10 | 100 Philip Reichwein - "Nothing is impossible"
from the series 100 photos - 100 stories
On July 23, 2015, photographer Philip Reichwein and his creative group, consisting of two models, two filmmakers, a make-up artist and a designer, spent four days in Venice, Italy. They all remember this day to this day. Find out what happened there in this article from the "100 photos 100 stories" series.
Philip Reichwein"...nothing is impossible"
The goal - a photo series with creative, self-designed outfits in typical Italian settings. On the last day of the shoot, a good friend took Philip's sister Laura on a yacht, which took them past small islands and straight to Venice. Anyone who thought that the boat, the islands or the view of the sea would be the highlight of the day was proved wrong.
The words of a well-known car manufacturer "... Nothing is impossible" describe the following quite well. "Once we arrived in Venice, after a short "recovery break" for those unfit for the sea, our guide took us to one of the city's best-known hotels. It was located just 50 meters from St. Mark's Square, one of the most beautiful and magical places in Venice. The owner, whose yacht we were allowed to use, assigned us an area where we could dress and style our model of the day. "
By now you're probably wondering what the group was up to? Designer Vita spent two hours making a dress from old sheet music, using a balloon dress base as a foundation. Piece by piece, she rolled, folded and glued the pieces together. The make-up look was to be dramatic, exciting, graceful and with the air of a "prima donna". But where should they be shot? In the alleyways of the city? Professional photography with studio flashes is not readily permitted on St. Mark's Square, as a permit would be required. The guide confirmed this with the addition that such a thing would be accepted here perhaps 2-3 times a year... BUT the hotel patron took over, marched with the group to St. Mark's Square and spoke to the police officers "in dark-sounding Italian similar to the Godfather"
He waved them over and said: "have fun - this is a special moment for us all - be creative".
The magic of the moment
The unique moment from Philip Reichwein's perspective:
"We unpacked our equipment, assistant Lukas folded softboxes, I gave the model final instructions and a short time later parts of the "Piazza di san marco" shone in golden lamp light while large parts of the square were dark and only illuminated by a few spotlights and candles on tables. My sister Laura posed as she had never done before, the flashlight storm hit her and we didn't need 30 photos until our "moment" was captured. In between, Lukas called out to me to look around, but I was lying there on the cold floor, focused. A deep perspective with a wide angle was supposed to make Laura look majestic, diva-like, almost like a statue.
After our final shot, I turned around, the main light went out and now Laura and I saw the reason why Lukas called out to me. There were over 400 people gathered in this square watching what we were doing.
This moment still gives me goosebumps when writing this story. Without further ado, I decided to photograph a second subject. I ran up to a few of the spectators, spoke German and English and pressed the remaining sheet music into their hands. "Throw it to her if i count to three - everyone ready?" Shortly afterwards, the sheet music flew around and applause rang out from all sides.
This was not only magical for all of us, but a memory that plays over and over again like a movie in your head when you look at the results. "
You can find more pictures and works by the photographer on this homepage.
