7, Avenue du Jura 01210 Ferney-Voltaire Styling and Makeup France Eva Lewtak phone: ++41 76 341 6441 For very detailed instructions on perfect monitor calibration, check this out. For detailed instructions on fine art printing, check this out. My personal custom black and white workflow - check this out. For a selection of Photoshop video tutorials - check this out. 
a good photograph was created before - in your mind". (Henri Cartier-Bresson)
Q: Hi Peter ! How did you get involved in landscape photography ? And where
did you find this amazing scenes in your series "landart" ?
A: I work as a freelance landscape and people photographer and concentrated on the mid-west of the United States of America in the last years. Many years ago, running over the pages of a travel magazine, I spotted a small and rather unimposing photograph of some rolling hills scenery. The surreal look, the strength of razor sharp swingled lines, the richness in tonality was breathtaking and I thought to myself: "This is a place I want to see at least once in my life!" I started investigating and it took quite some time before I read an enthusiastic article, written by a landscape photographer, about a place he called "The Wave". Wave - if I had to summarize in one word what this mystic place is all about, I would say it`s a frozen wave of sandstone. I did not let up and in autumn 2001 I was rewarded, finding myself in front of liquid rocks. 
(Peter Lindbergh)
Q: Looking at your work in the section Faces one sees lots of really different
styles. How do you find your projects and models ?
A: Sometimes I find them. Sometimes they find me. Seriously, I am not interested in stereotype, self-repeating shots. If you present a model in a certain way, there must be an artistic need for this coming from the story you want to tell. I am telling a little story in all these projects (Or at least I try to). This is the big part in the creation of a concept. Important to mention that this is a process where the model is involved to a big part. I am not interested in assignments "Please jump into the red dress, click-click, please jump into the green one, click-click, thank you". If you take a project like "airfield" e.g. there was an idea and then several month of getting the contacts together and finally working out a shooting which was kind of - let's call it influenced by a little storyboard. In other cases I get a phone call or an email with somebody proposing a great idea. Here we go ! That's the kind of shooting I am most interested in. Q: Do you work all alone ? A: In the case of landscapes, mainly yes. For a simple reason. Sometimes it takes many, many hours or even days before the light is right, the location is perfect, etc. You have to be very patient. In addition there is a little - you might call it spiritual aspect. It's me and this breathtaking landscape. And I am allowed to be there right in this special moment. You start shooting and then suddenly you know, this was the right moment. Afterwards, you can't wait to see the results. Talking about portrait, fashion, studio photography, it's completely different. Can you imagine a formula-one racer as a one man team ? Impossible. I would never work without my stylist and makeup artist. The difference in the final shots is just orders of magnitude. Of course it would be nice to have in addition a set designer, lightning technician etc. Well, for the moment one has to be creative and "jump into" several pairs of shoes, if you know what I mean !? 
(Ansel Adams)
Q: What kind of camera gear do you use ? And what can you tell us about the prints
you make ?
A: I can assure you that the camera makes only maybe 20 percent of the picture. It has to be able to provide what you need and you have to feel comfortable using it. That's it. I mainly use medium format and 35mm cameras with lenses in the range of 20 to 300 mm and mostly Agfa Scala black and white slide film. The tonality and richness of gray shades is unexcelled, together with an extreme fine film grain. For studio sessions I also use a full frame digital SLR. The flexibility in terms of "getting the color control done" and the possibility to see right away that something has to be changed or improved (can be the light or some details in the makeup), is a big advantage. For architectural or panorama projects, a digital view camera is my preferred tool. One hundred years ago, cameras were practically all like this. Today with a digital image sensor instead of a 4x5 inch plan film attached to the rear standard, only the last link in the chain changed. The movements of the camera standards, the lens, the bellow - all is still the same. This is one aspect, I like in particular. Q: Talking about enlargements. You get them done somewhere or you do them yourself ? A: Selected photographs are scanned in high resolution or post processed out of the RAW camera file and printed in small editions of usually around 25 on fine-art canvas using an EPSON Stylus Photo large format printer using RIP software for fine art printing. This allows me to keep the perfect control of the printing process. The prints are supposed to have a life time of at least 60 years under gallery conditions. All prints are delivered signed and with a certificate. For further information, don't hesitate to contact me. Q: Thank you for your time and keep up the creative works ! A: You are most welcome.
selected publications & exhibitions :
02/2008 - Work featured on Whitewall online art market 12/2007 - The World's Greatest Black & White Photography Vol 1, book BASIL 06/2007 - Article in fine art printer magazine, munich, germany 04/2007 - Solo exhibition at faim? restaurant, geneva, Switzerland 02/2007 - "We are all photographers Now", Musee de l'Elysee. Lausanne, Switzerland 02/2007 - exhibition of "landart - The Wave" at Marziart, Hamburg, Germany 12/2006 - Fashion Shooting for TopMCI Switzerland Ltd 12/2006 - 3d place category Nature - The Spider Awards 10/2006 - Feature article on TopMCI model & casting International 09/2006 - Sponsor of AllianceDARC event, geneva, Switzerland 03/2006 - 'Wintergarden' article in the Tate etc. Magazine 11/2005 - Variety Magazine , de La Warr Pavillion, England 10/2005 - on the spot ART , Zuerich, Switzerland 09/2005 - 'Wintergarden' stills for Daria Martin productions 05/2005 - photographers.it 03/2005 - 'Emotions in Motion' exhibition, Paola Trevisan Arte , Ferrara, Italy 11/2004 - 'Soft Materials' stills for Daria Martin productions 02/2004 - Miniportfolio on Digital Outback Photo 02/2004 - 'British Journal of Photography' 02/2004 - 'International Library of Photography' 04/2003 - PHOTOGRAPHIE magazine 10/2002 - 'Middle East Photography' magazine 09/2002 - 'International Library of Photography' 04/2002 - Agfa Surfers' Gallery 01/2002 - 'Schwarz-Weiss' magazine 
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