Winter Fairy Tale
After a long period of severe frost, the Outer Alster Lake in Hamburg was officially opened for the „Alstereisvergnügen“ in February 2012— a very rare spectacle.
This winter folks festival brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the ice.
The last event of its kind had taken place 1997!
I saw the whole thing with my inner child’s eyes perspective, which inspired me to photograph a unique winter story.
I wanted to capture pure emotions and the magic of winter.
However, organizing a proper cast and crew on such short notice wasn’t feasible, especially since there was practically no budget for this personal project of this young photographer.
Equipped with my camera, ice skates, and thermos, I made my way to the Alster repeatedly to find the story.
When I was on-site the sky opened up, and the sun shone brightly despite temperatures around -20°C. 
Suddenly I spotted some young friends skating on the ice.
I introduced myself to the parents and asked the kids if I could skate alongside them and take some pics.
They found the idea amusing, especially since I was rather clumsy on my ice skates. We had an amazing time together!!
So magic happened, and the „Winter Fairy Tale“ was born.