When I was in Nairobi for Yingli Solar earlier this year to cover an event, I had the chance to spend some time with Robert. The idea behind this was to cover "One day in the life of Robert". Robert is 18 years old and lives in the Mathare Slums, one of the biggest slums in Nairobi. The area is one of poorest in the city. Robert assured me it would be totally fine for me to enter the slums if I stay close to him all the time. As one of the few (only?) white person I felt save while I was with Robert. Well, most of the time I did and thanks to Robert and his friend we could solve one or two tricky situations.
I met him early in the morning and followed him through his daily routine: getting ready, walking to the soccer field, start training, getting back to his place and spend some time with his friends.
For kids like Robert, soccer is the only way to get out of the slums. Therefore they practice as hard as they can, every day. For me, it was a lifetime experience and I was glad I had the chance to see a part of Africa not many people around me have seen before.
Follow the link for the full gallery.
Finally! Our project was going on for the last two years. We didn't make it last year and had to stop on 6002 meters, only 83 meters below the world record. This year, we reached the peak on 6175 meters, new world record! While Claude was riding the bike, I was walking either in front or behind him. At the end, I was waiting for more than an hour on the peak while Claude had to fight his way up to the top.
I was using a NIKON D7000 for filming and for taking pictures during the whole day. Stay tuned for a gallery update soon. For more information about the project (German language only), go to www.mountainbike6000.com
I am in Leh (Ladakh) right now and I am getting ready for another big adventure. Together with Claude Balsiger I am doing photoshootings for various clients and we are ready for our big project again. Claude wants to set a world record in high altitue mountainbiking. The current record is 6085m. Last year we failed only 80m below the record because of snow. This year it looks better: no snow and great weather conditions so far.
For more information (in German only) check this www.mountainbike6000.com
Now that's what I call a shooting! For the region Hoch-Ybrig I was shooting the longest "Seilrutsche" (cablerun??) in the world! I had to film AND to take pictures so I was doing it both at the same time. I kept my GPS running: 98kmh was the fastest speed. But that was recorded in the upper section and I didn't have my big camera in my hands! Click here to watch the video from the (s)lower part.
Another covershot in the latest issue of RIDE Bike Magazine in Switzerland. I took the shot in the Dolomites with low natural light in very foggy conditions. Another rider held the flash on the right side that was remotely fired from pretty far away. The shot was taken with a 200mm lens. Click on the thumbnail for a bigger version.
I had the chance to work together with Roger Widmer, founder and member of Parkour One. Roger is an ambassador for PET Recycling. Together with the agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnet we created a poster and a flyer for an awareness campaign.
The shot is one single shot and besides some color tweaking and the yellow/blue trail that was added afterwards, no other modifcations were made on the picture.
The German based Magazine "Bergstolz" features a photographer in each issue with a special photofolio. It was my turn in the most recent issue with some shots that I took during my shootings last year.
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The biggest Freeride Magazine in Europe, German based FREERIDE published my story (text and photos) of freeriding in Ladakh. Get the magazine at a newsstand near you now. And if you are interested in trip for freeride biking in Ladakh, I recommend to check this site!
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The pictures of the shooting I made in Nairobi were used by CNN.com for a coverage about the event. Read the full story here.