About

I took my first photos in 1979. They were analog and black and white, with a beautiful, antique camera in a brown leather case and roll film. Over the years, I've shot with many different analog and simple digital cameras. My enthusiasm grew with each new camera, and so a few years ago I decided to treat myself to a Canon EOS 6D Mark II – the biggest leap in camera technology for me up to that point.

But this new, fantastic camera only fueled my passion even more, and I never went anywhere without my Canon with me.

During this time, the idea of becoming self-employed as a photographer and turning a hobby I'd been pursuing for almost 40 years into my profession grew more and more. Quite literally, a "profession."

I'd always thought my photos weren't good enough, as they were usually taken spontaneously, but an experience with a cameraman at SWR Stuttgart planted a small seed in my subconscious:

At the time, I was working as a cable assistant at SWR and was helping the cameraman with the cable as he practiced a complicated tracking shot in the Landesschau studio with an intern. I stood there happily, grinning, simply because it was nice to be there, not to make fun of anyone else. The cameraman finally challenged me to try it myself, instead of just laughing...

The intern took the cable, and I stood at the electronic camera on the large pump and did the tracking shot as the cameraman wanted. Apparently, I was doing quite well. His comment was just a single sentence that I'll never forget: "You should be a cameraman." I'm still infinitely grateful to him for that sentence. After all, it laid the foundation for my decision today.

So, at almost 50, I became self-employed as a photographer, bought a Canon EOS R5 and some lenses, and started looking for ways to sell my photos.

The photos I had published up to that point on my blog www.haraldbader.de received increasingly positive feedback, and my first calendar—designed as a Christmas gift for the patients of a physiotherapy practice—was met with much praise.

So I decided to open my own online shop (www.fotografierereien.de) and offer my photos through various stock agencies. I'm constantly expanding my publishing channels and continuing to build my portfolio.

If I had to describe how and what I photograph, I would say I do spontaneous photography. That is, I photograph everything that catches my eye.

This year, I was in Tuscany and one morning at 4:30 a.m. I was at the Leaning Tower of Pisa and had mounted my camera on a tripod to take the perfect photo of the sunrise at the Piazza dei Miracoli. And I waited and photographed and waited and photographed...

Until at some point I saw that at that very moment the sun was behind the leaning tower, casting a large shadow across the lawn. So I quickly took the camera off the tripod and walked until I found the perfect angle for my photo.

And so, as so often happens, the most beautiful picture was one I took spontaneously, because I was attentively observing the scene and realized what was about to unfold in front of me.

My other creative work—texts, music, satire—is still published on my blog www.haraldbader.de.