Raised on film photography and shaped by years of architectural study at the Bauhaus in Dessau, Christian Stark brings a structural eye and a traveler’s instinct to everything he shoots. Now based in Sweden, he photographs the world from camper van roads across Europe to cold mountain summits in Germany.
Growing up in Germany, photography wasn’t just a hobby; it was a family inheritance. My grandfather was a passionate photographer with his own darkroom, and he was the one who taught me the fundamentals. I still cherish his old medium-format cameras and a rare wooden glass-plate camera—pieces of history that remind me where I come from.
When I started photography, digital cameras were something you hadn’t even heard of, let alone dreamed about. My first camera was a loan from my mother, an Ihagee Exa. Everything was fully manual, including light metering with a handheld meter. For my 20th birthday, my grandparents gave me my first modern analog camera, a Canon EOS 300. You can say that photography runs in the family!
Later, while studying architecture at the Bauhaus in Dessau, I had the opportunity to attend an additional photography course specialized in architectural photography. We learned how to develop film rolls and make prints in the darkroom, working in a professional photo studio with equipment you could only dream of. That was the moment I truly became hooked on photography, and it’s a passion that followed me when I emigrated to Sweden, where I now live and work as an architect.
In my work, there’s a lot of planning and structure involved, while shooting outdoors is something you can never plan 100%. Over time, I learned to go out with an open mind and capture whatever nature chooses to reveal to my camera. You might go looking for mountains and wide vistas, only to find them swallowed by clouds. But if you look down, there’s a perfect flower, or to the side, a squirrel in a tree. Since I believe it’s not the gear that takes the picture, I often carry just one body or even a small point-and-shoot – it’s the photographer’s ability to adapt to the situation. In a studio, everything is controlled, but outdoors there is chaos – and that’s exactly what I love. That’s also why I don’t limit myself to a specific niche; I simply photograph what I love.
The photograph that won the best of the week is a good example of shooting what catches your attention while being outdoors. This shot wasn’t planned, and it turned out to be a perfect photograph opportunity.
While visiting my parents in Germany, we spontaneously decided to go for a hike after a snowstorm, followed by a sunny weather forecast. The hike started in Schierke, and we chose the longer route, which took about three to four hours. Above the treeline near the summit, I knew the landscape would be extraordinary.
The exposed summit of the Brocken is known for its harsh climate, both in winter and in summer. The landscape feels almost surreal, like something from a sci-fi movie set on another planet. The wind and snow shaped the surface into sharp, razor-like formations. It was very cold; the air was dry, yet the sun felt warm.
On our way back, we decided to take the historic steam train that runs between Schierke and the summit. While I was waiting for my wife, who was getting the tickets at the office, the old steam train preparing for departure caught my attention. I’m not a trainspotter, nor particularly fascinated by trains beyond playing with model trains as a child, but the combination of sunlight, steam moving through the cold air, and the dark textures of the painted metal created a striking contrast. Almost instinctively, I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures.
Luckily, the cold weather kept most people indoors, leaving just a few figures in the scene –- enough to add depth and scale without blocking the view. I only had a simple Canon point-and-shoot camera with me, as we were traveling light on that cold day.
A few weeks ago, I rediscovered the image and approached it again in Lightroom with a fresh perspective. Since it was only a JPEG file, editing possibilities were limited, but working on it brought back the feeling of the cold air and warm sunlight.
When I first started working digitally, I processed my images as accurately as possible, focusing on correct white balance, exposure, and technical precision. Over time, I began trying to imitate the look of my favorite films, such as Kodak Gold 200 and Ilford 400.
Today, I prefer to develop my photographs in a way that reflects how I felt and experienced the moment — more about conveying a feeling than striving for absolute accuracy. I usually limit myself to a maximum of two color presets, depending on the situation, and guide the viewer’s attention by shaping the light around the subject. I use AI mainly for denoising and only occasionally to remove really distracting elements. In general, I prefer to keep my images as natural and authentic as possible.
I like to work with the rule of thirds and guiding lines. Most cameras offer these as an overlay, which allows you to start aligning the composition directly while taking the shot.I also appreciate the proportions this technique creates and the way it allows the relationship between subject, negative space, and background to tell a story.
In this image, it worked out perfectly for me: the sky and steam form the upper part of the composition, the snow anchors the bottom, and the train occupies the central thirds. The lines align with the streetlight, leading the viewer’s eye toward a vanishing point on the left.
Alongside my work as an architect, photography represents a more artistic and creative part of my life, which at the moment mostly takes place in my private work. One thing I have learned is that if you work professionally with photography, it is important to maintain personal side projects. While the paid jobs I did all had their own charm and challenges, personal projects help keep a sense of creative freedom alive – something you can later bring into commissioned work. This also reduces the pressure of having to deliver, which can often limit creativity and prevent your best results.
I started my Instagram account, @withstrk, about a year ago with the intention of finally sharing my photographs instead of letting them sit unused on my hard drive. I wanted to see how people would respond on this platform and to gradually adapt my style and composition along the way.
It has also become a kind of social experiment for me; exploring how much reach you can achieve without paying for advertising, boosts, or follow-for-follow strategies. I want my images to speak for themselves, which is why I was especially proud when Nomadict recognized this photograph.
Looking ahead, I would like to participate in some more competitions and perhaps take on commissioned work again. But overall, I want to keep things as they are and simply enjoy the creative journey and the travels that are part of it.
I travel with my young family in a camper van across Europe during the summer months. Summertime in Sweden is especially important; the days are long, and life largely moves outdoors. As a result, much of my photography takes place in nature as well as in urban environments. I cherish our travels as a family and the photo opportunities that this brings me, and honestly, there is not much more I can ask for!
Raised on film photography and shaped by years of architectural study at the Bauhaus in Dessau, Christian Stark brings a structural eye and a traveler’s instinct to everything he shoots. Now based in Sweden, he photographs the world from camper van roads across Europe to cold mountain summits in Germany — always with an open mind and often with just one camera.
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