
Simon Hechtbauer (@roamwithsimon): Best of the Week 32 at #nomadict
Simon shares the journey behind his photography, from early inspirations to field techniques, editing, and the story of the winning shot that shaped his path.
I have always traveled with my parents and one day I got my first reflex numerique camera in my hands: a Canon 300d Rebel. I guess I was about 15 years old. Photography is a kind of a family passion, and photography appeared to be a perfect match for me as well. I felt directly in love with the fact that I was able to immortalize every moment. It became an obsession and it gave another dimension to my life. I started to photograph almost everything and my classmates were bored by my stories and photos; they didn’t understand what was so special about photography.
Maybe this has been influenced by the place where I live: Vionnaz. I am at the foot of the mountains, so without having to go very far I have a lot of things to discover: The fields, the mountains, the lakes you can find on higher altitudes, the animals… And all that changes completely each season. It never bores me to go out, with or without camera, because the environment is just so diverse, and above all very beautiful all the time. That is not just in my area though, Switzerland in general has uncountable amazing spots. I still have a lot to discover here, but so far my favorite places would be Blausee lake, Zermatt (going up by train to Gornergrat!) and Lac de Taney.
I work in sales and I am always very occupied. I like it, but probably just like anyone else, I really need these moments to disconnect with everything else that’s going on, to connect with myself and nature, doing what I love to do. I try to travel as much as possible to different countries, always having the objective to discover newness and to go further with my passion: photography.
Besides going out with my camera to shoot and practice, I have this curiosity and urge to look for answers about different techniques that are used in photography, or any other topics related to this just to learn more and feed this curiosity. I am a perfectionist, I want to maximize all I do. I watch many YouTube videos from different photographers, in search for things I didn’t know about yet or for explanations about what I want to improve and understand better.
These documentaries are grabbed in a very impressive way, and shows something different from what we can find on Instagram. Then, with all the information obtained, I go out to try out these new techniques or compositions I’ve seen.
I mainly share to get an opinion about my photos. I do not expect recognition but for me it’s a way to improve and to orientate in world of landscape photography. Regarding this, I always try to make sure that I maintain my own identity in my photography without copying what others are doing. I don’t use presets for example, I prefer creating my own photograph from the start. For me, editing a photo in Lightroom is a way to express an emotion that I would like to communicate. So far I have been using my phone to edit my photos, which makes it a little difficult sometimes because everything is very small. But soon I will get a proper laptop and I can’t wait to see the results I can get when editing on a bigger screen.
I love the challenge of building up a smooth gallery, showing the transition between seasons and colors while still emphasizing the uniqueness of each single photo and place. But at the end, I believe the most important thing with editing is that it’s a way to create my own identity. I edit to stand out, not to do the same as everyone else and drown in the mass. Not everyone has to like my photos, but as long as I do the best I can and I feel satisfied, I am happy.
It forced me to go beyond of what I thought I was capable of and taught me the importance of being connected to myself and nature. I became much more patient, waiting for sunsets, clouds, light, animals… And also, I got much healthier. I don’t like fitness or many other sports, but because of photography I am hiking for hours, wandering around in the mountains. It helped me to step out of my comfort zone and to prove myself that this passion was real, and that I can reach places that I wouldn’t have imagined going to if I didn’t do photography.

Simon shares the journey behind his photography, from early inspirations to field techniques, editing, and the story of the winning shot that shaped his path.

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