Calling Maik Gutmann a passionate light hunter sounds a bit complicated, but it captures his passion exactly: The photographer loves his home on the Baltic Sea and gives it a second, artistic life with his pictures.
Make visible what might never have been perceived without you, war ein Motto des französischen Filmregisseurs und Fotografen Robert Bresson. Im Grunde tut auch Maik Gutmann nichts Anderes. Der ambitionierte Hobby-Fotograf aus Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania hat das Motto seines berühmten Kollegen verinnerlicht: „Immer, wenn ich denke, dass ich meinen Strand nun wirklich gut kenne und jede seiner Perspektiven und Launen eingefangen habe, zeigt er sich mir schon wieder in einer anderen Lichtstimmung.“ Faszinierend – und der Grund dafür, dass Gutmann von dem fein geschwungenen Strand vor der Küste von Graal-Müritz nie genug bekommt. Er ist sein Lieblingsmotiv – vor allem die malerische Seebrücke von Graal-Müritz hat es ihm angetan, gerne in einer ausgefuchsten Langzeitbelichtung: „Dadurch kann ich die Stimmungen der Ostsee bei ganz unterschiedlichem Wetter besonders gut herausarbeiten.“
For Gutmann, the Baltic Sea beach is also inspiration and solace for the soul in one, a golden ratio of bathing pleasure for people and an expressive dance of nature. Make visible what would never have been perceived without you - There it is again, that Bressonian maxim. Like sculptures left behind, trees uprooted long ago - washed around picturesquely by the storm tide in winter - create an impressive image of raw, pristine beauty. Maik Gutmann's photos open up a view of these often fleeting backdrops.
In addition to its extensive sandy beaches, the Baltic resort of Graal-Müritz offers many other motifs for photographers: the kilometers of coastal forest, for example, the Rostock Heath, but also the downtown area of the popular coastal resort itself. Unusual ones at that, such as the advertising pillar near the local history museum, which was designed by artists from the region. Or the so-called Büdner houses in Graal-Müritz, which recall the arduous life in the former fishing village.
Maik Gutmann fotografiert und dokumentiert auch gerne in seiner Heimatstadt Kühlungsborn, was aus der reichen architektonischen Vergangenheit in die heutige Zeit gerettet werden konnte. Das ist vor allem die berühmte Bäderarchitektur, die Kühlungsborn um 1900 herum mit dem Bau von Jugendstil- und klassizistischen Bauten prägte. „Diese Architektur ist einzigartig“, sagt Gutmann und kennt natürlich auch all die Plätze, die sich für Besucher mit dem Wunsch nach besonderen Foto-Motiven lohnen: Die Villa Lion's Arch for example, in 1912 as Villa Martin built and extensively renovated in 2012, is such a special place. Also the Hotel Esplanade - Opened in 1900 as a spa hotel - bears witness to the style of an era whose aura can still be felt today in many of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Baltic resorts.
By train comfortably and without traffic jams to Graal-Müritz: Plan arrival.
The harbor of Kühlungsborn is completely different, but no less charming. In summer, it is a turbulent attraction for locals and guests from all over Germany who come here to breathe in maritime life and enjoy fresh fish straight from the cutter. When the sun shines, Kühlungsborn's harbor life is a place of carefree bliss; blue skies, rocking dinghies, happy children's laughter: Idyll. But even in dramatic weather, the harbor of Kühlungsborn serves as a grateful photo motif, when against gray clouds and surging waves the dinghies almost bounce over the piers, the fancy yachts tug unwillingly at the ropes, and the old fishing cutters groan like choirs in distant church naves.
Another promising excursion for beautiful motifs is a circular hike on the Seagull Trail, where the clear sea air on the coast blows around your nose, but which also leads a bit into the hinterland of Kühlungsborn. On particularly beautiful, sunny days, Maik Gutmann also sometimes walks the seven kilometers between Kühlungsborn and Heiligendamm along the beach and photographs everything that catches his eye there - again and again and again. His motivation here, too: To capture the beauty of his homeland with his camera. Who knows what will still be there tomorrow? For a special image composition and the appropriate light, Maik Gutmann is then also happy to spend a few minutes of patience, loosely based on the playwright Arthur Schnitzler: "To be ready is a lot, to be able to wait is more, but to take advantage of the right moment first is everything."
By train comfortably and without traffic jams to Kühlungsborn: Plan arrival.
The fact that he made his way from here to Bad Doberan - another seven kilometers - on the Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn, the legendary Molli, is only due to the calculations of the passionate photographer. He prefers to save the hour and a half he would have to invest in the walk between Heiligendamm and Bad Doberan for his favorite motifs in the town: On the one hand, there is the Molli himself, which he likes to do on Alexandrinenplatz against the backdrop of House of God's Peace aufnimmt – der schmucken Villa des bekannten Architekten Carl Theodor Severin von 1823. Oder der Tempelberg: Der ist mit seinen 45 Metern Höhe nicht unbedingt ein unbezwingbarer Koloss, aber trotzdem reicht der Panorama-Blick von oben bis hin zu den Sandstränden an der Ostseeküste. Dann aber eilt auch Maik Gutmann zu dem Gebäude, das in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern jeder kennt: Das im 13. Jahrhundert erbaute Doberan Minster gilt nicht ohne Grund als die Perle der norddeutschen Backsteingotik. Es liegt in dem gut erhaltenen Areal eines ehemaligen Zisterzienserklosters. Dass Maik Gutmann hin und wieder auch in der Villa foresight which is located nearby on the grounds of a former youth hostel, by the way, has nothing to do with the magnificent view over the city that you can enjoy in the restaurant. Rather, it has more to do with the delicious dishes such as the "Weitsicht" salad, garnished with a truly unprecedented raspberry dressing, or delicately fried pike-perch fillets on offer here.
By train comfortably and without traffic jams to Bad Doberan: Plan arrival.
Cover photo: Maik Gutmann during a photo session on the beach of Graal-Müritz © TMV / Tiemann
The Baltic Sea coast, the Mecklenburg lake district, historic Hanseatic cities: reasons for a Vacation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there are many.
