Frederik Schindler

Although filmmaking is my main work, I did work on my photography and my skills too. The focus on nature & adventure is the same, but I approach a location a little bit differently. 

In the case of the winning shot, this day I was lucky. I waited just a couple of minutes near the den, so I could not believe my eyes when eight cubs came out to enjoy the last sun rays and started playing around so enthusiastically. It was a joy to watch this spectacle, and I tried to photograph it as best as possible.

I always try to improve my storytelling, and I would say I edit my pictures slightly differently than I did a couple of years ago – darker colors and more contrast. Developing my style has been and still is an ongoing process. But some steps certainly helped me:

1) To be consistent. In my case, producing content a few years ago was a challenge, but the overall process was also a great experience and brought me many opportunities. Having such pressure allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and go outdoors more often to find new places, moods, and angles to post something different every day.

2) Pushing hard and maintaining this mindset accelerated the learning process, figuring out faster what type of style I like. And above all, it allowed me to figure out the best ways to keep developing it.

3) Doing research. I have spent many long nights searching for interesting spots with unique vibes. I am always looking for places that resonate with me, and as soon as I find one, I plan it accordingly.

4) Look for attractive details or minimal compositions instead of the famous scenery.

5) Post-production is also really important, and this step is quite relevant to add your style to the photo. For the winning shot of the foxes, I added some dark areas to achieve such a mystical feeling. But I also wanted to balance everything, so I brightened up the spot where the sun was coming. I did this with some gradients in Lightroom.

6) In my photos, I want to maintain a specific palette of colors. So I adjusted the orange and the white balance in this shot also.