Taking pictures makes me happy!
My passion for photography dates back to my childhood. I got my first camera in 1977, when I was just 12 years old, and photography has fascinated me ever since.
After I moved to the USA in 1993, I had the opportunity to take a number of photography courses and to set up my own darkroom. For many years I focused on black and white photography and had a lot of fun developing my own prints. I only began to experiment more with color photography after I moved back to Germany in 2002 and no longer had access to a darkroom. Two years later I had a darkroom again – this time a digital one – and since then I have been exploring the many possibilities that digital image processing has to offer.
For the past few years I have been taking pictures for a local magazine, the Neuenheimer Nachrichten, which appears bimonthly. In addition, I often take photographs for my employer, the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, and as a result some of my pictures have appeared in a variety of publications, including the science magazine Spektrum der Wissenschaft.
Over the years, the fact that more and more friends and relatives were asking me for advice about photography made me think about offering my own photography classes. Taking good pictures is one thing, but teaching others how to do it themselves is quite another. Designing my first course on the basics of photography was sometimes challenging but always rewarding, as I learned a great deal. When I was finally able to offer it in 2019, I discovered how much fun it was to work together with my students. Well before the first class was over, they began asking when the next one would begin. I have since developed an intermediate course that builds on the concepts covered in the first course and I offer both on a regular basis.
I had discovered infrared photography when I lived in the US but never really pursued it as working with infrared film was both tricky and time-consuming. The dream of taking infrared pictures never left me, though, so I jumped on the chance to convert one of my digital cameras into an infrared camera in 2020. Since then I have been taking pictures that show the world in a whole different light – literally.
Occasionally I do freelance work ranging from portraits and product shots to architectural commissions. I also sell individual photographs, which I have professionally printed according to the customer's specifications. I enjoy the fact that I can combine working on assignments with the pursuit of my own personal interest in photography.
I hope you enjoy this selection of my photos.