It started in the darkroom and a photo studio in Bocholt / Germany at the end of the 1990's. My task as apprentice was handling small, medium and large format cameras and studio lights for product and portrait photography. But before that I had to become a pro at ironing sheets, decorating fictive rooms, painting studio backgrounds and mixing barrels of developer. I was lucky to experience the transition from analogue to digital. I will never forget the nervous moment after my first wedding shoot to take a first look at the films, hoping that both the camera and the chemicals did their job. Clicking to apply a filter and waiting over my lunch break for an early Photoshop version to process is another defining memory.
After my exams the journey took me to Lüneburg where I studied Applied Cultural Sciences. Questions about how photography and digitalisation capture, create and bend realities were topics I had to deal with. While studying I was working for a travel picture agency and editorial department in Hamburg which brought me another view on photography. These years added a valuable theoretical and ethical background not only to my work but also to my way of communicating with customers.
My Master's degree in 2008 led me to project teamwork to survey and protect cultural landscapes in northern Germany. I used photography mainly to document old archived maps and the historical artefacts we were chasing. Taking these patched maps into field brought an extra excitement (and often perplexity) to our expeditions. If Google maps had existed back then it would have robbed my colleagues and me of valuable lessons in discovering which paths are drivable without destroying a car.
Oslo called in 2011. Since then, I have been working for a big variety of customers - from architects and real estate companies to galleries, event agencies and municipalities. I have always enjoyed collaborating with and learning from other photographers with different backgrounds. At the same time, I thrive on the creative exchange with customers. It's part of me and part of every product I deliver.
What's next? Since animated content becomes more and more important, I'm currently expanding my skillset in video cutting and graphic design. Nothing better for a craftsman than getting a bigger toolbox.
