Benjamin Matthijs – Combining Two Passions – Travel and Photography

Benjamin Matthijs

Germany

Combining Two Passions – Travel and Photography

 

Considering myself an Fine Art photographer I can combine two of my greatest passions: Travelling to the most interesting places on earth and taking photographs. So my camera is my faithful companion on my trips all around the world.

 

STYLE   

I do fine art photography. When post-processing my images my aim is to let the viewer experience the same mood and feelings when looking at my image like I had when seeing the scene through my camera's viewfinder.

 

 

MEDIUM   

My main medium is digital photography. However I recently got two old cameras from my grandpa so from time to time I shoot on film again.

 

Process for Art Creation   

Whenever I go out, my camera is my companion. So whenever walking around I keep my eyes wide open, looking for interesting scenes, beautiful details and powerful compositions. Once captured with the camera I usually wait a couple of days or weeks before I start post-processing the images. When working on an image I think back to the particular scene, to the moods and feelings connected with this scene. My aim is that the viewer can experience the same again, when looking at the finished image.

 

THEMES   

My main themes are travel and street photography.

 

Why create art?    

Simple answer: It is a passion. Others do e.g. yoga to de-stress, I create art. Plus I am very interested in other countries and different cultures, so I love travelling. Creating art gives me the possibility to share the experiences I make on my trips around the world with others.

 

How often do you photograph?   

For me creating is a continuous process. There is no "how often". There are certain times I take my shots and there are certain times I do the post-processing. Once I am confident with a finished image I publish it. However till I reach this point it usually takes a lot of reviews and changes to my post-processing process.

 

Do you make a continual income your art?   

Unfortunately not yet. However I hope and do my best so that this may change one day.

 

Art Promotion   

In general I promote my art on the usual ways like my own website, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and so on to show it. Plus I like to discuss about it so I am member in a large internet community. I give a lot on the feedback and critics I get from there.

 

Influences   

There is no certain photographer that influences me in general. There are some who inspire me regarding their choice of motives and there are others inspiring my by the technique they use. My aim is not to be as good or even better than a certain artist. My aim is to get better in my work from day to day.

 

 

Recommend a contemporary artist    

Ansel Adams is a great photographer. He had the eye for the scene and produced great landscape images. I would love to see what results he would archive with todays equipment and possibilities.

 

Life changing Event   

I spent 1 1/2 years in Mumbai (Bombay) in India. This time was mind-changing to me. Not only because of all the colors and impressions. After two month in India I got injured in terrorist attacks, suffered from a grenade which exploded right next to my dining table. I was in my mid twenties and never thought about death. All of a sudden I realized that live could be over very soon. Luckily I had only minor injuries but I still have three of the grenade's shrapnel in my body, reminding me the old Latin saying "carpe diem!" Since that date I am much more relaxed in my every day live. With such an experience you can see how trivial many things in live really are.

 

Future Aspirations   

My dream would be to be able to make a nice living from my art. More realistic will be to generate some additional income which I could invest in better equipment and more trips to interesting places.

 

Advice for artists   

Don't stop. There will come the day when you think your work is s**t and everybody else archives better results. Don't stop at that point. Continue working. Continue improving. And most important: Network and talk about your work with as many people as possible.
 

 

 

 

Benjamin Matthijs

Website: www.matthijs.de

Twitter: @BMLichtwerk
Facebook Page: Benjamins Lichtwerk