I am photographing since summer 2006. I finished my study and made a holiday trip to Ireland, so i thought it could be a good idea having a “big” camera - and I made myself a present ;)
My beginnings are not worth being mentioned, but from this moment on i started reading a lot about photography.
I have never been involved to photography before, but it took me hard ;)
Today i am using a Olympus E-3 with different lenses from the Zuiko series.
I am just photographing digitally, but i think about trying a analogue 6x6 full frame camera in the further future.
2.) Do you live from Photography?
Definitely, no. I started photography as a hobby 4 years ago, so I am still doing my "normal" job in the office and see myself as a amateur photographer.
But it is getting more and more during the years... Maybe I can live from it sometimes in the future - this would be a dream come true!
3.) You are an accomplished photographer; I have seen you do Architecture, Portraiture, yet you move on to Landscapes or Photojournalism with such an ease. Tell us what attracts you the most, when you have your camera in your hand?
Thanks for that compliments! Because of the short time i am photographing yet, i think i am still trying to find out what kind of photography attracts me the most. I am interested in different kinds....
Architecture is good to intense your view, take look on trivia things, and to train your correctness.. In my opinion it's the best way to optimize your skills in image format.
In portraiture i especially like ethical portraits. By travelling the world, you meet so many interesting people, different from yourself, living in their own little world, with their own little or big problems and points of view. I like talking to them, sometimes with hands and feet, and learning about their life. So if somebody allows me to make a portrait, it's kind of a proof of sympathy and trust.
Right now I am doing a lot in landscape photography. What impresses me most in this part of photography is the possibility to create moods, sometimes even out of realism.
4.) You have a lot of long exposures, I love those from Venice, let me take this chance to congratulate you for being one of the nominees of the Sony World Awards, can you give us an inside of what kind of filters do you use ?
& 5.) Amongst those, which are your favourites?
Thank you so much for the congratulations. Being nominated for the SWP Awards was a big surprise for me and definitely one of the happiest moments in my photographer's life :)
My Venice series was a really conceptual one. I planed this trip and thought about all this Waterscapes there and how I can show a different view on this beautiful city than the typical tourist view.
Of course my filter collection has grown during the last years. Mostly i like the filters from a German company called "B&W", good quality and good prices. My favourite one is the 1000x greyscale, but there is no guideline.
You always need to react on the situation, the weather, the motive, etc. and than choose the right filter. So it is always helpful to have some different filters in your camera bag ;)
6.) Do you do a lot of extra work on your photography, in terms of editing?
Yes. I really can't say how much time i spend on the editing of a photo, but it's a lot- especially for the black&white ones.
I play with the tonal value and light and often I restart from the beginning because i am not satisfied yet.
I think you can put so much mood, life and expressing into a picture by editing it.
I also like "simple things" you can create by editing - for example i like vignetting a lot if it fits the motive.
7.) Is there any hidden secret you would like to share? ;)
I am not the most professional Photoshop actor, so you should really ask someone else for tips on that part ;)
8.) For those you inspire, through your work, what would be your advice for them to achieve good results?
Hm, I hope there is really someone out there who feels inspired by me ;)
"Learning by doing" is the best advice I have for you ... just try and improve by repeating until it fits your idea.
9.) Can you tell us if you have any projects or exhibitions planned for the near future?
There are so many ideas and projects in my head; I just need more time ;)
We are going to visit New York City once again in May, I am really looking forward to!
Some images from Nina´s Portfolio:
