With certain analogy to science artistry likewise tends to expand horizons of human insight and experience. Sciences' challenge is to objectively and verifiable increase our possibilities of cognition. Artistry in contrast is targeted to emotional knowledge. In a clear delimitation to science artistry therefore operates deliberately on subjective ranges.

In an era of incessant floods of images it may be rather audacious applying photo works as a medium to obtain additional insights. Are not all those images published day by day somehow déjà-vu? Are we not permanently and everywhere fired galore with graphic material? Isn't J.E. Berendt right, when he complains the disproportionate overemphasis of vision on the other senses' account? On the other hand the 'visual channel' is a quick and well trained access to human brains. An artistic photograph is able to actuate novel resonances on the observer's mind in order to enrich his insight and experiences.

Starting material to my photographs is the world's visible reality as it is. The special feature is to select and process from the diversity of all visible information for a photo that, which has sufficient power for the resonances intended. Only a different view on well known items is able yet to provoke this kind of quality. Wilfried Wiegand calls that the 'detected' beauty, which has been already existing but has to be reminded again. A creative process with regard to these criteria will generate an artistic photograph as a result.

Until 2007 the photo works are made only by analogue technique and henceforward even with digital cameras using Nikon equipment respectively. For analogue photographs high grade transparency film-strips formatted 24 x 36 mm are used as media. Exposure on colour slide or recording as digital data file by a camera is the first step of the photographic work. In analogy to music this step corresponds to the score of a composition.

Colour slides are digitised by scanning according to the state of the art with a resolution up to 4800 dpi. The photographs as scans or camera raw files are ready now for elaboration by dint of a computer. This is the second step in photo works, which is the interpretation of the photo. There is a further analogy to music, keeping in mind the varieties of for instance symphony performances by different orchestras. One of the ocular decisions of interpretation is the predefinition for a photograph to be coloured or black and white as well as the setting of the lighting conditions. As a matter of principle the photo works reflect nothing else but that what the camera has recorded at the point of exposure.

The third step in the photographic work is printing, e.g. as a fine art print. These print processes are able to produce images as artwork of highest quality not known until now. During that working step scopes of interpretation for instance by the choice of papers and the ultimate form of representation are utilised for designing purposes.

The long-term stability of the prints depends significantly on the combination of print colours and papers used. A long-term light resistance of the prints is assured by the utilisation of Epson ink in combination with high grade fine art papers of renowned producers. Presently the light resistance is specified more than 75 years for colour prints and about 200 years for BW-prints by using Ultrachrome-K3-ink, avoiding of direct solar irritation assumed.

But, the technique of photographic work is not the author's main concern. Technique is simply an aid to the intention of successfully transferring the topic of an image to the viewers.

Paul-Juergen Weber lives and works in Cologne, Germany. Art works since 1968, at first painting and assemblages, since the 1980ies primarily photography. He feels particular photographic reference to Ansel Adams, Harald Mante plus Bernd Becher. Up to know the photo works are preferentially focussed on landscapes in a broad meaning, that is to say „natural finished" as even „man-made“ environments.

Publications and Exhibitions (Extraction)