Hi Julia, thank you for taking the time for us! First, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself? Who are you, where do you come from, where do you live now? Tell us a bit about your personal background!
Hi, I'm Julia (aka @rotblaugelb ), I come from Dresden and now live in Dresden again. I studied biology and am actually a biologist, I do photography as a hobby on the side.
When did you discover photography?
Well, I've always loved taking photos, especially on vacation and stuff like that. Then we lived in the USA for a while and that's when I really started to notice that inspiration is lurking everywhere. What is everyday life for one person might be something very special for another and that's how it started for me.
Your pictures are always so colorful and you always manage to inspire us with great nature shots or compositions of sweets or other beautiful things! Do you always think about what you want to show next or are they more spontaneous shots and ideas?
The studio recordings are of course not spontaneous at all and I have a notebook where I collect my ideas. I do it mostly by season, because you can't post an Easter egg in autumn or at Christmas and so on. And then I also have lists for props where I write down what I still have to get or prepare. At some point I say to myself: "This has to be done now!" and then I do exactly what I planned (laughs).
You talked about a studio. Did you basically set up a small studio at home?
Yes, exactly. So it's not a closed room, but I have a small corner of the studio where I've added things over time: lights to illuminate things well and various equipment, colored backgrounds, reflectors, ... just a little basic equipment.
Your IG name is @rotblaugelb - Did you choose the name because you like the colors so much, or does the name have another meaning?
Red, blue and yellow are the primary colours, but the name is actually a tribute to Piet Mondrian, who I really admire as an artist. He always worked with primary colours and in principle everything can be traced back to primary colours, which is why I thought it was such a fitting name.
Looking through your pictures immediately puts you in a good mood! What moments in life make you particularly happy?
Besides the moments with my family, it makes me really happy when I can just go outside. Whether it's into the city or nature and if the weather is nice, that's just something that makes me really happy. And if I can take my camera with me, of course (laughs).
So you always have your camera with you?
Most of the time, yes. But if I don't have it with me, it can happen that I return to the place at some point - if it's in my city anyway - and take a photo later, or when there's better light.
Where do you find inspiration? What do you do when you don't have an idea for a new picture?
Besides all the beautiful things that inspire you... for example, beautiful flowers in the botanical garden, fruit at the market or house facades... I also find things like a rusty garbage container inspiring (laughs). It can also be an inspiration for me when I see the paint peeling off or something like that. It doesn't always have to be beautiful things and it might sound a bit strange, but I can also be happy about rusty things like that or an old garden gate or something like that!
And if I don't have any ideas, I consult my notebook and then implement something from it.
And once you've taken a picture, what happens next? Do you edit them or leave them as they are?
For the studio photos, I always try to get them as perfect as possible so that I have to edit them as little as possible, but of course they are still edited sufficiently. And when I photograph facades or something like that, the editing process can take a while. There are always things in the way, like a window or a lamppost. Then everything is cleaned up and you can spend two or three evenings on a photo. I also like to play around with the color controls. Even if it takes a long time... I enjoy the whole thing!
When and why did you start sharing your pictures on Instagram?
The idea was that no matter what kind of photos I take, if nobody sees them, they're somehow meaningless. And that's how Instagram started. It was also when we lived in the USA; it was just a nice side job. That's when I really noticed that creativity was good for me. I've actually always been creative, I always did crafts and painted in elementary school and even today I do lots of different things besides photography. But that's when photography really started and I noticed that it's especially fun to create something and then photograph it.
You are also a moderator on the IG channel @its_my_week . Can you tell us more about it?
I have worked as a moderator on many or some channels, it started with @nothingisordinary_ and that was a crazy time because there was so much. Back then it was when Instagram didn't have the algorithm and the timeline was chronological. We were a team of moderators and everyone uploaded five collages a day. That was ten pictures a day, you can probably hardly imagine that these days! But it was very successful back then. And then when the algorithm changed, it just didn't work like that anymore and it didn't achieve anything at all. At some point I changed because it was just too much work and now they don't post as much anymore. So that was the time for me to go.
Then I was on @fms.photoaday , where daily prompts for amateur photography are shared every day; I didn't do that for very long. And I've been on @its_my_week for a few years now and it's an effort that I can handle on a daily basis. You do it once every one or two months or so and it's really fun putting the collages together and basically it's about giving everyone a platform or the opportunity to share their photos with a larger audience. And I really enjoy that too, especially when someone with, I don't know... 200 followers ends up on the page. I think that always makes people particularly happy. If you've also set topics, it makes the creative process easier or it pushes you to photograph something on a certain topic and I always find that really appealing.
Do you have a favorite photo that you have shared? Can you tell us the story behind it?
Well, somehow they are all favorite pictures... there are so many pictures that you couldn't pick out a single one. It's also usually the case that your personal favorites don't do as well as when you say to yourself that you're just going to do it (laughs). But it's often the case that you think, "Oh, I thought about that for so long and it was so complicated to do and it took so many attempts," and if they don't do well, then that's just how it is. And if I just take an object and photograph it in a minimalist way, then it's often much more successful (laughs). But that's okay for me, I'm doing it for myself.
How do you feel about your IG community? Do you exchange a lot of information with them and does it perhaps even help you find new ideas?
I'm always chatting and exchanging ideas with the girls from @its_my_week , but I could do a bit more with my followers. But then my private life gets in the way. If I have the choice between spending an hour on Instagram or doing something with my kids or my husband, I usually end up spending time with the family, which I think is fine. I do what I can, I support the @its_my_week community... and I hope that my channel will do a bit more at some point. But there are definitely people I talk to more often, and we sometimes write to each other about stories.
Can you tell us some of your favorite Instagrammers who particularly inspire you?
Yes, some of them are no longer active, but there were definitely certain people who inspired me in the past. If we look at who is still active today, then @caroline_south is definitely a favourite - she takes pictures of plastic and broken pieces that she finds in the sea and makes beautiful flatlays out of them.
Then there's @wrightkitchen who does food photography with citrus fruits, gradients and different vegetables. So food is her thing and her pictures are a big inspiration for me too.
@mattcrump with @candyminimal , he is also a pretty well-known artist and designer who plays with colors and takes minimalist photos.
And then a close friend of mine is Christiana Mufano from @chrismoon1969 , I write to her very often, she's from Italy and she takes really nice pictures. She doesn't post that often, but when she does, they're usually great.
You have now made many beautiful products with us! Do you have a favorite Pickmotion product with your motif?
Oh, I can't pick a favorite (laughs). They're always beautiful. Whenever I see a Pickmotion stand somewhere in town, I always have to look to see what they have! The whole thing is just right, and you could just buy every postcard and I think that's your goal too (laughs).
That's true! Do you still like writing cards yourself?
Yes, especially birthday cards. People are always happy when I pick out a card from me or something else nice that is also suitable for the person. It's fun for the writer and the recipient too!
Would you like to share a little story or anecdote with us at the end? Feel free to tell us whatever comes to mind!
You may imagine it to be more adventurous than it actually is, but most of the time you are out there with your own head and your own ideas and you are happy when you can put an idea into practice. But yes, it is something that you do alone most of the time, but it is even nicer when you can share it with someone!
ZG-0911-EN, ZG-0935-DE, ZG-1302
You can find these and even more PICKMOTION postcards with motifs from @rotblaugelb at many retailers near you! You can always find the names of the Instagrammers on the back of our postcards. We hope you enjoyed the little interview and wish you lots of fun browsing and discovering!
