Mélanie Eugénie Ziegler

Can you see music? Not the musician, not the stage, not the instruments but the music? Through the eyes of Mélanie Eugénie Ziegler you can. Off the beaten track, aside from apparantness and in an arresting way the photographer from Salzburg not only registers what she sees, but what she can hear. Details become essential, framed by her lens, a single image becomes a song, a series of pictures a photographic album for the eyes.

And not in the polished, airbrushed sound of a CD or MP3, but in the spirit of a classical recording: her photographs have corners, edges and real tonal range; they are like live concerts for the eyes. Most often in black and white, she gets to the heart of what music is: pure emotion. She is as much master of her craft as the musicians are of theirs. Never showy, her pictures display an almost intimate approach to her subjects, celebrating simply musicians, their music and her love and passion for it.

She is dedicated to her portraits, composing them with the music as a permanent accompaniment in her head. Faces become stories, in musical moods ranging from a beguiling A minor blues to a rousing, rocking C major. As a devoted music fan, Mélanie Eugénie Zieglers' photographs provide a soundtrack both fo...

I first became interested in photography during my early childhood with an analogue camera. I have worked in several vocational fields, including the study of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna, during which my main focus has always been towards Photography and Film. I work with analogue and digital material and continuously followed my interests and passion therein. Since 2013 I am working as a freelance photographer specializing in portrait and documentary photography.

The question of my choice which material I am going to use comes with the matter, with what and how I would like to visualize a subject, an object, a scenario. I am still very keen and passionate about photography on film, you might find several images on my website which were originally created on film before I 'transformed' them into a digital file. I take inspiration and feel influenced by the old masters of art, especially from the fields photography and painting. I am haunted by my passion for music, it is a major influence within my different processes of work.

I am looking for stories whenever I take photographs. Whether it is a portrait of a person, an object or a certain environment, I am intrigued to see behind the curtain....