Jeanne asked a friend, Jasmine, to come over so that Erwin and Frederick would have someone to make portraits of - other than each other or me. Although, they made plenty of images of one another. Jasmine brought her boyfriend, Abel. They were patient and kind, I ended up making this portrait for them.
There will be more teaching and more exciting things in the U.S. for me, I know it. I'm already looking forward to it!
For the last few weeks, I’ve been able to ignore most of the distractions in my life and concentrate on getting ready for my exhibit. It’s been really nice. We don’t have a television but the other technologies can be a huge distraction. Give up Facebook, email, (fill in the blank) forum(s), for a week and see what happens. Your attitude toward these things change a little bit. (In all honesty, I didn’t give them up completely, but cut way back).
I’m on track and feeling good about most everything. There is still a little bit of anxiety – I want it perfect, or as close as possible to perfect as I can get it. 
Framed work waiting to be wrapped, packed and sent to Paris.
I’ve been framing and varnishing images for the last few days. Two coats of varnish per image and several days of drying – it’s process but they look outstanding! The plates look wonderful matted and framed, too. I get a rush seeing all of this – I can’t believe that I made all of this work (sounds ego-oriented, but true)! Where in the hell did I find the time to do all of this and sleep? There are 70 pieces, almost 100 images! Keep in mind, this is Wet Plate Collodion work!
It looks like we are going to rent a VW Transporter and keep it in Paris while we’re there. We had originally thought to rent a van, drive it over to Paris, unload it and turn it in there in Paris. Then we would take the train back home after the first week (opening, lectures, demos, workshops, etc.). I think I’d be “stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime” doing it that way not to mention the hassles and headaches. We’ll pay the fees and keep the van and drive it back. By the time we pay for a taxi, train, we’ll pay about the same (which is a lot).
I hanged and varnished 10 large ink jet prints for the show. They turned out very nice.
From what it sounds like, I’ll be making a lot of portraits there. I have five days and one night of making portraits. Standing room only, 20 minutes per session – really? There are that many people interested in having their portrait made? Maybe I can pay for the van for the week (grin). I think I’ll do okay on that front.
The gallery has pulled out the big guns – they’ve got some great press on the event. I’m going to have a journalist from Réponses Photo (French magazine) in the first workshop. I should have the cover and a portfolio spread from it. That won’t be too bad, eh? There are a lot more doing pieces on the event, too. Yummy!
I’ll post more as things unfold. So far, so good.
Vernon Trent, from Düsseldorf came down yesterday for a Wet Plate Collodion "refresher" and to make some images for a piece for stern.de. I think there was a totally of nine images. He made a couple of really nice ones. Here's a couple of snaps from the day. We capped it off with me making a portrait of him with his new camera.
The models: Christian and Carina. 
Whole Plate Alumitype 
Vernon - photo by Quinn Jacobson - Whole Plate Alumitype
Wet Plate Collodion images – Viernheim, Germany 13 February, 2010
I spent the last couple of days teaching a workshop in Leichlingen, Germany (just outside of Köln). It was a great workshop – we had five participants: Vernon, Robert, Marcus, Artur, and Ugo. They made some wonderful images! Every student caught on fast and was up to speed making plates on their own in hours, amazing!
Vernon set up the studio space – it was very nice – ArtLight Studios. We made images with natural light and had two models to work with. I’m looking forward to seeing work from all of these guys, and Ugo, let’s talk about an exhibition in Belgrade, Serbia!
"Vernon Trent" - The first image of the workshop. This is made with window light and my Derogy lens - 12 seconds - 5"x7" Black Glass Ambrotype. 
Workshop student, Vernon Trent made this plate. A nice still life made with a Russian 5"x7" camera. This is an Alumitype. 
And another Alumitype. 
5"x7" Alumitype portrait from the workshop. 
And one more Alumitype - 5"x7"
There were about 30 plates made from the five students at the workshop.
We setup near the tower there on the river - Main River, Frankfurt.Yesterday we were sitting under large Chestnut trees (Kastanienbaum) next to the Main River in Frankfurt, Germany eating peaches and souvlaki (yes, I said peaches and souvlaki).I've said this before and will say it again - Europeans know how to relax and they have an understanding of what "community" means. This seems to be lost on Americans. I'm a little anxious about returning to the states. I'm trying to be present to what I have here. I'm trying to be "in the moment", feel everything and experience as much as I can.
It was a big day for the Höchster Schloßfest (Castle Festival). We were on opposite side of the river, normally, we setup where you see the white tents in this photo.
We were given some artwork and a bottle of (private stock) Riesling wine yesterday by our artist friends. It was very kind of them (thanks again!). One of them, Mirjam, brought a catalog of an exhibition that was in Frankfurt a few years ago. All of the images were Dags, Calotypes, and Collodion. There were some beautiful Albumen prints! It's called, "Frühe Photographie im Rhein-Main-Gebiet 1839-1885" I'm going to buy a copy. You can see Mirjam's portrait in my June 22, 2009 blog.
I didn't do a lot of portraits yesterday, but the ones I did I'm happy with. I also made a negative of the the huge Chestnut tree we were setup near. I really like the feel of the image. Although, I consider myself a portrait photographer, I do like to make images (now and then) of nature.
Chestnut Tree by the Main River in Frankfurt - Wet Collodion Negative.
After I made a few images, we packed everything up in the Toyota and wandered around the fest for a while. We had a beer, Apfelschorle, Rindwurst and an Eis. It was a very nice day.
Uwe - Frankfurt, Germany 
Uwe mit zig - Frankfurt.
German authorities issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for John Demjanjuk, 88, the alleged Nazi war criminal ‘Ivan the Terrible’ suspected of killing tens of thousands of Jews in a World War II death camp.
"The accused is currently still in the United States," a court official said in a statement. "As soon as he arrives in Germany he will be questioned and tried."
Ivan the Terrible
A spokesman for the Justice Ministry told The Local, “We are looking at how this arrest warrant can be carried out. As to how, or when, I cannot say.”
If the US authorities do not expel Demjanjuk, a formal extradition request will be made.
Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk, now living in the United States, is thought to have assisted in the deaths of at least 29,000 Jews during his time in a Nazi concentration camp in Sobibor.
Demjanjuk, one of the world’s most wanted Nazi war criminals, emigrated to the US in 1950 but was extradited to Israel in 1986 after being accused of being the infamous ‘Ivan the Terrible.’
Sentenced to death in 1988 in Israel, he was released in August 1993 when Israeli judges dropped the case against him after statements by former guards collected by the KGB suggested another man was the infamous ‘Ivan the Terrible’.
Demjanjuk then returned to the city of Cleveland in the US state of Ohio where he has been living under house arrest conditions.
Six years later, the case against him was revived as evidence emerged that he had worked for the Nazis as a guard at three other death camps. He is still on a Simon Wiesenthal Centre list of the most wanted Nazi war criminals still alive.
Story from thelocal.de
We are very proud of Summer. She's smart and beautiful. It always warms our hearts to see her perform (singing/guitar), or to listen to one of her poems. We like to hear her political and social thoughts, too. She's more in touch with the important things in life at 16 years-old than I was at 26 years-old.
She brought home the "Showcase" catalog yesterday. It features work from high school students all over Europe. This was just published in the last few weeks, but it was from work submitted last year (when she was a sophomore). They selected one of her poems for it. Can you guess who the poem is about?
We love you Summer! You make us very, very proud! And, yes, we rocked the vote this time!
Summer Jacobson's poem
I don't really believe in coincidences, and every once-in-a-great-while something comes along to remind me why I don't believe in coincidences.
Seligenstat Newspaper article about me working in the Jewish cemetery. Last November 9 (2008), which was the 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht, I was in Seligenstadt, Germany making glass plate photographs in a Jewish cemetery that was destroyed during that pogrom. My friend, Jan from Berlin, was there and a journalist named Armin Wronski, from the Offenbach Post was there, too. Jan's mother and step-father live in Seligenstadt. Jan and his family arranged for the paper to be there. As I made plates, Armin shot digital photographs of me and Jan told him all about my Kristallnacht project, auf Deustch, of course. I thought this would be a great piece and a huge accomplishment for me if they actually published it. To be honest with you, I didn't think they would. (You can click on the image to enlarge and read)
You have to think about this; I'm an American, with Jewish heritage, in Germany making photographs of one of the most terrible events in human history perpetrated by this country and its people. This is a very difficult and serious topic. It's hard to talk about, it's hard to think about, and a lot of Germans feel ashamed and powerless over the situation. Would you want to publicize this? Of course the angle is soft in this article, it's the technique, the Wet Plate Collodion process, that's intriguing for people. Also, if you know about Germany and the Germans, you'll know how out of place I look/seem in my dark box next to a cemetery, pouring strange chemicals on glass plates. This is not what I would call, "ordnung" - and Germans need things proper and in order. However, the people of Seligenstadt were very kind and gracious to me. They were interested in what I was doing - and that's a wonderful thing for me. I think the fact that the newspaper ran this piece is a testament to their willingness to talk about this, that's the key.
Anyway, back to coincidences; I didn't hear a word about it for two months. Just last week, it entered my mind, "What did they do with that story? Did they ever publish it?" On Monday, January 5, 2009, I wrote Jan and Armin an email asking what became of the story. Jan immediately wrote back and said, "It's in today's paper!" Are you kidding me? I was beside myself and tripping out. I hadn't really even thought about it until that weekend and the day I send the email, it's published!?! Wow! Like I said, no coincidences. What does that mean? Am I psychic? No, I'm not, but I am connected to this in a bigger way than I even think I know about and it's these kinds of things that prove that to me.
If you ever find yourself in a rut and are bored with life, move to Germany and start an art project about the Holocaust. If you have any German friends, ask them to raise interest in the local media about you and your project. And finally, to really get things going, tell them that you have Jewish heritage. Try it sometime, you'll find that it's both rewarding and challenging. Life will NOT be boring anymore.
Follow up - January 12, 2009: After running this by my German friend for a complete translation, I've got to say that I'm not impressed. There's not one mention of Kristallnacht, or the fact that my entire project deals with that. I'm sure he was censored, or censored himself. I had my hopes up. It's a "fluff" piece, and in the big picture, it means, nothing.
The photo on the left is one I snapped at Dachau one year ago (December 2007). I remember thinking, "These are the rails that carried all of those people to their death". It was profoundly sad and visually striking to me.
This is a very insightful and interesting idea on many levels. It resonates with me simply for the fact of how much we us railroad metaphors and how they take on a whole new meaning here in Germany. For example, "derailed"or "derailing", "track wreck", "just the ticket", "off track", "one track mind", "railroaded", "fast track", "express", "letting off steam", "blowing your stack", "tunnel vision", "bells and whistles" and "end of the line". I see trains here in that kind of context.
The transports were usually cattle cars. At times, the floor of the car had a layer of quick lime which burned the feet of the human cargo. There was no water. There was no food. There was no toilet, no ventilation. Some boxcars had up to 150 people stuffed into them. It did not matter if it was summer, winter, boiling hot or freezing cold. And an average transport took about four and a half days. Sometimes the Germans did not have enough cars to make it worth their while to do a major shipment of Jews to the camps, so the victims were stuck in a switching yard - "standing room only" - for two and a half days. The longest transport, from Corfu, took 18 days. When the train got to the camps and the doors were opened, and everyone was dead.
I ran across this piece today. These are the kinds of questions and the issues I wonder about. I would answer the question asked at the end by saying, come and live here for a while, you'll know.
"Two weeks ago was the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. German society, now expert at such commemorations, gestured in all the appropriate ways. Angela Merkel visited the newly renovated Rykestrasse synagogue. Mozart’s Requiem was performed at the Gendarmenmarkt. All the newspapers featured reviews of a new exhibit about the burning and pillaging that augured worse to come. The public centerpiece of all this memorializing was to be a standard resolution, a statement of concern, really—unanimously supported by all the members of the Bundestag—decrying anti-Semitism and calling for renewed vigilance. It almost didn’t happen. When a vote finally took place on November 5, it was only after the ruling coalition of Christian and Social Democrats and the extreme left party had engaged in a brutal round of accusatory historical regurgitation. Der Spiegel said everyone concerned in the episode “should be red in the face with shame.” In the end, to avoid what would have been a full-blown fiasco, two separate statements for the dueling factions were produced and passed.
Why did this no-brainer of a resolution create such problems for German lawmakers?"
Today, I made the image that will appear on the first page of my book (I think). The image shows the original steps of the Seligenstadt synagogue. These steps are the only thing left of the synagogue. It was burned on November 9/10, 1938 during Kristallnacht. If you think about the metaphor of stairs (especially ascending/descending) you'll get where I'm going with this.
The emptiness is what moves me the most when I'm making photographs where the mighty, vibrant synagogues once stood in these small villages. I'm almost trying to photograph what isn't there. It's very difficult to do. It's also very sad.
A friend from Berlin, Jan, met us in Seligenstadt this morning. His mother lives there and his step-father has done an enormous amount of research on the Jewish community (that was) in Seligenstadt.
After making a positive image and a negative image of the same scene (the steps), we (Summer, Jan and I) went for coffee and looked at the "stumbling stones" around the village. There was a significant Jewish community that lived in this village until 1938. It's the same story in all of these places. Jan had newspaper clippings from the Seligenstadt newspaper (from 1935) that showed a page of ads for office furniture, shoes and clothes, and in the middle of these "common ads" was another kind of ad that read, "The Jews are our misfortune" ("Die Juden sind unser Unglück"). Mind-blowing and very educational.
The last two images are the positive (8x10 Black Glass Ambrotype) and the negative (8x10). I'll make a POP print this week of of the negative.
Seligenstadt Synagogue Remains 
I wasn't sure about the light, being in a hole and surrounded with "red" and "yellow". 
"Where does the shadow of my hand fall?" 1100 hours, 4 second exposure. 
Pouring Collodion on an 8"x10" piece of black glass. 
Putting the "loaded" plate holder onto the camera. 
Processing the plate.
"Seligenstadt Synagogue Stairs" 8"x10" Black Glass Ambrotype (sold) 
8"x10" negative - Seligenstadt Synagogue Stairs.
I'm going back to Seligenstadt next week. We're suppose to have a key to get into the Juden Friedhof (Jewish cemetery) - it was vandalized during Kristallnacht as well. Look for those images next week!
Thank you Summer and Jan. It was a great day. This is very important work, thanks for being a part of it.