It's been four years since Stefanie started trying out different photo apps on her smartphone - she ended up sticking with Instagram and EyeEm. She takes photos almost every day for her Instagram account @steffimarla - a combination of her own name and her daughter's. Steffi places value on "fresh" pictures - and she is usually inspired by the contrast between city and country, her travels (Barcelona, Amsterdam) or the seasons. She rarely uses #latergrams, however.
Steffi's homeland, the Brandenburg Lake District, is also a major source of photos. I think the photos around Gransee and Geronsee are among the highlights in her gallery because they capture the beauty of the seasons. Steffi has the luxury of returning to her home region at least once a month, where she is rooted through her family, even though she has lived in Berlin for 17 years.
The hobby and the balance Photography represents an important counterbalance to the family with husband and two children - and interestingly replaces painting as an older hobby - "Image editing is similar to drawing for me," says Stefanie. She describes her style, which is now followed by 42k, as "beautiful things, girlish, bright photos". And it is true that most of the photos are flooded with light, use backlighting as a stylistic device and anti-darkness predominates.
One of her most unforgettable photo moments also has to do with light: In autumn in Brandenburg, in a field, Steffi first wandered through a great fog until suddenly the sun gradually dispersed the veil. In a snowstorm at Alexanderplatz, she could see how a grey world had transformed into a winter fairytale within an hour. Steffi's big dream is New York - but first she will bring back lots of light and white chalk cliffs from her trip to Rügen.
