Getting interested in photography was a long process: Like so many others, I started to take photos while I was traveling and studying abroad, though at first, I took mostly pictures of flowers. Later, I began to take photos of people in the streets and of friends I met during my travels.
Once I had a camera that also had manual options, I also began to discover my direct surroundings better. Since it is a lot more difficult in Germany than in other countries to photograph people in the streets (for various reasons!), I again concentrated on nature, before I discovered the Mauerpark, music and dance!
I don’t like to spend more time than absolutely necessary at the computer, I’m not so much interested in the „cleaned-up“ or carefully staged image. Nor do I only want to see what I already know, I want to be open and discover new things! I like to keep it real, not too polished: that’s often so much more interesting than perfection.
Travels
At university, I studied Chinese and Central Asian Studies (Uzbek, Kyrgyz etc.) and so I travel again and again to these regions, also in order to improve my language skills. At first, friends and family tried to warn me, and so I wanted to show them with my photos that the people there were friendly, that it wasn’t dangerous and that it was unnecessary to be afraid of them!
The fact that I can speak the languages (more or less!) makes it a lot easier to make contact with local people. It also gives me a reason to talk to them! This helped me realize how important conversation and direct contact are for me.
I’m interested in people and not just in exotic, picturesque costumes or an idealized idyll. I want to get to know them and the way they live.
Natur
Photography also gives me a reason to explore the surroundings, to take a closer look and discover animals and flowers that aren’t necessarily considered „beautiful“: spiders, dung beetles and weeds are just as interesting as butterflies and a carefully arranged garden!
Music + Dance:
It all started when I heard the duo Puto Production in 2013 for the first time at the Carnival of Cultures. After that, I found out that they play regularly at Mauerpark and so I went there again and again in order to photograph both the musicians and the audience. Meanwhile, I know quite a lot of the „regulars“ as well as other bands and musicians.
What I love especially is the music, the atmosphere, the energy, the emotion… all that is just irresistible!