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Tobias Nussmann
@stadtlandschaftfluss
Photographer based in Germany
Travel means freedom, to escape from everyday life, and to see the world. To divide one’s time freely with what one likes to do most and to expand the horizon with newness and diversity.
So far, my travel destinations were more located in Europe to reduce my global footprint and do my part to save the environment. However, New York has always been on the list, and decided to fulfill this dream. For my trip, I bought a Sony a5000 to take better photos than with the iPhone. Up until that point, I had only taken photos with my smartphone to simply document a trip and everyday life (photos I rarely looked at again). After the purchase, I noticed that I actually had no idea of photography and I have to admit that the photos were not at all better than my smartphone pictures.
"Over 2018, as I had started spending a little more time shooting, I noticed that outstanding photography needs 100% focus - especially in the beginning."
Thus, in 2019 I decided to tackle the matter more seriously. After the first experiences photographing at sunrise at different places I realized that photography brought balance to my life. From hectic everyday life to a connection with nature. There is nothing better than to be alone outside in the morning and enjoy the feeling of peace as the sun rises. Everyone should have a hobby to balance their everyday life and follow their passion to release stress and inspire themselves; do something for yourself. As is often the case, you have to try different things to eventually find a hobby that suits and fulfills you.
"Photography is fulfilling to me because I feel I can realize myself."
Simply doing what I feel like doing, giving free rein to my creativity. In art, more or less everything is allowed. In photography, how far one goes away from a real picture, is a personal and free choice. The boundaries are somewhat fluid. For me, it is simply fulfilling to see the sunrise in the morning, capture it in the camera, and later when editing, to think of this moment again. When you come to work in the morning or start the day and you have already seen a beautiful sunrise…. What more could you want?
From sunrise to sunset to darkness, photographing the Milky Way for the first time was a very beautiful and impressive moment for me. To go out at night and stand in the dark all alone at the spot is somehow scary and indescribably special and wonderful at the same time. Seeing how small we are in the universe, and how silent but alive the world is when we are normally asleep.
"I am grateful that there are still places in Germany, especially in Bavaria, that are dark and do not suffer from light pollution."
It’s difficult to explain to others what it is like to stand in total darkness and watch the stars, get lost in the Alps in the middle of nature, or truly appreciate a national park. However, a picture says more than a thousand words. If someone asks you where you were on vacation, where you were this morning, or what you did on the weekend…you do not have to say much but show your photos. Others will then also see perspectives that one, with the human eye, can not find or see. Details that one would otherwise not perceive.
I am always looking for photos and spots that have not already been shared a thousand times. Many locations that are hotspots are hotspots because they are either simple to reach or because, for humans in general, we like better what we already know compared to something new. This is just psychology. As a beginner, it is also easier to visit existing spots and reproduce images. Spots turn into famous places because of those reasons. Therefore I try to find new spots or capture known spots from a new/different perspective. Really new is hard to find, but Exploring on Google Maps can introduce you to surprising places. I try to photograph a good mix of known and unknown beautiful spots.
People fly all over the world to photograph the must-see locations, which means that staying near to where we live will result in more extraordinary photographs. In addition, by this means, we take better care of the nature we all love so much. Fighting against climate change and protecting the Earth as an individual is not that difficult. Traveling more sustainably and flying less each year has a huge impact on our ecological footprint. Many things can often be achieved by other means of transport or by traveling together to “share” the footprint. Of course, it’s not nice when you see travel bloggers/Instagrammers who visit more places in a year than you will see in the next ten years. At the same time, it should perhaps also be questioned whether it is necessary for a person to visit so many other places or countries or whether there are not also good bloggers/photographers in your own country. What is also a good thing to think about when traveling is that not in all countries the environmental protection is one of the higher priorities.
"Besides traveling mostly nationally, I also reduce my impact on climate change by not buying new photography gear more often than necessary and if I buy, I first check the secondhand options just as I do with other items."
I have been a vegetarian for almost 4 years now as well, both for the environment and for the animals, and I try to avoid any waste/garbage where possible. Of course, this is not always possible but it is better if all people contribute 70% rather than one person 100% and the rest 0%. Finally and as the biggest step toward a greener lifestyle, I have changed my job to a sustainable employer in the energy sector. I do realize though that these steps are easier to take in Germany and some other countries than in many others.
As well, I’m also aware that I am lucky to live in a rather big country with diversity in landscapes, which makes traveling nationally very satisfying. The fact that it’s Europe is also a big advantage. I’m mainly in Bavaria, Germany, and here, in particular, in the foothills of the Alps, there are simply countless photo spots. I enjoy the proximity to the Alps and I could be relatively quickly in Austria and Italy.
It was in Bavaria where I took the first photo I was really happy with. It was taken in 2019, in Olympic Park Munich. I feel this photo still represents me as a person and as a photographer. It was taken more or less on my doorstep and during a festival, which shows that I prefer to capture the sunset at a location over amusing myself otherwise. From the photographer’s point of view, I love reflections and like to center my main subjects through a nice foreground, as is seen in this photo. In addition, a polarizing filter was used for this one; a technique I like and that only works on location because is not possible to achieve the same effect with any post-processing.
Since this photo, my editing style and shooting style have evolved and this will always continue. Currently, I’m in the darker style, though, I have to admit that this is somewhat born of necessity. My camera/drone is already a bit older and the dynamic range including noise is not so good. So I changed to the dark look to hide the noise. I edit my pictures in LightRoom and Photoshop. In Lightroom, the basics are adjusted and the look is created. I never completely change the colors here but use only the already existing light sources; deepen some colors and desaturate others. In Photoshop, I fine-tune the colors with saturation and luminance masks. This is where the dark look is created, which is more or less strong depending on the image.
There’s no particular situation or project that boosted my photography skills from one day to another. Try. Be curious. Learn theory through targeted videos, be it the technical side or theoretical side. Though whatever you do, the most important thing is just to go out. Only through practice do you learn. By being presented with different situations, you learn more and more. Each sunset/sunrise is something different or associated with a different light situation.
It’s these small changes, especially at a location where I’ve already been, that inspire me and make me improve. Another benefit of traveling locally!
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