PLACES THAT INSPIRE ME - Finding photography locations everywhere
I don’t really have a favourite location. I have favourite light. I get asked sometimes where I like to photograph. The honest answer is: „I’m not sure I have one particular place.“ There are places that inspire me, of course. Old lofts. Old ateliers. Industrial windows. Vintage interiors. A little bit of Paris. Small cafés. Streets. Beaches. Corners of cities I have never noticed before. But when I think about it, it is rarely the place itself that makes me want to photograph. It’s what the light does there.
01 – Old lofts and old ateliers
There is something about old spaces that immediately get me. High ceilings. Large industrial windows. Old fans. Worn surfaces. Vintage furniture. A little bit of Parisian atmosphere. Spaces that don’t feel perfectly designed. Spaces that already have a story. I love the way light moves through them. Sometimes it comes through a huge industrial window and suddenly the entire room changes. A chair becomes interesting. A wall becomes a background. A person standing in the right place suddenly looks completely different. You don’t need to add much. The space has already done most of the work.
02 – Portugal felt different
Portugal was another one of those places where I immediately felt something. The light is different. The colours are different. The atmosphere is different. There is something about the way the sun interacts with the buildings, the streets and the landscape that makes you want to photograph. You walk around and suddenly think: „Wow.“ Not because you have found the perfect location. But because the whole place seems to have its own visual light language. And that is what I find exciting. Every place has one. You just have to notice it.
03 – I love small cafés
I also love photographing in small cafés. Not necessarily because the café is particularly beautiful. Sometimes it’s actually quite ordinary. But you are sitting there. You’re having a coffee. The person you’re photographing is already relaxed. There is a window. Maybe some glass. A reflection. A little bit of sunlight. Someone walks past outside. And suddenly there is a photograph. I like that kind of photography. It doesn’t feel constructed. You don’t have to build a set. You don’t have to turn the location into something it isn’t. You simply notice what is already happening. And sometimes the best thing you can do is stay where you are.
04 – The magical location doesn’t really exist
I think photographers sometimes spend too much time looking for „the location“. The abandoned building. The incredible studio. The perfect street. The spectacular architecture. The place everyone else hasn’t discovered yet. And yes, those places can be great. But I don’t really believe there is one magical location. Because I’ve photographed in places that looked completely ordinary and created photographs I absolutely loved. And I’ve been in places that looked incredible and thought: „Okay. What am I actually going to do here?“ The location doesn’t make the photograph. It gives you possibilities. The rest depends on what you see.
05 – Sometimes it’s just a street corner
This is probably where my street photography comes in. I’m walking somewhere. I turn a corner. And suddenly there is a patch of light. A light spot on a wall. Someone walking through it. A reflection in a glass window. A shadow falling across the pavement. Maybe there is nothing else there. But I stop. Because I immediately think: „That would make a great photograph.“ Or: „That would be interesting for a portrait.“ That’s enough. I don’t need a whole concept. I don’t need a moodboard. I don’t even need to know exactly what I would photograph there. I just know that something is happening with the light. And I want to remember it.
06 – Sometimes the location is your own garden
It can be even simpler than that. It can be your own garden. A tree. A wall. A window. The light reflecting from a surface you have walked past a hundred times. Maybe the leaves create a pattern of shadows. Maybe the sun hits the tree at exactly the right angle. Maybe there is a small patch of beautiful, soft light underneath it. That’s enough for a portrait. We often think we need to go somewhere else to create something special. Sometimes we simply need to walk ten metres in another direction.
07 – Look around the corner
I think this is what inspires me most about locations. Not knowing what I’m going to find. I can walk into a street I’ve never photographed before and find something. I can walk into a café. I can turn left instead of right. I can look through a window. I can notice a reflection. I can look at the ground. I can look behind me. And suddenly there is light. The interesting thing is that the light was probably there before I noticed it. I just wasn’t looking for it.
08 – A location doesn’t have to impress anyone
This is something I have learned over the years. A location doesn’t have to impress anyone else. It doesn’t need to look impressive on Instagram. It doesn’t need to be expensive. It doesn’t need to be exclusive. It doesn’t need to be a famous photography location. It simply has to give you something to work with. A certain quality of light. A colour. A shadow. A reflection. A texture. A feeling. That’s enough.
09 – Places that inspire me
So, if you ask me which places inspire me, I could give you a list. Old lofts. Old ateliers. Industrial windows. Vintage interiors. Small cafés. The streets of Portugal. A beach. A quiet street corner. A glass window. A tree in a garden. But really, the list could be endless. Because I’m not looking for places. I’m looking for possibilities. And possibilities can be anywhere. That’s probably why I still enjoy walking around with a camera. You never know what is going to be around the next corner. Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. Maybe just a small patch of light hitting an old chair. And sometimes that’s enough.
10 – Keep looking
You don’t need the perfect location. You don’t need the perfect studio. You don’t need to travel somewhere spectacular. Start where you are. Walk outside. Look at your street. Look at your garden. Look into the café window. Turn around. Look again. Because sometimes the most inspiring place isn’t somewhere you have to travel to. Sometimes it’s just around the corner. And then keep walking. You never know what the next corner will give you.
