Kevin Müller is the winner of the June FujiLove Magazine photo assignment “Grass” (see the winning photograph above). We wanted to know more about Kevin and his work. Here comes our conversation with him!
Tomash: Who is Kevin Müller?
Kevin: I was born in the early 90s. I grew up in a very small federal state of Germany, the Saarland. Now I am 27 years old and a student of psychology in my 2nd master semester at the University of Saarland. I’d say I’m a sociable person, with a wide range of different hobbies. I would call photography my greatest passion right now, but of course I like travelling and spending time with my friends. I also love music and in particular movies, which I consider to be one of my greatest inspirations. That’s also the reason why my goal for the near future is to shoot photos that are more and more cinematic.
When did you start using the Fujifilm camera system and what are its features that you enjoy the most?
Luckily my parents took me on a lot of trips very early. I particularly like to remember my holidays in Italy, especially in Lazise, a picturesque little town at Lake Garda and one of the first formative trips to Hawaii, back in 1999. My mother always had a camera with her on these trips, so holidays without a camera seemed completely strange to me. I have always enjoyed taking photos and have always been a bit involved with photography in recent years. But only last year I completely fell for photography when I travelled with friends through South East Asia for two months. I had a Lumix DMC FZ 200 with me, which, for my demands at that time, did a great job. But after this experience, I knew that a higher quality camera was needed to create the images that correspond to my imagination. So I started researching and after really many videos, articles and reviews, I decided for the X-T3. That’s when I started taking pictures with Fujifilm and I couldn’t have made a better decision.
I think what I like best about the system is the flexibility, due to the lightness and feel that characterize the Fujifilm system and the manual operation, which allows very fast settings. This is a combination that is unparalleled for travel photography as well as street photography. Beyond that I’m definitely in love with the colors the sensor creates.
Could you share a story behind your winning image with FujiLove community?
Yeah sure. The photo was taken in a week when I challenged myself not to leave the house without a camera. It was a very grey and rainy day. Fortunately it stopped raining just before I left for my girlfriend. As I left the house, a few rays of sunlight broke through the cloud cover and suddenly it sparkled everywhere. I live right next to a smaller park and as I crossed it, due to the sparkle, this one leaf caught my eye. I was super happy to have the XF90 with me. It’s not only the lens’s exposure options which are amazing, the lens creates such a beautiful bokeh up to the edge of the image. And in addition, the difference between the sharp object and the bokeh in front of and behind the object allows a breathtaking depth. And yep, that’s how the winning picture was made. And I think this is the right point to thank you again, Tomash. Thank you for choosing my picture, it’s an honor.
How about a few more favorite photographs of yours? What do you enjoy shooting the most?
I don’t really know which genre suits me best yet. My favourite is still travel photography at the moment, as I think it can marvelously combine two of the most beautiful genres, landscape and street photography. I have great respect for photographers who deal with minimalist representations.It’s an outstanding but really complex genre. But I think that’s exactly the point: I have a weakness for pretty much all kinds of photography that evoke an emotion in me. So I would say I enjoy photographing everything that emotionally touches me.
Anything particular you would like to see coming from Fujifilm in the upcoming months and years?
I am actually very satisfied with what Fujifilm is up to. For me, Fujifilm is very close to the customer with everything they do. I am extremely excited about the XF33mm f/1 R WR, which has been announced for next year. I will definitely save up for that.
Thanks a lot, Kevin!
Make sure you visit Kevin’s Instagram and Unsplash accounts to see more of his work!
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