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Samir Benelwarda
@samir.sparks
Landscape photographer based in Switzerland
Even as a child, nature had a special place in my life. I grew up next to a forest where my brother and I spent a lot of time. At school, instead of studying on the computer, I looked at landscapes. I was so inspired by the beauty and diversity of our nature. So my curiosity for nature grew through pictures. In addition to that, I hated noise and stress in cities early on. I didn’t like to be in big cities where I didn’t find peace and there are lots of people.
"I always withdrew into the peace and quiet of nature. It was and is my “haven”.
When I was given my first camera, a dream came true for me. Finally I was able to take great pictures as I saw on the Internet. I could finally let my creativity run free and capture God’s creation on my camera. From then on I traveled a lot in Switzerland; I went to places that I knew from childhood and I was already inspired by and now captured them on camera. I also discovered a lot of new places that I didn’t know before. Every single trip and every place had something special. Hiking and exploring became a part of me. The space where I could be completely and freely myself without distractions. I prefer to be in places without too many people and no tourism because nature is still just nature there, untouched by humans to make it more comfortable for tourists.
"And every time I came home from a trip and looked at my pictures I got wanderlust again."
My first ‘longer trip’ to South Tyrol – a place I always wanted to visit – left me deeply impressed. I went with a friend into the rugged mountains and forests marked by autumn. It was there that I had my first experiences with astrophotography, which I still love to do today. The night outside in nature always brings something peaceful and calming with it. In the future I plan to deal more with astrophotography.
Then, the processing of the pictures is something I truly enjoy and take my time for. When it’s raining outside and I can’t go on a journey of discovery, nothing is better than making myself comfortable behind the computer and editing my pictures. For me, every single photo is like a painting that I can draw. It gives me enormous pleasure to conjure something unique out of an “ordinary” photo. Playing around with the colors, using special lighting effects or just improving it a little – it puts me in a state of flow as shooting itself does, but different. With my photos I would like to trigger special and calming feelings, my pictures should take people out of the stressful everyday life even just for a little while.
For me, even though I love finding myself in nature alone, people are somehow part of my photography. Mainly because I met a lot of great new people through it. These contacts have developed into friendships that are very important to me. Sharing a passion together can be a lot of fun and you can always learn something new, it’s binding and creates a special energy.
I am so grateful that I can travel to so many places and witness and immortalize wonders of the world. That cannot be taken for granted. I always knew that nature would play a special role in my life. I am happy to share and convey that through my photography, which makes it even more special.
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