Dieter Unrath

NEW JERSEY PHOTOGRAPHER

Out of New Jersey, comes Dieter Unrath. He’s a multi-talented freelance photographer that specializes in live music photography while still venturing into a lot more than the section of the medium. On top of that, he also drums in his own band, Glume. While right now, you most likely know him for his photography, it’s the local scene and Dieter’s time spent with music that even got him involved in the photography world. “It kind of just happened. When I graduated High School I got a cheap DSLR for a graduation gift. I didn’t really use it until four or five years ago, now. I was in a different band at the time and we were playing a lot of local shows. I decided to take it with me to take some [photos] and everyone really liked the photos that I took, were posting them, and I had a lot of fun with it ... It was a lot more fun than just watching the shows,” He explains how the door became available to him finally adding, “Four months after I shot my first show, I went on my first tour. It happened quickly.”

In many ways, this answers the question of Dieter’s formal training as a photographer – there is none. Rather, he was able to learn working on the spot, whatever YouTube could offer, and through his own drive and passion in the medium and the music. Right now instead of photography Dieter has returned to school for communications, something that he had attempted at a community college a few years ago but due to touring was in and out too frequently. With him being at the end of a four year bachelors in the Communications program he notes that he is starting up again, actually that, “My first day of class was yesterday and I skipped the first week of class for this tour ... It’s whatever. I don’t even know what i am going to do with my degree at this point.” For now, the degree serves to having a piece of paper, proving that he went to post-secondary, but Dieter is quite laid back about the whole thing, allowing him to do what feels right as it comes by.

Being a musician himself, Dieter has found little things here or there that help him with different shots. He notes that knowing rhythm, especially as a drummer, helps with moments like the “jump shot” and shooting on the down beat, “Photography is all about timing and music is all about timing. If you have good timing from a music perspective then you will have good timing in photography.” For Dieter, it’s easy to relate to things such as how he would want to be presented in an image and the angles he knows that he would feel best in. It makes it easier to pick and choose shots that were taken as well as setting them up. Even when he is shooting he tends to bob his head along, immersing into the music and feeling out the shot rather than just watching for it.

“I like them both in different ways, I look the process of photography a lot more,” Dieter started off after being asked if there was one artistic practice he preferred over the other, “You’re sort of jut in the background documenting, you aren’t completely involved ... But when it comes to playing music it’s more of an in the moment thing. Nothing compares to playing a show for 30 minutes. All the energy and aggression you just let out.” It is in this way that he feels like he’s getting more out of the art over all.

For almost 4 years now, Dieter has had the same gear and set up, happy with what images it helps him establish. With a Canon 6D as a body and a Sigma 24 1.4 as a lens he’s happy cranking up the ISO and using all the capabilities the camera offers. “Some of it is because I haven’t been able to afford new hear,” He laughs. On top of that he work on Lightroom to edit the final touches of images. For a moment, he tries to think of different things that help him create the images that he’s proud of, something a little outside of the technical stuff. “I feel like in order to get good photos I need a band with energy. Not that I can’t get good photos of bands that are relaxed on stage but for me to really like my work I need bands that have a lot of energy to work with ... A fun band is what I need.” He smiles while also noting how great the band he currently was on tour is (at the time being Capstan).

“I have no fucking idea,” Dieter responded when asked about goals,whether it be end goals or something more short term. “I kind of just fell into this, starting taking photos and rolled with it. I still feel like that now, even though I’ve been shooting for almost 5 years. I feel like I am just kind of chilling and pressing buttons, going with the flow, takin one opportunity at a time.” In some ways, he is at a cross roads, can continue with college and follow a relatively normal life, or he can continue the sort of life that he is living now with a lot of touring and living day-to-day. Ultimately, it’s not something he is overly stressed on, “The band that I am on tour with now, Capstan, I’d love to continue touring with them. I think that may be a play after I graduate college ... Specific goals is sort of to survive and make money off of my photos. If I could live purely off my photography I guess that would be my goal.”