Markus Lehr

Berlin, Germany

website

What do you find most fascinating about industrial structures and installations?

Their character(s) spark my imagination. Every corner and perspective challenges me to go further and dig a little deeper. There is so much history and human ingenuity condensed in a relatively small place.

Especially when looking through ‘Modern Ruins’, I was under the impression that you are interested in capturing different ‘textures’ of (built) materials and monuments. Would you agree?

Definitely. Textures and surfaces are also what I am working on most in post-processing. It feels be a bit like looking at human skin. Delicate and desirable.

What do you find most challenging about shooting under difficult lighting conditions?

There are two things I am often struggling with: Flares and ghosts. If you are out at night there are sometimes only one or two sources of light and the contrast is very high, too. This often results in some colourful reflections inside your glass. Sometimes I like that, but more often I find it distractive and rather try avoiding it. You need a good lens and some techniques to help you with that.

You write that you strive to portray humanity without actually showing humans. What would including persons in your pictures change about them?

Everything! I think humans would distract immensely from the main content I want to show. Usually we look at humans first and often we relate everything to them. Even if they are completely out of focus or hidden in an image, we always spot them and focus our attention on them. I prefer to show the effect of humans on a given space. I prefer to let our traces speak about us.

You live and work in Berlin. Do you have a favourite neighbourhood/quarter/spot in the city to spend your leisure time in?

I especially like Schöneberg because of the mix of cultural influences there. This quarter is not as 'hip' as Kreuzberg or Friedrichshain, but a bit more relaxed and easy going. I like that.

Since starting to engage in photography, did you find that your everyday view on your surroundings had changed? If yes, how so?

Well, I concentrated very much on the night in the first year of shooting. That had quite an impact on my way of seeing things: For the first time I noticed the difference that light can make. I started to see interesting places and corners in areas I usually simply passed by. It is fascinating to enter the backyard of a house in the neighbourhood and discover a whole new little world there.

Which artists' works are you watching closely?

Maybe Edward Burtynsky and Gregory Crewdson, but there are many not so well known contemporary artists, who have inspired me more. It is the little things they see, a slightly different focus or a very dedicated appreciation of where you are coming from, but mostly it's something I cannot put into words.

When you feel that you are absentminded, what helps you focus again?

I try to stay away from any kind of photographic things for a little while. I do something else like reading or listening to music for a few days. And then after a while I automatically get that urge to get out and being outside again - it always works. One other thing I regularly practise is to challenge myself with a complete new and different task: For example, after I had been busy with industrial and urban scenery for months, one weekend I went out into the forest and tried to capture only the trees for a couple of days. My perspective on urban spaces shifted after that.

Do you buy magazines or rather read them online?

I think I stopped buying magazines four or five years ago. I only buy books.

All is fair in ...

... the night.

Hannes Lippert

Berlin, Germany

flickr website

A lot of your pictures were taken out and about at different locations in Germany as opposed to showing places abroad. What do you like most about traveling within the country?

I love traveling to foreign countries - especially in East Europe. But I think that the country I live in is already quite big, and I haven’t had the chance or time to explore it entirely. So I am trying to gather as many impressions as possible by visiting different places in Germany – doesn’t matter if they can be considered ‘nice’ or not. A lot of my friends are spread all over the country right now, and there is always a reason to visit them and their surroundings.

And among all the places you've visited lately, which one would you say has inspired you the most?

Last weekend we went to the Baltic Sea. I love the sea in the cold season with the rough climate. Days before our departure I am always very excited. I try to imagine the pictures I would like to take in my head. But when we arrive at our destinations, I most of the times feel like I could photograph everything...

The most inspiring place for me until now was the Sudan, because I felt there was such a different way of life there. Unfortunately I had not yet started taking pictures regularly back then.

Would you say that pursuing photography educates the eye in recognizing little things along the way in everyday life? Or is this rather a premise to become a photographer?

Well, I can only answer for myself, but since I have been taking photographs, I have become more ‘goal-oriented’ when looking at the things around me. But I would not say that that’s a premise to be a photographer, no. I like to view the works of other photographers a lot, and I think that browsing through others’ pictures is what inspires me in terms of how I approach photography.

Do you print out pictures for yourself as well? Or for friends?

Oh yes. When I like a picture I have taken, I often print it out in a bigger format and put it up in our apartment. I love analogue photography and I also love paper. Sometimes I give some of my pictures away. Last year I had the idea of collecting the – in my opinion - best photographs that I had taken over the year in a small book. This is a collection that I put together for primarily myself.

In your opinion, do things like Instagram devalue photographs, or simply change the way they are being presented, used, perceived...? Why do you prefer film?

I'm not sure, really. I am a friend of analogue photography because of the "click and clack" noises and because I love the aesthetic look of images on film. One can achieve very nice results with Instagram or Hipstermatic, of course. But I think it’s only easy to get wonderful pictures with these (filter-) apps as long as you have a ‘good eye’. When I think about me preferring film and not using digital photography now, I wonder if I try to protect myself against this flood of pictures that seems to be everywhere right now.

Are there any insider tips you would give photographers visiting the city you live in?

There are lot of lost places in and around Berlin which might be interesting for people who engage in photography. For example, one can visit the Heilstätten Beelitz, the Teufelsberg, various old railway facilities or factories. I love the parks in the mornings and evenings, so maybe the Tiergarten and the Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg are worth a visit as well.

Are you interested in conceptual photography?

I like the work of Tim Walker, which, in my opinion, is conceptual photography. Sometimes I also start small projects in which I prepend a thought-out plan. I want to work like this more often in the future. Still, I try to collect my memories in an aesthetic way at the same time, so I will always be taking more spontaneous photographs as well.

And is there a project you're working on currently?

Take pictures for my ‘Book of 2012’, I would say.

Do you ever catch yourself making fun of tourists making pictures with their, for instance, iPads and tablets?

Taking pictures with iPads looks very funny in fact, but maybe it's just another way of collecting personal memories.

Would you ever like to work in the film industry?

No, not really. Maybe I would try to take some short films with an 8mm camcorder just for fun.

The book of travels, and memories. Take a look at his work!