Meeting Manfred Baumann. Vienna.
There are a few people from small Austria that have gained worldwide acclaim and fame in their respective fields. Manfred Baumann is one of them.
He is one of the most prominent photographers of present time. From Hollywood Stars portraits to street photography, landscape, he has done amazing artistic photography.
Recently, I happened to meet with Manfred. He is an extremely cool dude, very down to earth. He has a sharp eagle’s eye, is very creative in an artistic way and has an incredible passion for what he does, and that since age of 10. In that respect, I admire him as a role model.
His creativity is mirrored in as plane an object as his car. The painting of which is covered with some of his signature photo shots.
These days, Manfred is a Leica man. He argues that Leica incorporates the history of photography – they have invented the small format camera. More importantly, they manufacture to best quality cameras “Made in Germany”. Also, street photography is easier as Leica’s are not as pretentious as its Japanese alternatives.
The new Leica shop in Vienna – where Manfred took us on our City walking tour – showcases the whole range of products available from this great brand. Manfred elaborated on the pros and cons of the different models.
There is a gallery combined with the shop, that exhibits various themes, in our case vintage black/white phots made with Leica’s from the 60s and 70s. The gallery, in the heart of Vienna, is also from an architectural standpoint highly interesting. Truly worth visiting.
I booked a personal “Be a Star” photo shooting with Manfred for my wife. What a feeling to be portrayed by a photographer who had so many celebrities in front of his lenses.
My wife is a natural beauty. And Manfred made a model lookalike out of her, that could be a testimonial for Rolex.
The “City workshop” took us for six hours on a walking tour through Vienna with Manfred. It was amazing, as he literally opened our eyes for motives and gave great tips.
My son Max was with me on the tour, he is actually the more talented photographer of the two of us. Here a street view. What a difference it makes to take the shot from the bottom street level.
An interesting perspective of the big tower of Saint Stephens Cathedral, one of the big landmark monuments in the very Center of Vienna.
A still life in black and white. I would call it: “Dress code: no ties“.
Looking into the row of pillars of the “Theseus Temple” in the Volksgarten right next to the parliament and Burgtheater.
Manfred taught us to look for interesting, funny and amazing combinations in motives. I leave the interpreation of this one up to you.
This one is from my son Max, who has taken 600+ photos on our City tour with Manfred. Great interpretation of a scene with a normally plain postcard motive – a Viennese Fiaker.
Copyright Manfred Baumann
Having met Manfred in person (and his lovely wife Nelly) I have become an even greater fan of him. He is not just a great guy, but a fantastic teacher and mentor regarding photography.
I can just highly recommend following him, watching his books and booking one of the events with him. I will certainly do in the future.