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Kevin Daubner
@viewsbykevin
Photographer based in Germany
I have always been fascinated by the beauty of nature. Personally, it is the balance I need between the throbbing life of inner cities and the peace of mind you get wandering around, exploring, and trying yourself out on motives, lighting, and scenery. The feeling is hard to grasp but being all by yourself, imaging the shot, waiting for the perfect moment, and taking in every bit of energy is kind of therapeutic. I got hooked the first time and would never go back – it has become a part of my life and a part of my routine.
Outdoors is my happy place – it is where I create my most valuable memories and I want to encourage others to do the same. Go outside – enjoy the things you love the most and don’t take anything for granted.
"Life is fleeting so enjoy every second of it."
"The most defining moment in my life so far has been back in 2018 on my first trip to Iceland."
I have had 11 days to marvel at the beautiful waterfalls, roam the vast highlands, explore the black sand beaches or wander around massive canyons. Iceland is such a beautiful country not just because of its diverse landscape but its people and culture. I got hooked for sure and am already looking forward to my next trip to the arctic circle.
The Icelandic Highlands in particular surprised me for sure – this place took me by surprise and wowed me beyond anything I have seen so far. Colorful mountains, vast lava fields, and ancient volcanoes are what make this place so unique. I haven’t felt more alive at any time in my life! It’s a safe bet for any landscape photographer like myself and should be on everybody’s bucket list who got the chance to visit Iceland.
Besides the mesmerizing beauty of the country itself, I have been on the hunt for the Northern Lights in particular. Just when the murky night sky cleared up and the lights started dancing across the sky wrapping everything in a mellow green I came to realize how elusive moments like these are and how lucky I am to experience them. At that moment I knew as a fact that I wanted to share even more of those moments with people, inspire them to do the same, and create some everlasting memories.
Speaking about memories, ‘Paragliding’ is a picture that is especially near and dear to my heart. The Dolomites and especially Cadini Di Misurina where the shot was created are such special places to me. My plan was originally to capture the sunset when out of nowhere a group of paragliders came through. More led by instincts than anything else, I grabbed my camera and took the shot just before they disappeared behind the next mountain range and out of my field of view – definitely one of my favorites so far.
I don’t believe in one simple rule for a great shot. Photography is an art and every photo is beautiful in its way. However, I’m really into minimalistic compositions with a big meaning behind them. In this regard, I think minimalism is the key to capturing stunning landscapes and the mantra I have been living by since I started my journey. Add stunning scenery, a subject or companion for scale, and a tad of instinct and you got yourself a solid shot.
Then, when editing, it is the balance between nativeness and bearing one’s trademark on the photo that’s most important to me.
I start the nitty gritty of my editing process with Lightroom. First things first – choose your platform and the dimensions of the picture. Basic adjustments of highlights, shadows, and contrast are followed by slight adjustments of the tone curve to enrich the scenery. Next up is color grading – I am an advocate of saturated coloring but still try to keep the picture as close to my memories as possible to avoid a synthetic look and feel. I finalize the editing process with some filters to set the stage and expose the highlights of my shots. If I still spot some unsettled elements I use photoshop to minimize any disturbance.
"Pro tip - I always compare the edited photo with my overall feed to create a holistic experience and assure a seamless transition between pictures."
Concerning photography, my most significant challenge was to appreciate advice and criticism and allow myself to be inspired by others. It has not always been easy for me to follow that guideline and remain true to my style – it made me who I am today and I am grateful for every experience on that journey.
In addition, I think the following pieces of advice can help you as well to start your career as a photographer:
1) First, be patient plus trial and error. Sometimes it takes several attempts to make “the” shot!
2) Second, just do it – do not over-engineer. Sometimes the best shots happen in the most unexpected moments.
3) Third, surround yourself with people that share your passion. Be open, be curious and dare to be inspired by the work of others.
4) Fourth, don’t let social media kill your creativity. Even though you don’t get too many likes on social media, it doesn’t mean it’s not a banger – always remember: it’s just an algorithm 🙂
We are living in such a fast-paced environment and everything changes so fast. The only thing I wish for my 10 year-older self is to stay passionate, do what makes me feel alive and follow my fervor, wherever it will take me.
My goal is to continue to travel the world, capture more one-of-a-kind moments with my camera, and inspire more people with my interpretation of art.
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