​Tell us a little about yourself:

Hey there! My name is Ben, I am 30 years old and I am from the alps republic of Austria. My real interest in photography started in march/april 2011....so I am still new in photography.
The positive thing is, that I experienced and learned very fast. I got to know many kinds and types of photography within a short period. After some time I started to focus on kinds that really caught my highest attention. So After 1.5 years I found my biggest interests in b&w, street, people...and lately very much in mono.

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Some weeks ago I had a talk with a friend who helped me to reveil "my true style"...to find my own personal note in each image I do. For me personally it is very important to have an own way to do the things, that is why I don't read tutorials/manuals so much, I don't download macros of processing (actions, presets...etc)...I do it all on my own, because if I use something made by someone else, I always fight with the feeling, that it is not me...so I started to learn it the hard way from own experiences and step by step I found my own style...and the latest works, maybe since beginning of October this year...they really reflect me in every single image.

So my process since I started to take pictures could not have been much more different. I started with flowers and animals in nice and rich colors...and now I am doing more or less b&w images, that carry a message, that have a deeper meaning and sense, that (hopefully) speak to the viewers...and sometimes they are even sad, because they are true....facing reality...the truth hurts sometimes...

But this only shows, that after getting to know yourself, believing in yourself, you will finally find yourself reflected in your images...one day you sit there, with the first image of a new kind / a new era of personal photography experience and you say: "Yeah, this is me"

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...in this moment you know that you arrived.

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​Are you an amateur or a pro photographer?

Let's say...I am Ben...easy as that :-)
...and I don't care about any of those titles. Titles have always been made for persons who need it to feel good. In my opinion, titles are overrated and they manipulate the naturally way of seeing a person.

Give me a doctor title...would it change the person I am? I doubt...but other people would see me different...it is like a fake silhouette, a manipulation...like a MUST to see me as title I am

wearing...I don't like that

 

What do you like to photograph?

​For me, a picture must carry a story with it to be interesting. Where this story is to be found, does not matter much to me. I am open for everything and every kind of photography has its own beauty. It keeps it interesting because you always have a balance between all the differences of every kind.

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I personally prefer street, people, symbolic photography...because, those pics talk to me before I even push the release button. And that is what gives me the kick about it. If the pic talks to me afterwards, depends on exactly the moment I took it. Frozen in time. On street for example, you can not plan a shot...the situation appears, the settings have to be made ultra quick, point, focus, shoot...hope!! :-)

That's what makes it interesting. A flower I can shoot a thousand times...and everytime it will get a bit better...street, you have often only 1 chance...and then its gone...maybe forever.

And like a great person out there once sent me a quote, it will always be with me...because on street shots, you sometimes risk troubles with angry people...but after a talk, you keep or delete the image...easy as that. But that quote says:

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"The smaller the focal length of your lens, the bigger your balls have to be."

 

​What is in your photography kit?

Finally an easy question ;-)
Well, I work with the following equipment
Body: Canon EOS 550D
Wide angle lens: Canon EF 17-40 L f4 USM
Standard lens: Canon EF 24-105 L f4 IS USM
Zoom lens: Canon EF 70-200 L f4 USM
Portrait lens 1: Canon EF 50 1.4 USM
Portrait lens 2: Canon EF 85 1.8 USM
(animal/zoo lens: Canon EF 70-300 4-5.6 IS USM)

Additional equipment:
Tripod: Cullman Nanomax 260 + a gorillapod
Filters: uff many! UV, CPL, ND between 4 up to 2000, Infrared filters, close-up filters, color filters, b/w filters,...
step-up and step-down rings!!!! very important :-)

 

What's your favorite lens?

I am not sure...it depends on many factors...but, if I would have to pick one...it would be my standard lens.
With 24-105 you can do many different kind of shots...you have wide angle up to portrait and even small tele. So, you are very flexible with that lens...and the optic quality is great. Yeah, I would choose that one.

 

​Any favorite photographer(s)?

I will take the chance here to mention 2 mentors and someone special.

Markus "gruford" Gruber - he is my street mentor. He saw my talent and supported me right away. He reviewed my shots and gave me advices, tips and hints that I will never forget about. He became a very good friend and he still helps me where he can. Thanks dude!

Klaus Kraiger - in my opinion and regarding my taste, the best people photographer around. He captures his models in very natural way. You can feel his images, they are not pressured in a specific scene...he just let it happen naturally. A fantastic photographer who I look up to.

Someone very special, whose name is not about to be reveiled here :-P
Giving me inspiration, motivation, sharing ideas and thoughts, planing with me, supporting me, believing in me, putting me back on my feet, lifting me up after falling, talking about everything ....and always being there! Just a few of many characteristics that make this person really special to me.

 

​Which is your own favorite picture?

Wow, hard question...maybe I should wait to answer this and see what will happen in the upcoming photoshooting sessions ;-)
In 2 weeks I will be on a journey and who knows, what I will find interesting there :-)
And often I feel like the newest work is my favorite...at least for the moment

But, if I have to pick one today, then....hmmm, I think it would be the image called "Worn Out..."

Why? This simple picture reflects our society better than any word I could write here. First of all, since not everyone will be able to read it or understand what is written because it is german, the only thing on the shopping list, that is NOT crossed off, is toiletpaper. Simple toiletpaper...something you get in almost every shop, even at the gas station, something we use daily, but...it seems they did not buy it, or just forget about what they REALLY need...but as long as this person got its Red Bull,Condoms, Milkshake,... everything seems alright! The most important things for living are organized - well done! I think it happened to everyone, that we forget about what we really need, what is really important and what is really necessary to have with us. Not only in material things, but also in relationships, at work or even in photography...

And then, it got thrown away...to the ground...forgotten and never used again. Like we are in

society...we throw everything so fast, because there is something new. Instead of using the given things in our life to its fullest and really keeping them as long as they are useful, we just throw and replace them...because, it seems easier.

A simple piece of paper on the ground, that normally no one even recognizes...a daily situation, we pass by, unnoticed... but yet so effective and full of a story...a picture, that tells you much about life, about society, about preferences, about how we humans are working/behaving/consuming at the moment... you just need to listen and open your eyes...and let the image speak and tell its story...

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What is your dream?

​You asked for this interview at a time in my life, when many things are changing for me at the moment.

With many things, you could understand...my whole life. My dream is definitly to be happy...no matter with what I am doing...just being happy. As long as I am happy, I can make others happy too.

If it comes about work, I have to say that plans in direction of working with photography are going on at the moment. Right now, it is just a name, or even only a thought, but that could change soon. I leave this name here in this interview and at some point in future, we might come back here, and see what happened with it. Deal?

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It is all about a simple name, but lets keep it in mind: bg-photography / or bg-photoemotions
What matters, is the "bg" in the name...but that stays as a surprise for now ;-)

 

​Any advice or great tips to share?

I would have really many! ...and much much experiences to share, but I don't want to bore anyone here and I start to feel that I already wrote much too much :-D
(if even someone will read the whole thing?)

So, let's keep it to something easy, that helped me a lot on my way to the point where I am now.

"Don't waste your time trying to be a copy of a copy. Believe in yourself and do it YOUR way! Now take your camera, go out and shoot!"