‘The photo we want to take is closer than we think’: Dominic Dähncke’s greatest cellphone image | Pictures

“Telekinesis,” says Dominic Dähncke, when requested how this errant broom is standing upright. He took this shot on the rooftop of his dwelling in El Médano, Tenerife; a communal terrace stuffed with laundry rooms and cleansing provides. This was 2021, within the throes of a Covid lockdown, so he would stroll round in circles on the rooftop of his constructing, having fun with the recent air.

“To be honest, there was a nail stuck in the wall, but I didn’t put it there,” he admits. One morning, he absent-mindedly propped the broom in opposition to the nail and seen that it stayed at a 45-­diploma angle. He returned to the rooftop for a number of days, ready till the shadow of the small ceiling above matched, then captured the second together with his cellphone.

“Someone has sold us the idea that if you like street photography, for example, you have to travel to New York, London or Paris,” Dähncke says. “Now, obviously, if you’re a fan of photographing giraffes and you live in Tokyo, you’re screwed. But I think there’s a middle ground where we often lose ourselves, and the photo we want to take is closer than we think, often just around the corner. It is our responsibility to cultivate a curious gaze like that of a child, the sense of wonder of a tourist visiting our city or town.

“During that time, I learned to appreciate the little things, like the space and air on my roof. After the pandemic, I tend to forget I don’t need much,” Dähncke provides. “This photo reminds me of that.”