Short profile
Martin Waldbauer, born in 1986, lives in Hauzenberg near Passau, Germany. He has been documenting the Bavarian forest that he calls home in various exhibitions since 2013. His central subjects are agriculture, nature and especially people. In the interview, Martin Waldbauer offers insights into his approach to photography, his sources of inspiration and explains why he is interested in the faces of his homeland in particular.
5 QUESTIONS TO MARTIN WALDBAUER
Can you tell us a little bit about how you became a photographer? And tell us something about your pictures.
I generally came to photography via a few detours. I've only been taking photographs seriously since I was 20 years old. There was no specific trigger or incentive why and why I started photography. As a teenager I drew and wrote a lot - later photography was my outlet. I grew up before smartphones and my friends and I documented our experiences with a digital point and shoot camera. Preserving and capturing memories and moments has basically always been important to me, whether in written or visual form.
My pictures basically revolve around the topic of 'traces of time'. I'm not just interested in the mere image, but what time has done to a person, a landscape or an object. My pictures move between fiction and reality - my goal is to achieve a moment or state in the pictures that raises many questions, challenges the viewer and forces him to deal with the pictures a little longer and more intensively.
Photo: Martin Waldbauer
How and where do you find the people you portray?
I'm always on the go, be it by car or on foot - I always have a camera close at hand and I'm constantly keeping my eyes peeled. I meet many of the people I photograph by accident. I live in a very rural area and the people here still earn their living through 'honest' manual work. I start talking to people, the act of taking photos doesn't play an important role yet - that comes later. However, it is important to me that I photograph people right from the first meeting and in their immediate surroundings. The first impression is important, but the second is the decisive one.
Photo: Martin Waldbauer
Craft and agriculture seem to be subjects that interest you. Where does this interest come from?
This is basically due to the area where I live and also because I grew up on a farm myself.
Photo: Martin Waldbauer
Do you have a routine for dealing with people during a portrait session?
There is no certain routine in portrait photography. You have to adapt and readjust every time. Each person is different. In portrait photography, nuances often matter: how does the light fall, how is the head posed, where do I stand with the camera, etc...
I work exclusively with analogue technology and usually take no more than ten pictures of one person. From these ten shots, I then choose the most coherent and powerful for me. I don't give a lot of instructions to people while taking pictures, there is generally not much talking.
Photo: Martin Waldbauer
How do you get inspired? And what inspires you the most? Films, books or magazines? Or is it just what is around you? What are your plans for the rest of the day?
Basically, there is no general answer to this. A lot will probably inspire me subconsciously, because I'm a person who reads a lot and goes through the world with open eyes. I can sit in a meadow for hours and listening to nature as well as watching the hustle and bustle of people in a cafe in a city. I always try to filter out the special things in my immediate surroundings and to dissect them down to the smallest detail with all my senses…
I also have a large collection of books, most of which are photo books and catalogs by famous photographers and painters. I like listening to both classical and progressive music... As you can tell, I have a lot of inspiration.
I'm answering these questions right now at 5am, I'm an early riser. I'll have breakfast with my wife and daughter afterwards and then later in the darkroom I'll make a few more prints for an upcoming solo exhibition.
