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[ 15 ]Who’s Who in the KelbyOne Community
Markus Gollner is an Austria-based artist with a passion for surreal art and fast-paced action. His art
is emotional and teasing, and his long-term goal is an exhibition and to get recognized for his artwork.Who or what inspires you?
A great source of inspiration are painters and artists from ear-
lier centuries, such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Lawrence
Alma-Tadema, and Picasso, as well as modern artists, such as
Gottfried Helnwein and other hyper-realistic painters. I learned
a lot from fellow photographers, especially Bernhard Moestl
and Stefan Gesell. Additionally, literature and movies about
science fiction, fantasy, and comics!You seem to enjoy the compositing side of your
work. Do you shoot your own backgrounds?
A good part of my work is collecting backgrounds, textures,
and the like. Whenever I come across some useful stuff, I take
images of it.What kit do you use and what is on your wishlist?
My first camera was a Canon AE-1 and I’ve been using Canon
for the last decade, currently owning a D5 Mark III and a 1D X.
Recently, I bought a Fuji X-T20 and haven’t touched my
Canon gear since that day. The Fuji is like my old Canon,
but with the modern technology of today. Now I’m seriously
considering a transition to Fuji with the Fuji GFX on top of
my wishlist.What’s your history with KelbyOne, and what advice
would you give to anyone who isn’t a member?
About 12 years ago I got a Canon D20 and the logical con-
sequence was to start using Photoshop. With no knowledge
at all, it was a difficult trial-and-error process. Then I came
across Scott Kelby’s The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital
Photographers and that was a game-changer for me. Other
books followed, as well, such as Light It, Shoot It, Retouch
It; Photoshop Classic Effects; Photoshop Killer Tips; and
Photo shop Down & Dirty Tricks. I wish every teacher had the
ability to teach his students like Scott does. He shows you in
a simple, but effective way how to achieve something. If my
teachers had been like him, I suppose I’d be a little rocket-
science-Nobel-Prize genius. So it was just a matter of time
to sign up with KelbyOne and suck up the different courses
like a nerd.
My advice for others is: Go for it! Look in your heart,
where your deepest love for a subject or a field of work is,
where your passion lies, and what brings you the most joy.
Then go pedal-to-the-metal. Pick your courses, learn, try, fail,
get up, and never stop having fun and being curious. If you
love it, the rest will follow. nPlease tell us a bit more about yourself and what
made you start in photography?
From my youth I was always creative, and at the same time inter-
ested in technical stuff. I did mostly painting, as at that time,
I had no computer or Photoshop. At the age of 15, I got my first
camera and I liked it instantly. It’s a combination of technique and
vision, and I got a result quicker than in a slow painting process.
Don’t ask me why, but at that time photography wasn’t on
my radar as an occupation. After my bachelor’s degree, I started
aviation training, and today I’m captain of an Airbus 320 flying
in Europe. I did take photos nevertheless, and photography in a
professional way became interesting in my mid-thirties. At one
point I was bored with the “normal stuff“ and was keen in going
a new and different way, covering subjects that aren’t every-
day. My entry into that field was to cover the Special Operations
Unit COBRA, the Austrian Police Special Forces, publishing
a photo book about them. That led to the “Jagdkommando,“
the Austrian Army Special Forces. Next came “Kommando
Spezialkräfte“ of the German Army.You have a quote on your website that reads
“Make Visible What, Without You, Might Perhaps
Never Have Been Seen.” What made you start
experimenting with fantasy style images?
My first fantasy style image was “Vampires.“ At that time I was
covering action—Special Forces, sports, and music. I loved that
and still do, but I was looking for something new and different.
Nowadays, we’re flooded with zillions of images every day, which
we rarely look at consciously or remember later on. I wanted to
create images that stand out, catch you off guard, make you stop
and engage.Where does the idea start for a new project,
and do you aim for one image or a series?
Every shoot has a theme, mostly surreal, dark art. Around that
theme the models come up with ideas, outfits, and stylings, and
I add my input and stuff I have available. I always make a series
of images—different poses and angles, with and without
accessories, etc.—to cover all corners. Then I have the essential
flexibility in the postprocessing part.Do you work out of your own studio?
I have a studio at home in Ebreichsdorf, near Vienna, Austria.
But I work out of town, as well, when it’s more efficient for
me to get there, instead of having a lot of people come to me.