Beat
I cover general news, sports and features.
One Shot
“This is one of my favourite images that I’ve taken for Reuters. Even today, when I go past Pariser Platz in Berlin I still hear tourist guides talking about this famous window where Jacko presented his baby to fans.”
Profile
After graduating from a boarding school in Bavaria, I spent time with a stock photo agency called Mauritius, and took my first steps towards learning to be a photographer. Afterwards I studied law, but I went on to follow my passion for pictures and was hired by several local papers and celebrity agencies in Munich.
My first assignment for Reuters was covering a Bundesliga first division soccer match that Bayern Munich played in Munich’s Olympic stadium. It was my first time covering a soccer game.
The picture I took of Michael Jackson holding his baby out of the window of a hotel room in Berlin taught me an important lesson: if you do what everyone else does, you’ll get the pictures everyone else gets. After an earlier experience when I missed some interesting shots of Jackson joking with his fans because I went to file my first pictures quickly, this time I did things differently. Most of my colleagues rushed to their offices to send out their shots of Jackson arriving, but I decided to stay with a growing crowd of his fans. Later, he appeared at the window of his suite and ended up flashing a victory sign and then holding out his baby. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, or how the situation had worked out.
I don’t take pictures to attract a particular audience. When I make images I just try to remain true to myself and to bear witness to what's happening.
I respect life in general, and I am mindful of the impact that every little step along the way might bring.
I am really proud to be part of Reuters great team of photographers around the globe.