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Of Sonia
@of_sonia
Landscape photographer based in Switzerland
My family has always encouraged me to pay attention to art and to express myself creatively and artistically, for which I am very grateful. I could paint and draw for hours and already as kid I borrowed my parents’ digital camera to experiment with taking photos. From then on photography has been a significant part of how I spend my free time.
I grew up in a small village. With the Swiss mountains right there when opening the front door, I didn’t think of it as an exciting subject and place to discover and wanted to travel elsewhere, to take photos of places I had yet to explore.
"My grandfather was a mountaineer and traveled all over the world. As a little girl I often rummaged through his old slides and held the small pictures in the light to look at them."
He traveled also to Greenland and had several pictures of icebergs in his collection. His stories and tales aroused the curiosity and interest in traveling within me. I was already lucky to go on holidays to the mountains to go hiking, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, but his stories made me dream of exploring places far away, places that sounded so unbelievable and adventurous.
I never wondered what I wanted to do. For me it was like there was no other option than doing something creative, my mind and heart were focused on that, guiding me to follow my passions and do the things that made me feel good. The joy I find in taking pictures and the joy I feel when drawing are similar, although while drawing or painting I may be able to invent and fantasize more. When I capture a beautiful place in the mountains either with my lens or with a pen, I perceive it more precisely. Both tools allow me to see details, look for particularities, analyze colors… I can say that I experience what I see more lively, more intense and I feel more connected with my surroundings. Without these tools I would look different at everything that surrounds me, pay less attention and most probably feel less intense appreciation for the natural world.
"Though I still try to train my eye. The closer I look, the better my drawings become and that also applies to photographs."
"I enjoy taking photos because I like to look for nice details and the atmosphere in one place, and to capture it subsequently."
My photography is highly based on feeling, on appreciation for what I see and motivation to highlight these things. I still don’t completely understand how the camera works and what technology is behind it, because I’m not particularly interested. That is a shame, because the photos could be much better when mastering the camera and the settings according to the circumstances and scenes. I realized I should know my device and how to use the advantages of technology so I began asking for help and exchanging more information with friends. Fortunately, I have friends and family members who are more familiar with the technological part of photography than I am. This made photography more a collaborative activity which made it even more fun.
"My photos don't just come from the camera in my hand and one click with my finger. They develop through teamwork. Through inspiration. And through adventure."
Five years ago I made my first and only trip to another continent; a friend and I traveled to Indonesia with our backpacks and explored the island of Java. It was our goal to climb different volcanoes and of course we also targeted Mount Bromo. A vast sea of sand surrounds the volcano in East Java. The landscape alone was already unforgettable. We arrived on the day of Yadnya-Kasada, a religious festival of the Tengger. The people head to the top of Mount Bromo to offer sacrifices to the deity of the Sang Hyang Widi Wasa volcano. I was completely astonished because it was the most impressive I had ever seen, both the ritual and the landscapes. At the same time, I could hardly watch because the locals were so close to the volcanic vent that it scared me.
As a Swiss, I grew up very safe and secure while the regions that I traveled to in Indonesia are regularly hit by earthquakes. Such a journey is emotionally impressive and you are faced with injustice and poverty too. At the same time, this is what enriches your worldview as you create a more realistic image, while you also gain tolerance and become more cosmopolitan.
"Being outside gives me the space to reflect on these exceptional experiences as well as daily life events."
I can also switch off and relax, especially when I am in the mountains. I worry less about everything and everyone and come to myself. In front of a summit that is thousands of meters high, I am reminded about how colorful and big the world is. How small my problems are and how lucky I am to be able to experience all these things, to be healthy and to be free. I love these moments and hiking in these places – with my camera even more.
"At school I learned that you can't edit photographs - a good photo is made with the camera."
I liked the idea and found it nice that you can create a picture that is as complete as possible with the camera itself. At the same time, however, I think that this approach is no longer up to date. It is part of the art and if the editing helps to keep a serie of photos together or express a feeling with a single photograph I do like to use Lightroom to achieve that and make the photo even more atmospheric. The world and its nature has been beautifully designed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t express how we feel about experiencing the world personally by the means of art.
"I believe emotional expression through art should be encouraged, from a young age on."
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