Picturing the Americas

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

USA | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 5 photos

As a kid I discovered haunted houses in the forest next to my German hometown. A few years later I backpacked from Nicaragua through Guatemala to Mexico with barely any Spanish skills, and I loved it. I was as much a miracle for the Guatemalan natives, as their world was for me.
The rain forest with its breathtaking opulence; the countless witnesses of ancient cultures and the welcoming, curious people of Central America impressed me deeply so that I came back two years later for a 6 month internship in Mexico. This gave me the opportunity to travel through big parts of the country and even more heated up my travelers heart.
Three years ago I moved to New York City to work as a IT project manager and I'm now exploring North and Central America whenever there is a chance.

I love photography as artistic medium to awaken people's interest in topics they haven't thought about before. To capture the viewers attention I go unusual ways: standing knee-deep in ice-cold water in the middle of the night with camera and tripod, laying up to the neck in a mud pit or sneaking covered with mosquitoes through a recently flooded house.

My photography skills I am constantly improving by reading books and blogs, through meet-ups with many great photographers here in NYC, through a home-study course of NYIP and through self assignments for my personal photo project 'Picturing the Americas'.

My long-term goal is to start a career as travel photographer for places off the beaten path.