This is the first photo of my series “Into the blue”. It tells the story of how I discovered photography as an artistic tool, a craft I still pursue today at the highest amateur level. I simply wanted to try out my digital SLR camera. Until that evening, I had always used it in automatic mode. That night, I randomly chose a manual setting, which at first produced an image that was far too dark. I adjusted the settings again, and this photograph, a self-portrait, was created. I couldn’t see the camera’s display while taking the picture.
This series no longer has much in common with what I photograph today. I now focus on objects in my surroundings, often placing them in entirely new contexts. Images that combine contradictory elements provoking thought and attracting attention are at the heart of my current work. However, what has remained is my preference for photographing people. The camera setting that produced this characteristic blue tone is one I continue to use. It doesn’t matter whether everything is clearly visible or whether reality is faithfully depicted in my photos. Blurred or missing elements invite the viewer to think, interpret, and add their own mental imagery. My works are always accompanied by a poem, a sound installation, or a performance.
During the creative process, techno sounds played an essential role. They supported and drove me forward in my creative “workflow.” These sounds match the blue and muted light of my images light like that found in a club. In this first photograph, I was particularly fascinated by the texture of my own hair, its unevenness, the defiance of individual strands, the glossy shine, and the range of colors from gray to brown to blue. I had never seen myself this way before.
I am running my fingers through my hair or rather into my hair, into the blue. The movement of my hand thus becomes a symbol of the series’ title and of the beginning of my passion for photography: a passion that arose spontaneously, impulsively, from the heart, and into the blue without any pursuit of perfection.
Accompanying Poem:
Young, passionate, and impulsive:
What do you need more to be explosive?
Just inspiration paired with a little bit of naivety,
ending up in endless creativity.
Sitting in my room, listening to the sound of techno beats,
and holding my camera is all my creativity needs.
And all of a sudden, I took these pictures with the beautiful light,
into the blue, without knowing what to do.
Call it coincidence or call it art.
From that point, it was not that hard
to get inspired by everything I see,
with a second project that caused so much glee.
Having a different look at second glance,
remembering this as a huge chance.
Our lives and surroundings are full of this.
I captured some moments using my pseudonym “Ki.S“.
However, the only place where I presented my work
was the corridor of our small but beautiful flat.
And that was - being honest with myself - too sad.
