Three questions with Leo Schindzielorz
All about his passion for photography
A conversation with photographer Werner Dieterich
Today, we're chatting with Werner Dieterich as he tells us all about his career in photography and how it resulted from a change of plans.
It all began with a change
Originally, Werner had started studying interior design, but he decided not to continue with it. After completing his photography training with an industrial and commercial photographer, he worked for a while as an assistant for various commercial photographers. Afterwards, he began working as a freelance industrial and commercial photographer. In recent years, his work with various photography agencies and calendar publishers has become increasingly important to him. The photographer mainly works in the field of architecture and travel photography, and creates both commissioned and non-commissioned pieces.
Magic moments
In photography, preparation is particularly important. It's the be-all and end-all, Werner explains, "both for commissioned and non-commissioned work". Despite this, he also tries not to miss the unexpected moments, because these often produce the most interesting photos. "They exist. Those magical moments when it all aligns. The location, the light. You get lucky," the photographer tells us.
A bike instead of a new lens
As a young photographer, Werner Dieterich spent several months on a backpacking tour through the United States. "I encountered loads of interesting things on that trip and it made me want to travel more." Other destinations, such as Portugal, Spain and Morocco followed. During his photography trips, a bike is essential when taking photos around the city. It's even more important than an extra lens, he explains to us saying: "Especially on night shoots when blue hour is brief, the bike gives me the opportunity to take photos from different locations across the city during blue hour. You can't do that on foot."
You need luck
When asked if he has a favourite photo, Werner denies it. However, there is a photo that's become particularly important to him. "I nearly messed up this photo...," he tells us. He's talking about the photo 'Tremolastrasse road at Gotthard Pass in Switzerland'. He almost didn't manage this shot because by the time he'd found the optimal position to capture the night photo properly, "blue hour" was almost over. He only managed two exposures of over five minutes before the sky went black. "But I was lucky," he tells us, "one of the two exposures was good".
