Flickr Showcase: Ramon Haindl

Ramon Haindl’s Flickr has a very short but selective photostream where black and white stark shots of the memorabilia of Haindl’s daily life are interspersed with Terry Richardson-esque shots of friends. Haindl is the photo editor of progressive art, design and photography magazine Piston and is also currently making a documentary about electronic music.    

Dazed Digital: What's your background as a photographer?
Ramon Haindl: I always felt the need to keep a record of my own history, when I started studying graphic design in 2005 I always carried my little sketchbook with me, scribbling and writing every day. After a while I discovered photography as a more direct and accurate medium to keep track of my steps and I started to post on my photoblog regularly. I was interested most in personal photography as a huge fan of Nan Goldin from the first time I have seen her books. Later on the people from hort.org.uk contacted me to do a huge job for them. It turned out that they liked my stuff and put some confidence in me, so I worked there for one year, doing record sleeves and promotional pictures for musicians in Frankfurt and Berlin. It was an inspirational and very warm place to work, but after a while I wanted to continue my studies and now I'm working on my thesis and posting personal pictures regularly on my blog. It goes on and on and on...

DD: How do you find the locations shots? What do you look for?
RH: For my personal pictures I never try to set up anything, I just want to let it flow and capture intimate moments, outdoor and indoor. But I started to gain an interest in documentary photography so I'm travelling more and more to visit attractive places and meet new people. And I always carry my camera with me for spontaneous shots.

DD: What equipment/film do you use? What do you like about the equipment/film you use?
RH: I use everything that falls into my hands. From medium format to small cameras. Film or Digital, I don't mind...but I love high ISO Ilford for grain and, if I got some money left, Kodak Ektachrome for pure quality and resolution, it depends on what i want to do...

DD: Are you inspired by any particular films? Art? Literature?
RH: I'm hugely inspired by The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, both the setting and the story arouse strong pictures that have a certain influence to my photography and personality.
9 Songs influenced me big time, as well as movies by Darren Aronofsky, Larry Clark, Michel Gondry, Marc Forster, to name a few...
But most of the time I am looking for inspiration in my everyday life with a little help from my friends, lot's of parties and loud music. And I'm visiting exhibitions every time theres something around.

DD: What about other photographers?
RH: As I mentioned before, Nan Goldin was the first one that gave me a vision of how personal and intimate photography can be. Araki, Hiromix, Juergen Teller, Larry Clark and a handful photographers on Flickr inspire me as well, especially Lina Scheynius, Red DeLeon and Madi Ju.

DD: Where would you most like to shoot next?
RH: In my bedroom, and Berlin.