About me

Jens Ober

I’m based near Frankfurt a. M. in Germany. I work as an IT consultant for a software manufacturer and therefore travel a lot in my job.

Landscape photography has been my Hobby since 2018.

how the flame was lit

once upon a time...

She

"When we fly to Costa Rica, we better take the good camera."

Me

“You've got a good camera?”

She takes a small camera bag out of the office cabinet...

She

“This one.”

Me (completely unimpressed)

“All right. Leave that thing on the table. I will find out how it works.”

This short conversation with my better half changed my life in early 2018. Until that time, I had never really gotten involved with photography.

learn to walk

Basics

From then on everything happened very quickly.

I learned the technical functionality of the camera via YouTube channels. A short time later, the camera could not be missing on any business trip. From now on, the lonely time in the evening was spent on the new hobby.

If I do something, I do it properly… and it quickly became clear that I needed more equipment:

  • the first tripod
  • the first screw-on filters
  • the first remote trigger

Then I bought myself my own camera.

HOW I DEVELOPED

Progress

Since I live close to the Taunus Mountains and take many business trips near the Black Forest, it makes sense to deal intensively with landscape photography.

While I read some books and attended a few workshops, the hobby quickly became a passion.

Motivated by amazing Milky Way images from other photographers, I also started to get interested in night sky photography. This topic fascinates me very much, so Nightcape Photography has become an important part for me.

Meanwhile even the family got used to the fact that any vacation planning must be co-ordinated with the moon phases. 😉

What's in my bag

Equipment

Here is a list of some equipment that I’m using frequently:

  • Sony Alpha 7III
  • Sony FE 16-35mm F2,8 GM
  • Sony FE 24-105 mm F4 G OSS
  • Sony FE 70–200 mm F4 G OSS
  • ZEISS Loxia 2/50
  • Rollei Rock Solid Beta Mark II
  • Kase K9 Filterholder
  • Move Shoot Move Rotator (2-in-1 Star Tracker)

what I have achieved so far

PUBLICATIONS / AWARDS

2022

  • The Epson International Pano Awards: 1 image under the Top 50 (Open – Nature / Landscape) Link 
  • The Epson International Pano Awards: 1 image under the Top 50 (Amateur – Nature / Landscape) Link 
  • The Epson International Pano Awards: 1 Gold Award, 3 Silver Awards, 1 Bronze Award
  • 7th 35 Awards: TOP 35 photographer in nomination “Landscape – daytime” Link
  • TOP 35 photographer in nomination “Aerial photography” Link
  • World Landscape Photographer: 1 image under The Top 50, Highly Commended Image (Category Vistas)  Link
  • World Landscape Photographer: 1 image under The Top 50, Commended Image (Category Abstracts)  Link

2021

  • Participation in the CLUSTER PHOTOGRAPHY & PRINT exhibition in London Link
  • 35 Awards: BEST Waterfalls 2021 Photographer Link
  • 35 Awards: BEST of Drone Photo: Nature Contrast: Link  
  • The Epson International Pano Awards: 5 Bronze Awards
  • Two appearances in The PhotoPills Awards Book Link
  • ASTRO2021: The Competition, Nightscape Division, Aurorae Subdivision Finalists Link
  • ND Awards 2021: Honorable Mentions Link

2020

  • World Landscape Photographer: 1 image under The Top 50 Commended Images in 2020 Link
  • One appearance in The PhotoPills Awards Book Link