Daniel Ernst - olympusXplorersInterview with Daniel Ernst about the Olympus flagship E-M1X
At the presentation of the new Olympus E-M1X in Hamburg, we were able to gather some opinions and experiences from photographers who have already worked with the new MFT flagship. Daniel Ernst is also part of the olympusXplorers and was in Japan with Olympus. If you are more interested in the technical side of the Olympus E-M1X then take a look at our Foto Koch Hands On: Hands On with Video
You are part of the German Roamers - what is that actually?
We are first and foremost a community, i.e. an association of currently 14 photographers. Our basic idea is to encourage people to discover that you don't always have to travel to Canada to photograph beautiful lakes and mountains. Hence our series "we roam home" - you should simply go to your own front door and take photos. Most people don't even know or appreciate the beauty of their home country
Do you really only take photos in Germany and what else do you do?
Of course we also travel internationally, we have various clients and assignments that take us all over the world. Furthermore, we often organize community events, such as galleries, exhibitions or just talks to let others participate. We run free workshops where anyone can come along and we talk from the inside. Our goal is to take this basic idea that we had when we founded the German Roamers to the outside world, to inspire others to maybe even start their own group that meets every weekend to take photos, for example, or just say "Hey, I'm staying in Germany this summer and not traveling to the US". That's our main message: be creative, stay at home, do something different and connect with other creatives.
In which area of photography do you feel at home?
I specialize in landscape photography, but not in the classic style, rather a mix of lifestyle, adventure and landscape. I go hiking in the mountains without having a specific image in mind, because for me the activity, in this case the hike, is always in the foreground. If I stumble across a particular motif, I sometimes wait a few hours until the light is right, the situation is right, or I come back in six months' time when there is a bit of snow.
What do you attach particular importance to in your photos?
For me, it's important to create a connection between the landscape and the people, which means I don't just try to place people, but I want to photograph people in the middle of their activities, be it hiking, outside the tent making coffee, etc. Real, authentic photos that come from a different perspective. Real, authentic photos that arise from the situation and are not posed. That's why my photos aren't perfect, because I have to react quickly, which doesn't result in the typical clean landscape image.
Photographer: Daniel Ernst; EXIF: OM-D E-M1X | F/2.8 | 1/400s | ISO-400 | M.Zuiko 120mmWhat experience did you gain with the new camera?
I took the E-M1X with me to Japan, where I was on assignment from Olympus together with Hannes Becker. After spending some time at Olympus' global headquarters, we traveled from Tokyo to Kyoto, shooting mainly landscape and wildlife.
How did you experience Japan?
Japan is very interesting because of the great contrast between rural and urban Japan. On the one hand you have Tokyo, the metropolis, 'Concrete-City', on the other only fields and small villages if you travel an hour out by train. That's exactly what we wanted to show, we photographed Mount Fuji at sunrise, monkeys bathing in the hot springs because it gets too cold in the mountains in winter.
Photographer:I think I would call that my most amazing experience, it's almost unreal to see these monkeys, I think they're called Snow Monkeys. They live in the mountains of Japan, and hot springs have formed at the foot of the mountain where the monkeys spend the winter, and in spring they go back up into the mountains. It is an incredible experience to get so close to the animals. Before I had only seen monkeys in the zoo, but these monkeys didn't care if people were around. It was similar in Nara, a town where wild deer roam. They are so used to people that you can even stroke them. What's more, they are not allowed to be shot, otherwise you will be sent to prison. Taking pictures of these animals so close up, making a portrait of a deer with a 25mm, was something very special for me.
