My Photography Journey From 2020 - today (in photos)
My photography journey started in 2020, right after the pandemic hit the world. In the beginning, just a new hobby, but very quickly I got very passionate about it and used nearly every free minute to go outside, watching photography content on YouTube or reading photography blogs.
But it took my several years to get to the point where I’m now and let me tell you, that I tried a lot of different styles and topics!
2020 - Flowers, Coffee and some self-portraits
As I said before, my starting point was the global pandemic. From one day to another I couldn’t do my other hobbys (e.g. dancing bachata) or meeting with friends anymore and I found myself stuck with a looot of free time at home. And when a fellow dancer friend showed me his camera and rave about photography, I decided to give it a go myself. So I bought my first camera, a Fujifilm X-T100 and thought about what I could photograph inside my flat.
On Instagram I saw some beautiful photos with flowers and coffee and this style directly clicked with me.
Also, I directly wanted my (new) Instagram feed to be a diary of my photography journey or a journal. And this combination - flowers + journal - led to my handle.
So one day I went into a flower boutique, bought my first Bouquet of flowers and a self-trigger for my camera and jumped into it. Editing wise I was a completly beginner as well and I worked mainly with some Lightroom Classic presets and tried to achieve an overall moody and cooler look.
These were a few of my first results (click to enlarge):
2021 - (Creative) self-portraits, Food and Street Architecture
In the beginning of 2021 I discovered Photoshop and was really fascinated what kind of creative photos you could make with it. So my self-portraits got a bit more dreamy and creative as well, as I dabbed into the world of layers in Photoshop.
Then I also dabbled in the field of food photography (aganin: saw stunning photos on Instagram, immediately wanted to try it out myself and consumed endless videos and content about it). I really loved the results, but I never liked the time-consuming preparations that came with it. And also the sometimes very big messes and the later clean-up work.
Flowers and coffee also remained part of my style, but became less relevant to me.
In the summer of 2021 is visited for the first time of my life the beautiful city of Paris and this holiday marked the beginning of a new photography era: Street Photography.
But I went to great lengths to ensure that there were no people in the photos if possible (on this vacation I got up at 5 a.m. for the first time to be able to take photos in peace). In my eyes, people were ruining this great old architecture of the Parisian streets and squares. So it was more a street architectural approach. When I look at these photos today, then I’m very happy, that sometimes a human being sneaked into my frame.
And finally, at the very end of 2021, I also tried out being more in front of the camera and did a few “fashion shootings” with a friend of mine. The idea was, that my Instagram could become more of a personal brand, so I shared snippets of my daily and private life. But I was soon to realize - in te following year -, that being the center of attention wasn’t really my thing and I always had the feeling that I didn't have anything exciting to say anyway.
Looking back, I would say that 2021 was one of the most experimental years in terms of my photography and general style. (click to enlarge)
2022 - fashion, personal stuff, food and street architecture
In 2022 I mainly carried on doing what I did in 2021: I shot more food, fashion and personal content and also (but only on holidays) street architecture. But the flower and coffee phase was now over.
At this point I still haven’t even thought about going around my town Berlin and shoot there on the streets.
Photography for me still was a private matter, that I mostly enjoy and explore at home and on holidays. (click to enlarge)
2023 - Hello Street Photography!
I became aware of “proper” street photography, with intentionally photographed people in it, (not yet the fine art and minimal approach) through YouTube and - of course - Instagram.
And so, in 2023 - 3 1/2 years after I held a camera in my hand for the first time - I finally ventured out onto the streets myself.
And again it was Paris, where I tried out this new style the first time. And oh boy, I was SO nervous, that anybody would come to me and asked what I was doing! Even today, I am still shy when I see that someone has noticed me taking photos and therefore still try to behave as discreetly as possible. But I got a bit more relaxed over the last months.
I soon realized, that the “famous” 35 mm (or even 24 mm) lens among street photographers is too wide for me, so I mainly shot with 50 mm and later 85 mm.
Some big (also educational) inspiration for me have been Professor Hines and Pat Kay. I would highly recommend checking them out.
I really loved editing the colours and experimenting with different styles. And it was very hard for me to stick to one stlye, as I wanted my Instagram feed to be as cohesive as possible. That’s why I also tried out converting my photos into Black & White.
Here are a few of my favourites photos from 2023. You can see more photos in my Street Photography Portfolio (click to enlarge).
2024 - Fine Art Street photography and some Workshops
At the end of 2023 I saw another type of Street Photography: Fine Art Street Photography.
Here I’d like to mention Mark Fearnley and Nina Papiorek, who are two of my favourites photographers in that niche. But there are many more (very well known and not so much)!
What I would describe as a kickstart to really try out this whole Fine Art thing myself, was a two day workshop with Mark Fearnley in Berlin. These two days unlocked a new level for me and I learned so much! Some of my favourite photos were taken during this workshop.
For example, I heard about the so called ‘fishing approach’, that changed my whole procedure and approach to photography. So now, when I’m out and about, I’m first looking for scenery (regarding the light, architecture, minimalistic aspects, frames, e.g.) and then waiting for the human element, which at best walks exactly into the frame I've previously chosen.
Patience is key here. However, as there are also very lonely places where even the greatest patience is useless, I also put myself in front of the camera and take self-portraits.
And this somehow completes the circle to the beginning of my journey in 2020.
Also I mainly shoot directly in black & white these days, so I can see contrast and light more easily. But during the editing process, I often notice that I also really like the color version of the photograph and in general I enjoy editing in colour (and the possibilities that come with it) more.
Nevertheless, I publish most of the photos later in black and white because they fit better into the fine art context and the play of light and shadow works better. But because I can't help it, I often add a colour version as a second image in my posts.
Later this year, in September 2024, I attended a two day workshop with Ovidiu Selaru (also in Berlin) and again I took away from it so much! I’m still in the editing phase with these photos (finding time with a baby can be hard sometimes…), but I am excited to share the results with you!
Make sure to follow me on Instagram for this! :)
Sure to say, photography is far from being just a hobby anymore!
And one last thing I discovered (for myself) in 2024: Look ups and more abstract architectural photos. Without the human element, but with interesting textures, shapes or geometry.
This is yet another completely different topic and I'm looking forward to discovering more about it.
After all, who says you have to stick to just one style?
Below are a few of my favourite Fine Art photos so far (click to enlarge).
You can see more photos in my Fine Art / Minimal and Architecture / Abstract Portfolios.
