The photo exhibition "The Face of New York" opened its gate. Swiss photographer Christoph Studinka www.studinka-photography.com presents his portfolio on New York City. The images were taken during the last ten years - his classic black & white prints break with many preconceived ideas on the Big Apple. Presenting a portfolio on New York is a risky business. After all, this is the most photographed city in the world. And though Zurich-based photographer Christoph Studinka had plenty of other material (on Tokyo, Mexico, Burma or Paris), he chose New York to break with clichés and preconceived ideas. Studinka uses a Leica M4 with black & white film and shares Cartier Bresson's criticism about those who endlessly talk about photo technology. Instead, Studinka experiments with the photo content. He's interested in the miraculous moment of seeing and framing the image, which is often happening in a matter of seconds. Studinka strolls through the chessboard of New York's streets with his preloaded camera, the lens on f 8, the shutter on 1/125 second, waiting, watching, searching, waiting, wondering, deciding, and instantly shooting the picture of a concerned wall street banker, of a young couple in love at SoHo, of an elegant lady approaching the stretch limousine waiting in front of the Plaza Hotel. He is fascinated by New York's greed and poetry, its success and failure, the symbols for world power and (like Ground Zero) destruction. Of course, Studinka is well aware of the photo icons on New York, made by Elliott Erwitt, Berenice Abbott or Walker Evans. But he likes the challenge and from his other profession as an entrepreneur, he knows about risk and competition. Christoph Studinka's next photo projects include portfolios on Island, Ethiopia and on Zurich. But that is something for the future. He says that he needs time to create a greater distance to his hometown to be able to make a portrait like on New York City. Gallery See 301 Seefeldstrasse 301a, Zurich Switzerland daily 10 AM - 7 PM (Sunday and Monday 1 - 7 PM),