About me

My name is david biene. I live in Berlin/ Germany and work as a freelance photographer. I did a lot of music photography, portraits of creatives and fashion shootings. Lemmy Kilmister, Mike Ness, T.C. Boyle and Josh Homme are only some I had the pleasure to work with.

Aside of this I work on free projects for exhibitions that got shown in Lebanon, Japan, Chile and Germany so far. But the biggest of the projects I realized so far is HOPPED-UP. It’s my first fine art photography coffeetable book. And it’s what all this is about.

I’ve been into old motorcycles and cars for ever. Even as a little boy I was fascinated by the forms and looks and of course the sounds- and that’s what I’m still. Also looking at my music favourites one could always find rockabilly and rhythm’n’blues with my records of punkrock and that kind.

What ‘Hopped-Up’ is about

In 2001 this suddenly all came to live discovering that there was actually a lively scene for all this. And even more: people actually built those cars by themselves and race them! There were bands playin wild rockabilly and rhythm’n’blues themselves! It was simply amazing.

I stepped into a small world of adrenalin, gas and oil on the one hand and friendship, music and partying on the other.

It felt like a counterpart to today’s computerized life and that’s what fascinated me even more.

For me as a photographer it was like a reflex action: I had to document this. It didn’t take me long to decide that I would like to make a book about this culture.

To show the realness of this scene and the authenticity I decided to shoot this project entirely on film. Also I determined there’d  be no staging and no retouching of any of the photographs.

Every photo you see is the way I found it along my way.

And this very way lead me to several places all over Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, over in the UK, Belgium and all the way down to Spain in the south. I’ve been to races, Parties, barbecues and to people’s homes and garages to take photos and do interviews. 

From developping the concept and starting to work on it in 2003 it took me over 5 years for travelling around and collecting material. Another 1,5 years it took me to put it all together and finally publish it in 2009.

For those 5 years I paid all the expenses for traveling and film material from my own pocket and invested massive amounts of my time to make this what I wanted to be my book like.

The book

With the help of the amazing graphic designer (and since then good friend) Sascha Minde I put together  240 pages of mainly black-and-white photography, an introductional text written by me as well as 11 interviews all in English language. Printed on two different kinds of paper the pages found themselves in a hard cover of 12 to 9 inch ( 30 x 22,5 cm ) 

To round up the whole experience I wanted the ears of the spectator to get into it, too. So I recorded one of the hot rod races and put it as a 1 hour soundsphere on a CD. A second CD that I compiled from the great Rockabilly and Rhythm'n'Blues archives of Rhythm Bomb Records plays 13 rare songs. The first song even is exclusively written and recorded by Berlin guitar legend Tex Morton for the book and is only available with it.

Great success and seeing it let die

HOPPED-UP was released by a small publishing house situated in Berlin Kreuzberg in June 2009.

Only 3,5 months later the first print run of 1000 pieces was sold out.  My book was no longer available though a lot of people were still asking for it.

While signing the contract it was said we’d start with 1000 copies having the option to print it again at any time. And that’s what I expected and with me a lot of people as the international interest for the book didn’t die.

But: IT DIDN’T HAPPEN.  My book was a great success but they just let it die.

Fact is: that publishing house will not release a 2nd print run of my book HOPPED-UP I’ve been working for more than 5 years and still do.

I was pretty shocked. Then I started looking for another way to get it out again.

In 2011 I found a new publisher who is totally into the book and would love to get it out again. But for them it’s a risk as the book already was another publishing company’s product.

They need 10000 € or 12500 USD of the printing costs to be covered by me.

That’s a great offer of a very sympathic and high quality publisher.

But: I don’t have 10000 € or 12500 USD.

It's YOU who can bring it back to life!

This is why I need you out there! You lovers of photography! And lovers of the ANALOGUE photography, of the true and the real! Lovers of the lively niches of society and of youth cultures! You over there, enthusiasts of the style of the American 1940s- 50s. You and you with your love for racing and hopped-up engines on the track. And you with your dancing shoes loving the Jive and the Blues Boppers.

It’s all in here. Hopped-Up is a manifest for a passionate, lively and true scene made out of love and fascination.

Please support me to bring Hopped-Up to a second print run.

Love is black&white.

        Uncle Sally*s magazine (GER)

 Straight from the core of life. STERN.de magazine (GER)

                        Essential.  LODOWN Magazine (GER)

    Ageless & beautiful   WARP Magazine (JAP)

Passion is the fuel. Great Book!

         Cole Foster/ Salinas Boys, So-Cal, USA

Where your money goes and what you’ll get for it

I think I put together some nice Thank-you-gifts and packages for your funding. Check them out – I hope you like my stuff!

Your money is needed and will be used for covering one half of the printing costs. The other half the new publisher’s goin to cover.

If we should not be able to successfully fund this 10.000 € or 12500 USD the book is not gonna get reprinted anytime soon. It would be a very hard throwbag for me as the work of all in all 7 years would have been for nothing. I really count on you people and I’m sure you’ll like what you get as did the 900 buyers of the first print run.

If there should even be more money coming in I would be really grateful because that’d mean we would be able to put the two CDs in the book again. Also I would try to still have two different kinds of paper in your book, too, as it was in the first ones. So we wouldn’t be forced to only offer the sounds as a download link and shrink down to just one paper kind.

Well and then I’m hoping and planning to get some new exhibitions on. Money is needed and greatly appreciated for this part of it too.

If for whatever reason we can't make it and do not reach the goal of course I'll send back the money you submitted. However, if you want to get your shirt or print anyways even if there's not enough funds to print the second print run of the book I'll make you these and send them out to you.

Your help on all channels

But you can help much more and beyond the financial part.

I’d love to see that you spread the word about this book to your friends. If you become a fan of this I’m sure there are friends around you who will love it to. Tell them!

And also I’d be very happy to get your help on the exhibition issue. If you run a gallery or you know someone who does please have close look!

Even if you live next to a gallery that you love and where my work would fit in:  I’d be very happy to get some clues on this from you, too!