German Landscape/Travel Photographer Eric Friese - Photography, Collaborations, Photo Compositions, And Much More!

Eric Friese is a photographer from Germany. Eric has spent the last five years travelling Europe, learning and mastering photography, and growing a following on Instagram. Eric is passionate about connecting with fellow creatives and everyday people alike. He hopes to inspire and encourage people to both explore and connect with nature.

“There will come a time when we can all travel again. Until then, I will stay local and take photos here in the national park. There are always new things to discover near where you live, and that is what the pandemic has taught me and many people I know. Beauty is often closer to you than you realise.”

Hello Eric, thank you for doing this interview with us! Could you tell our readers a bit about where you are from, what you do and when you first got into photography?

Hi, I’m Eric; I’m a 38-year-old photographer from Germany. I live in the state capital of ‘things’, the beautiful capital city of Saxony, Dresden. I started taking pictures five years ago.

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland - Eric Friese

You seem to be an adventurer at heart! Your Instagram feed is full of various wilderness scenes from many countries across Europe. From Germany's woodlands to the remote highlands of Scotland and even the black sand beaches of Iceland. What motivates you to travel, explore the natural environment and capture and share your images online?

I love to travel and get to know other countries and cultures. We only have this one life, and I would like to use my time and opportunities to see as many places in the world that I can. I would like to inspire people with my pictures. I try to encourage people to travel themselves and discover and appreciate our planet's beauty and hopefully want to preserve it for future generations. Instagram is a very good platform for this as it enables me to reach a large number of people.

One thing that you capture very well is the seasonal changes in Europe. Do you have a favourite time of year to be out and about exploring and taking photos? Do you take a different approach to your photography when you travel and explore in each of the seasons, or does your mindset not change much throughout the year?

Every season has its own fascinating aspects, but I think that Autumn, with all its colours, is very special. It is also a great time of the year to photograph and explore foggy landscapes here in central Europe, which I love to do. I try to plan out my vacations cheaply over the course of a year in order to be able to experience something new each season.

Saxon Switzerland National Park, Germany - Eric Friese

Have you been able to explore much of Germany yet? Are there any areas in Germany that have stood out to you so far as an adventurer and photographer?

There are a lot of great places in Germany. The regions that stand out to me, in particular, are the Alps in Bavaria, and Saxon Switzerland in Saxony. I recommend exploring these regions when visiting Germany.

You've collaborated with models and many other photographers on your journey so far. Has this been an integral part of your journey and growth as a photographer?

I have been lucky enough to meet a lot of good photographers. Here, in particular, we are closely networked and have a good community. It is a great advantage to travel with other photographers/friends or go on a weekend adventure... You learn from each other and have a great time together. It is also important to keep exchanging ideas and trying out different things.

As a result of these connections, many of your nature photos have a human element to them. This can help with enhancing a greater sense of scale in a vast landscape, for example. How else do you use people in your compositions? What is your approach to using models and giving stance and posing directions to enhance your compositions?

It is always advantageous to have a person in the picture to show the true size of the motif. There is also something epic and fascinating about staging a model on the edge of the abyss, in a forest or even just a street. The viewer is drawn to this part of the picture and tries to imagine themselves being there in place of the model.

Does the collaborative process come about in any other ways? Is it as simple as reaching out to people on Instagram and asking for a collaboration?

In most cases, it's not collaborations but friends and other photographers. In the rarest cases, one asks models. You have to keep in mind that there is a safety risk involved when hiking, and when you want to take photos on precipices in the mountains for example.

Solheimasandur Plane Wreck, South Iceland - Eric Friese

We are currently still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. How have you adapted to Europe's current situation regarding the travel restrictions and the lockdowns? Have you been affected much? And how are you staying creative and motivated in a time where you've had to make changes and adapt to a volatile and uncertain societal situation?

Covid 19 hit us all hard, especially being a nature photographer as it is difficult to have to stay at home. But extraordinary times require extraordinary measures to protect people. In this case, photography takes a back seat. There will come a time when we can all travel again. Until then, I will stay local and take photos here in the national park. There are always new things to discover near where you live, and that is what the pandemic has taught me and many people I know. Beauty is often closer to you than you realise.

What's your go-to camera set-up for your photography? Drones can be an expensive investment. Has buying a drone been worth it in your case? What drone do you own, and what do you believe makes it worth the investment for nature photographers?

For nature photographers, drones are an essential tool to look for certain spots from a different angle or perspective. For me, buying a drone made sense, and I never regretted it for a moment. I own a DJI Mavic Pro.

My current camera is a Sony Alpha II. I use the Sony 16-35mm F4 for this 70-200mm F4 Sigma 35mm F1.4

Photo editing is a skill that every photographer needs to learn and master. What is your approach to editing, and what programs do you use?

Editing images is, of course, one of the most important and interesting things in photography. This is where a photographer's own style emerges. You try hard and learn by practising. I use Adobe Lightroom CC, Adobe Photoshop and the InShot app.

Thank you for your time, Eric! We look forward to following you on your journey. Where can our readers go to follow you on Social media and find out more about you?

Thank you very much! On Instagram, my handle is: @ericfriese