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Armin Kuchler
@berg_geschichten
Photographer based in Germany
My passion for photography was more of a coincidence. One of my best friends had bought a full-frame camera at the time and I was looking for something that would get me out of my stressful everyday work. From that moment, I was often out and about with him in the Bavarian mountains.
Before that I was hardly ever in the mountains; I spent most of the time on my skateboard. Due to an injury I had to look for an alternative to skateboarding.
"Fortunately, there was my friend who introduced me to the mountains. And photography."
I was allowed to look through his viewfinder from time to time and pull the trigger. Soon enough that meant relaxation and switching off my mind for me. At the same time, I had been reading some books by Reinhold Messner and Franz Kammerlander. Both raved about Nepal and the people there…
"Going to Nepal was a spontaneous decision for me, and it came perfectly hand in hand with the introduction to photography."
I bought a camera and took off to Nepal. We wanted to get to know the culture and the people, far away from tourism. It was by far my best trip so far and this experience naturally brought me to photography even more. It was only here that I became aware of the impressions one collects when one stands behind the shutter release, and how it connects people so quickly. We traveled all over the country and I captured so many indescribable moments. The locals were very fixated on the camera and it allowed us to have unforgettable moments of connection with the villagers, especially on the Indian border where there is almost no tourism.
"The local people always play the main roles in my travels."
This time, we had a guide with us who had studied in Germany and who worked as a translator for us. From time to time we also communicated with hands and feet, or sometimes in English. But somehow it always worked; you just have to be open to everything. I spend a lot of time with people I don’t know on my trips and I have to say that those are by far the best moments. It is so interesting when locals chat about their home country or tell stories about what they experienced – there’s so much to learn from one single story and helps you shift perspectives and adjust your world vision.
Some day, on the way from Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha to Tansen, we met a boy who had nothing except a small house without windows and doors made of clay that he built with himself, with his wife and a child. I asked him if I was allowed to do a portrait and give him all the photos. Their smile was unbelievable, the most beautiful I have been able to witness.
Meanwhile, I have also become very aware of the beauty of my homeland. And my photography has rapidly developed as I made “portraying the Bavarian forest” my project for 2020 and 2021. All I got to witness here, and the people I got to meet, has changed my mind. Home is simply home and all the more I want to show others how important it is to deal with one’s home and that it is worth identifying with it.
"Of course, I also want to show everyone how nice it is here in the Bavarian forest."
It is on the doorstep for me, it’s a retreat and I know almost every corner of it. Here I can also fully concentrate on my photos. The pandemic obviously had a big impact here. Everything was forbidden and so I concentrated more and more on the camera and the mountains. I’m pretty in love with the photos I took of my homeland; the Bavarian Forest, Großer Arber, Großer Rachel… As most people stayed inside even though you could go hiking, I had the chance to enjoy the quietness in nature and have the mountains all for myself. We stayed overnight in a mountain hut shortly after the first lockdown, without other guests, just the two of us with the host and his wife. We took a number of photos and video sequences with the drone here which would otherwise have been almost impossible.
What I like best about photography is that you have to deal so intensively with the photos and videos that you remember the moment when you took the photo and can actually switch off your mind completely and start your journey there again where everything originated. Of course you can also let your creativity run free. But I’m more the type to edit as little as possible in order not to convey a fake image of a certain place to the viewers. I don’t want my photos to be the cause of disappointment after they first were the motivation for people to visit the location where the photo was taken.
If I can convey that to my audience and activate them, then I’ve done everything right. I’m a very happy person and that also affects my photos, which are usually quite sunny and with a lot of warmth. In fact, I am most interested in capturing sunrises. It’s simply wonderful to catch the first rays of sunshine of the day. The sun is a focus in my photos; it gives strength, joy and encourages dreaming. There are many moody photos out there, but the combination between mountains, nature and the sun is always perfect, if you ask me.
To get to “my style”, it helped me to take my time and to think about what I actually want or what story I want to tell. My photos have always had a very personal touch because I do everything with great attention to detail. Let’s just say it all just turned out that way because I listen to my heart and stay true to who I am.
However, when doing commercial shootings it’s important to focus on the goal of the project and the aim of the business. At the moment, photography as a paid activity is still under construction but I work with a small company to which I deliver photos and videos for social media. What appeals to me most is conveying the company’s philosophy through the photos.
"You need to know your client and different aspects of the company very well to create something that matches their image and culture."
While I try to develop that aspect of my work, my biggest passion will always remain photography in combination with the mountains, and a good challenge. Mountaineering is always a challenge, mentally as well as physically. Crossing a mountain that usually takes 10 hours or more requires a lot of strength in every sense. But it also generates a lot of energy.
And with taking photos, I bring calm into the demanding trip. I appreciate nature, concentrate on the essentials and forget everything around me. It’s a combination of action and relaxation; giving me a special feeling that I continue to chase.
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