Jörn Wallenwein

to the home page

Jörn Wallenwein is an ambitious nature and macro photographer. Architectural photography (esp. in black and white and fine art style) is another focus of interest.

Most of the macro shots were taken in the Rhine-Main area. In the evening, after work, photography is a welcome change for Jörn. Time to "come down" and even if no insect gets in front of the lens, it's a great opportunity to enjoy nature. So it's not surprising why almost all the pictures were taken in the evening. As a notoriously late riser, the morning is only suboptimal for Jörn anyway.

Color contrasts, a soft but not monotonous background and good cropping are important to him in macro photography. Jörn likes to get his subject in focus from front to back. That's why he often works with a tripod, even when there is enough light. For some years now, stacking multiple photos has also been a technique he likes to use.

The images shown here were taken with a digital system camera. All architecture photos are long exposures of several minutes. More about the photos under the gallery ...

More pictures and info on 1ophotos.org/wallenwein or Instagram.

Dark City Series - Fine Art Photography in Frankfurt am Main

Image 1: "Splendid". Tower 185 near the trade fair center, with a height of 200.0 meters, is the fourth highest building in Germany (together with the Main Tower). Curiously, the tower was originally intended to be only 185 meters high, as the name suggests. During construction, however, it was decided to add another 15 meters. Nevertheless, the name remains.

Image 2: "Lights in the Shadows". The Main fun fair with a Ferris wheel in front of the dark skyscrapers of Frankfurt. Shot from the southern bank of the Main.

Image 3: "Silver Giant". A surreal representation of the Silver Tower at Jürgen-Ponto-Platz. The shiny silver tower was Germany's tallest skyscraper from 1978 to 1990, standing 166 meters tall. After the completion of the Omiturm (2019) and the Grand Tower (mid-2020), the Silberturm has fallen out of the top ten German skyscrapers. However, its gleaming silver facade still makes it a sought-after photo motif.

Image 4: "Black Mirror II". Tower 185 (right) and Pollux (left). The twin towers Kastor and Pollux are not very tall for Frankfurt, but they have beautiful, reflective facades. The cover image of this gallery shows both skyscrapers in a montage with high-key processing.

Picture "Mating wheel vagrant darter on my hand": Often Jörn is asked how such a thing is possible because a mating of large dragonflies, on a hand, is not to be observed every day.

"It was a very warm summer day, well over 30° Celsius and it was a good year; there were a lot of active dragonflies and insects. At a fishing pond with not too dense vegetation, darters kept flying at a wooden railing. Pairs were regularly attacked by male darters. One pair flew almost always to the same place and was permanently driven away by "jealous" males. I put my hand to the corresponding spot and waited motionlessly. After a short time, the dragonfly pair came and sat down on my outstretched hand. Very slowly I lifted my hand and carefully moved away. Thereby I shielded my pair from other darters. A win-win situation, so to speak. Even when I moved my hand into the shade for better photography, the darters stayed with me. Long after the photograph was taken, the pair remained on my hand. A daters mating can last up to 20 minutes." [ Zitat Jörn Wallenwein ]

FROM THE SAME CATEGORY