One of my most favorite areas of photography is architecture. Not only do I like capturing impressive buildings during my travels, but I also do commercial work. Of the jobs I have gotten during my time, my standout favorite was this 2.7 million euro villa here in Stuttgart.
Believe it or not, this was one of my first jobs as an amateur. I spent 5 or 6 months cold calling realtors and hotel owners, which led me to the realtor selling this home. I asked him if he would like new pictures, and he amazingly just asked for my price and if I was available the following weekend. I was so inexperienced, I hadn't even prepared a price and said 100€ out of nowhere. In retrospect this turned out to be far below a fair wage, but I didn't mind.
I was greeted by a very old, happy man. Nothing about him said to me that he was wealthy. He explained that he used to work in restoration of ancient artifacts. He said he was taught at a school for Hitler's Youth, but that he loves foreigners and modern Germany. He gave me a beer while I worked.
I was honestly both impressed and confused by the house. I had really never seen so much living space in a single German household, but the design itself was still from the middle ages. The concrete walls were at least a foot thick, and the ground floor had bars on all of the windows.
As is surprisingly typical in German houses, there were 4 floors in this house. The living room and kitchen were located on the second floor. Looking out over one of the best views in Stuttgart (called The Old Wine Slope) from the comfort of a spacious second story living room was sublime. This was undoubtedly my favorite part of the house. In the living room was also a glass case displaying a doll collection from his wife, whose possessions he had placed in cases after her death. He asked me to photograph them all before I left so he could always remember her after moving.
Last but not least came the top floor, where he actually lived. There he excitedly showed me a digital printer with which he planned to print my images, although he had never used a computer before. There was another cozy living room, a bedroom for his son to use, his office, and a small bathroom. It amazed me that this humble, jolly little old man clearly used only the top floor of this breathtaking German relic. That day I got an interesting perspective into the life of well deserved and deep, generational wealth.
