wer bn ich und was machen ich?

The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten. Not to mention rumours which agitated the maritime population and excited the public mind, even in the interior of continents, seafaring men were particularly excited. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, both of Europe and America, naval officers of all countries, and the Governments of several States on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.
For some time past vessels had been met by “an enormous thing,” a long object, spindle-shaped, occasionally phosphorescent, and infinitely larger and more rapid in its movements than a whale.
The facts relating to this apparition (entered in various log-books) agreed in most respects as to the shape of the object or creature in question, the untiring rapidity of its movements, its surprising power of locomotion, and the peculiar life with which it seemed endowed. If it was a whale, it surpassed in size all those hitherto classified in science. Taking into consideration the mean of observations made at divers times—rejecting the timid estimate of those who assigned to this object a length of two hundred feet, equally with the exaggerated opinions which set it down as a mile in width and three in length—we might fairly conclude that this mysterious being surpassed greatly all dimensions admitted by the learned ones of the day, if it existed at all. And that it DID exist was an undeniable fact; and, with that tendency which disposes the human mind in favour of the marvellous, we can understand the excitement produced in the entire world by this supernatural apparition. As to classing it in the list of fables, the idea was out of the question.
On the 20th of July, 1866, the steamer Governor Higginson, of the Calcutta and Burnach Steam Navigation Company, had met this moving mass five miles off the east coast of Australia. Captain Baker thought at first that he was in the presence of an unknown sandbank; he even prepared to determine its exact position when two columns of water, projected by the mysterious object, shot with a hissing noise a hundred and fifty feet up into the air. Now, unless the sandbank had been submitted to the intermittent eruption of a geyser, the Governor Higginson had to do neither more nor less than with an aquatic mammal, unknown till then, which threw up from its blow-holes columns of water mixed with air and vapour.

Similar facts were observed on the 23rd of July in the same year, in the Pacific Ocean, by the Columbus, of the West India and Pacific Steam Navigation Company. But this extraordinary creature could transport itself from one place to another with surprising velocity; as, in an interval of three days, the Governor Higginson and the Columbus had observed it at two different points of the chart, separated by a distance of more than seven hundred nautical leagues.
Fifteen days later, two thousand miles farther off, the Helvetia, of the Compagnie-Nationale, and the Shannon, of the Royal Mail Steamship Company, sailing to windward in that portion of the Atlantic lying between the United States and Europe, respectively signalled the monster to each other in 42° 15′ N. lat. and 60° 35′ W. long. In these simultaneous observations they thought themselves justified in estimating the minimum length of the mammal at more than three hundred and fifty feet, as the Shannon and Helvetia were of smaller dimensions than it, though they measured three hundred feet over all.
Now the largest whales, those which frequent those parts of the sea round the Aleutian, Kulammak, and Umgullich islands, have never exceeded the length of sixty yards, if they attain that.
In every place of great resort the monster was the fashion. They sang of it in the cafes, ridiculed it in the papers, and represented it on the stage. All kinds of stories were circulated regarding it. There appeared in the papers caricatures of every gigantic and imaginary creature, from the white whale, the terrible “Moby Dick” of sub-arctic regions, to the immense kraken, whose tentacles could entangle a ship of five hundred tons and hurry it into the abyss of the ocean. The legends of ancient times were even revived.
Then burst forth the unending argument between the believers and the unbelievers in the societies of the wise and the scientific journals. “The question of the monster” inflamed all minds. Editors of scientific journals, quarrelling with believers in the supernatural, spilled seas of ink during this memorable campaign, some even drawing blood; for from the sea-serpent they came to direct personalities.
During the first months of the year 1867 the question seemed buried, never to revive, when new facts were brought before the public. It was then no longer a scientific problem to be solved, but a real danger seriously to be avoided. The question took quite another shape. The monster became a small island, a rock, a reef, but a reef of indefinite and shifting proportions.
On the 5th of March, 1867, the Moravian, of the Montreal Ocean Company, finding herself during the night in 27° 30′ lat. and 72° 15′ long., struck on her starboard quarter a rock, marked in no chart for that part of the sea. Under the combined efforts of the wind and its four hundred horse power, it was going at the rate of thirteen knots. Had it not been for the superior strength of the hull of the Moravian, she would have been broken by the shock and gone down with the 237 passengers she was bringing home from Canada.
The accident happened about five o’clock in the morning, as the day was breaking. The officers of the quarter-deck hurried to the after-part of the vessel. They examined the sea with the most careful attention. They saw nothing but a strong eddy about three cables’ length distant, as if the surface had been violently agitated. The bearings of the place were taken exactly, and the Moravian continued its route without apparent damage. Had it struck on a submerged rock, or on an enormous wreck? They could not tell; but, on examination of the ship’s bottom when undergoing repairs, it was found that part of her keel was broken.
This fact, so grave in itself, might perhaps have been forgotten like many others if, three weeks after, it had not been re-enacted under similar circumstances. But, thanks to the nationality of the victim of the shock, thanks to the reputation of the company to which the vessel belonged, the circumstance became extensively circulated.
The 13th of April, 1867, the sea being beautiful, the breeze favourable, the Scotia, of the Cunard Company’s line, found herself in 15° 12′ long. and 45° 37′ lat. She was going at the speed of thirteen knots and a half.
At seventeen minutes past four in the afternoon, whilst the passengers were assembled at lunch in the great saloon, a slight shock was felt on the hull of the Scotia, on her quarter, a little aft of the port-paddle.
The Scotia had not struck, but she had been struck, and seemingly by something rather sharp and penetrating than blunt. The shock had been so slight that no one had been alarmed, had it not been for the shouts of the carpenter’s watch, who rushed on to the bridge, exclaiming, “We are sinking! we are sinking!” At first the passengers were much frightened, but Captain Anderson hastened to reassure them. The danger could not be imminent. The Scotia, divided into seven compartments by strong partitions, could brave with impunity any leak. Captain Anderson went down immediately into the hold. He found that the sea was pouring into the fifth compartment; and the rapidity of the influx proved that the force of the water was considerable. Fortunately this compartment did not hold the boilers, or the fires would have been immediately extinguished. Captain Anderson ordered the engines to be stopped at once, and one of the men went down to ascertain the extent of the injury. Some minutes afterwards they discovered the existence of a large hole, two yards in diameter, in the ship’s bottom. Such a leak could not be stopped; and the Scotia, her paddles half submerged, was obliged to continue her course. She was then three hundred miles from Cape Clear, and, after three days’ delay, which caused great uneasiness in Liverpool, she entered the basin of the company.
The engineers visited the Scotia, which was put in dry dock. They could scarcely believe it possible; at two yards and a half below water-mark was a regular rent, in the form of an isosceles triangle. The broken place in the iron plates was so perfectly defined that it could not have been more neatly done by a punch. It was clear, then, that the instrument producing the perforation was not of a common stamp and, after having been driven with prodigious strength, and piercing an iron plate 1 3/8 inches thick, had withdrawn itself by a backward motion.
Such was the last fact, which resulted in exciting once more the torrent of public opinion. From this moment all unlucky casualties which could not be otherwise accounted for were put down to the monster.
Upon this imaginary creature rested the responsibility of all these shipwrecks, which unfortunately were considerable; for of three thousand ships whose loss was annually recorded at Lloyd’s, the number of sailing and steam-ships supposed to be totally lost, from the absence of all news, amounted to not less than two hundred!
Now, it was the “monster” who, justly or unjustly, was accused of their disappearance, and, thanks to it, communication between the different continents became more and more dangerous. The public demanded sharply that the seas should at any price be relieved from this formidable cetacean.

Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.

— Aaron Siskind

Hallo, ich bin Karsten Socher!

Fotograf, Bildjournalist, Fotoverrückter …

JENNIFER JONES

COPYWRITER

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, eu per legimus referrentur. Ius ne viris repudiare, nominavi sententiae eos in. Et duo salutatus consequat, et epicurei euripidis mei. Sit nominavi deleniti rationibus ea, has ex essent invidunt. Sit debet singulis interesset et, in vel legere possit patrioque. Mel partem corrumpit id, ei eam quod noluisse.Mei elit ubique accumsan ex, quo ut etiam facete utroque. Usu eu ponderum sapientem similique, quidam verterem quo id. Laoreet definitionem est ea. Cu mea facer dicam, vocent ceteros per ad, eam nonumes mentitum sadipscingne.

Alienum phaedrum torquatos nec eu, vis detraxit periculis ex, nihil expetendis in mei. Mei an pericula euripidis, hinc partem ei est. Eos ei nisl graecis, vix aperiri consequat an. Eius lorem tincidunt vix at, vel pertinax sensibus id, error epicurei mea et. Mea facilisis urbanitas moderatius id. Vis ei rationibus definiebas, eu qui purto zril laoreet. Ex error omnium interpretaris pro, alia illum ea vim.

 

BIOGRAFIE KARSTEN SOCHER – FOTOGRAF IN KASSEL

 

Kreativität, Einfühlungsvermögen, das Gespür für den buchstäblich richtigen Augenblick, das ist es, was den professionellen Fotografen vom Knipser unterscheidet. Aber nicht nur. Fotografie, also die Abbildung des realen Lebens auf Film oder digitaler Speicherkarte, ist auch Handwerk. Karsten Socher, in Düsseldorf geboren, hat dieses kreative Handwerk von der Pike auf erlernt. 14 Jahre lagen zwischen seinen ersten Versuchen mit der Kamera und der Verleihung jener Urkunde, die ihn als Meister seines Fachs ausweist – mit 24 Jahren war Karsten Socher Ende der 1990er-Jahre einer der jüngsten Fotografenmeister in Deutschland. Die Kombination aus solidem handwerklichen Fundament, beeindruckender Kreativität und dem stets angemessenen Umgang mit den Menschen und Situationen vor dem Objektiv wissen seit Jahren zahlreiche Auftraggeber des freien Fotografen zu schätzen. Karsten Socher ist bundesweit im Einsatz: als Fester freier Fotograf für die Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA), weitere Tages- und Boulevardzeitungen, im Auftrag von Industrieunternehmen sowie als Event- und Bühnenfotograf. Auch den schönsten Tag des Lebens, die Hochzeit, setzt Karsten Socher in Szene. Als Dozent gibt er sein Wissen und seine Ideen weiter. Und bei Wettbewerben misst er sich immer wieder mit seinen Berufskollegen – mit großem Erfolg. „Flexibel, ehrlich, ein Fotograf aus Leidenschaft“ – das sagen Auftraggeber und Kollegen über Karsten Socher. Er selbst ist bescheidener. „Mein Beruf ist mein Hobby.“ (von Peter Ketteritzsch, Journalist)

VITA

Ausstellungen

2019	„Bad Hersfelder Festspiele“ / Sparkasse Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Bad Hersfeld
2016	„documenta-Stadt Kassel“ / „Stage Sharing Kassel“ Kulturfestival, Kulturhaus Dock 4, Kassel
1997	„Meisterwerke“ / Handwerksform, Kassel
1995	„Gesellenwerke“ / Handwerksform, Kassel
1994	„Gesellenwerke“ / IG Metall, Kassel

Bücher

2012	„documenta-Stadt Kassel: Ein Bildband in Farbe“, Wartberg Verlag

Auszeichnungen, Preise

2013	Lobenswerte Ehrung beim DJV Foto-Wettbewerb „PresseFoto Hessen-Thüringen“
2008	Norminiert in der Kategorie Kultur des DJV Foto-Wettbewerb „PresseFoto Hessen-Thüringen“
1995	Marketingwettbewerb Fotostudio und Fotofachlabor, Fotogroßlabor Uhlenhuth
1995	Marketingwettbewerb Fotostudio, PhotoPresse

Werdegang

seit 2019	stellvertretender Fotografensprecher im Bundesfachausschuss, Berlin
seit 2015	hessischer Fotografensprecher im Berufsverband, Wiesbaden
seit 2015	Mitglied im Bundesfachausschuss Fotografen, Berlin
2003 – 2012	Freier fester Fotograf der Tageszeitung HNA, Hessisch Niedersächsische Allgemeine / Kassel
2001 – 2002	Fotofachverkäufer / Kassel
seit 2000	freiberuflich europaweit tätig als Fotojournalist, Fotodozent, Journalist sowie Fotograf für Pressefotografie, Businessfotografie, Hochzeitsfotografie, Eventfotografie, Kinderfotografie, Schulfotografie / Kassel
1996 – 1998	mit 21 Jahren und einem Jahr Gesellenzeit Weiterbildung zum Fotografenmeister / Kassel
1996 – 2000	Fotofachlaborant im Minilab, Fotofachverkäufer und Filialführung  bei Foto Team / Kassel – Baunatal
1995	Portraitfotograf und Filialführung / Baunatal
1993 – 1995	handwerkliche Ausbildung Portraitfotograf und Hochzeitsfotograf / Baunatal
1991 – 1993	handwerkliche Ausbildung zum Fotofachlaborant bei PE-Color-Studio / Kassel
1991	Realschulabschluss / Kassel
1989 – 1991	Fotograf der Schülerzeitung „G.A.Z.ette“ der Georg-August-Zinn-Schule / Kassel
1974	in Düsseldorf auf die Welt gekommen

Writing 92% Headline Creation 84% User Experience 76% Marketing 81%

WHAT CLIENTS SAY?

KIND WORDS FROM MY LOVELY CLIENTS

„Lacinia neque platea ipsum amet est odio aenean id quisque.“

— KELLY MURRYACME Inc.

„Aliquam congue lacinia turpis proin sit nulla mattis semper.“

— JEREMY LARSONACME Inc.

„Fermentum habitasse tempor sit et rhoncus, a morbi ultrices!“

— ERIC HARTACME Inc.