// Behind the scenes. A photo and the story behind it!

Let's use the tools of the digital age to summon the spirit of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the godfather of street photography. Bresson—who reportedly dismissed the idea of being called the greatest photographer of the 20th century with a rather blunt “bullshit”—stood out not only for the famous “decisive moment” but for his extraordinary instinct for composition. Let's start with the most important thing: equipment. 1. Bresson Commando: Gear and Philosophy

Today we tested how people can join our Vienna sessions online. The good news: from now on, anyone can take part remotely—all you need to do is register here. By the end of September, BMI Fotoklub is slowly turning into a very large secret photography cult, with Henri Cartier-Bresson as high priest and one motto: “The search for the unrepeatable, PERFECT MOMENT.” Tonight's mission took place in central Vienna: use discreet street-photography techniques to catch the intangib

Today's hero is Brassaï, the Hungarian-born genius who moved from painting, writing and sculpture to become one of photography's great legends. Meet Gyula Halász, better known by his artist name Brassaï—“the man from Brassó”—and some of the most extraordinary moments in his surreal, light-filled life. Then we'll borrow a few of his tricks for photographing in the dark. An Artist Who Discovered the Camera Rather Late Gyula Halász, born on 9 September 1899, was a formally tra

The Brilliant Fusion: Brassaï & Bresson — Two Masters, One Challenge That evening we set ourselves a particularly unusual creative task: combine the moody, nocturnal black-and-white atmosphere of Brassaï with the principles of Henri Cartier-Bresson, master of the dynamic, captured instant. We wanted our pictures to be colourful and alive, yet still mysterious. The key phrase was: blurred movement beside sharp, fixed elements.

That magical—and suspiciously dark—time of year has arrived when the Sun decides, “I've had enough for today,” and clocks off early. Perfect conditions for us, the dark knights of photography, to head outside and make images with a story, atmosphere and perhaps a touch of mystery. Photography's first (and most annoying) law is simple: a photograph needs light. At night? There isn't much of it. But who said we had to play by the rules? Night photography isn't about perfect il

Introduction: The Photographer Who Didn't Want to Be a Photographer Man Ray—born Emanuel Radnitzky—was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Brooklyn. His parents (his father was a tailor) may have hoped he would choose a respectable profession, but Emanuel was drawn to art. Imagine the family tension when young Emanuel brought a nude model home to his studio. After changing his name to Man Ray to distance himself from the past, he moved to Paris, the epicentre of Dada and Su

Hello, Light Hunters and Surreal Adventurers! Have you ever felt that reality is just a little too... real? 🙄 That everyday scenes are missing that strange, dreamlike, almost otherworldly vibration? If so, welcome to the club. Today we'll learn how to make surreal images—not by taking the lazy “I'll fix it in Photoshop” route, but by learning to think in black and white before we even press the shutter. Get ready. Your brain may feel slightly dizzy.

I'll bet you a coffee you've seen that photograph. You know the one. Black and white, Paris, a couple kissing passionately in the middle of the street, the soft silhouette of the city hall in the background, and the whole world seems to have stopped around them. Its title: “The Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville”. That photograph is royalty among posters. It hung in practically every 1990s student room, on café walls, and probably in your aunt's kitchen too, right next to a “Home Sw

Written by Uncle Brandon (or Aunt Brandon, depending on who's reading — but let's stick with Lord of the Lights). Hello, little artists, serious photographers, and everyone who simply wants their Instagram to look less like a blurry accident this year. Today I'm revealing The Big Secret — the thing that makes Christmas photos so dreamy you can practically smell the gingerbread instead of scorched upholstery. The best news?

Our story began in autumn 2024 within the Vienna Hungarian School (BMI). What started as a photography course for parents, first with five and then eight participants, quickly grew beyond the school's walls. The desire to create together — and the potential behind it — became too strong to remain a small course. By April 2025, BMI Fotoklub Wien had officially been founded.

Hello, night-time light hunters and Instagram warriors! The big bang is coming: that one evening of the year when we all point our phones at the sky as if we were trying to contact a very bright, distant civilisation to the soundtrack of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But between us, let's be honest: most fireworks photos that land in our galleries the next morning look less like reality and more like smeared poster paint produced by a tipsy preschooler.