INTERVIEW
What are you doing jobwise
(if photography is not your profession)?
I am at the age of 20 and I just started an apprenticeship in an marketing agency
in September. Before that I served my civilian service where many of my images
came into being (too much free time and too many ideas).
What role does photography play in your
life?
Since I started shooting photography has become more than a hobby for me. It
is my balance in the freetime. Those shooting moments are the ones that let me
relax most. And I ALWAYS take my camera with me because what I hate most are
situations and moments that I cannot capture. I happened to me several times
that I left my camera at home. I regretted it most of the times.
Besides that the contact with other photographers is a very educational and
interesting thing which lets me see photography as a medium for meeting
people. I have met several photographers which I got to know via flickr and I still
am in good contact with many of them. There are also friendships that emerged
from that. Among those meetings there have been many international experiences
with people from other countries such as Switzerland, chile and the USA.
How did you start photographing?
When I started with photography it was more like a means to an end than an appeal
or something like that. I have always been interested in getting along with digital
image processing and someday I started getting into that and teaching myself
everything I needed to know with the help of online tutorials, books etc.
I had no person to ask. When I became better at processing it wasn’t sufficient to
process images from the web anymore because I couldn’t say that those were
“my artworks”. So I took the 5MP compact cam from my parents and started
shooting flowers in the backyard and processing them. The results fascinated me.
What equipment are you using?
From that time on I got out again and again, played around and only two months
later I had decided to buy me a DSLR. I had the money for doing this and so I
bought my Canon EOS 400D + 18-55mm + Canon 50mm f/1.8 + Tamron
70-300mm. I am still using this combo.
When I decided which lenses to buy I didn’t pay attention to tests. I only decided
according to price and focal lengths. I found it senseless to buy lenses for more
than 150 euro since I was a beginner. This attitude did not change since that day.
I am more than happy with my selection.
What is the most difficult thing when you
are shooting?
Focussing in the darkness and shooting portraits of people. But I am working on
both.
What inspires you?
I am getting my inspiration from everything. I view many images on the internet,
I am very attentive when going through the streets or I just play around with all
day stuff on rainy days. And in many cases I just start shooting and the ideas
emerge while doing so. I just point the camera towards everything I find
interesting and almost every time there is something good resulting from that.
Old things are very inspirational too
Have you got a favourite place?
There are many. I have a special affection for old buildings which are spread over
berlin in uncountable numbers. I love it to imagine the stories, looking through
old papers and just absorbing the atmosphere of those places. The biggest
difficulty is it to capture this atmosphere because images only appeal to the eyes.
The special things on location are the different smells, the spiderwebs, the
darkness and somehow the illegality and the danger that is present everywhere
since there are holes in the ground, fragile walls, brads etc. Ccapturing all this in
an image is a big challenge and it always makes me happy when it works out.
A film that has changed your worldview?
I would name those two:
1. The Counterfeiters
2. From Lions and Lambs
What tips can you give to beginners?
Try around and just do it! Dont let yourself be restricted by the expectations of
others. Have fun! This is the most important part and one can recognize that
when viewing the results. Aside from that its very important to know your
equipment. This does not mean reading the manual but that in some situations
its just irreplaceable to know where the important buttons are situated. As
often as I had to change lenses or settings while standing in pitch-black rooms
I now feel that I really KNOW my camera. Besides that this preserves you from
missing moments because you dont know how to adjust the exposure time.