Julia Huber is an Austrian photographer. She is a student at the university of Salzburg and besides photography her biggest passion is ski jumping.
Huber started ski jumping and photography when she was 6 and she is currently fighting her way into the Austrian National Team after recovering fully from a severe ski jumping crash in June 2017.
We featured a collection of her images on the @worldphotorg feed.
How did you become a photographer?
I got my first DSLR camera when I turned 14. I always enjoyed shooting every once in a while but never really got deeper into the topic. Then last year in June I had a ski jumping accident which forced me to take a break for almost a year. That's when I picked up my camera and started getting really interested into actually composing images and not just clicking the shutter.
Tell us about the series of images we featured. Do you have a favorite, and why?
The series of images you featured is a really good summary of what I have been up to this year. I had the opportunity to go so many beautiful places and make so many memories. My favourite picture of the series is probably the sheep in front of Germany's highest mountain Mt. Zugspitze.
But why is it so special to me? It is not the picture itself but the memories I made that day. My boyfriend and I started hiking in the early afternoon to reach to this place for sunset. After the sun disappeared we continued our hike even further up into a cirque where we put up our tent for the night. The next morning I could not imagine a better place to wake up: surrounded by breathtaking mountains.
What inspires you for each shot?
Regarding to the places I really want to visit I am mostly inspired by some great photographers on instagram. When it comes to taking the actual picture I always get inspired by the surrounding itself. I get to the place I really wanted to visit and then I always try to get some sort my personal point of view into the image.
Why do you always shoot nature?
My parents always went out into the mountains with my brother and me when we were younger so I always had this special bond with nature. When I was first starting to photograph I tried different things but nature always was the subject that I was interested in shooting the most.
https://www.instagram.com/julia__huber
Do you travel light or with lots of equipment?
I usually like to keep my equipment as light as possible. The shoot in nature, especially the Alps, includes a lot of hiking most of the time in order to get the best shot. For longer hikes I usually only bring my camera body with one to go lens and maybe my drone.
Where do you like traveling to take your pictures?
I really enjoy exploring the the Alps so I do not necessary need to go away too far from home. I am super lucky to live in Austria so I can reach most of the places I really want to shoot within about 2-3 hours by car. Also I am really attracted by the Northern countries. I have been to the United Kingdom twice this year and I already can't wait to come back to see more of the country. Also I can't wait to go back to Norway.
What is next in your traveling list?
During the winter I do not have the opportunity to go on big trips as my main focus is on my ski jumping career. So I want to experience winter in the Alps, mostly to places I can go for one to two days only. Next year in June I really want to go to Iceland to experience the midnight sun and maybe a road trip through Norway but for both destinations I do not have a concrete plan yet.
