Hi Julia, thank you for your time! First of all, could you introduce yourself to our readers? Who are you, where do you come from, where do you live now? Tell us a little bit about your personal background!
Hi, I'm Julia (aka @rotblaugelb), I'm originally from Dresden, Germany and by now, I also live in Dresden again. I studied biology and work as a biologist. Photography is a hobby of mine.
When did you discover photography for yourself?
Actually, I always liked to take pictures, especially when on vacation or something like that. We used to live in the US for a while and at that time, I noticed that inspiration lurks pretty much everywhere. Things that are ordinary for one person, might be something very special for someone else and that’s how it started for me.
Your pictures are always so colourful and you inspire us with great nature shots or compositions of sweets or other beautiful things! Do you tend to prepare your shoots or are your creations more ideas?
Of course, the studio recordings are not spontaneous at all and I have a notebook where I collect my ideas. I also structure it in a seasonal way, 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 note what I still have to get or provide. At some point I say to myself: "This has to be done now!" and then I do exactly what I have planned (laughs).
You mentioned a studio. Have you built yourself a little studio at home?
Yes, exactly. Well, it's not a closed room, but I have a little studio corner where I've been adding things over time, such as lights to illuminate the objects well, coloured backgrounds, reflectors, ... Simply some basic equipment.
Your IG name is @rotblaugelb (translated: red-blue-yellow) - did you choose the name because you simply like the colours, or does the name have another meaning to you?
Red, blue and yellow are the primary colours, but the name is actually a tribute to Piet Mondrian, whom I hold in very high regard as an artist. He always worked with the primary colours and in principle everything can be traced back to the primary colours, which is why I thought it was so appropriate as a name.
Looking through your pictures, we can’t help but feel happy! 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. It doesn't matter if it's in the city or in nature. On top of that, if the weather is really nice, that's also something that just makes me feel very happy. Even more so, when I can take my camera with me, of course (laughs).
So you always carry your camera with you?
Most of the time, yes. If I happen to not have it with me, it can also happen that I will return to the place at some later point – especially if it's a spot in my city - and take a photo then, or when the light is better.
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 where you find inspiration ... for example beautiful flowers in the botanical garden, fruits on the market or house facades ... I also find things like a rusty rubbish 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 see the beauty in rusty things like on an old garden gate or something like that! And if I don't happen to have any idea, I consult my notebook and then implement something from it.
And once you have taken a picture, what happens next? Do you edit them or leave them as they are?
For the studio pictures, I always try to get them as perfect as possible, so I don’t have to edit them as much (but of course they are edited anyways). When I'm taking pictures of facades or something like that, the editing process can take much longer. In pictures like these, there are always objects in the way such as a window or a lantern. So I clean up the picture which can take up to two or three evenings! I also like to play around with the colour controls. Even if it takes a long time ... the whole process is fun for me!
When and why did you start sharing your pictures on Instagram?
The thought was that no matter what kind of photos I take, if no one sees them, it's kind of meaningless. And that's how I started with Instagram. It was also during the time when we lived in the US and it started as a little hobby of mine. That's also when I really noticed that being creative was good for me. Actually, I've always been creative, I've always done handicrafts and painted in primary school and even today I do a lot of different things besides photography. But that was the time when it really started with photography and I realised that it's even more fun to create something by yourself and to take a picture of it afterwards.
You are also a moderator on the IG account @its_my_week. Can you tell us more about that?
Well, I've been a moderator on a few accounts already, starting with @nothingisordinary_ and that was an amazing time but it was also a lot of work. Back then it was still when Instagram didn't have the algorhythm 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 probably can't imagine that nowadays! But it was very successful back then. However, when the algorithm changed, it didn't work like that anymore. At some point I decided to leave the channel because it was just too much work and nowadays they don't post so much anymore either. So that was the time for me to leave.
After that I continued at @fms.photoaday, where daily prompts for amateur photography are shared every day – but I haven’t been part of that group for too long. I’ve been part of @its_my_week for a few years now, and it's more an everyday effort for me. You have to do it once every one or two months and then it's a lot of fun to put the collages together and giving everyone a platform or the opportunity to share their photos with a larger audience. That's a lot of fun for me, especially when someone with I don't know... 200 followers ends up on the page. I think people are always particularly happy about that. If you have given themes, it also makes the creative process easier or pushes you to take photos on a certain theme and I always find that very appealing.
Do you have a favourite image that you have shared? Can you tell us the story behind it?
Well, somehow, they are all favourite pictures... there are so many pictures, I couldn't pick out just one. Usually, personal favourites don't do as well as pictures where you just thought to yourself “let’s just do it this way” (laughs). Then there are pictures where you put a lot of thought into it, the shooting was complicated and took many attempts and then they just don’t do that well, but that’s just the way it is. If I just take an object and photograph it in a minimalist way, it's often much more successful (laughs). But that's okay for me, I do it for myself.
How do you feel about your IG community? Do you communicate a lot with them and do they maybe even help you find new ideas?
I'm always chatting and exchanging ideas with the girls from @its_my_week, but with my followers it could be a bit more. But then my private life gets in the way. If I have the choice of sitting in front of Instagram for half an hour or doing something with my children or my husband, then it's usually in favour of the family, which I think is okay. I do what I can, I support the community of @its_my_week... and on my channel I hope to get back to it a bit more at some point. But there are definitely regular people with whom I'm in contact more often and we also write to each other through each other’s stories.
Can you name some of your favourite Instagrammers who inspire you?
Yeah, so some of them aren't active anymore, but I was definitely inspired by certain people in the past. If we look at who's still active today one of my favourites is definitely @caroline_south - she tends to take pictures of plastic and broken pieces she finds in the ocean and makes beautiful flatlays out of them.
Then there's @wrightkitchen who does food photography with citrus, gradients and any vegetables which is also a big inspiration for me.
I also like @mattcrump with @candyminimal. He is also a pretty well-known artist and designer who plays with colours and takes minimalistic pictures.
And then a closer friend of mine is Christiana Mufano from @chrismoon1969, I write with her very often, she's from Italy and she also takes quite beautiful pictures. She doesn't post that often, but when she does, they're always amazing.
By now, we’ve been working together for quite a while and created many beautiful postcards with you! Do you have a favourite Pickmotion product with your motif?
Oh, again I can't pick a favourite (laughs). They are just always beautiful. When I see a Pickmotion display somewhere in town, I always have to look at what's there! The whole concept is just great and you could just buy any postcard, but I think that's your goal anyways (laughs).
That's right! Do you still like writing cards yourself?
Yes, especially birthday cards, people are always happy when I pick out a card of mine or something else that suits the person. Writing a card is always fun for the writer as well as the recipient!
Finally, would you like to share a little story or anecdote with us? Feel free to tell us whatever comes to mind!
You might imagine all of this to be more adventurous than it really is. Most of the time you are with your own head with your ideas and then you are happy when you can recreate an idea. So yeah, photography is something you do alone most of the time, but it's even more rewarding when you can share it with someone else!
ZG-0911-EN, ZG-0935-DE, ZG-1302
You can find these and more PICKMOTION postcards with motifs by @rotblaugelb in stores nearby! You can always find the Instagrammer's name at the back of the product and follow them, if you like. We hope you enjoyed our little interview and have lots of fun discovering new postcards!
