We are happy to share the story of ViewBug community member katjakemnitz. Katja is a creative photographer from Bonn, Germany and shares with us the tricks behind her favorite image plus the inspiration behind her shots.
I love photography because: I have met wonderful people because of it. People who are not afraid to share their creativity and ideas with me. People who see an enrichment in company and no competition. People who give me advice and help without expecting anything in return. People who share my obsession and do not laugh at me when I'm dancing on the street in pink princess dresses. People who stand in front of my camera with confidence, even if I have strange poses and ideas. People who write to me that they like my photos, support me and therefore always give me a new reason to take the camera in hand.
My camera lets me: It's just my medium to express myself. With the help of my camera I tell little stories, as I could never reach with drawings or writing. There's a great quote from Lewis Hine: „If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.“ But the camera is really just a medium for me. I do not put much importance to technology and photograph for years with the Canon 60D. There are far much better cameras, but my priorities lies elsewhere.
I find inspiration when: I draw much inspiration from the forest. The silence, the colors - I just feel safe when I’m in the woods. That’s why I’m often alone in the forest to take self-portraits. I enjoy the peace and silence around me, avoid the gaze at the clock and just take pictures. If I find a nice place, I just sit down, look at my surroundings for a while and think about how I could photograph it. Every few meters the forest changes its face. There are places with huge roots; there are beautiful glades with wild grass, and then incredibly thick wood. On the roadside there are giant fern leaves, even bigger than me and next to them there’s a small birch grove.Because of its diversity, the forest gave me countless photo ideas. Once I started taking photos there, I suddenly saw pictures everywhere. This work is incredibly relaxing. And fairy tales inspires me. I love the kitschy fairy tales with their stereotypes, such as the dark, inscrutable Stories.
One of the photos I am most proud of is:
It was a very meditative work to collect all these cones and place them in the circle. After I had about two hours alone, came also walkers and watched me. Three children tried to jump into the middle of the edge of the circle. And back again. Unfortunately, they were still very small and destroyed my circle a few times. But it was not bad. It was nice to see how much fun they had there. An old woman with dog was very interested and kept asking if I make art. I laughed and said yes. As I set up my tripod and set me in the middle of the circle, then they all looked a bit confused, but I did not care. The picture reminds me of that day, which was so perfect.
These are 3 quick tips I’d like to share with fellow photographers:
There is only one Tip: Have fun and enjoy Art. Take criticism not so serious. Particularly on the Internet there are so many people who write for different reasons strange things under images. Rarely is the reason that they want to help you. Listen to your feelings, if it is good for you, go ahead. The result is often not as important as the process. In my opinion you will be better so much faster, than if you want to please everyone.
One shot that was difficult to shoot was:
Almost all of my images are not so easy to photograph. I often make self-portraits, and go for them in cold water, put me in dirt and climb onto trees. In one hand always the self-timer. The image under the root looks beautiful peaceful, but it was very adventurous. Between tripod and root was a steep slope, through a small, cold, muddy creek running. So I had to run over and over again half-naked over the brook, to check the result. And I really was not happy with my pose for a long time.
The tips and secrets behind this photo:
I have almost no secrets. My photos levitation act on many people often like magic. But it's just a simple trick and Photoshop.
See more amazing shots and award your favorite images, visit katjakemnitz's profile.
