Meanwhile in house arrest:

My son always “steals” equipment like clamps to build a fort, for example.
Now comes my big revenge, I grab his toy cars (ok, to be honest: mine too) to put them in scene. Like the 1973 Porsche 911 Targa. One of my all time favourites. And not only in 1:43!

Yesterday my 6-year-old asked me “What is creativity?”

“First of all, give me your toy car. Again. Then you take your imagination, some craftsmanship and a pinch of personal mojo and get going. And never forget the child inside you. Then you build a road out of cardboard and chalk, go out in the front yard and take a driving shot of the Porsche 918 Spyder.“

And have some fun!

Today: Passion.
My 6-year-old asked me: „Is that a job? Taking pictures of toy cars as they were real?“ I said: „No, it’s not. But I’ve been blessed to have a job where I can do what I love to do most. Photography. So I do it even when nobody pays me to. And if you’re very lucky, the client and the agency trust you and you can also do what goes through your heart and brain on the job! This is the main prize.“

Homeschooling weekend.
Okay, no class today. “Well, you can use your own cars to take pictures,” says the six-year-old.
“Right!” I say. “After our shooting for the Porsche campaign LIFE INTENSIFIED in Taipei, Yannick from Porsche Asia Pacific gave me the little red Macan as a present!

Here we go…

Homeschooling on Sunday?
Never! No class today. Instead I tell the offspring about Nevada and driving with with a Porsche through the desert, which is an amazing experience. 
For a better illustration, we simply recreate the desert. With rocks of driftwood from Sylt. And bird sand. And the funny looks of the neighbours, who (again) ask themselves: “What the heck is he doing there?!”

Monday! Homeschool again!⠀
“Hey dad, it’s nice weather today, can we take a trip instead of school?”, the little one asks. “Sure! Let’s take one of the most beautiful cars ever built, the Citroen DS 19, called “The Goddess”, and drive into a lilac forest!” And then he rolls his eyes again and says, as so often in the day: “Oh man, daddy… It’s just a toy car.”⠀
And now comes the lesson for today: “Never forget your imagination and the power of your fantasy. It will help you to travel, to fly, to go, to drive wherever and however you want.”

Homeschooling with a photographer:
The little boy asks, “Doesn’t this ever get boring?” I say, “Never! There’s so much to discover and photograph and stories to tell. And if you change your perspective often, you can always surprise the viewer.”
“What does that mean?” “Well, if you’re looking for something, for example your Lamborghini Centenario, change your perspective, maybe it’s under the bed. “Or maybe your father stole it and is taking pictures of it in the garden.”

Homeschooling on a rainy day.
“Can we do math now?!” the kid asks. “I wish we could,” I say. “But now we have to take care of picture editing, a bit of post-processing, charging the batteries, tidying up the equipment, data maintenance and posting pictures. And see what our colleagues are up to.” “Photography isn’t just taking pictures,” he wonders. “No, that’s the smallest part.” “Photography is really work!” “You can see it that way.

For me, all areas are part of a great gift to me.”

I gave my son his own camera for his 5th birthday. With it he photographs everything possible from all perspectives. Some time ago he liked feet best. I will think about that later. But he shows me again and again how exciting it can be to leave the usual perspective. And to rediscover the familiar again and again. There are pieces and bits in our reality which we are not always aware of. Which we notice out of the corner of our eye. These scenes, things, objects, people end up in the fluff sieve of our perception.
Sometimes it’s worth to look what’s inside these mind filters.
Or like Douglas Adams said: „Reality is frequently inaccurate.“

“Today is a holiday, dad, isn’t it?” “That’s right,” I say. “Then why are you working?” “Simply because I don’t consider it work. I’m lucky to have a job where I can do the things I love and love to do best. Photography.” “Dad. You take pictures of toy cars, relax…” “Okay, okay. What do you want to do when you grow up? “I’ll be a photographer, so I can play with cars, or an educator, so I can tell others what to do.“

Fair enough.

Homeschooling with a photographer.
„Hey dad, do we have to do that school-stuff today? I want to do something really cool today, please!!“
„No problem. You can do whatever you want to do. You can fly, swim with whales, walk on the moon, even drive a fantastic Porsche 911 E Targa from 1973! Do you want to know how?“
Kid rolls his eyes: „Use your fantasy?“ „No, photoshop!“ Big laughter. On my side.

“Hey Dad, you look so sad today.” The boy says.
“Yes, because I’m missing some things that are important to me, and that I care about.” “Like what?” “Well, like taking nice pictures in exciting places, travelling, finding pictures and locations. telling stories with pictures. Working with amazing and creative people.”
The kid says “Yesterday you said that’s what Photoshop is for.” “That’s not all. There are things that can only be transposed with real photographs…” “Okay, I understand that. You will again. In the meantime, why don’t you take the Targa for a spin through the lilac forest?” “Okay, I will.” „Ah, one more thing, dad…“ „Yes, what?“ „You‘re driving out of line.“

„Hey Dad, I thought you were a photographer, why are you always in front of the computer?“
„Well, taking pictures is just part of the job. The rest is post-production, retouching and so on. You have to learn to do it all the time.“ „What? Learn? But you’re an adult!“, shouts the peck.
I say: „That’s true, at least in terms of age. But you always have to learn something new. It’s fun, too!“ He is skeptical. „Well, I don’t know. Is that why you’ve been sitting in front of the screen for hours?“ „Yes, and because your mother told me to empty the dishwasher.“

Wild eye rolling.

“Wasn’t everything photographed at some point?” asks the boy. “Good question!” I say. “No, there is still so much to discover. And besides, the world is always changing. And so is your own point of view. On top of that, it’s always fun to try out new perspectives, new techniques, old techniques new ideas and redevelop old ideas. You are constantly developing yourself further. That’s one thing I love about photography.”
“Okay, so there are still a lot of streets where you can take pictures of cars.”
“Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need… roads!”
“You are the dad, dad!“ (It was the picture with the DeLorean from “Back to the Future II”)