Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann for HafenCity News. That's one of the interesting aspects of my job: sometimes I have people in front of the camera that others only know from television.

Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann has designed creative and motivating learning materials on the subject of the seas and sailing. These are mainly intended for children between 9 and 14 years old. Children can begin to understand and love oceans. She advocates that even younger children should be able to handle complex issues. The teacher cites CO2 emissions and the greenhouse effect as examples, which her teaching materials pay particular attention to and which are explained in an age-appropriate manner.

If it hasn't rung a bell for you yet as to how you might know Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann, let me mention the words Vendée Globe or Greta Thunberg. Yes, as is often the case, her husband Boris Herrmann is more in the public eye. The name probably tells you at least since that Vendée Globe and his great 5th place in this circumnavigation of the world. In preparation for this, he took Greta Thunberg by ship across the ocean to the UN climate summit in New York in 2019.

As is so often the case, there is a strong woman behind it: exactly the same Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann, who I now had in front of my lens as a resident of HafenCity.

The photo technology behind the photo

Since the appointment is of course mainly about the text for the 62nd edition of HafenCity News and because the interview took place outside in accordance with Corona, the subsequent photo shoot had to be done quickly. Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann was super cooperative and very pleasant to photograph, but she still logically felt cold at some point. However, I had already thought something like that, because this is not my first appointment with the corresponding conditions. That's why I used the Leica's TTL system for my photo.

Leica has a completely underrated, but really very comfortable flash system for unleashed flashing. Few people probably know that. I was able to use it here. The C1 remote release on my Leica SL2 and two SF60s to my left flashing through a white transmitted light screen. Why two? Because then the recycling time, i.e. the time that elapses between two flash releases, is shorter.

Thanks to the TTL function, I was still able to concentrate completely on Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann in changing lighting conditions outside. In addition, by using Leica's own flash system, I was able to easily use the Leica Summilux-SL 1:1.4/50mm Asph. Taking photos with the aperture wide open, which required a fairly short exposure time outside. The I recently appreciated the quality of the lens and here she shows her natural markings.

Fortunately, everyone involved was happy with the result.