Experiment of a blog

Was thinking to add a small blog to my about page here and just write a bit about stuff which comes to my mind. Things I want to share with interested people, with people which have an interest into photography or want to get to know me a bit better.

These short articles will be written quickly without much moderation and proof reading so please apologize if the english here is not perfect.

One question I get asked frequently is how I got into photography. The real addiction started in 2008 I think when I bought my first DSLR a Nikon D40. It was a digital camera with a crop sensor which made me feel like a semi pro. Before I had a couple of small digital cameras and the I was younger I used my mums film camera on school trips. The photos I took were never good. I believe I had a good eye for beautiful scenes but not the skills to capture them so my photos didn’t do the subjects justification. As well and this is until today the case I preferred to shoot scenes without people in the pictures. This is something I still want to work on.

Back to 2008 when I bought my first camera I had no glue what I am getting into. Had no idea about anything and slowly slowly learned how a camera works. I was interested in the technical part and still are and this was a big part which I always loved. Looking at my pictures from that time is no good idea and it took many years until my photos became decent. I would say it took more than 5 years.

Oh yes and by the way as you have not guessed it already I am an auto didactic. Never studied photography. I learned online and with and from a good friend.

In 2014 I started to do photography as a freelancer full-time against advice from many people saying that photography is dead, etc.

On the other hand since around two years now I had almost no assignments. This is due the move to the UK and the Covid crisis from 2020 on. Do I want to get back into the photography business? Yes definitely but not at any cost. By that I mean I want to shoot for cool people, do jobs I like and not just for the money.

What camera do you use is another frequent question I want to talk about a bit.

As said before I started with Nikon D40. My next camera was a Nikon D300 then D700 and then tried Olympus for 2 years. Mirrorless was trendy and the cameras were small and compact. Also they looked great with their nostalgic design. But then I wanted to have a full frame camera with a high resolution and went back to Nikon. Btw when I switched to Olympus I sold all my Nikon gear and then after the Olympus MFT period I bought into the Nikon system again. And until today I use Nikon. It’s not that I find Nikon the best and only one for me. I am sure other brands have also great cameras but I was used to the Nikon system and because I never had an issue with any Nikon camera it didn’t cross my mind to use anything else. There is one brand which caught my attention many years ago but more about this later.

So basically what I learned in all the years and what I answer to people when they ask me about my camera is that it’s not the camera but the lenses which make the difference. Good glass is everything. For that reason I have two lenses I shoot almost everything with and those are my 35mm F1.4 and the 85mm F1.4. Those are my standard lenses and only for landscape or Architecture I would use a wide angle zoom lens. Obviously there are and were more lenses in the camera back like a macro lens, a fisheye, a super zoom and a conventional 50mm F1.4 but they rarely see the day light and some of them I even sold for that reason.

Another day another...

write up here on my blog thinking why bother and doing this at all. Who cares about it. Future generations no, my children also not as I have only one. Nevertheless I am in the mood so I do and this is something very important to me. To do what I want and what I love and I am grateful that I can.

Let me take you back in time to my childhood which happened in the 80’s. I like to think back at this time and think that I grew up in good times.

There was peace and order in Germany except for the cold war which I didn’t know much about at this time. Too young and not interested into politics.

We lived near the forest which was my playground. In those forests was an American army base with nuclear rockets and highly secure. It was a strange feeling when we went for a Sunday walk along the fences, barbed wires, tanks, aircrafts, watch towers and heavily armed soldiers. Never will forget those pictures in front of my eyes.

In the city I lived we also had a big factory right in the center of the village. They produced chassis for cars and camper vans and you could see them on the company grounds. Later I was lucky enough to do an apprenticeship in this company which exists until today.

Photography was not on my horizon in my teenage years but the first mountain bikes appeared on the market. I did ride a crappy BMX for a while and when MTB’s came out I was hooked. My first MTB I got through a point system by distributing magazines. Cantilever brakes, fat tires and 18 gears meant the world to me and got me into an apprenticeship in a bike shop finished up with a degree as merchant 3.5 years later. Loved riding for many years and went through various bikes until the era of driving came and riding got into the background. That must have been a brake from riding Mountainbikes for at least ten years. Never lost the contact to the industry due to friends and continued to help out in a bike shop sometimes.

In the meantime I gained interest in off-road motorbiking and coming from mountain biking this was an awesome sport. Going further and wilder with the help of a motor was fantastic. Frequently went with friends to Italy, Romania and other places to ride and live adventures and at this time my urge to capture those moments started. GoPro’s didn’t exist yet and the video cameras were not made for outdoor sports but I enjoyed to DIY a video setup and later on took a camera with me on our trips. The photos are rather documentary than artistic and well composed.

Then one day I decided to leave Germany for good and moved to Malta. A new chapter in my life began. Everything different, everything new, no perspective and no plan. A brake out from the system and the 9to5 job. My passion was photography and my dream was to be a professional photographer one day.

Here we are today and the above should give a more detailed idea about me and maybe from here on the blog can start

31.12.22

Last day of the year and a typical date to reflect what happened this year, what do I have experienced and what do I have achieved. I am writing this just down from my lips without much concept so apologize if it gets a bit chaotic.

It’s easier to look back at the year with the most recent events that took place.

There was a visit at my parents in December and a visit at my daughters University city. Fulfilled myself a dream and got my first Leica M and I never was so excited and happy about any camera than this old brick of brass.

Then there was this 70’s styled photo shoot which photos I will publish in January. Really enjoyed this shooting and it was the first bigger shooting I did in the last two years except for weddings.

Late summer I was a couple of weeks in Spain to visit friends and this was definitely one of the highlights. I helped out behind a bar for three weeks, could mountain bike with new friends and simply enjoyed the time with my friends. Did photo shoots with the local bike shop and in return had bikes available to ride. Soon going back to visit.

Went the first time to bike parks which was so different to our trails in the Surrey Hills. Want to do more bike park trips next year.

This was the first summer I spent in the UK. The summers before I have been abroad. I liked it and did what I always do when the weather is dry - go riding.

My sister came to visit for a couple of days, a very good friend also came to visit with her daughter.

In spring I was in Germany by car to visit family and ride and my nephew came with me back to the UK and I showed him the Surrey Hills on the bikes obviously.

Im Malta I had a few assignments, so I spent some days there.

Overall the year was good for me, not really any downsides. What are the achievements I ask myself at this point. Well I am healthy, have a lovely partner and family and friends.

January 31st 2023

Altea at the Costa Blanca in Spain is where I spent the last couple of weeks.

The sun shines more often and the temperatures are higher than in the UK this time of the year. Altea is a charming old town by the sea.

From our apartment we can see the sunrise and the sunset. To one side we have the sea view and to the other side the mountains. The light in the mornings and evenings are mesmerizing.

Most days I would get up before sunrise and be out to take photos. Only have my small Leica M9 with me. My favorite subject in the morning would be the fishery when the fishing boats arrive. I am not the only spectator but many other men stand around to watch the fishermen arrive and unload their catch.