - some of these will find their way into my first book, to be published shortly.

Ben Stiller - done in 60 seconds!

2009-05-12T11:28:00.001+01:00

Yep, interview alibi picture time again. My esteemed colleague Norbert Koerzdoerfer jokes with Ben Stiller, in town to promote his latest movie, Night at the Museum II. I wasn't allowed to attend the interview, but I did manage to make a lively picture at the end. Done in 60 seconds!

Lotus Evora

2009-05-08T14:25:00.000+01:00

I got back to the UK less than two days ago, and now I find myself behind the wheel of Lotus' new sports car, the Evora. We are in Scotland and it's raining. Heavily. All we have is the afternoon to get our pictures done before heading back for my flight to London. The rain doesn't stop and becomes positively annoying whenever I point my lens in the direction of the wind. I can't remember how many times I had to wipe the lenses, or even if any of my bodyparts stayed dry during the shoot, but I can remember this: This car goes faster than you can say SH-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-T!!!

Cars have never been my thing really, I'm a bike nut. But this Lotus has something. It doesn't look like it's been made in a shed, it doesn't rattle or fall apart on Scotland's B-roads, and it handles phenomenally well. Nevermind the speed limits, nevermind the rain or the curvy road up to Glencoe, driving this thing is a blast! Although I would not contemplate buying one (it's only a mere 50 grand...), I do remember the drive with fascination. Overtaking is a doddle, acceleration is close to the 0-60 mph in 3 seconds my motorbike manages and the overall impression is that this car goes like shit off a wet shovel. Nice one.

Vysocina scenery

2009-04-29T10:16:00.000+01:00

I have a thing for trees. I just can't help it. Whenever I walk or drive through a forest, and I see sunlight hitting some of the trunks I am mesmerised. More often than not, I simply stop and stare in awe at nature's art without taking a picture. After all, we know what forests look like and in the back of my cynical mind I tell myself that probably, nobody really cares.

Well folks, now it's me that doesn't care, and I will share this with you. There are some pretty fascinating pine forests in the Vysocina region which I was fortunate enough to visit during my month-long stint. And here's the pictures:

Forestification

2009-04-12T13:56:00.002+01:00

This is one of the aspects made possible by EU funding: turning unused agricultural land back into forests. The ministry of agriculture sponsors the seedlings and rewards landowners who plant tree schools on disused land. Whether this is part of balancing the EU's complex agricultural policy, or to help capture carbon molecules from the atmosphere to help combat climate change I will never know.

What I do know is that to make it happen in the tiny village of Nedvezi in the Czech countryside, a few bottles of rum, beer and a hearty breakfast were required to lure helping hands out of bed early on a sunny Saturday morning. With about 10 people, we planted over 2000 trees during a morning's work. After we finished the tree planting (and the rum), we progressed to the village pub. Nazdravi!

Pork at home

2009-04-11T19:40:00.008+01:00

This may not be for the faint-hearted, but that's what it looks like: slaughtering pigs at home, or rather, in your backyard. For those of you who like pork, chose wisely if you need to see this, as it may turn you into a vegetarian.

It's part of village life in my homeland and many other places throughout Eastern Europe and the rest of the world. That day, three little pigs gave their lives to feed a few hungry mouths who were prepared to do the dirty work. Here's only a fewto give you the idea...

Big Brother is watching

2009-04-03T19:31:00.000+01:00

Through circumstance more than persistence, I managed to get an intimate view into the workings of Westminster's CCTV Community Safety Centre, an underground surveillance operation like in the movies. Just... this is for real. 3000-odd high resolution cameras viewing most angles in the West End, remotely operated, fully stabilised and able to pick up a face from almost a mile away. Oh, and connected to the Police, of course...

Here's the pictures...

Writing with light

2009-03-29T15:22:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I had a somewhat funky assignment. As some of you may be aware, it was Earth Hour, where lights on famous landmark buildings were switched off for an hour in the evening. My brief was to photograph Buckingham Palace with the lights out, and then get creative with some lights of my own.

I was lucky to have a patient and keen assistant on the evening, and eventually we worked out a rough time/aperture combination that would allow the shutter to stay open long enough for me to draw the words 'London' and 'Earthhour' into the picture. For that, I was dressed in black, and held a bright LED-torchlight towards the exposing camera. The result you can see below.

Black Death Exhibition

2009-03-04T11:03:00.001Z

At the Wallace Collection, there is a display of medieval jewellery and treasures at the time the Black Death raged through Europe. It has been recently found and curated into a specialist exhibition in a dark room in the cellar of the building. So not the easiest place to work, but radio-controlled flash and a willing visitor made this assignment into a success.

How to package a Hippo

2009-03-03T19:24:00.001Z

At the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre, the staff are not easily fazed. Whatever fluffy, creepy or crawly creatures enter the UK, they have to come through here, even if it is for a brief transit before being flown onto somewhere else. The diet plan on the wall specifies what crocodiles, Burmese pythons, turtles, cats and dogs need to eat and the kennels contain all sorts of exotic animals. The centre is, in a sense, the first port of call for immigrants and asylum seekers from the animal kingdom. For some, sadly, it is also their last destination as illegal, endangered and poisonous creatures are rarely returned to their origins.

I enjoyed a very informative tour with deputy manager Bob Wingate who has worked there for the past 20-odd years. A few of the pictures, shot for an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine, I want to share here.

Fathers of the Euro

2009-02-26T10:08:00.004Z

I was invited to a high-calibre book launch and corporate mingling event at the German Embassy. His excellency the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Georg Boomgaarden had invited high-ranking officials from politics and finance to speak on the birth history of the European currency, the Euro. David Marsh, a journalist, banker and book author had just published a book on the subject and the event was held at the ambassador's residence in Belgravia. Most impressive was Karl-Otto Poehl, former president of the Bundesbank and one of the founding fathers of the currency who despite his advanced age gave a humorous and very captivating talk on the emergence of the Euro.

Of course, photos were required, but the man with the camera wasn't so welcome. So I did what I could, careful to get my job done, but not upset the honourable guests with clicking noises and flashlight. My suit didn't really feel that comfortable either, and I was probably the only guest not wearing a tie. I am proud of that...

Chasing Alpha

2009-02-12T09:22:00.001Z

A sure sign of knowing that you've been doing the same thing for a while is when you get asked to photograph somebody you already did years earlier. In this case, it was author Philip Augar, a quiet and softly-spoken man who has a rare insight into the world of finance and corporate banking and doesn't mind talking about it. The reason is that he used to be one such much-criticised banker himself, and one who left that world disgusted and disillusioned. He has since proceeded to write three books criticising the world of finance, the latest appearing this spring called 'Chasing Alpha'. Here's a picture of the man, and one of the interview setting which I almost like best.

Gone to Limerick

2009-02-10T18:18:00.004Z

Economic downturn stories seem to dominate my schedule at the moment. Here is one I was supposed to do last week but courtesy of the snowy weather we had to reschedule for a week later: Dell is leaving town, relocating to Poland for the sake of higher profit margins.

So early flight to Ireland, rent car, parachute into Limerick and start chasing the same people that were interviewed last week by my colleague (who flew a day earlier). Folks, it wasn't easy: arranging to meet four individuals in the course of a day and shoot three separate locations as well in a town you don't know before catching your flight home in the evening isn't for everyone I guess. But it happened, and I was very glad to be back, eventually.
Here is the crop from a rather long day...

Snow snow snow

2009-02-03T14:18:00.002Z

It was fun in the park throwing snowballs, but not so much fun getting stuck on trains and airports earlier that day. In many ways, I probably could have predicted it: a few inches of snow on the ground = England grinds to a halt. Nevermind, the snowman more than made up for a wasted day in travel chaos.

Credit crunchies

2009-02-01T14:05:00.001Z

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing two ladies symbolically affected by the much-cited credit crunch. The sad bit is that they were not the ones who have done much to deserve their fate. Chera-Lynn, a production manager for a documentary filmmaker lost her job as their clients in the corporate world cut budgets. Ironically, they had stated half a year earlier that now was the time to invest in charity and social projects which Chera-Lynn was busy documenting. Here my favourite portrait of her:

Sunna, a small boutique owner in Notting Hill is battling the economic downturn by radically cutting prices, reducing stock and having renegotiated the rent with the landlord of her shop. This image sums it up best I think:

The Huntsman

2009-01-31T21:11:00.006Z

Well folks, this time I got fascinated by something literally on my doorstep. The mystery of tailors' trade in Savile Row, world famous for elegant bespoke suits and coats has been something I wanted to look at for a long time. By coincidence, I was asked to shoot a portrait of the two leading gentlemen at The Huntsman, a decidedly traditional and classic Savile Row establishment. It exemplifies the traditional British virtues of order, sobriety and elegance that are conventionally associated with Savile Row tailoring.

The Edwardian-style fitting and cutting rooms, mounted stag heads and compartmentalised workshops over several floors suggest an old-fashioned craft refusing to compromise on quality by automation. Customers usually have three to five fittings, and garments are hand-made using paper patterns by a staff of highly skilled cutters, coat, waistcoat and trouser-makers, alteration tailors and finishers, taking several weeks. They don't do 'modern', they don't advertise, and they don't need to. Their standards explain Huntsman's prices, still among the highest on Savile Row.

I liked The Huntsman so much, I've gone back several times to produce a reportage feature on the tailor's craft. Although the initial requirement was to shoot in colour, I decided to produce the feature in Sepia, a classic monochrome format befitting the subject. See here.

Heathrow Third Runway

2009-01-16T16:44:00.004Z

It's been all over the UK news media this week: government in its eternal wisdom has decided to give the green light for construction of a third runway at Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport. Needless to say that just about everyone you ask (except the business groups, lobbyists and members of the cabinet) are against the idea, but that sets the stage.

Creative minds at Greenpeace have gone and bought a plot of vacant land right in the path of that future runway, and proceeded to decorate it with some gardening ornaments. Let's face it folks, this looked pretty dire: flat light, grey skies, a empty field and only a minimal amount of time to make something out of this. Something that would make you sit up, laugh, frown, cry, whatever, but at least take notice. And get published. So we got a little creative, and I'm really glad that Alistair, Emily, Paul and Lee went along with the ideas - they make for pictures that are a little different from what the wire services and the rest of the newspapers photographers have been doing, and they got published. Result!

Social Issues

2009-01-10T16:16:00.001Z

Dontcha love it? First you're told no, maybe, maybe not - wait - wait - wait - we won't commission you because, err, we'll try and get it cheaper somewhere else; and then - uh, sorry, could you please, like, do it NOW?

A story about a sensitive subject such as youth deliquency and crime, social work and day centres is something that ideally is done over a period of time. Although there isn't anything new about under-age kids shooting and knifing each other to death in Britain's capital, it's still difficult to photograph. Before you get to know the head honchos on each patch, gain their trust without being mugged or worse, and before you're allowed to take pictures requires either an awful lot of rapport building, or you simply parachute in and hope for the best.

I must admit I didn't like the parachute option, but my other choice was not to touch the assignment. With a deadline of a little more than 24 hours ahead, I hugged the phone, pleaded, begged and persuaded at least a few people to allow me to visit them, and naturally, shoot them. The meagre results are shown here and the piece ended up running across a double-page, heavily interview/portrait led rather than the reportage I wished I could have done. Some days, it just istn't what you want it to be...

Hamsterjam

2009-01-03T13:53:00.003Z

Trust me, I wasn't high on any mind-enhancing substances as I was walking aimlessly through the city centre - I just enjoy some of the psychedelic choices in some of these photos, and there's nothing more to it than my desire to share them here:

Goodbye and Hello

2009-01-01T13:44:00.009Z

And we all transit from one year to the next, as we have done last night. The past year, or rather, 2007 and 2008 have been two of my busiest and happiest years as a photographer so far. So I thought it's time to take stock, review and forecast. True, nobody knows what the future holds and it has yet to surprise us, but a little wishlist-style planning won't hurt, will it?

Exactly 365 days ago, we reached the Antarctic ice shelf at the opposite end of the world, about 65 degrees south somewhere underneath Australia. The first time I saw land last year was early February, and behind us were nearly 20000 nautical miles travelled during almost 4 months at sea with the crew of the Esperanza. In many ways, it was a wonderful trip which pushed me both professionally and personally - working with a tight bunch of people you can't get away from isn't exactly the same as shooting a portrait, but I got used to the idea pretty quickly and enjoyed the whole experience of working on a Greenpeace ship for four months. It was the first time I'd been at sea for this long, and thoughts were crossing my mind like fireflies: what would we DO all that time, and what could I possibly shoot on an anti-whaling assignment that hadn't already been done before by my excellent colleagues Kate Davison, Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert and various others that went before them.

Well folks, this crew has acquired the scary notion of some sort of parallel family, best friends and confidantes included. In many ways, it felt like a rite of passage, as I've become once again a member of this club of transient people you only meet in weird and wonderful locations around the world. You know who you are.

In equal measure, I am grateful for the more or less steady stream of work that has come in from clients, good and bad. In the end, when all is said and done, it's all good, actually - even bad ones. On those jobs, you learn about your limits: in creative, personal and business terms. It doesn't matter whether you find yourself in some location thinking that this assignment is hopeless, or that you just don't get on with an editor, or that you end up doing far too much work for the fee that has been negotiated - you promise yourself not to do this again, ever; or rather, to do it better next time. These mistakes are lessons of wisdom, and as Al Franken has said, can only be learned the hard way.

Not only on the Antarctic assignment, but virtually on every other bigger project in the past two years, the amount of raw files to digest has grown almost exponentially to the extent that I am now suspecting little gremlins hiding inside my shutter button and pressing it everytime I put the camera down. Where the hell are all these pictures coming from? Honestly people, I am being restrained, always feel like I'm missing too many shots, I don't hose down every scene with a burst of 8 or 15 frames, and still, the pictures just keep coming. It's taken on scary proportions and as I'm old-fashioned, I still back up to CDs...

Cue Britta, my trusty assistant. She's been a friend for many years, a keen learner and a gem to have around my little office. Often I feel sorry for her, slaving away on those tons and tons of data she meticulously backs up every month. Within this year, I want to train her further and leave her in charge of the 'office' part of my job until she becomes the undisputed boss in this hectic outfit. She's multi-lingual, versatile, conscientious and like me, an obsessive about detail - say hello to her, it doesn't hurt: britta@jirirezac.com (and she won't correct your spelling mistakes, promise).

However, she did correct some of my submissions during the recent contest mania: Christ, who can keep up with all the awards, prizes and photo contests that are springing up like mushrooms after rainfall? Guess what: she did, and helped me (read: kicked my ass) to get at least some of the submissions done to deadline.

During the past year, some of my work has received recognition by way of awards, honourable mentions and display in several exhibitions: ironically, European Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition and book, Czech Press Photo in Prague, Room for Justice in Brussels and now Antwerpen, and later in the year in Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Paris and London.
On a completely unrelated subject, we are aiming to publish my first book this year. All I want to reveal at this stage is that it is - for obvious reasons - a personal project - and that it will be very different from the usual coffee-table style of photo books. More anon.

If you haven't already fallen asleep, tuned out or otherwise died of boredom from this monster post - I wish all of you a happy 2009, let it be creative, funky and full of surprises.

Family moments

2008-12-27T22:31:00.002Z

It's not in my nature to elaborate on details of family life, but this one is a (deserved) exception. After nearly two years of being semi-permanently on the road, at sea or in London, I've had a rare chance to spend some relaxing time with my family in northern Germany.

We went for a walk in the Baltic cold by the beach, a family reunited after long period of absence & separation. Of course I took a camera, and taking pictures felt natural. The light was good, as was the mood, and so here's a special moment...

Czech Press Photo

2008-12-15T11:56:00.000Z

It's been a bit of a surprise to find four of my images form last winter's Greenpeace Southern Ocean expedition on display at the Czech Press Photo show in Prague's Old Town Hall. With the contest and its resultant exhibition being a prestigious affair, I would have at least expected to be notified when my work makes it to the final selection.
Well friends, it didn't happen, and perhaps the organisers would cite prohibitively high phone costs for a call to London, or perhaps they just forgot. Anyway, four images are up and in the good company of some of Czech's finest photographic talent.

To Russia with love

2008-12-11T11:08:00.001Z

On the eve of my departure for the X-mas break, I got a last-minute assignment to shoot two young Russian writers in London. There wasn't much time to prepare, scout or stylise, but I thought it went well anyway. Natalya and Maria were a pleasure to meet, and the pictures ended up working well. Now it's all dispatched to Russia with love...

Borough High Street

2008-12-07T23:32:00.001Z

It's been a dreamy day with a good friend and the G10, or should I rather say TWO good friends? A cold, wintry day, we've had unusually bright and cold afternoon light today, the kind you only get on the short days in the winter. Walking down Borough High Street, I could not resist a few frames here and there - these are the best - spontaneous, unintentional and most of all, fun. Enjoy the (short) show...