Photography
Watch the world trough a lense
About 15 years ago, I bought my first camera: a very bulky (and above all cheap) Canon EOS 1000D. Even though the lens rattled and the images were reluctantly haunted by ISO noise, this was the beginning of a journey viewing the world through a lens.
The journey started with rather clichéd landscape and nature shots, long exposures, and adventurous editing in Photoshop. Photography feels similar to learning an instrument. At first, making music sounds like noise as you learn the techniques, then it's all about "practice, practice, practice" to eventually find your own style and create harmony. I had a long practice phase. With long breaks.
The challenging factor is that you quickly reach a plateau because you can't "press the shutter" any better; instead, you have to learn to see the world as a stage and have an eye for interesting subjects. While the whole surrounding is constantly in motion, people are hectically rushing from A to B, a photo only captures a fraction of a second. And therein lies the magic of photography for me – capturing and preserving an interesting moment that will never be repeated.
I found my photographic signature mainly during two backpacking trips through the Balkans. I had no idea what to expect and what I would see, and that influenced my photography. Instead of taking pre-planned portraits or thinking in advance how to capture a mountain from the most majestic angle, I found it much more rewarding to be constantly on the lookout for exciting subjects, not knowing what scene will unfold next. And a picture can also have corners and edges. Photographs are far more interesting for the viewer if they can get involved in the situation depicted or have to reflect on it - which is more difficult with a perfectly idyllic landscape shot.
Today, I photograph with a Fujifilm XE-4, a very small and handy camera that allows me to react spontaneously and remain "unnoticed" to capture situations as naturally as possible. I don't know where the journey will take me next; perhaps I'll soon photograph stars and planets, but I look forward to sharing that with you as well.
