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Mario Rittmeier
@farblos.story
Photographer based in Germany
Almost every day in a different place, mostly outside on the road and completely flexible… I discovered this free and easy way of traveling in 2012 when I did a road trip in the US with my friends. Many more trips of this kind in different countries followed. The passion for photography developed all by itself through traveling.
In 2018-2019 I was backpacking for 11 months around the world. On such long journeys, I am looking for a daily, fixed mission. An occupation that I can follow alongside that perfectly integrates into my lifestyle.
"Photography was kind of like having a "job" while traveling - my mission."
Over time, I began exploring other functionalities of my Nikon, studied the basics, tried things, learned Lightroom, and read books about light and perspective. If you will, I discovered a creative part in me that I didn’t know about before. It was only at this point that I got serious about photography. I doubt that I would have discovered photography for myself had I not gone on such a long journey. In my childhood or early adolescence, I didn’t have an interest in photography.
It is still a hobby for me, although a rather intense one. I am a full-time safety engineer here in Wolfsburg, Germany and I don’t take photos every day – I’m completely relaxed about that. I don’t want to put myself under pressure and I just want to do a good job. These days I am on the road a lot, driving my own VW bus, which makes me extremely flexible. Still, I don’t let the travel destinations be dependent on my photography and adapt the photography to the travel destinations instead. But when traveling, the camera is definitely a daily component.
Even more when I’m happy with the shots. And of course, it is also a good feeling or acknowledgment when other people like the work I do. That makes me a bit proud – especially considering I do photography “just” as a hobby.
The main reason I am so fond of photography is that I save my journeys on photos. There were dozens of impressive moments during my travels, either from a cultural, culinary, or photographic point of view. Nevertheless, the most impressive time for me among my travels was clearly the months in South America, especially in Patagonia.
"The trips in Patagonia, alternating between Argentina and Chile, crossing Tierra del Fuego, and finally reaching the end of the world in Ushuaia, were very special."
Patagonia has so much to offer! The national parks Los Glaciares or Torres del Paine are impressive natural spectacles. A unique moment was the hike from El Chalten to the Laguna de Los Tres at the bottom of the massive Fitz Roy. When I arrived after several hours of hiking to the top, I was simply overwhelmed by this scenery. A blue lagoon in front of a 3400m high granite peak, accompanied by a mix of clouds and sunshine with extreme wind. I sat down on a stone in front of this scenery and marveled at the view. Then I gave my girlfriend the camera. I told her, “just press the shutter button, you can’t go wrong here”. In all the excitement I had forgotten to switch the camera from JEPG back to RAW. So actually, something still could be done wrong. But maybe that’s what makes this photo so special – It’s my absolute favorite photo of the trip.
I will also never forget the moment when I stood at the edge of the Grand Canyon for the first time in 2012 and was able to look down about 1000 m or when I drove the Icefields Parkway in Canada in 2017. These are just things that are engraved in my mind forever.
I’m a simple dude. I usually do not care whether I sleep in a hostel, tent, or van. The main priority is to be flexible and simply to be on the road. When you are outside Germany or Europe, for example in parts of South America or Southeast Asia, it becomes very clear how well we are doing here. Drinking water from the tap, hot water in the shower, safe means of transport, good infrastructure, a reliable social system that offers protection…
"Things that seem self-evident are unfortunately not so self-evident for many people on other continents."
I’m not saying that people or countries are doing bad, quite the opposite – They have their own good things and way of working, and many people are simply happy with much less, which is something we can learn from. People often have a smile on their lips and are much less driven by materialistic pursuits than Europeans, in general.
In Cambodia we met a tuk-tuk driver, his name was YaYa. YaYa drove us around Angkor Wat for three days and explained all the important temples that were part of this huge complex. YaYa spoke great English, was a good guy and we talked about many things in his life. YaYa also told us about his wife and children, that he had to ransom his wife from her parents for 3,000 dollars to be allowed to marry her. This is a common practice in Cambodia and unbelievable for us in the Western world. YaYa is one of the hundreds of tuk-tuk drivers who drive tourists through Angkor Wat in Siem Reap and by doing so, earn their living and feed their families.
"You definitely get grounded if you interact with a local on a personal level in such situations. My deepest respect to this man."
While traveling, it is very clear to me that you try to enter another world, to escape from everyday life a bit. When I leave Germany and suddenly find myself in the middle of Ho Chi Minh or La Paz – that’s why I travel. Suddenly you’re not only in a completely surreal world as a European but also in a totally distinct culture, where you have to find your way slowly and respectfully. If you have a camera with you, it’s like a huge “playground” with a lot of things to document.
Most of the time I see a subject and think it could make a great photograph. Since I never learned how to approach it professionally and it’s all based on autodidactic and trial and error, I always act spontaneously and without thinking. I believe this frees me from any mental shackles.
My family says that my photos often look a bit dark, but that’s exactly my style. I like the images to be a little darker or moodier and generally less gaudy. I get inspiration from other photographers and their images can be so heavily edited that they no longer have anything to do with reality – the images are more Art than photography. But they are not less beautiful; the main thing is that they stay true to their style, and maybe that’s also why these photographers inspire me.
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