Hamburg Harbour
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Bialobrzeski has a weakness for extreme cities, he has developed a unique, discerning eye for documentation. He works almost exclusively with the available, synthetic light, using long exposures to bring about detail and colour where the human eye sees only silhouettes and different strengths of black.
"I am intrigued by the idea of pictures showing more than the eye can detect," Peter Bialobrzeski explains. "In low-light photography my foremost concern is detail and depth. To achieve this I may even overexpose." Peter Bialobrzeski‘s photographs exude a biting, surreal atmosphere - the result of massive post production, perhaps? The photographer insists: "Sure I‘ll tweak the gradation curve. I‘ll squeeze the Raw information for its last drop of quality! But that‘s just common procedure these days. The picture really happens during the exposure."
Alongside his depictions of fast-evolving Asian tiger cities Peter Bialobrzeski continues to cover the illustrious Hafen City project in his home town of Hamburg. His photographs, taken here with the Leica S2, are a surreal vision of snow-covered, unnaturally-lit modern architecture. Plates of ice floating on the Elbe River, cranes rotating and extending as the camera exposes ... Peter Bialobrzeski couldn‘t feel more at home. The winter sheen is a rare sight to behold in the city of Hamburg. He approaches the subject matter in a directed, methodical manner not simply thanks to his knowledge of the place but his experience working with large format cameras. "I‘ve learned to be meticulous in the way I work." His pictures say it loud and clear. At the same time - or perhaps for this reason - they remind us more of a dream world than a place on earth.
Peter Bialobrzeski, who normally works with large format cameras, enjoys the camera-lens combination. "The Leica S2 produces a divine image quality that enables me to print as large as I want," the photographer enthuses. "The 35 mm
lens makes the S system a viable solution for my purposes."