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September 2009 | Don Norris
Q: How long have you been taking pictures?
A: I started when I was 13 years old with my grandfather's folding camera. A little later I bought my first SLR, a Canon AE-1, which I still own.
This is from the series I'm showing at BIFB 09. Camera: Canon AE-1; Lens, Canon FD, 20mm; Film: Fuji, ISO 800 slide film
Q: Do you remember your first photograph?
A: My first picture hasn't got a place in my memory. But my first published image was in our local newspaper. It was a shot of a high-jumper taken at the decisive moment. I was 15 and very proud.
Q: Your favourite camera and lens?
A: I'm a fan of 2:3 format, so I use a Leica CL, which is tiny, silent and has a wide range of fine lenses. I also work with a Fuji GSW 690 (6x9) and with a Plaubel Universal III (13 x 18 cm). The choice of lens depends on my project. Sometimes I feel better with equipment which does not make me cry when I lose or damage it. And sometimes I prefer a pinhole camera. There is no linear scale of quality.
Q: Which photographers do you particularly admire?
A: Cartier-Bresson. His compositional eye was developed by looking at paintings. He studied them in museums and he was always very conscious of composition even when he was working rapidly. I also admire him for his drawings. William Eugene Smith is very important for me too because he used photography with a strong feeling for humanity and as a political instrument. His photos of suffering people in Minamata (location in Japan of a severe outbreak of mercury poisoning caused by pollution) lead to significant changes. The third influential photographer in my life is Otto Steinert who taught at my Art School at Saarbruecken. His movement called 'Subjektive Fotografie' changed views of photography in a very radical way. In the Nazi era it had been a medium of mass manipulation, but he brought photography back to the field of fine art.
Q: Three photography books that have influenced you?
A: Susan Sontag, On Photography; Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida; Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproduction.
Q: The best piece of photographic advice you've received?
A: 'Be polite' - Brigitte Kraemer, a photojournalist who receives lots of prizes and medals.
Q: Photographic websites you recommend?
A: There are many interesting websites. I love to look at the sites of the famous schools for photography sometimes. (Helsinki, Leipzig etc.) And I also love to look at sites with other fine art.
Q: Where will your work be exhibited during the Ballarat International Foto Biennale?
A: Ballarat Trades Hall, 26 Camp Street, Ballarat.
Contact details
www.thomasroessler.eu
See Photo Review magazine Issue 41 for the print edition of this profile which includes additional images.
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