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Mathias Mertke
@northmans_tales
Photographer and filmmaker based in Germany
My interest in photography arose at the age of ten years, when I was still in elementary school. Back then I had my first photography experiences shooting with film, using my parents’ analogue camera. Unlike with digital cameras, an immediate check of the result wasn’t possible, so I was super excited to see the photos and hold them in my hand as soon as they were developed. That entire process fascinated me. Already from the start I’ve been most interested in taking photos of nature, especially during the holidays with my family. We were travelling quite often when I was a child and went abroad at least once a year. I remember very well how amazed I felt the first times I sat in the plane and watched country after country passing by far below us, enabling me to see the beautiful structures of earth from above.
"Often I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep the night before."
While travelling and taking photos have been great interests of me as a child and adolescent, I wouldn’t say that I was passionate about it. That was mainly because I didn’t really know what kind of photography I wanted to pursue and which countries I was most interested in. This changed dramatically when I was in University where I had the opportunity to study abroad in the third semester. The list of cooperating universities didn’t convince me and almost everyone applied for programs in the US. As I wasn’t really feeling it, I searched for my own solution. It took me one sleepless night to figure out what I wanted; I couldn’t stop thinking about where to go. I opened Google Maps and came up with the idea to examine how far north I could go and stopped scrolling when I reached Iceland. The rest of the night I was looking at all the breathtaking pictures from this incredible country. I immediately knew that this was the place I wanted to go to. I applied to Reykjavík University, self-organized everything, bought myself my first DSLR camera and saved some money.
"A few weeks later I got mail from the University and my heart jumped when I realized that I was enrolled in the university."
"As soon as I was there, I invested every cent disposable into travelling and words can hardly describe how overwhelmed I was by the roughness and diversity of Iceland’s nature."
Especially the trips into the highlands gave me a strong feeling of belonging, almost as if I would be coming home. I would describe myself as being an introverted person, so I enjoy being alone and soaking in the surroundings with all my senses. That’s why I love the highlands so much. You meet barely any person on your way and it feels like you are the only human in the world, or sometimes even the only one on a completely different planet, because the landscapes are unlike anywhere else on earth. This extreme solitude made me connect with nature very deeply, as how it feels when being on expedition in yet unknown terrains every time I’m hiking through ashen fields, climbing high mountains or wading through knee-high rivers. This intense immersion into nature, the roughness and drama of the Icelandic landscapes and weather and the warm-hearted Icelanders made me fall in love with the north and fundamentally defined my style of photography. Moreover, my passion for trekking was born, because going by foot made it possible for me to discover every small corner, which reinforced the immersion even more.
"Since then, documenting landscapes and wildlife while I’m mainly travelling by foot has become my absolute favourite way to express my photography."
"However, it has been a passion that I didn’t pursue professionally until early 2019. Around March 2019 I became severely ill and was very close to death."
After surgery I was quickly getting better, thankfully. Going through this made me a different person. I reflected my whole life, what went well, what didn’t, whether the decisions I made in life were right or wrong… It made me question whether I’m really living the life I want to live. The answer was “no”, because I always compromised on my dreams for something that I thought would be smarter professionally-wise, ending up doing something that didn’t fulfill me. Since the day I left the hospital, I swore to myself that this will stop now.
"My near-death experience taught me that life can end from one moment to the other and that every single second of a lifetime is extremely valuable."
I should spend more of it doing the things I love. My mindset changed completely. I reflected upon what really makes me happy in life and that has always been being in nature with my camera. So, while before I was always too afraid to turn photography and videography into my self-employment, I recently took a leap of faith, left my job as a Marketing Manager aside, bought some gear and started a self-employment as a photographer and filmmaker. This is all very recent, but I am sure that following my passion is the absolute right thing to do and it feels awesome! I’m working to turn my dream of being a fulltime photographer and filmmaker into reality each and every day.
"I called my account and business “Northman’s Tales”. It portrays the essence of my passion and what I want share with people: Creating compelling visuals and telling the stories of northern countries and its people and landmarks."
Taking a beautiful picture is always a good thing, however I personally think that a great story always surpasses image quality. I always ask myself many questions when taking a photo or making a video that help me direct myself: How did you feel while taking the picture? What makes this subject so interesting to you? What’s the history of the site and what do locals say about it? And probably most important: Why do you take this picture and what do you want to tell with it? My storytelling improves when answering these questions, I get things clear for myself and only then I can convincingly tell a story. I believe that you can see a part of the photographer’s soul in the way he/she is taking and editing the photo and a story will convey this and transforms a sole picture into a way of communication and helps to make it unforgotten.
"A story brings a picture to life, inspires people and portrays your emotions."
When I’m travelling, I always try to get in touch with the locals as much as possible and talk with them about their story, knowledge and about local legends. I want these stories to live on and share them with other people, who hopefully will be as amazed as I am. I’ve always been very interested in history, so I thought about how I could link my passion for photography, northern countries, landscapes and history. You immediately think differently about a photo and the place it depicts when you know the story behind it. Take Traelanipá on the Faroe Islands for example. If you see just the picture without any text you might just think “oh that’s a very beautiful place”. However when you know that the Vikings kicked disobedient slaves right into the ocean, the photograph instantly develops another mood and drama and the story comes to your mind when you visit the place by yourself, which enables you to look at it with different perspectives. You get people thinking and maybe make them appreciate the place even more or inspire them to get to know a little bit more about the country’s history.
"That’s what I want to achieve with my photography, it’s why I try to tell at least a little story in every post on Instagram and that’s also the main reason why I started a podcast."
"As mentioned, and as you can see in my work, I have a deep passion for nordic countries and their history."
I am a big admirer of the works of Benjamin Hardman, Gunnar Freyr, Ragnar Axelsson, John Bozinov and Paul Nicklen. The way how they photograph and document the polar regions is a huge inspiration for me and motivated me to travel more and to plan for new travel destinations such as Greenland, Svalbard and more of central Iceland. I am feeling very comfortable when I am alone in nature, especially in these kind of remote places with harsh weather conditions, reinforces the feeling of solitude for me and helps me experiencing a place with all my senses. They allow me to immerse myself much more into nature than any summer breeze could do.
When I’m on a hike or trek, I enjoy taking a break at a place with a nice view. I like to sit down at a rock and just being present in the moment: feeling raindrops on my skin, hearing the wind blow and figuring out from which direction it comes, smelling the odour of wet volcanic ashes, tasting some pure water fresh from a river and watching how the light changes the appearance of the landscapes.
"That’s what I like to call “Blissful Solitude”.
In a world with lots of stress, tight schedules and pressure to perform, experiencing this “Blissful Solitude” has become much more valuable to me than any money. Iceland and other nordic countries give me exactly that. They allow me to be far away from everything and just enjoy that I’m alive and turn out any stressful thoughts for a while.
Especially the Faroe Islands have some of the most dramatic landscapes I’ve ever seen. In only 8 days I shot more than 2000 photos and videos, because almost every corner of this country is so beautiful. The Faroes amazed me every single second I spent there, and they embody everything I love. As most of the time I was travelling by foot, I experienced the full unpredictability of the weather on the Faroes on my body. One time it got really crazy when first there was pure sunshine and only five minutes later hail, which was so strong that I could barely see 10m ahead, pushed against me with stark winds that brought me out of balance several times. This also lasted only for a few minutes and then the sun came out again and shined brightly as nothing ever happened. This switch repeated itself like three or four times. I enjoyed that so much, because something like this never happens where I live. In addition, the Faroese people are so friendly and belong to the most authentic people I’ve ever met. No matter on which island I was, the people seemed to have a very honest interest in me and my story and they like to share their stories as well.
"I highly recommend getting in touch with the locals as much as possible, because I heard many interesting stories which I would never find on the internet."
"The most remarkable thing of the Faroes is probably that anywhere you go, it feels like you’re in one of the most remote places on earth."
You can enjoy nature in complete silence and because the islands are so small, you see the ocean from almost every point you can go and that’s really awesome. I took my favourite photo from the Faroe Islands in a bay close to the lovely village of Eidi. When I entered the village, I saw a road leading to the coast. I didn’t know where this road would exactly lead to and whether there was something interesting to shoot, but my instinct and curiosity made me drive this way. And I am so happy I did. I parked my car close to the coast and my breath was taken away by the amazing view that appeared. It was very stormy that day and huge waves were crashing against the cliffs, while dark clouds passed by fast on the sky. Silently I said “wow” to myself, smiled and couldn’t wait to get out, because these are my “perfect” conditions. However, I realized that my car was shaking like wild. I took my camera from the passenger’s seat and tried to push the car door open. That was much more complicated than it sounds, because the strong wind made it very hard for me. With a lot of effort I got out, and I had to fight for every step moving forward. Finally, I reached a nice spot by the coast and installed my camera on a tripod. The wind was ice cold and froze me to the bone even though I wore several layers and my fingers started to feel numb as I hit the shutter. I loved every single second of this moment because it are intense moments like these that make me feel truly alive.
"Back in the car I checked the results even before I starting the heater and I smiled. That is my loveliest memory from the Faroe Islands."
"I enjoy being more spontaneous because it regularly rewards me, like this day in the Faroe Islands."
As I’m walking, hiking or trekking most of the time when I’m travelling, I don’t look for the perfect place or perfect conditions. Actually, most of the time I have gray and cloudy skies. It was a great challenge for me at the beginning to take decent photographs in such conditions, because colours, shadows and contrasts don’t pop up so nicely as they would on a sunny day. But every time I’m travelling or taking photos, I’m developing myself at least a little bit. Even if the subject has nothing to do with the work or project I’m pursuing professionally, I’m learning and acquiring new creative skills, which will help me delivering better work for clients. I think photography is a process of lifelong learning and that there is always room for improvement, so my advice to every photographer just starting out would be to not wait for the perfect conditions or for that journey next month.
"Get out now and as much as possible and think how you can use the given environment creatively to get a nice shot."
"If there’s one thing I learnt in life, it’s that we have to take each and every opportunity that comes on our path right away."
Not tomorrow, neither next year. Very often, fear doesn’t lead us anywhere but regret. We should take full advantage of chances that appear in front of us. And they appear for a reason. I did that with my semester abroad; the 5 months in Iceland were the best in my whole life. It had a major impact on my development both personally and professionally. I found the style of photography that amazes me the most and I found back my happiness in life. I always felt like something is missing in my life before, and I found my love for nordic countries. A piece of a puzzle. I think, if I never would have done this semester, my life would be completely different today and I might still be searching for my purpose in life. Say “yes” to more things that come up and that you feel you truly would love to do. Don’t compromise on your dreams and deepest desires. It seems to be cliché, but life is way too short to spend your time on things that don’t fulfill you. I learnt it the hard way, but now I know that pursuing your passion is the only right thing to do.
"It is questionable what is right or wrong, but doing what you love feels so right and suddenly everything makes sense."
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