Photography
I took my first steps in taking pictures in the late nineties: When on a school exchange to Australia in the summer of 1998, I had a Pentax point-and-shoot film camera with me. I started experimenting with taking pictures of both urban areas as well as rain forests. I then got two of my pictures as large, framed prints. It took though until 2003 to reignite that interest: I got exposed to a DSLR camera (a Canon EOS 10D) as part of my studies in Munich. At the same time, I received teaching in digital production using Photoshop. This was my entry into digital photography. As a student, however, resources were limited, and a Canon PowerShot was all I had to practice with. It took another five years when I finally could dive more into the power digital photography would offer. I decided to purchase my first DSLR (a Canon EOS 450D) and started taking more photographs as I traveled to various cities in Europe and North America. In 2016, I came around the YouTube channels of landscape photographers, and decided that both landscape (and later wildlife) photography was what excites me. It was then when I invested in more serious photography gear: I sold all my existing equipment and got a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, some high-quality lenses, filters, and a tripod. Finally, I switched over to Canon’s mirrorless series and am now shooting with a Canon EOS R5.
I enjoy revisiting places and explore other areas, yet my favorite destination is always the next one!
My first trip took me to the beautiful Faroe Islands, where I realized two things: first, I had a lot to learn, and second, I need to spend more time at these locations. Several trips followed, and particularly three areas emerged, which I was drawn to over and over again: Iceland, Northern Norway, and the Faroe Islands. I feel like home when I visit those locations. However, I also wanted to explore new areas, and – after 15 years dreaming about it – I finally was able to fulfill my dream: visiting the most remote places on earth. In 2022, I traveled to Antarctica, where I was inspired by Peter Eastway’s response to what his favorite destination is: the next one. At this point, I decided that the three main locations play an important role in my journey as photographer, yet I wanted to visited other places as well: in 2023 I then went to Svalbard in the hope to witness more wildlife. This trip did not disappoint, further sparking my interest in traveling to other countries.
As a fun fact: I haven’t visited as many countries as others, but I have been to all seven continents and have spent at least one night on each of them after having camped in Antarctica without a tent.
Personal
I am originally German and was actually born “behind the wall”. For most of my life, I was an academic: I studied “Media Informatics” (essentially Computer Science with a strong focus on users), and remained in the university realm afterwards, obtaining a PhD and climbing the ladder until reaching a full professorship. During this career, I got to live and work in several countries, and in 2012 I moved to Copenhagen. I fell in love with the city, my girlfriend and naturally still live here. In 2021, however, I changed career paths and wanted to try something new: I started as full-time user interface software engineer at Apple, where I work on bringing AppleTV+ to people around the globe. While this was a scary move at first, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
I am also a strong supporter of the German football club Borussia Dortmund (the yellow jacket, I wear on my photography trips, is not a coincidence), and try to see matches live in the stadium.
I hope you enjoy my galleries!
