© 2020 Nomadict. All rights reserved.
Marina Weishaupt
@marinaweishaupt
Photographer based in Germany
Introducing Marina Weishaupt
Marina was a guest at Nomadict some years ago, where we spoke about her inspirations, her way of traveling, and her most impressive locations until then. Today, we did another interview in which we focus on how she’s grown over the past years, her approach to photography, and overcoming challenges.
As a kid, Marina’s grandfather took her to the forest to observe animals, pick wild berries or carve wood beside the river. The interest in nature and environmentalism was born and strengthened over the years which brought her to veganism – and photography. The moment that she realized her impact with photography could be something more serious was when she received emails from brands asking for collaborations. Photography being a side business, time management has been a struggle but Marina has grown steadily year after year and has done some great work: “The opportunity to be part of national or international campaigns of well-known brands is a weird feeling – in a good way. For example, Adobe Portfolio launched some new templates and they asked me if I wanna be part of it by providing example images. So now you can create a website using a template called Marina – which I think is super cool.”
These kinds of unexpected opportunities helped Marina to gain confidence in her work. It also changed her view on what it is to be a photographer: “the real challenge is to not only capture one great picture – but to continuously deliver a coherent series of pictures.” Marina achieved a unique “golden” personal style that she applies to many of her photos. Finding your own style is a piece of typical advice, but a very true one: “Looking back at my older edits, the short phases in which I tried to make my images fit certain looks just don’t have much left of myself.” She also related this to social media: “The real challenge now is not to please the algorithm but myself instead.”
Marina aims for her photographs not to be technically perfect, but to be atmospheric and soulful. She hopes to evoke thought and imagination about the moment, nature, and the animals. You can read more about her experiences and her approach to photography just below!
Interview
Welcome, Marina! We shared an interview with you a few years ago, but we didn’t actually speak about how your passion for nature, animals and the environment, and your focus on capturing rough landscapes or mountains merged together and became an integral part of your life. Can you tell us something about that?
Thanks for having me again! That’s a good question, I never really thought about that. My interest in animals and nature probably started to grow in my early childhood. For as long as I can remember there were always several animals part of my family and we did a lot of small trips into nature. My grandpa was the one with whom I was able to have a wide variety of holistic experiences: We observed animals in the local forest, crafted hats out of big leaves we found, picked wild berries or carved wood beside the river. The intrinsic interest for environmental topics then grew later, when I started eating vegan about 7.5 years ago. And of course also when I picked up a camera for the first time – as I always focused on nature.
What was a defining moment that you realized landscape photography was more than a hobby and could be something “more serious”? What considerations did you have and what decisions with regard to the next steps did you then take?
That thought probably hit me for the first time once I received initial emails from brands who reached out to me. But it definitely wasn’t “one” special moment, more like a slow development. It definitely would have been a faster process if I had the time to put more effort into it, but still, it was a great opportunity for a profitable and fulfilling side business. Photography still isn’t my main job – so time management continues to be a bit of a struggle, but it’s working out for me like this.
What opportunities/gigs that have come along on your path helped you to gain confidence in your work and in approaching potential clients? What did you learn and how did these projects contribute to your success, you think?
The opportunity to be part of national or international campaigns of well-known brands is a weird feeling – in a good way of course. For example, Adobe Portfolio launched some new templates and they asked me if I wanna be part of it by providing example images.
"So now you can create a website using a template called Marina - which I think is super cool."
Another nice experience was being part of the 40th anniversary of a big German outdoor brand called Globetrotter. I was a happy customer myself for years & suddenly I was part of their campaign. What was a big learning for me was that you can plan as much ahead as you like, but the weather always has the upper hand and you still have to deliver. Also, opportunities like these definitely help me to believe more in myself and my photography, as well as they helped me to get a different perspective on my photography and to approach certain things differently. For example: In the beginning, I was happy when I had one good shot from a certain hike – with the perfect light, the right angle, etc. But the real challenge for a photographer is to not only capture one great picture – but to continue being able to deliver a coherent series of pictures.
"Long story short: Nowadays I think more in series rather than just keep my eyes open for “the perfect shot”.
Can you show us a photo that you feel really represents you, who you are as an artist and person? What made you choose this photo? What is the story behind it?
It took me a while, but I chose this one. I captured it during my last day and the last sunset I got to witness on Maui – while the majority of the country was watching the super bowl. I rather took the opportunity to go back to one of my favorite places on the island. From here you cannot only observe dozens of sea turtles sleeping in the warm sand, but it’s also a busy spot for surfers. Happily, a few of them preferred the waves and the golden light over football as well. So I sat here for quite a while, soaked in the sea breeze, still not quite getting the fact that I visited Hawaii for real. And maybe also being a bit sad about the fact I can’t surf myself.
I never thought I’d be brave enough to travel solo. And then I was sitting there, all by myself in this beautiful part of the Earth I never thought I’d see with my own eyes. Also, from the beginning, when I started photography 10 years ago, the warm golden tones were always my favorite. This picture combines it all; overcoming anxiety, traveling, nature, my beloved photography & my dearest colors…
"That’s why this photo represents who I have been and who I have become."
Scrolling through your IG feed, it’s clear that you have a specific editing style inclining toward warm colors. Could you give us an insight into your editing style? Using a before/after, could you share the steps you take, tools you use and how your vision/thoughts/emotions influenced the edit?
Yes, I actually received compliments on my beautiful “golden” colors a few times. Until then I didn’t really get that was something so special. The thing is, especially my old 70-200mm isn’t the best lens to capture the true colors of the very moments. So I make no secret of the fact that I achieve this look to a certain extent through the fine-tuning in Lightroom. I always try to re-create the colors and atmosphere based on how I experienced the situation. Sometimes this means more, sometimes less editing.
So for this one, I added contrast, reduced the lights and the black. Then I added some yellow saturation because obviously, the real colors of the golden hour didn’t come out at all – maybe due to the misty air. To achieve a warmer look I added just a bit of temperature and moved the yellow-slider a little more towards orange. I thought “2020 Marina” used split toning to bring out the blue in the water – but surprisingly she didn’t. A gradient filter from the top town helped to add a bit more contrast in the upper part to get out the sun rays better. With a radiant filter, I highlighted the area surrounding the surfer just a tiny bit and added some depths – so he’s more visible. That’s it 🙂
What is helping you nowadays to distinguish yourself within the industry and on social media? Could you share four of your thoughts about what is important when building a brand?
I don’t own any secret on that – I bet it’s the typical phrases you hear and read about anywhere. “Finding your own style” is one of them. Personally I never really spent many thoughts on what my own style is – it just developed over the years. Looking back at my older edits, the short phases in which I tried to make my images fit certain looks just don’t have much left of “myself”.
Another thing everybody preaches is: “Be authentic” – and well, they’re right. For me this doesn’t necessarily have something to do with sharing your whole life with your followers, but is more about not being afraid to share things you can identify with or talk about stuff you stand for; both as a photographer and a human being. This also includes saying no to job offers that don’t suit you or your lifestyle.
Overcoming challenges is an inevitable aspect of the process of achieving goals. What was a great challenge for you and how did you deal with it?
A while ago I definitely had a down phase which made me care too much about the algorithm and likes of social media. Eventually not caring about these things too much anymore took a while but I believe I’m at a good point by now. Besides that, I still have this thing going on which makes me like my pictures at first but hate them sometimes only a few days later. That’s why I keep re-editing older pictures over the years. This also adds to this imposter thinking that I’m not good at what I’m doing, that the jobs I got were just strokes of luck, and so on.
"So the real challenge now is not to please the algorithm but myself instead."
Feeling love for and being connected to nature is key to obtaining great landscape photographs. How do you yourself make sure to connect with your subject and treat nature respectfully while shooting?
I try not to get too overwhelmed by big sceneries but always find beauty in the little things as well. This also helps to find other perspectives on capturing those places.
Being at certain locations I always follow the rules which had to be set by the locals in order to preserve the place for the flora, fauna, and for future generations. But of course, being respectful to nature should always be the priority – whether there are signs or not. Using common sense and informing oneself about the places should be an obligatory thing.
"Also, if I see rubbish like plastic or cigarette butts it’s hard for me to just look away - I rather grab a bag and clean after others than being part of the problem."
Related to the previous question, what has been one of your most impactful moments in nature? What made this moment in particular so special?
There have been a lot. From hiking through the lush green rainforests of Hawaii to waking up surrounded by snow on a mountain top in the middle of summer. Nature is always surprising and never gets boring. One of my favorite moments ever was watching the northern lights in Iceland – which I talked about in the last interview already. But just as special as natural phenomena are encounters with wild animals. Whales, seals, Capricorns, birds, dolphins, … I’ll never get tired of watching them minding their own business in their natural habitats.
Can you give us an insight into your dreams as a visual creator? What are projects you would love to work on and why?
Of course, it would be nice to work with brands I really like or for tourism boards that make me explore places I’ve never been to before, or get to know regions even better. Also, there are loads of unpublished pictures on my hard drive & saved drafts for series on my Behance account. But I don’t really wanna set any fixed goals for my photography, that’d be too much pressure for me. Except maybe switching to a mirrorless camera system next year or so.
What is your vision of photography as a tool in terms of its ultimate goal, its artistic ground, its (emotional) impact, its purpose, etc.?
I never wanted my pictures to be technically perfect, but rather atmospheric and soulful. And that they’re worth a second look. I love to draw into photographs and imagine what was going on at that very moment. How the photographer felt, whether it was a lucky shot or had been planned for a long time. That the landscape, the nature, or the animals in these pictures are so incredibly worth protecting. All of these things (and so much more) go through my head and I hope that some people may think and feel the same about my photos. And that in the end they may even be inspired to pay a little more attention to the beautiful things surrounding them.
Would you like content like this sent to your inbox?
