An approach:
5 aspects that define my photographic work
– not mutually exclusive, often overlapping, and in no particular order.

Clicking on each link will take you to 5 sample photos.

1. Disturbance
   Disturbing elements – not only in the foreground – act as brakes on observation, slowing down perception. For me they serve as anchors for the eye and emphasize the position of the observer.
2. Shift
   I work almost exclusively with old film that expired long ago. What appeals to me is the unpredictability of the result.
   Image composition is important to me, but I like to be surprised by everything else.
   I also develop positive film (slide film) using the negative process (cross-processing), massive color shifts can occur, particularly with this type of film. Even with negative films, however, the way their sensitivity to different colors has changed unevenly over the years often leads to astonishing results.
3. Repetition
   I frequently create multiple exposures
   a) of the same scene, shot handheld. The slightly shifted camera position for each exposure (the shutter must be cocked again between the shots) creates a surreal effect reminiscent of painting.
   b) of different objects or of the same scene from different angles – for instance, by rotating the camera or using varying focal lengths or distances – resulting in a certain degree of abstraction.
4. Geometry
   Lines, surfaces, structures, and textures appeal to me.
   Often, it is these elements – rather than a specific subject – that determine the composition of the image.
5. Pictorialism
   Pictorialism involves adopting stylistic elements from classical painting into photography, such as an emphasis on composition.
   Furthermore, the inherent characteristics of photography – film, camera lens, shooting technique, developing process, etc. – can be deliberately employed to alter or reinterpret so-called „reality.“
   For the photographs presented here, I employ a hybrid approach: following an analog process that concludes with the developed negative, the image is scanned and converted into a digital file.
   Generally, my digital editing process does not go beyond what would be possible when making analog prints in a darkroom.
   An exception arises with very old films, where the base material has darkened so significantly over time that analog projection with an enlarger would no longer be feasible.

… but now there’s plenty of new content!

Not only new films have been added, but a completely new section, „Reise – Travel“ has also been created.

For the photos I took during my March trip through France and Spain, a strict sorting by film and camera wouldn’t make much sense. Instead, the photos from longer trips will now be organized by time and location, grouping different films and cameras together. You can already find the first locations there, and new ones will be added every day.

To make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for, there’s now a „neu – new“ button at the top of the homepage. This lists the latest posts in reverse chronological order, so you can access them directly from there. This saves you from having to search through everything if you just want to quickly check out the latest news.

Quick tip: if you save this „new“ page as a link (www.pictorialist.de/neu-new), you can use it as your start and save yourself the detour via the main page.

The GALLERY page will always feature images from the last five developed rolls of film. When a new roll is added, an older one is removed.

That may be a good reason to check back regularly.

Anyone who would like to be reminded occasionally when there’s something new here is welcome to subscribe to the NEWSLETTER.Yes, you will need to enter your email address – but it absolutely won´t be used for anything else. And your data will remain here. Even sending emails is done via our own server.

Since the end of the 19th century, there have been, broadly speaking, two main directions in photography:

• Documentary:
  reality is depicted more or less faithfully to the original image.
• Pictorialism:
  reality is artistically distorted.

Documentary photography generally focuses on rather advanced equipment, such as a sharper lens, a film with a higher resolution, or a sensor with a higher resolution.

Pictorialism, on the other hand, is more concerned with artistic expression, the specific atmosphere, the composition, and the emotion conveyed by an image.

Most photographers, at least in their own perception, consciously or unconsciously align themselves quite clearly with one of these two approaches.

For documentary photographers, expired film, and its unpredictable image quality are anathema.

The pictorialist side revels in the unexpected, experiments with unfamiliar materials, and tries out new techniques to add another layer to what is already there.

Everything has its place. This page focuses primarily (but not exclusively) on the pictorialist application of photography, mainly with vintage cameras, mostly long-expired film, and double and multiple exposures.
Perhaps pixel peepers will also find something to enjoy.