artist’s statement
Welcome to Living Gallery
This site is dedicated to the beauty which you can find nearly everywhere – the beauty that surrounds us. Although there are breathtaking landscapes of incredible beauty on this planet, it’s more the time of the day, which means the quality of light, that makes the image, therefore most photos presented here are taken at sunrise or sunset, when the light is at its softest and warmest.
At its maximum, a camera is capable of capturing what our eyes can see. However, it’s not only our eyes which capture the beauty of the moment, it’s more all of our senses, that we use, the smells which are blowing into our nose, noises we’re hearing or the locations temperature, which we’re feeling.
Not least, it’s also the emotions and feelings of the photographer and how he sees with his heart & soul, which is reflected in the photos presented here – shortened, it is pure love for the subject and nature which you will find in these images.
The photos shown at LivingGallery do not match the pure sight or are even documentary records, they are kind of art, in which the photographers personal relationship to the subject and his emotions flow into the finished image.
technical information about my photography
Some words about the technical aspects and post processing:
All photographs presented here have been taken using the light which was available at the location. To surpass the camera as the limiting factor, I use different techniques like HDR (High Dynamic Range), DRI (Dynamic Range Increase) and multi exposures. These techniques allows me to capture the whole dynamic range of a scenery, reduce camera-sensor noise and to be artistically creative. For moving subjects, like branches or leaves, which I’d like to render with maximum sharpness, I use a very short exposure. On the other hand, for subjects I’d like to render more creatively, like a flowing stream or moving clouds, I use longer exposures. Within post processing I put together those photographed subjects, which contains both the needed sharpness and the artistic aspect, to one final image (time stacking).
I never add or remove relevant details of the image, like a subject or a sky that wasn’t there. However, as described above, I will bring in my personal emotions, like strong colors, which are as vivid as nature itself, when post processing an image.
Post processing is done by hand by using the possibilities of Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. I do not use “one click” solutions, presets or ready to go plugins to get the result. Every photo is individually considered and processed by myself.
Currently I use the following photography equipment:
· Sony a7R IVa
· Sony a7R II (Backup Body)
· Sony SEL 24-105mm f4,0 G OSS
· Sigma 14-24mm f2,8 DG DN Art
· Canon EF 16-35 f/4L IS USM
· Canon EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM
· Sigma MC-11 Canon EF to Sony E-Mount Adapter
· DJI Mini 4 Pro Drone
· SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB SDXC memory cards
· Velbon Geo E635D tripod (carbon-basalt, very lightweight)
· Benro B1 ballhead
· NiSi S5 150mm filter holder for Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art incl. Landscape NC polarizer
· Haida NanoPro MC Serie ND Filter 150mm x 150mm ND 3.0 (1000x)
· Haida Serie 150 ND Filter 150mm x 150mm ND 0.9 (8x)
· Heliopan polarizer 105mm
· Lee Soft graduated neutral density (GND) filter (strength: 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9)
· Lee Hard graduated neutral density (GND) filter (strength: 0.6 and 0.9)
· Lee 0.9 Pro Glass Neutral density (ND) filter (glass filter that reduces exposure by 3 stops)
· Lee Big-Stopper (ND glass filter that reduces exposure by approximately 10 stops)
· Camera backpack Lowepro Whistler BP 350 AW II
· Adobe Creative Cloud: Lightroom & Photoshop CC
· Tony Kuyper Luminosity Masks Panels & Actions
· DELL UltraSharp U3223QE
· X-Rite i1Display Pro colorimeter
· Huion Kamvas Pro 16 2.5K Pen-Display
miscellaneous
I do photography just for myself and not for any commercial or other reasons.
If you have any questions or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me directly via the contact menu.
Design and technical implementation of this website by Frank Lüdtke.
Thank you very much for visiting my site. Look with your heart!