Klaus Hellmich

Born in Bochum in 1970, the photographer says of himself: "I'm a creative contemporary!" In fact, Klaus Hellmich has been productive in many creative areas - music for his own enjoyment, writing for posterity, filming and, above all, photography - since his earliest youth. And this passion has demanded his full commitment and ability to suffer for just as long. As a ten-year-old boy crawling through the bushes and shrubs with his analog "Voigtl?nder Vito2" to photograph local songbirds feeding, he realized that this kind of art firstly takes its toll on clothing and skin, secondly the anxious waiting time until the film is exposed and the pictures can be picked up costs nerves and thirdly the result is more reminiscent of a picture of a hidden object than the motif he expected. Nevertheless, his enthusiasm for photography never lets him go. Just like himself, his photographic art is growing out of its infancy. The analog "Voigtl?nder" has long since given way to digital full formats, along with an armada of technical lighting and spatial design elements for portrait photography. What remains is that his artistic process always holds moments of suffering in store for the artist: The best photos are taken when the photographer leaves the "comfort zone". He sometimes lies in a puddle in front of a bride and groom, ruins his trousers and shoes, drives and flies thousands of kilometers to deserted areas, freezes under the Northern Lights or flattens his car at the most beautiful viewing point in Scotland. He gets up in the middle of the night to capture the "blue hour" for the umpteenth time or doesn't even go to sleep to photograph the city lights or, alternatively, the Milky Way. As if that wasn't enough, he always has ambitious photo interns at his side on his photo trips to pass on his knowledge, although they can rarely compete with his creative drive. Seeing this world without photographing it is unthinkable for Klaus Hellmich. "I have to stop and photograph the moment or the landscape. I've also tried to ignore it. But what I've discovered usually doesn't leave me in peace, so I turn around again," says the photographer. A stroke of luck for the photo-enthusiastic viewer.