by Yvette Depaepe
Published the 11^th of December 2023

Martin Steeb started with analogue photography and lost his interest when the digital age started. Fortunately, in 2015, he picked up with photography.  His work is very diversified. He captures beautiful landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes while travelling. More recently, Martin focuses more on black and white architecture photography.

There is only one rule in photography – never develop colour film in chicken noodle soup.
- Freeman Patterson, photographer and writer -

'Boulevard of Dreams'

Dear Yvette, let me begin by thanking you for the opportunity to be interviewed for the 1x Magazine. I am an amateur photographer based in Stuttgart, Germany. My passion for photography has taken me around the world almost continuously for over four decades now. When at home, I usually read a book and listen to music. Mainly vinyl records from the fields Jazz and Rock.

In the sixties and seventies, my family and I spent the holidays in different countries. My parents used Kodachrome and super 8 films in order to document our holidays. So I grew up with photography. In the eighties, I began to explore the world and capture my first pictures. I purchased a Minolta XD-7. One of the most modern cameras available. At this point, my personal goal was to document my journeys photographically.

With the beginning of the digital age in photography at the end of the years 1990 I lost interest in photography. From than on I enjoyed my journeys unhindered by a heavy backpack. In 2015, I started my first arctic trip and I picked up with photography again. The digital cameras were developed increasingly and I choose the Nikon D750 with the full frame and the trinity-zoom-set: Nikkor 14-24/F2.8, 24-70/F2.8 and 70-200/F2.8.

'Svalbard'

From that moment, my viewpoint changed. I took various opportunities available in digital photography. I specialized in Landscapes, Seascapes and Cityscapes. I began to use Neutral Density (ND) Filters as a stylistic device. I started with bulb exposures and I planned my pictures with iPhone apps like TPE, Photo Pills, Aye Tides etc. To me, the decisive factor is the right lighting combined with technical perfection.

'Under an arctic sky'

'New Orleans'

'Faroe Fjord'

'Tokyo'

'Desert Camp'

My favourite photo is a therefore a light painting and landscape picture, taken in the Dadès Gorges in Morocco. I was there with some friends and we wanted to shoot the spectacular serpentine road at blue hour time. The aim was to catch the traces of light from the headlights of the cars. But it is a lonely area and we found there was no traffic at all on the road. So we had to send our two SUV s twice down the street and up again. The result was a picture with 20 minutes of exposure time!

'Dadés Gorges'

In recent years my photography has once again changed. The surfeit of “beautiful” photos and selfies all over the world seriously damaged the landscape photography. This is why I changed my focus and started taking more pictures in black and white. This is also why I prefer architecture photography these days.

'Driftwood'

'Oak Alley'

'Geisler Peaks'

'Two Towers'

'Train Station'

'Niemeyer Centre'

I shoot in RAW mode and I spend a great deal of my time editing my pictures in Lightroom (sometimes with the help of the Nik Software collection). Nearly all my photos are taken with a Gitzo tripod. Currently I'm shooting with a Nikon D-850 and a RRS L-Plate.

Finally I´d like to mention some photographers who influenced me the most. The Magnum photographers Harry Gruyaert and Alex Webb. I admire their play with light and shadow. And perhaps the most famous ever living nature photographer: Art Wolfe. In 2017 I have had the good fortune to see and hear a lecture by him.

Furthermore, I find a lot of inspiration, suggestions and ideas here on 1x. The level is very high and I am glad to be part of the community. I would like to give a personal mention to Erhard Batzdorf, Hans-Wolfgang Hawerkamp, Arnon Orbach and Jorge Pimenta.

Martin Steeb 

'Faroe Islands' 

'Old Bathhouse'

'Lighthouse'

'Pier'

'Dolomites'