Asylum

Since a few weeks I am meeting asylum seekers in Upper Bavaria, Germany. In a long term project we will try to describe the challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers in accessing friendship, integration, social rights and, most of all, respect. Racist behaviour and rejection is still daily fare, despite of all efforts...

Laylama Latifi, from Afghanistan, Schliersee, Germany, 2015 — Laylama Latifi, from Afghanistan, Schliersee, Germany, 2015

Family Gose, they escaped from Northern Irak, Hausham, Germany, 2015

Day off at the swimming pool, Schliersee, Germany, 2015

M., from Pakistan, shows a picture of his daughter, burnt in gas bottle explosion, Hausham, Germany, 2015

Anwar, from Myanmar, during his time in church asylum, Hausham, Germany, 2015

Danube Delta – third part

And so far the third and last part with images from the Danube Delta - a wonderful wedding in Letea, where we were invited. Happiness and joy, from Friday to Sunday, for all the inhabitants of the village...

Table at the entrance of the wedding, Letea, Romania, 2015

Church, after the wedding ceremony, Letea, Romania, 2015 — Church, after the wedding ceremony, Letea, Romania, 2015

The way to the tent, Letea, Romania, 2015 — The way to the tent, Letea, Romania, 2015

Waiting for the celebration, Letea, Romania, 2015 — Waiting for the celebration, Letea, Romania, 2015

Dancing, Letea, Romania, 2015 — Dancing, Letea, Romania, 2015

more dancing, at night, Letea, Romania, 2015 — more dancing, at night, Letea, Romania, 2015

Abduction of the bride, she is standing on a little boat on the channel, Letea, Romania, 2015 — Abduction of the bride, she is standing on a little boat on the channel, Letea, Romania, 2015

Mihail dancing with his wife, Letea, Romania, 2015 — Mihail dancing with his wife, Letea, Romania, 2015

Leaving for a little rest, Letea, Romania, 2015 — Leaving for a little rest, Letea, Romania, 2015

Danube Delta – second part

"...where the old Danubius loses its water and great name into the sea..." – quoting Eugenia Botez, or, better known under his pseudonym Jean Bart, author of "Europolis" – lies the Delta of this European river, a land between waters, magic and unique. The lifes of the people, their stories, their past and their hopes... Here are some photographs of this last weeks from the villages of Letea, Rosetti and Sulina:

On the way from Letea to Rosetti, Romania, 2015

Children playing on the street, Letea, Romania, 2015

Food is blessed in the orthodox church, the day of Saints Constantine and Helena, Sulina, Romania, 2015

Mihail, carriage driver, Letea, Romania, 2015

On the boat to Tulcea, Sulina, Romania, 2015

Danube Delta – first part

In the last two weeks of May, I have photographed together with my partner Ramin Mazur, with whom I work together on a long-term project on the Black Sea, in the Danube Delta. Soon there probably will be a dedicated website. Here on my blog some pictures of this trip in several parts, first on fishing in the Delta, shortly before the opening of the fishing season this year. Fishing is the main source of income for many people living in the Delta. With fishing regulations and fishing licenses the authorities are trying to counteract the progressive overfishing, but for fishermen, this means primarily, that there is hardly enough for them to secure a tolerable livelihood. In the pictures you can see Mihail, during a stay in a fishermans´shelter on a tiny island in the reeds, in a seemingly impenetrable maze of small canals south of Sulina branch. In the morning the nets are caught, then passed in the usually sparse catch in this time of year to further processing operations. In the afternoon, after a rest, there is time to free the nets of algae and waterplants and mend the nets. Much remains not left after deducting all costs, especially for the license and the expensive petrol for the outboard motor. Antip, sitting in his dilapidated house in Sulina, waits for the start of the season, in winter, he tries to make a living out of the sale of scrap iron. The next picture shows the empty nets of Andrei after returning from the channel near Sulina, where he fishes mainly crucian carp and carp. On the other side of the Sulina branch are located the processing plants, where the fishermen deliver their catch every day...

Channel, north of the Sulina branch, Sulina, Romania, 2015

Mihail, resting at his shelter, near Sulina, Romania, 2015

Fisherman´s equipment, Periprava, Romania, 2015

Catch of the day, before preparing the daily fish soup, Sulina, Romania, 2015

Mending nets, near the fish factory, Sulina, Romania, 2015

Fisherman´s trousers, Sulina, Romania, 2015

New calendar 2016

Today I got the new calendar published by the tourist agencies of Schliersee, Fischbachau and Bayrischzell in Bavaria, Germany with many of my pictures. There are beautiful landscapes and features on bavarian traditions and craftsmanships. Happy to be a part of this year after year and all the best to my fellow photographers participating in this project!

Schliersee from Fischhausen, Schliersee, 2014

Rudolf Peukert, wood carver, Fischbachau, 2015

Sophie Ziegler, restorer of sacred art, Fischbachau, 2015

Corpus Christ procession, Fischbachau, 2014

Crimea, one year after the annexation, brazing for hope II

With the annexation of Crimea Russian law was introduced on the peninsula - and so therapy with substitute drugs for addicts was banned. The effects are dramatic: every tenth patient already died on the consequences. Only a few are able to escape to Ukraine, where replacement drugs and rehabilitation programs are still administered. Portrait of Igor Kuzmenko, social worker and activist, minutes before catching a train at Kiev Central Station.

Crimea, one year after the annexation, brazing for hope

Crimea is Russia again, now for almost a year. When in March the invasion by Russian troops was pseudo-legalized by referendum, many crimean tatars thought about leaving the peninsula, more than 10,000 of the approximately 300,000 Crimean Tatars have probably left Crimea in the months after the referendum. People on the streets of Simferopol and Sevastopol seem satisfied, again and again, you hear people say that they are satisfied that Crimea again reached the safe haven of Russia, despite all the difficulties, despite the inflation of the Russian currency, despite the rising costs of living. Beneath the surface, but there is also bare fear, again, critical journalists report of abductions and extortion. Of course, no one dares to speak in front of a camera. A holy mass we visited in a Simferopol community that is subordinate to the Patriarchate of Kiev, keeps their liturgical celebrations without official announcement, sandbags are stacked in the stairwell, after the annexation in March 2014 the members of the community suffered attacks. On the peninsula, there is a feeling of isolation, Crimea is cut off from the outside world, Ukraine has severed all connections. The ferry from Kerch to port Kavkaz in winter is the only connection to the Russian mainland, often the passage is not navigable because of severe storms, people pushing daily in long lines on the ferries. Crippling gridlock, especially in the peripheral areas. We visited a tuberculosis hospital located near Kerch in the East of the peninsula. It's weekend, some of the seriously ill patients moving slowly through the dark corridors, like ghosts, staff seems to be absent, the patients seem left to themselves. In another village near Kerch, dominated by a huge monument to the liberation of Kerch by red-army-troops in Second World War, there is no water supply, people have to get drinking water from locals shops, carrying heavy canisters back home. On March 17, the referendum marks anniversary, how will it continue for the people of Crimea?

Orthodox community following Kiev Patriarchate, Simferopol, Crimea 2014

Ali Hamzin. political leader of Crimean Tatar community, Bakhchissaray, Crimea, 2014

Leaving Crimea, Port Kerch, Crimea, 2014.

Ferry between Port Kerch and Port Kavkaz, Crimea, 2014

Going back with provisions from Port Kavkaz, Crimea, 2014

Woman in a village near Kerch, carrying home canisters with drinking water, Crimea, 2014

Almost abandoned Tuberculosis hospital near Kerch, Crimea, 2014.

Article by Jutta Sommerbauer in "Die Presse" (07.03.2015) with one of my portraits of crimean tatar politician Ali Hamzin.

Two on the Black Sea

Hier gleich ein kleiner Nachtrag zu einem Langzeitprojekt über die Länder am Schwarzen Meer, an dem ich seit letztem Jahr mit meinem Freund Ramin Mazur arbeite und die Ausstellung des ersten Teils der Arbeiten in der Ausstellung „Two on the Black Sea“, die im Rahmen des 6. Europäischen Monats der Fotografie im November dieses Jahres in Berlin in der Galerie des Bulgarischen Kulturinstituts gezeigt wurde.

Ein kleiner Auszug aus der Eröffnungsrede des bulgarischen Publizisten Milan Radev: „Florian Bachmeier und Ramin Mazur reflektieren mit ihren Fotografien das Schwarze Meer. Der deutsche und der moldauische Fotograf empfinden, obwohl sie aus so weit voneinander entfernten Kulturkreisen kommen, den Schwarzmeerraum doch auf ähnliche Weise.

Einerseits bezeugen das Augenblicke voll trauriger Besinnung und geronnener Melancholie. In ihnen bricht sich eine übergreifende Schicksalsergebenheit Bahn, die sich aus jahrzehntealter Erfahrung der Bevormundung und Unterdrückung sowie materieller und geistiger Verwahrlosung durch die Obrigkeit speist.

Andererseits erkennen wir es, wenn wir sprachlos vor der Kargheit auf diesen Inseln des russisch-sowjetischen Archipels stehen und uns wundern, dass sie gerade in diesen Monaten vor unseren Augen aus der Versenkung aufgetaucht sind. Entlang der schönen Meeresküste blitzen in den Fotografien die gegenwärtigen Spannungen immer wieder auf: Der touristische Schatz, der unter Bettenburgen und Touristenmassen lange begraben liegt; Gewalt und frühere Verfolgungen, die das Leben der Menschen prägen, ob Sowjetnostalgiker, Krimtatar oder Altgläubiger.

Ist das Schwarze Meer also das Pontos Axe(i)nos aus der Antike – ein „ungastliches Meer“ ?

Zumindest Rumänien und Bulgarien versuchen eine andere Perspektive anzubieten, ihre Lösung sehen sie, trotz des Konfliktpotentials mit Russland, in der Förderung von Öl und Gas. Denn neben allen Spannungen zeigen uns die Bilder auch das: Eine Hoffnung, dass sich das ungastliche Pontos Axe(i)nos wieder in ein gastliches Schwarzes Meer verwandelt.“

Dimitar, 58, fördert Heilschlamm für eine Klinik in Pomorie, Bulgarien, 2014

Oleg, 67, aus Russland. Er und seine Frau besitzen ein Appartement am „Sonnenstrand“, wo sie die Wintermonate verbringen, Bulgarien, 2014

Stoian, 27, arbeitet auf einer Müllkippe östlich von Karnobat, Bulgarien, 2014

Webseite im neuen Gewand

Siedlung "Neue Heimat", Linz, Österreich, 2010

Ab heute erscheint www.florianbachmeier.com in neuem Gewand. Ich freue mich, meine Geschichten ab jetzt in dieser Form präsentieren zu können. Abgesehen davon, dass es jetzt natürlich mehr Inhalt gibt, haben wir neue technische Standards umgesetzt und das ganze auch für die Ansicht auf Mobilgeräten optimiert. Auf diesem neuen Blog zeigen wir in Zukunft vor allem Auftragsarbeiten aus verschiedenen Bereichen, um einen vielseitigen Überblick über meine Dienstleistungen für gewerbliche Kunden zu gewährleisten.