JONATHAN CHERRY: What was the last photography book you purchased?

DANIEL AUGSCHÖLL: The last photo book I bought was Tim Davis’ My Life in Politics. I don’t know why I didn’t get this book earlier. It is from 2006 and when I first saw his photographs online a few years ago I felt immediately attracted by them. Seeing the printed book is of course even better. His vision really impresses me; he makes smart, complex work with a unique eye. What attracts you at first sight is the surface of the images, the quality; apparently simple compositions depicting ordinary situations, but when you take a closer look you’ll notice that there is a lot more behind them.

I’m really looking forward to his forthcoming book The New Antiquities that will be published by Damiani this spring.

JC: What were the last two things to inspire you?

DA: Watching interviews with Ingmar Bergman and thinking about the work he did together with Sven Nykvist. The other thing was to hear Alec Soth talking about his work in Milan a few days ago.

JC: What is ‘Celestial Planisphere’ all about and where did the ideas stem from?

DA: The series Celestial Planisphere is essentially about us, about how we relate to our surroundings, to nature. It is about how we create things, but it shows also our fear of being alone.

I usually go out and walk. Then I wait to see if something happens. I don’t always know what I want to photograph but I have a certain atmosphere in mind that I want to transpose to film. It is a very slow process.

JC: What is the above (first) image all about - I have always been intrigued by this one?

DA: I took this image in the mountains next to my home. They were making a kind of path through the woods and so they had to cut off a large amount of trees. This one grabbed my attention because I immediately saw this colored patch that turned out to be dried resin. I don’t know where the other white stain came from, but I think it kind of looks like an abstract painting.

JC: What is your current project all about?

DA: Lately I had been working on a new body of work made in black and white. It is about the original path that connects Italy to Austria through the Brenner Pass. The pass is one the most important traffic connections between northern and southern Europe. At the moment the two countries are building an enormous railway tunnel (world’s second longest tunnel) that passes right through the mountains in order to avoid traffic on the pass. The impact on nature and its consequences will be huge. I’m not documenting the building of the tunnel directly, instead I’m more interested in showing what’s on the surface, the small towns, parking lots etc.

JC: What is next in the pipe line for you photographically and for 2010?

DA: I’m about to move to Berlin and I’m very excited about it. I can’t wait to start a new project over there. In these last months I didn’t have the chance to photograph very much so I hope to make a lot of pictures in 2010.

There are many talented photographers whose work I admire and so I’m also planning to publish printed portfolios as a sort of B-Side to Ahorn Magazine but it’s not that easy to find enough funds.

JC: Any other thoughts?

DA: Right now I’m working on a new issue of Ahorn Magazine, to be published in March, and I’m very happy about how it will look. So stay tuned.