Member Monday Featuring Markus Hörster
This Monday, we have an International KelbyOne member to introduce you to, all the way from Braunschweig, Germany. He lives just 10 minutes away from a wealth of beautiful, lush, and historic landscapes. There’s so much rich, European history to uncover, and his photography aims to share it with the world.
We’re fascinated by the story of this simple windmill. Now, it’s time to hand things off to Markus, to tell you all about the photograph himself!
About the Photographer
- Hometown: Braunschweig, Germany (the English name is “Brunswick”). I was born here in 1986 and lived here ever since. Our city is famous for its Burgplatz with the monument of the Brunswick Lion in front of Dankwarderode Castle and the cathedral. Really worth a visit!
- Years in Photography: I started as a young kid, when I was five years old or something like that. Nothing serious back then, of course. I got into digital photography in 2003 and got my first DSLR in 2007: a Pentax K100D Super.
- Today, I’m shooting with a Pentax K-3 and love it. In 2016, during my time as a media studies student at our local Braunschweig University of Art, I started to turn photography from just being a hobby into a part-time profession. I’ve already shot for different media outlets like our local newspaper, a big nationwide newspaper, our technical university, and Braunschweig’s city marketing for example. To have accomplished this makes me really proud and I’d love to do it even more. Since 2011 I have been the leader for the annual “Worldwide Photo Walk” in Braunschweig every October.
- Years as a KO Member: I have been a KelbyOne member since 2014 with short breaks. I started watching Photoshop TV back in 2006 when I started out in the creative industry as an apprentice as a media designer in my hometown. I was working at the prepress department of the schoolbook publisher Westermann back then.
About the Photo:
- Title: Windmill in a sea of daffodils
- Location: Braunschweig, Germany
- Any additional description of the photograph: This bock windmill called “Victoria Luise” named after the last duchess of Braunschweig, is located around ten minutes by bike away from where I live. It’s not used anymore, but it really looks nice – especially in springtime with the daffodils that are being planted there all around.
- Gear/Software Used: I used my Pentax K-3 DSLR with a Sigma 10-20 mm lens on my beloved Platypod Ultra. For the long exposure effect, I used a 10 stop ND filter by Haida (their series 100 system). I edited the photo in Adobe Lightroom Classic. No Photoshop work was needed in this case.
What is one thing you wish you would have known before starting photography?
I can’t really say, because photography was part of my life as long as I can think. I was always fascinated by taking and looking at photographs. My dad also likes to take photos and I think that it’s in part also because of him why I got interested in photography. He took photos of me as a small child also with a Pentax camera by the way – an analog one of course back then in the 80s and 90s.
Who are some of your role models/mentors?
One of them is definitely Scott Kelby – as a photographer and educator. I’ve learned so much from him since I discovered “Photoshop TV” in 2006 and followed his activities on his blog, The Grid or in his KelbyOne classes. It was a real pleasure for me to be able to meet Scott back in 2011 when he did his “Light it. Shoot it. Retouch it.” seminar in Cologne, Germany. I won the ticket on The Grid by the way! When I went there, I brought a whole bag with books for him to sign and also some photos of the other Photoshop guys. He took the envelope with him to Florida, let them sign the pictures, and sent them back to me. This was very nice and I won’t forget that he’s done that for me!
Another mentor, when I think of design and Adobe products, is Terry White. I love his teaching style and follow him also since 2006 when I got to know him through Scott. Trey Ratcliff is one of the many photographers I like very much and look up to.
What is your most treasured piece of photography equipment?
I kept all of the photography equipment I used over the years, but I couldn’t ever get rid of my first digital camera: the Fujifilm FinePix A203 with a 2 MP sensor. It had a great lens and I use it even today from time to time. When I think of recently purchased equipment: I couldn’t live without my Platypod Ultra any more. It makes life as a photographer so much easier – especially when traveling. And I love my thinkTANK photo Retrospective 10 camera bag.
What’s your favorite class on KelbyOne and why?
That’s a really tough choice to make because there are so many. I really like Scott Kelby’s travel photography classes. Especially his “Photographers Guide to London” helped me a lot on my trip to the city back in 2018. He gave really great tips on where to shoot!
I also got much out of “Build a Profitable Photography Business and Live Your Dream” Part 1 and 2 by Tim Wallace. “Are You Ready to Go Pro?” and “Building a Winning Portfolio: Editing and Sequencing Your Images” by Stella Kramer are full of helpful and eye-opening information, too. Just to name a few, but I love to watch almost everything on KelbyOne.
I learned so much from KelbyOne classes over the years and get inspired every time to try out new things and go out and shoot.
Connect with Markus
My portfolio with some of my travel work and photos from my hometown Braunschweig, Germany, can be found here: www.markushoerster-fotografie.de. I also post on my Instagram account (@markushoerster) regularly.
A huge thank you to Markus for letting us get to know him more, and for sharing his work!
Thank you for joining us for another Member Monday! If you haven’t yet, be sure to submit your photos for a chance to receive a Member Monday feature of your own.
