by Yvette Depaepe 
Published the 5th of July 2021

Susanne Jung's  style is unique and immediately recognizable.  She always staid faithful to her own line.  She  is not aiming for perfect glossy pictures with over sharpened details and to achieve an organic character, she works with textures.  Her colours are rather muted and dark.  Let's discover more about Susanne and the artist behind her images. 

Thank you, dear Susanne, for taking the time to tell us your story.

'Es war an einem kalten Wintertag_1'

I have been seriously involved in photography since the mid-90s.
In analogue times, I spent many hours in the darkroom.
When digital photography finally arrived and with it, computer processing, this was not an option for me at first, and I took a break for a few years.

Then in 2011, I bought my first digital camera.
My head was full of ideas but and I absolutely had no acknowledge about computers or image editing.  But new possibilities were offered and I was really triggered.
I always had wished that I could paint and now, thanks to the computer and with the help of Photoshop, I am able to assemble pictures according to my ideas, uninfluenced and unrestricted and it means a great artistic freedom to me.

'Stadrundfahrt'

'Die Leiden des Herrn W.' 

'Learning by doing' is probably an aptly description in my case.   Of course, over time my technique improved.  But I always stayed true to my line - I didn't want perfect glossy pictures, no over-sharpened details.  To achieve an organic character, I still work with textures, sometimes several, sometimes only partially applied. My colours are rather muted and dark.   My images sometimes appear rough and uneven, not at all perfect.  The eye needs breaks to focus on.
You could also describe my work as  "Taking pictures in a minor key".
In the beginning the pictures were a bit rough.   With time I refined my technique a bit.

'Fährmann'

'Mädchen mit Kreisel'

Since my main focus goes to good compositions, I also photographed differently.  Always keeping an eye out for details, objects, backgrounds that seemed interesting and that I could possibly use for one of my images.   Where others took a photo of the overall scene, I may have only photographed the trash can in the background😉

People in my pictures are usually acquaintances, for example, children from our neighbourhood, with whom I was simply on the road to take pictures and who were fortunately able to forget the camera completely.  I just had to release the shutter.

'Der 1.Schultag'

'Das Geheimnis'

 The male models usually embodies my husband.

'Geburstagsüberraschung'

'One rainy evening'

I belong rather to the "cumbersome" workers.  My ideas for pictures often arise at a later point in time. 
So I go through my archive and see what might come into question.
What fits the picture idea? Is the light right? The perspective? The resolution?
What about the clothing? In many of my pictures, the subjects were dressed "digitally".
Not everything can be satisfactorily adjusted afterwards.

'Warten auf den Morgen'

'Hotelstories_1'

To answer the question: what is more important - technical perfection or mood and atmosphere?   I usually answer this question clearly in favour of mood but today I'm hesitating a bit.  If a picture manages to touch you emotionally, I think it has achieved its main goal.  Minor carelessness can be ignored in my opinion.  But I have noticed that if there are coarser mistakes, it affects the impression of the picture very much.   Some explicit examples are : if parts of the image are poorly cropped, if the focus and light gradient do not fit, if shadows are set illogically or are missing, if the overall image does not give a coherent impression.

I have always tried to make my pictures looking as realistic as possible, as if the scene was photographed in the same way.   On the other hand, in terms of content, it may appear whimsical and imaginative.
Therefore "Apparently real" was the title of some of my exhibitions,.  In 2018, my exhibition in Switzerland met with a broad and extremely positive feedback.

'Stillstand'

One of my all favourite pictures is still  'It 's showtime'.
It shows Hannah, who provides an incredible atmosphere and depth with this particular facial expression.  For me, the image radiates resignation and hopelessness, an abysmal sadness as well as a quiet surrender.

'It's showtime'

In the meantime, I am increasingly working on series/collections.  In my opinion, a coherent collection strengthens the statement enormously. One can deepen a theme and deal with it more intensively.
Talking about series, I must not forget to mention my friends, the dogs.  I love dogs and photograph them at every opportunity.   So I made several dog compositions in the last years.

'Der Chef'

Due to the pandemic and the lack of photo opportunities,   we also discovered dog training at the racetrack in 2020.   From the beginning, it was important to me not to take classic racing photos but rather to portray the dogs.  That's why I kept my editing a bit playful, emphasizing the faces, trying to highlight characters.   And as small as some dogs are, they are in no way inferior to the big ones and are not impressed by them.

'Chasing the rabbit_6'

'Chasing the rabbit_1'

'Flying Wilma'

I don't have and never had photographic role models. There are an infinite number of fantastic photos, but none of them has served me as a role model.  I think you should go your own way without wanting to emulate anyone.   Photography is such a wonderfully creative hobby that should be fully exploited. It's the variety that makes it so appealing.

Lately, I notice a small change in my vision. Instead of elaborating compositions or classic motifs, I am almost daily walking in the forest, on the road to feel nature as a peaceful rest for the soul. In the winter, fog and silence inspire me.  In the spring it is the fresh green.  Nature is constantly changing. What a gift to be able to capture it to reflect your feelings in an image.   I'm still working on that...

I also like animal portraits. We travel a lot to zoos and are always discovering new and interesting "traits" of different animals.

'Klare Ansage'

I like images where blur hides more than is shown. 
I like a creative use of colour, just as I like a coarse-grained SW.   
I like it when people have their own style.

'Die Dämonen tanzen weiter'

'Vom Lieven und Abschiednehmen'

'Abschied'

People having their own style is exactly what I've found on 1x. 
I joined in April 2021 and are delighted with the quality of photos shown here.  
A variety of different styles, edits, motifs that impress me. 
I admire the creativity of many photographers, who often disregard all generally applicable rules.
This is photography the way I want it to be. It is food for the eye and for the soul.
1x also is a most friendly and respectful community.

If I could make one small wish, it would be to be able to show collections or series and to be able to submit them as one entity to curation in a closed way.

Finally, I would like to mention that it is a great honour for me to be able to tell something more about myself and my photography.
Special thanks to you for the invitation to this interview, dear Yvette.

Susanne Jung