Black & White Photography
Black and white photography reduces the image to its essentials: light, shadow and contrast. Without the distraction of color, structures, forms and emotions emerge more strongly. Halle with its historic architecture offers ideal subjects – the contrasts between bright facades and dark alleys, the play of sunlight and shadow on the cobblestones. My black and white images are a conscious artistic decision that emphasizes certain moods and offers the viewer a different perspective on familiar places.
Black & White Photography
28 photographs from Halle (Saale)
Winter Night in the City
Late winter night in Halle: a woman in a long coat hurries past snow-covered bicycle racks in front of a massive stone wall. Only the sparse glow of a single street light lifts the scene from darkness — footprints in fresh snow, arched windows of a Gründerzeit building, and a pedestrian crossing sign tell the story of quiet city life after midnight. Fun fact: at first glance, she appears to have four legs — she was actually walking in perfect sync with a second person whose steps fell in exact unison.
Tram at Night
A HAVAG tram bearing large-scale "Sachsen-Anhalt" advertising glides through the snowy winter night. Through the illuminated windows, passengers can be seen sheltering from the cold outside. Street lights and bare trees frame the scene on the edge of Halle's old town.
Don't worry, be curry
The "Don't worry, be curry" Currywurst stand on the corner of Universitätsring and Friedemann-Bach-Platz on a snowy January day. A customer stands beneath the snow-covered parasol while the empty outdoor seating awaits warmer days. Gründerzeit facades and a traffic light form the backdrop — everyday urban life in wintry Halle.
Evening Walk
A pedestrian with a backpack appears as a blurred silhouette in front of snow-covered Gründerzeit apartment buildings — the long exposure creates a ghostly motion blur that captures the hurried stride through the winter cold. Illuminated windows, parked cars beneath blankets of snow, and a second figure at the edge of the frame tell the story of quiet evening life in wintry Halle.
Winter Symmetry
Two park benches on the Peißnitz island, perfectly symmetrically arranged and coated in fresh snow, frame the view into the winter park. Between them, a gap opens into the snowy woodland — a crooked tree breaks the strict symmetry of the composition. The deep depth of field from the bench backs to the bare trees in the background reinforces the graphic character of the image.
Winter Harbour
View of the Sophienhafen on the Saale in its winter dress: work boats lie moored at the quay, a white harbour building and a multi-storey house rise on the right. On the left, a bridge crosses the calm water, snow-covered riverside trees are reflected in the Saale, and a solitary swan glides silently through the frame. The overcast sky lends the scene a melancholic winter mood.
Alone on the Bridge
A young woman walks alone across a snow-covered footbridge on the Peißnitz island. The metal railing draws the eye into the depth where snow-laden branches form a natural tunnel overhead. Her silhouette merges with the wintry backdrop — the central perspective and untouched snow create a quiet, almost cinematic atmosphere.
Winter Stillness on the Saale
A view through snow-covered branches and riverside bushes onto the still Saale near the Peißnitz. The dark water lies nearly motionless, reflecting the overcast winter sky and bare tree silhouettes. Fallen branches jut into the water, and the dense riverside vegetation forms a natural frame — a scene of absolute winter tranquillity on the Wilde Saale.
The Way Across the Bridge
An empty, snow-covered footbridge on the Peißnitz island leading into a tunnel of winter-clad trees. The symmetrically converging metal railings create a strong vanishing-point perspective that irresistibly draws the eye into the depth. Fresh snow on the bridge deck shows only scattered footprints — a quiet winter morning on the island between the Saale's channels.
Into the Light
A narrow, snow-covered path leads through dense winter woodland on the Peißnitz island. Dark tree trunks and snow-laden undergrowth form an almost impenetrable tunnel — at the end of the path, a bright spot of light beckons as the only way out of the darkness of the riparian forest. The dense vegetation lets only little light through even in the leafless winter.
Riverbank Trees on the Saale
Several trees lean at dramatic angles over the snow-covered banks of the Saale on the Peißnitz. Their trunks — shaped by the floods of past years — reach far out over the dark water, in which the winter landscape is reflected. Fresh snow on branches and ground accentuates the contrast between bright white and the near-black river water.
Silent Traces
A barely visible path winds through the snow-covered undergrowth of the riparian forest on the Peißnitz island. Thin tree trunks and dense branches, draped in fresh snow, create an almost abstract pattern of vertical lines and white surfaces. The path nearly disappears into the vegetation — only a careful eye spots the narrow passage.
Winter Magic on the Wilde Saale
The Wilde Saale — the unspoiled side channel of the river on the Peißnitz — in its winter dress: snow-covered trees arch over the dark, still water creating perfect reflections. A mighty branch spans bow-like across the entire width of the frame, while driftwood and patches of snow float on the water's surface. A scene reminiscent of an enchanted fairy-tale forest.
Bridge over the Wilde Saale
A view through a web of snow-covered trees and branches onto a footbridge crossing the Wilde Saale channel on the Peißnitz island. The dark water flows quietly beneath the metal structure, while snow on the banks and treetops creates a fairy-tale contrast. The natural framing through the vegetation lends the image depth and intimacy.
Monument in Winter Sleep
A stone obelisk on the Peißnitz island, encircled by mighty, bare deciduous trees and an untouched blanket of snow. The wide, open composition makes the monument appear small and lost amid the winter parkland. The deep focus from the tree trunks in the foreground to the overcast sky amplifies the sense of vastness and winter silence.
Winter Avenue
A snow-covered avenue on the Peißnitz island with street lamps and a wooden railing on the right edge. The cleared path winds between snow-laden trees, and in the distance a solitary walker's silhouette can be made out. The lamps and the gently curving path lend the scene a romantic winter atmosphere — a classic walking route on Halle's beloved park island.
Through Winter Trees
The massive fieldstone wall of the Moritzkirche, seen through bare winter trees in a vertical composition. The Gothic choir with its pointed roof and tall church windows rises behind the mighty wall, while in the foreground a snow-covered pavement and a street sign emphasise the urban setting of the medieval structure.
Moritzburg in the Snow
The Moritzburg in Halle (Saale) seen from the street side: the late-Gothic fortress — today the Art Museum of Saxony-Anhalt — with its massive walls and distinctive round tower in winter dress. Fresh snow covers the battlements and surrounding trees, while a snowy street in the foreground completes the winter frame.
Universitätsring in Winter
The snow-covered pavement along Universitätsring near Friedemann-Bach-Platz: a cleared path runs between snow-covered pavements, with a row of bare street trees and bollards on the left, and a wall bearing traces of graffiti on the right. In the distance, a pedestrian walks through the winter scenery — a typical image of urban winter life in Halle.
Urban Signs
Urban art in the Bergviertel district of Halle: large-scale HFC bubble letters in pink and white adorn a weathered sandstone wall — a fan culture memorial to Hallescher FC. Right beside it, a grey electrical box on which someone has scrawled a screaming face. Cobblestones, worn stone steps, and the shadow of a wrought-iron railing speak to the character of Halle's old town.
Footprints on the Ice
The frozen Saale canal at the level of the university tennis courts in Halle: footprints are etched into the ice surface — someone crossed the canal when it was not yet fully frozen, and the imprints have been preserved in the surface. Dried grasses along the shore break through the ice sheet. The deep depth of field at ƒ/7.1 accentuates the textures and cracks of the fragile winter landscape.
The Cellist
A cellist sits on a folding chair in the middle of the Große Ulrichstraße pedestrian zone, playing his instrument with deep concentration. Beside him, the open cello case awaits donations. A woman with a shopping bag pauses to listen — behind her, the shop windows of the fashion store "24COLOURS" and the tram tracks threading through the bustling shopping street of Halle's old town. ISO 1600 betrays the pale winter light of an overcast January day.
Self-Portrait in a Shop Window
Multiple layered reflections in a shop window in Halle's old town: photographer Arnold Wender with camera appears as a reflection alongside the lettering "APOTHEK…", "Juwelier", and "Schmiede". Street signs and Gründerzeit facades are reflected in reverse in the glass, overlaying the displays behind the pane and merging into a multi-layered image — a self-portrait between reality and reflection, quintessential street photography.
In Love with Halle
Panoramic view across the market square of Halle featuring the iconic heart sculpture "Verliebt in Halle" in the foreground. In the background, all five towers rise — the four of the Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen and the freestanding Roter Turm — beneath a dramatically overcast winter sky. A tram crosses the square, the Händel monument stands in silhouette, and pedestrians populate the wintry scene. A wide-angle city portrait uniting Halle's landmarks in a single frame.
In Front of the Roter Turm
Looking up Große Ulrichstraße towards the Roter Turm on a cold winter day — pedestrians move through the bustling shopping street, to the right the shop windows of a pharmacy and jeweller, above the overhead wires of the tram network. A young woman in a headscarf walked into the frame at the last moment — an unplanned photobomb that remained blurry but lent the overall image a surprising sense of motion. Street photography thrives on moments like these.
Nightlife Reflections
A view through the window pane of a bar in Halle's old town: behind the glass, illuminated bottle shelves line the wall while a bartender stands behind the counter. Simultaneously, the Gründerzeit facade of the building across the street is reflected in the pane — a double-exposure effect that fuses interior and exterior worlds into a single image. The warm glow of the bar contrasts with the cool night outside.
Große Ulrichstraße in Fisheye
Große Ulrichstraße at night, captured with the extreme 7Artisans 6mm fisheye lens: the dramatic barrel distortion bends Gründerzeit facades, tram tracks, and cobblestones into a sphere. On the left, the "Kulturinsel" theatre with its distinctive "nt." crown logo; on the right, an ornate Gründerzeit corner building — the entire width of the bustling shopping street captured in a single, spherical image. ISO 3200 reveals the nocturnal setting.
On the Tram
An everyday moment on a Halle tram: an elderly couple sits side by side — both wearing eye patches, his over the left eye, hers over the right. One of them is reflected in the window. The MDV sign in the background reveals the location near the Leipziger Turm. The mirrored eye patches create a striking image, wordlessly telling a story of togetherness — a quiet moment of connection in public transport.