109 Comments
User's avatar
Manuela Thames's avatar

I almost got teary-eyed looking at these diptychs for the first time. :) They are fantastic, Susanne!

It’s so great that you used the minimal one with the “ugly” house three times. I love all of them!

Thank you for this, Susanne! I am so excited to share mine on Sunday. I have truly loved working with you and hope to do it again sometime.

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

I am so glad to hear you like them. The "ugly" house was the one I had the most fun with. I actually made another one (will share it with you), but stopped myself at some point.

I really enjoyed our collaboration and couldn't wait to share them. I am definitely in for another collaboration with you! =)

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Yes. Definitely! Also, I love that we didn’t share them with each other beforehand. It was worth the wait and so nice to see it all put together.

Expand full comment
Ken's avatar

What a neat idea! And with wonderful results! Quite creative.

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thank you!

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

I also love how you used the one double exposure I created for this. It’s the Saint Paul cathedral. It works so well with your image!

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

When I first looked at your photos, I didn't think I would be able to find "match", so I didn't really look for one. It was only later, when I looked at my photos alongside yours, that I saw that these two could work.

Expand full comment
søren k. harbel's avatar

Really lovely! Clearly your dogs had some good ideas while walking and stopped in all the right places ;0) I am surprised that you were able to make such good matches on a single walk! That is truly impressive. Well done both! Great to see...

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thanks, Soren!

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you, Søren! First, I was a bit worried about finding enough responses on a single walk, too! I was actually surprised it worked so well. But I was collaborating with a pro when it comes to diptychs! Manuela sent me the perfect mix of photographs!

Expand full comment
Lee Anne White's avatar

Really enjoyed seeing what both of you created and posted! Wonderful collaborative project and use of Substack. Thanks for sharing.

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you for your feedback, Lee Anne!

Expand full comment
Ari Magnusson's avatar

I enjoyed this collaboration, these pairings are so clever and well thought out.

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thanks a lot, Ari! Glad you like them. It is interesting how Manuela’s photos made me respond.

Expand full comment
Ralph Turner's avatar

A superb collaboration. You've created an excellent set of diptychs that complement Manuela's beautifully.

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you for checking them out, Ralph!

Expand full comment
J Callender Photography's avatar

Love it!

Love the 6th diptych.

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you, Joe!

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thank you!

Expand full comment
Anne Silver Mondinot's avatar

Bravo to both of you ! What a beautiful and inspiring way to build community. It’s wonderful to see your photos together. They’re like stanzas in the same poem. Thank you for sharing them!

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you so much for your feedback! This community is very special and rare for a virtual community. I feel lucky to be a part of it and being able to collaborate with such talented artists like Manuela! So inspiring…

Expand full comment
Donn Dobkin's avatar

Both of you are amazing artists. I love these!

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

This is so kind of you to say! Thank you, Donn! I hope you will enjoy part two as well!

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thanks, Donn!

Expand full comment
Kevin Hansen's avatar

This is great!

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thank you!

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you, Kevin!

Expand full comment
Marta Blum's avatar

Beautiful

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thanks, Marta!

Expand full comment
Todd Haughton's avatar

Wow, what an amazing collaboration between you two! I love that you each created your responses during your respective walks rather than searching through your archives—it adds another dimension to the finished project. The "ugly" house pairings were my favorite. I can’t wait to see part two on Sunday!

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thank so much, Todd! I am so excited to share mine. :)

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you so much, Todd! That was my favorite part of this collaboration - not just rummaging through the archive, but actually going out and finding responses. Well, and the creation of these diptychs, of course.

And yes, I can wait for Sunday. I haven't seen Manuela's yet!

Expand full comment
Hanz's avatar

Really interesting and creative practice. Thanks for sharing. They worked out so well.

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thank you so much!

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you, Hanz!

Expand full comment
Framing-the-Story w/AK's avatar

Very cool, ladies!

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thank you so much, Alex!

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thanks a lot, Alex!

Expand full comment
James Hider's avatar

A fantastic collaboration between two of my favourite Substack photographers. I found myself going back to relook at these diptychs - your different photographic styles create an interesting contrast that is fascinating. I think I prefer the darker images, especially the one with the cathedral - I am not sure why, but it's a compelling image.

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

James, thank you so much for taking the time to look at them. The cathedral one fascinates me, too, as I didn't expect Susanne to use this one. I love what she created with it. It works beautifully together.

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Ha! This is super interesting! Now I want to know which once you think I would use!? 😃

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you so much, James! The cathedral one was a complete surprise to me. I made the photo of the roots because every time I walk by that tree, the scene draws me in. Not because I thought it is a good match. I only realized that later at home. This diptych has so many layers - which I think works quite well.

Expand full comment
Mark Foard's avatar

A great collaboration! Well done to the both of you.

Expand full comment
Manuela Thames's avatar

Thanks, Mark!

Expand full comment
Susanne Helmert's avatar

Thank you, Mark! Watch out for Manuela's post on Sunday! =)

Expand full comment