Photographer's Profile
Adrian Schaub
Switzerland
Born in Basel (Switzerland) in 1968, I started taking pictures in my youth with various cameras of my father and grandfather, who were both enthusiastic amateur photographers. Around 1997 I discovered my passion for black and white photography and started to develop my pictures in my own darkroom. Today I take photos mainly digitally. In my street photography people are interchangeable anonymous actors, hence you typically don’t recognise their faces. Animals are part of the city life and their irregular activity contrasts with the regular forms of streets and buildings, whose leading lines ideally aim for a corner of the picture. In general, I like regular shapes and structures of any kind. I also have a weakness for the ephemeral. Above all, the motto is the children’s game “I see something you don’t see”, and I try to capture the special in the everyday. My favourite photographers are Andreas Feininger, Fan Ho and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Paradigm: “Reduce to the Max” by adhering to Simplicity: Topics, patterns and lines are clear and straightforward Black and white: no distraction by colours Square format: allows the most balanced image composition Authenticity: there is nothing in my pictures that was not already on the analogue or digital negative Initially I photographed with Canon and Pentax cameras in 35mm format. In 2004 I switched to medium format and have been using Hasselblad ever since, first analog and from 2021 digital. My preference for the Hasselblad system is based on the compatibility of the cameras and lenses since 1957 until today. I enjoy shooting with my fully mechanical CM 501 and the digital back CFV II 50C, which is a wonderful symbiosis of the analogue and digital worlds. However, for everyday use and travel, I usually prefer the X2D for ergonomic and practical reasons.
