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Tobias Schwendeler
@to.fl0w
Landscape photographer based in Switzerland
Do you remember these school excursions, these short trips together with your teachers and classmates? Well, I remember myself being super excited to get to explore something new. No matter where we went, there would always be something to discover and often it would be a place surrounded by beautiful nature. This is not that surprising having in mind that it’s Switzerland, where I was born and raised. I loved to be outdoors, and wildlife particularly fascinated me. Thinking back, it were the four elements I was interested in already as a little boy, the core of our existence, even though I might not have been fully conscious about that at that time. As I grew older, the possibilities to travel increased and my respect for our Earth as well.
"The biodiversity on our planet is just tremendous."
"After finishing the Swiss military service, I decided to take the opportunity and travel to the USA to do a kind of language stay."
I bought my first DSLR in order to capture beautiful natural sceneries while I would be there. In the end I spent seven months in beautiful California and I was lucky enough to travel through California and Nevada for one month. I have to admit, the US have stunning views and impressive geographical formations to offer. Endless roads, beautiful beaches, marvellous national parks, and so on. If I had to choose one favourite place in California it would probably be the Yosemite National Park. I was able to visit a few spots more than once, and to witness the impact of the seasons. Seeing how the landscapes change from Winter to Spring was a magical experience.
"So basically I can blame California that I got hooked on photography. It started as a hobby, but now it’s much more than that."
As I am working and studying at the same time, I am always very busy; I really have to take every little opportunity to travel and to get that one picture I always wanted to have. The more experience in photography I obtained, the more and more I was fascinated by the light and the impact it has. With the right settings, you can literally draw a beautiful painting with one press on the shutter. I think that you should never judge the image on the screen of your camera.
"After shooting outdoors, analysing the images on a decent screen is very important to properly see the effect of the decisions you took while shooting."
It’s a very good way to learn from your mistakes and I believe this is an essential aspect of learning and improving your photography skills. YouTube is also rich in information and a great source to stimulate your development. Nevertheless, I do believe that you can learn whatever you want in terms of skills and knowledge, act like a photographer, but there’s no way you can truly become a photographer.
What I really want as a next step in photography, is to get into underwater photography. The fact that places under water are not as easy to reach as over land makes it even more attractive to me. Furthermore, I would like to specialize myself in the arctic photography. I went to Iceland last Autumn and learning more about the glaciers was one of my highlights. Entering an ice cave was not less than jaw-dropping. It is stunning to see how the melting water digs its way through the ice and creates small or huge ice caves.
"But of course the Iceland experience in general was truly amazing."
We were super lucky with the weather, and as it was gloomy all the time, there never was a hard light. You could always shoot under almost perfect circumstances. So I went in Autumn and I can highly recommend going in this season: Beautiful light as well as not too many people. Having the best spots just for yourself is truly amazing. What fascinated me most were the deep colours Iceland had to offer. By the way, did you know that the moss all over Iceland has to grow for 30 years until it reaches its thickness?! It’s everywhere in the mountainous region and it’s a special characteristic of the lava fields.
I enjoyed capturing Iceland and getting to know a different kind of landscape, contemplating its special sort of beauty. However, the best thing for me is still sharing sunrises and sunsets with my beloved ones. It’s a wonderful moment to experience together, peaceful and relaxing, and also a great moment to photograph. There can never be enough golden and blue hours. It is marvellous to see how the world wakes up with the first beam of the sun and goes to bed with the last. But don’t let yourself be fooled… Night photography is just indescribably beautiful too.
"Even if there is no light for your eyes to see, there will always be enough for the perfect picture."
That is the power of photography, I believe. It can amaze. It can show you things your eyes weren’t able to see or your mind wasn’t able to notice. And it can teach about the beauty and richness of our planet, forcing respect and care. Instagram, or social media in general, allows us to share photographs with a huge public. The photos we share are accessible to people from all around the world and we should use that intelligently, hopefully leaving behind a positive impact on the viewer.
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