Dreams of Flying

April 12, 2006 3:25 PM

Dreams of Flying. Whimsical photographs by Jan Von Holleben.
posted by Robot Johnny (27 comments total)

That was great.
posted by CRM114 at 3:30 PM on April 12, 2006

Those were superb with the exception of the last one where the perspective seems to get screwed up.
posted by Keith Talent at 3:32 PM on April 12, 2006

Cute. I think it would have been better executed if the camera was higher and looking downwards more...as it is too often it is much to obvious that they are lying down on the ground, and takes away from the overall effect. The bike race looked like great fun.
posted by furtive at 3:37 PM on April 12, 2006

Those are awesome, thanks. Simplicity is often extremely cool... and I think it's neat that those photos only work because the "trick" is so obvious, so to speak.
posted by Squid Voltaire at 3:38 PM on April 12, 2006

some were very good, some not so much... i was really annoyed that the models were the same through the entire series (not always a bad thing, but here it bugged me).
posted by pokermonk at 3:43 PM on April 12, 2006

This one was my favorite.
posted by pithy comment at 3:50 PM on April 12, 2006

I especially liked the pirates, and the diver.

However, I had a strange thought - If I came across these pictures in a calendar, they'd risk coming across as cutesy to the point of kitsch.

So I'm currently thinking about what triggers that response in me and why.
posted by -harlequin- at 3:55 PM on April 12, 2006

Absolutely lovely and imaginative.
posted by Vaska at 4:03 PM on April 12, 2006

i was really annoyed that the models were the same through the entire series

People will lend you their hedge clippers without a second thought, but they seem to go all weird when you try to borrow their children. What's worse, they don't even sell children at the local store. Those suckers are hard to obtain.
posted by -harlequin- at 4:03 PM on April 12, 2006

Good post...thanks!
posted by HuronBob at 4:16 PM on April 12, 2006

Good idea, very poorly executed.
posted by fire&wings at 4:20 PM on April 12, 2006

As I look at the photos, all I can think of is my mother saying "What kind of weirdo is going to make children lie on the floor to take pictures?"

... I guess I should get my head examined.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 4:53 PM on April 12, 2006

Terrific! Today is a fine day for single-link FPPs. Really, I loved these pictures, and wish I'd thought of it.

I disagree with the criticism about the poor execution, FWIW; I like that the photographer didn't attempt to make it look like they were actually flying, but instead took pains (such as not taking the picture from a completely perpendicular angle tot he ground) to make sure you knew exactly how the picture had been shot. That, for me, makes some of the photos that much more delightful when they work better than they should (like the bikes photo, and the karate photo.)

Make no mistake, I'm going to photograph my children in this way when they're a little older.
posted by davejay at 5:00 PM on April 12, 2006

I wish I had thought of this. Beautiful.
posted by rokabiri at 5:14 PM on April 12, 2006

I'm hardly sentimental, and I found these charming. The obvious setups just add to their appeal, IMHO.

I also liked some of his landscapes, e.g.
posted by rob511 at 6:11 PM on April 12, 2006

(such as not taking the picture from a completely perpendicular angle tot he ground)

That would actually make it look less like flying, because if you really DID see those kids flying, you would most likely see them from underneath if you were standing on the ground, not directly sideways as if you were flying yourself.
posted by easternblot at 6:47 PM on April 12, 2006

Perhaps too simple for some sophisticated tastes, but I, using my inner child's eye, found this absolutely fascinating and beautiful. Actually, I'm inspired. Will have to do something myself now!
posted by snsranch at 7:22 PM on April 12, 2006

Those shots seemed to be joy in the making. For some reason, they reminded me of a well done school play. I also found them to be female, before I looked back to see if a woman had taken them. Don't know why.
posted by BillyElmore at 7:52 PM on April 12, 2006

This made my day.
posted by avoision at 8:46 PM on April 12, 2006

So wonderful.
posted by BoringPostcards at 9:01 PM on April 12, 2006

Well, aren't those fun!
posted by wsg at 11:38 PM on April 12, 2006

Nicely done. but seem like an utter rip-off of czech photographer Miro Svolik, http://www.czechslovakphotos.com/html/svolik.html
- including almost identical staging of certain photos.
The only exception seems to be that children were used.
http://www.gallery1930.com/english/svolik.html
posted by MissM at 10:25 AM on April 13, 2006

if you go through the guy's other work, you'll find what was probably an earlier experiment along the same lines.

and for what it's worth, these photos are the most fun I've had looking at photos in a while.
posted by xclark at 6:48 PM on April 13, 2006

Very cool - thanks for the post!
posted by yoga at 5:47 AM on April 14, 2006

Reminded me of this movie(QT).
posted by pointilist at 7:15 AM on April 14, 2006

I like it much, thanks!
posted by hooray at 10:15 AM on April 16, 2006

Charming!
posted by deborah at 6:36 PM on April 20, 2006