He must have everything in motion. Whether it be sports, lifestyle, or nature – Jan Greune likes to photograph active people from unusual perspectives. Since 1995, the photographer has been traveling the world with his camera for lookphotos.
How it All Began
First, Jan studied biology and used the opportunity to travel extensively to Africa and Asia during his semester break. The many inspiring moments that he had there quickly aroused his ambition to capture them, not only as a vacation snapshot but professionally with his camera.
“Frankly, the photographic results were very average, but the hunger for themes was aroused. When I had realized that there were already enough whale rescuers and groundhog trainers, I did my first journalism photography with a good friend, who had been on several journeys and similarly studied architecture. It was printed directly by a renowned magazine! Then it was clear to me that I had to finish my studies and then just take pictures.”
Portrait and Contribution photos ©Jan Greune
The Magical Moment
Since then, the camera has always been a part of Jan’s activities. He prefers to proceed intuitively, creatively, and spontaneously. Of course, only if the task allows it.
“I appreciate setting the framework conditions for a motif, but then letting things happen. Perhaps then the unplanned happens in a selected setting: the magical moment.”
He wants to capture the feeling of this moment in his pictures.
Inspired by Hobbies
He gets his inspiration from social media, among other things, but only as a thought-provoking impulse to develop his own pictorial ideas. He is only interested in situations that he wants to experience. The combination of what he has seen and what he has longed for often results in extraordinary pictures. His hobbies are his source of inspiration.
“I enjoy everything where air and water come into contact with my ears. At the moment, hiking, skiing, sailing, and surfing are my favorites. All on a moderate level…”
Always a Touch of Danger Too
Sometimes these passions lead him into danger since everything has to do with fast-paced motion. He admits, in the heat of the moment he forgets that the man looking through the camera lens is in the same dangerous situation as his subject. On the one hand, this light-hearted approach gives him the most unusual photos. On the other hand, his hands get shaky now and then.
“I absolutely wanted to photograph an ice climber in a remote crevasse – hanging by a rope, secured at the top with a tiny ice hook – and the only one who can ever pull me up again is the guy I am photographing dangling from his rope! If he crashes now, then in 6000 years they will find two mummies in this glacier, one with a camera in his hand…”
Fascination with Water
Fortunately, the Munich-born man has always returned safe and sound from his exciting adventures with his camera in-hand. He lives in a house on Lake Starnberg with his wife, three children, and a horse. There, he enjoys discovering the various regions of southern Bavaria for lookphotos. He is especially taken with the beautiful Bavarian lakes. The play of light of the water, its reflections, its constant color changes, and facets fascinate him constantly. Its fragility is photographed Jan’s typical photographic style – light, airy, flooded with light, and always, from an unusual perspective.
Discover Jan Greune at lookphotos
Two Teenagers jump into the Ammersee in Bavaria, Germany ©Jan Greune
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