Epiphanies (2016-2017)
Over the years, I reached a point where I was pretty confident with myself and my photographic output. Up until then I had been photographing mostly on my own or with closer friends, but never discussed photography with photo enthusiasts outside of my circle. However, in 2016 I finally felt brave enough to seek exchange with other, more ambitious photographers.
In the autumn of said year, I visited a meeting of the Society of German Nature Photographers (GDT) for the first time. I brought along a portfolio of what I considered to be thirty of my very best images, asking for critical feedback. And critical feedback I got. The other photographers looked at the images very objectively and with fresh eyes, and they spoke their opinion freely and honestly. This much-appreciated feedback made me realize that some of what I deemed to be my best photography was in fact rather average once you consider the bigger picture. It was eye-opening, to say the least, and I began looking for new ways to push my landscape photography efforts.
The second event that helped me push my photographical boundaries came only a few months later. In August 2017, I spent eight days in the Dolomites on a workshop lead by professional photographers Erin Babnik and Alexandre Deschaumes. To leave your everyday life behind and to concentrate solely on studying and photographing the landscape for such a long timespan was a new experience for me. Throw the constant exchange of creative thoughts and ideas into the mix and you can easily imagine that those eight summer days in the Italian Alps had a great impact on me and my idea of landscape photography.
By the end of 2017, after a short but intense period of constantly adjusting my photographic vision, I felt confident again. I had finally found a way to express myself photographically that felt very much my own.