By Pascal Lauener

The first time I meet Regula Kaltenrieder, a qualified acupuncturist, I didn’t know that she was one of the 200 Clown Doctors of the Theodora foundation.

The funny and loud crowd celebrated their 20th anniversary on the Federal Parliament Square in Bern. The foundation was founded in 1993 through the initiative of two brothers, André and Jan Poulie, who decided, in memory of their mother, to name the foundation Theodora. Outside Switzerland, the foundation is currently active in seven countries: England, Belarus, China, Spain, France, Italy and Turkey. After a chat with the media representative of the foundation and several phone calls and e-mails later they accepted a photographer to go on a visit with one of their clown doctors.

Last week I met Regula outside a Lebanese restaurant next to the main hospital, the Insel in Bern. She was drinking a cup of tea and chatting with four other women and the media representative of the foundation, who had to ask the parents for permission to take pictures during my visit with the clown doctor.

At 12:30 they grabbed their big cases on wheels, with all their clown equipment inside, and made their way towards the university children’s hospital. In a nurses cloak room hidden somewhere on a floor in the last corner of a corridor the transformation of the four women into clown doctors began. Changing from their street-ware in to colorful skirts, pants, big shoes and the typical red noses (only one was a blue one). But the biggest difference between an ordinary clown and a clown doctor is their colorful doctor overalls with their personalized name emblazoned on it. After every visit the clowns have to take their overalls to the dry cleaner, to prevent any communicable diseases from spreading.

In 2008 Regula started her work at the Theodora foundation to become a junior clown doctor. From July 2010 she performed for six days a month as Doctor Schmatz. After leaving the cloak room Doctor Schmatz and her colleagues ran through the gray corridors of the hospital cheering up people with their color and clown power on their way to meet their male colleagues.

The first station we visited was neonatology. The smallest and fragile patients hid in their small beds behind their blankets attached to machines bigger than themselves, surely not yet knowing what a clown doctor was. Doc Schmatz explained to me that the most important thing at this station was to show their presence, as regular visitors are not allowed and the clown doctor is one of the first people to see the newborn apart from parents and nurses. She sang a song, chatted with the baby and spoke with the parents. The clown doctors always leave one of their cards with their best wishes and colorful stickers with every visited newborn.

A harsh contrast was the next station we visited – oncology. It’s necessary to visit this ward at the beginning of the tour to prevent the transfer of diseases.

With a low voice Doc Schmatz asked the eight-year-old patient and her father if it was okay to come in for a visit. Behind every door was a different character, a different fate, and the clown doctors had to react quickly, adapting their program. From performing with balloons, joking, singing loudly, performing magic tricks to playing a quick round of poker, they did everything that helped the children to escape from the hospital environment and spend time in a world of color, music, magic and humor. During the visit I saw how important their work is, not only for the children but perhaps even more so for the parents and other relatives visiting the young patient. It gave them a break from the situation they are in. Another important task for the clown doctors was to always have a second spell to neutralize the first one, otherwise the clown doctors would walk out of the rooms without ever getting back their magic wands, hats or cuddly toys.

During a break Doc Schmatz spoke about her personal reasons for doing this work. Regula always wanted to become a clown but never found the courage to enroll at one of the famous clown schools. She continued to act with her own theater troupe, doing improv-theater and taking singing lessons. During her studies she saw for the first time the work of a clown doctor in a video and after graduation she finally signed up at a clown school.

Knowing that the Theodora foundation was looking for clown doctors she applied directly after finishing school and started her training at the foundation. Doc Schmatz likes her profession as a clown doctor. She enjoys always having different situations to deal with, having the chance to meet fascinating people and says on every visit you get back something for yourself. Sure, Regula also has other reasons for choosing this profession – it’s fun, they laugh a lot and enjoy playing. “I am very happy to play with all my talented colleagues together and this work is just extremely enriching,” she says. Of course, there are also challenging moments like handling the death of a child you often visited during their long term stay in the hospital. That’s the point where the clown doctor begins to take it personally.

During their short breaks between patients the clown doctors exchange experiences, show each other new magic tricks or chat about completely different subjects. After three hours I observed that the clown doctors were getting tired and had to cheer themselves up to finish the last visits with the same effort they had started with.

Taking pictures in a hospital setting is a difficult task. In my view as a photographer you have to face the patient and their relatives with all the respect. For me it was very important to cause as little distraction as possible so the clown doctor could do her work like I wasn’t there. I was surprised by the number of signed permissions to take pictures we had and I think this shows the good and trusted relationship between the patients, parents, hospital personal, clown doctors and the Theodora foundation.

Due to a congenital heart defect (situs inversus totalis) I know the inside and the corridors of the Insel hospital too well. As the paintings, the smell and the light have not changed much in the last thirty years it was a flashback to when we first visited oncology. The father sitting next to the big hospital bed and the pillar with the infusions reminded me too well of my parents sitting in those chairs trying to entertain me or, more importantly, just being there during the never ending days and weeks in the hospital. During my time in hospital the clown doctors had not been founded yet.

I am pleased that the clown doctors conduct their important visits and happy that I am able to report on their great work. After 5pm we left the children’s hospital, tired but happy and Doctor Schmatz transformed back to Regula on the way back home.

Covering the big annual air show of the Swiss Air Force on the Axalp in the Bernese Oberland starts with me checking the weather radar for the next day, hoping for a big blue sky.

SLIDESHOW: SUPERSONIC JETS

As a photographer you know there will be great pictures full of action, because you are at the same altitude where the fighter jets pass you at full speed. This is a very rare situation.

This year’s Airshow on the Axalp attracted more then 7,000 spectators. Most of who hiked up to the 2200 meters above sea level high Swiss Air force training ground on the Axalp. The photographers with their equipment, and other selected guests, were offered a lift from the Air Base in Meiringen (in the valley) up to the Axalp by a Swiss Air Force Super Puma. The five minute ride was the first part of this extraordinary assignment. We could see all the spectators hiking up the steep mountain or those who had already been waiting a long time for the big show, shortly before having to get out of the helicopter on a small ridge on the Axalp near the control tower.

After checking out the positions and preparing the cameras, there was time to wait and enjoy the sun and the mountain panorama. Right on time, the first fighter jets passed low over our heads. Fire flares announced the start of the show.

This year we didn’t only cover the main event, but more importantly we covered the first participation of a Swedish Saab Gripen fighter jet with which the Swiss Army plans to replace their old Tiger fleet. An Air force speaker always announces the direction of the next plane so we know which way to look. But, it’s a fast business and as soon we see the jets, they are away the next second – there is action after action.

All fighter jets, helicopters and parachutists of the Swiss Air Force want to show their skills in front of this big audience. This annual show is also a form of advertisement for the Air Force, to garner support from politicians and the Swiss public.

After a quick 90 minutes had passed, this year’s show was over and I had pictures full of action to send. My favorite picture is the one of a Swiss Air Force F18 fighter jet releasing flares with a cloud around its hull.

But the job is not done after taking the pictures. Working for a news agency means you need to transmit your images quickly, so that they get to clients as soon as possible. Up on the Axalp, there is no signal to transmit pictures so it’s necessary to organize a ride back to the Air Base in Meiringen as soon as possible after the show ends. The VIP’s take priority for a quick return, but thanks to a very understanding army officer and the media team, we made it on the fourth or fifth Super Puma leaving the Axalp.

Back in Meiringen I sent a quick selection of pictures from the Swedish Gripen directly from my camera to a colleague in Zurich, who captioned and sent them to the Pictures Desk in Berlin. I was in my car on the way to find a better signal to transmit the rest of the pictures. All-in-all, it was a very good day with cool frames – and a good memory to cheer me up whenever I have to cover a boring news conference or a rainy soccer game.

When Switzerland suddenly became a sailing nation after Alinghi won the 2003 America’s Cup for the first time and then had to defend the Cup in Valencia, I had the chance to cover sailing. Since a young boy, I have been attracted to boats, more so to container vessels rather then sailing ships. However after covering the America’s Cup in Valencia, I became fascinated by sailing. Challenged by the elements (wind, weather and water) and on a shaking rib (boat) it’s not so easy to get a good shoot of the action. But with the help of my Spanish colleagues and some old sailing photography professionals I made my way to the Olympic sailing in Quindao followed by another America’s Cup and now to the sailing event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Benoit Tessier, a Reuters photographer from Paris, and I arrived in Weymouth on July 23 and started our coverage of the games with press conferences and training sessions of the different sailing classes. Every morning on our way to the ribs (boats for the media) with our heavy Peli cases, mentally checking that you have packed everything for a day out at sea, the sun cream and the oil gear for the sea spray and rain, you hope you will return with some cool frames.

On board the rib the first thing I do is to get my underwaterhousing and my cameras ready for action. I put the underwaterhousing on the floor of the rib so it’s ready whenever we have the chance to come as close as possible to a sailor. I also have the two cameras one on a 500mm and the other on a 28-300mm lens back in the Pelicase. On the way out of the port you make your plans together with the captain of the rib and your colleagues on board. But as they are also your competitors you need to find a way so that everyone gets the things they need as there is no place for dispute on a moving rib.

So, for the three weeks spent covering the Olympics I am on the same rib, with the same driver and the same photographers. This might seem boring but it makes sense. After the first days we know each other by the expressions on our faces and it makes life easier and safer for all. It also ensures we have a lot of fun. We are four photographers with four big Peli cases and a driver on the rib so moving is complicated and you have to take care that you are not blocking someone’s shot.

The most important person on the rib is the driver; he makes your picture happen. He needs to be a good sailor himself, having the courage to sneak into position right before the action, stopping at the right moment to put the underwaterhousing into the sea as the ships pass by and speeding up so as not to miss a single shot.

I use the underwaterhousing to incorporate water into the picture. For me, these photos look like you are swimming in the water and the ship is just passing you by. It also varies the file alongside our close-up sailing action pictures. At the Olympics you not only need to cover the winners but all the nations competing. As the light sometimes changes quickly at sea it gives you various moods during the five to six hours spent out on the rib.

We have now started covering the competitions with more and more races to cover every day. The weather has worsened but I hope we will not get too wet during our stay in Weymouth and Portland and I can look after my sunburn.