An Artist ... and Daily Routine.
By Christian Ruhm
24 Oct 2009
What's your profession? Please describe it.
I've studied photography so I guess I'm a professional photographer / artist. To earn some money I work at a photolab in Berlin - that means 4 days a week of working quite hard and 3 days sitting in my studio in front of my equipment, thinking of new ideas, heading off to catch them, doing some postproduction and stuff ... force myself to do what seems to be "the best job" in the world: let people make see things through my eyes ... let them try to feel the same...
Where do you do this?
At my studio and elsewhere. Depends on my ideas ... most of the time I'm "collecting" structures and stuff I might need later. I work for hours on new lightning and strange effects just to get my inspiration far BEFORE the awful post-production. Same with my outdoor work ... "take Your time = less post-production" or " S.E.E. !! = don't build it up afterwards!"
Do you enjoy what you do?
A.B.S.O.L.U.T.E.L.Y !! there's no better job!! (and I mean my creative work.)
When you were young, what did you want to "be" when you grew up?
Helmut Newton, I guess ;-)
But when my Mum asked me one evening, I just answered: " A well known photographer". She smiled at me in a way I will never forget ... bless her!
Do you feel stuck doing what you are doing?
Nope... wait! ... No.
But: Nothing hurts more than a phone ringing or a washing machine bleeping while You're trying to develop a new idea, a thought ... a simple thought.
A close friend of mine who's a painter once told me: "If You'ld like to paint for one hour ... You'll need 3 hours of quiteness before that." ... She's obviously right!
What are the most and least satisfying parts of your job?
I guess most satisfying is ... when the ideas come... just "in time"
The least: The ideas come and there's no chance/time to realize them ... to take pictures.
How do you combine photography with your job?
As I'm working at a lab there's an awful lot of pictures I've to process and look at ... this gives me an idea of "how to do things better" or " how to look at things in a different way". Most of my customers just try to capture "where" they stayed at their visit ... I try to look behind this "curtain" and discover something new ... something that may last.
Anything else you'd like to add?
The pictures for this story I took on a short trip to New York City and on our last walk through Berlin. I started experimenting with multiple exposures and some zooming effects ... It was like fighting for not just capturing the "tourist-view" but working on something special ... my OWN view on things... things, like they should be rememberd in my way
