“Diamonds in the Rough” is my first photo zine and it features my favorite wrestling images from late 2018 to early 2020.
In December 2018 I started visiting the monthly wrestling events held by wXw Academy in Essen. “Scouting the Next Generation” is a platform for new talents to show their skills and allows them to perform in front of a live audience. Some of the wrestlers are quite accomplished, while others are just starting out in their careers. The level is incredibly high and the matches are usually very well put together.
My approach
All but four images were shot with my digital Leica M with a 35mm (manual focus) lens. For most people, this would probably not be their first choice when shooting this kind of subject-matter, but for me, it was the perfect environment to improve my manual focusing skills.
The great thing about those Academy events is, that you can get really close to the action – right next to the ring. (I only had to make sure to not getting kicked in the head!)
The result is a documentation of moments full of humor, emotion and action.
Here are some sample pages:
The details
- The zine contains 64 black and white images on 84 pages.
- It costs either 20 EUR or 25 EUR, depending on your shipping address.
You can get a copy by using the form below.
Thanks!
The zine is currently sold out!
However, you can now order it directly from Blurb for 25 EUR. Shipping is quite expensive though, upwards of 10 EUR, depending where you are in the world.