Our guest on 03.08.2008

Star Photographer Jim Rakete Jim Rakete (born Günther Rakete, January 1, 1951 in Berlin) is a German photographer and photojournalist. Best known for his black and white portraits of famous faces, with his legendary charm he gets celebrities to show sides of themselves that have never been seen before.

Jim Rakete has resisted the onslaught of digital photography and continues to use analogue technology – because he says he doesn't want to abandon the old school craft of the darkroom. As far as he's concerned, digital photography fails to reflect reality, because it allows for too much retouching.

Jim Rakete is a man with friends in high places. He is close to Otto Schily, former German interior minister, and was among Gerhard Schröder's celebrity supporters in his 2005 election campaign.

We'll be talking to Jim Rakete about photography, culture and history -- and life in contemporary Germany.