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    Photographer Oliver Hihn and His Landscape Photography Through a Vintage Camera’s Viewfinder
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Photographer Oliver Hihn and His Landscape Photography Through a Vintage Camera’s Viewfinder

Photography is a liberating and unique art form because it allows the photographer nearly unlimited options when it comes to what they want to portray. Sure, some photographers choose a signature style of photography that might come to define their name and skills, but many people enjoy finding new ways to communicate their photos in order to set themselves and their art apart from the masses. When amateur photographer Oliver Hihn posted about his latest signature photography style, we could hardly believe our eyes!

Trees in a field through a vintage viewfinder Calm dirt road through a vintage viewfinder

Hihn tells the story of finding and wanting to make use of his father’s old analog camera and searching for a way to circumvent the high cost of purchasing and developing actual analog film. Instead of putting the camera down, however, Hihn re-strategized and combined his vintage equipment with his digital photography skills.

Trees and open skies through a vintage viewfinder Tall grass and trees through a vintage viewfinder Closely set trees through a vintage viewfinder

By holding his high quality digital camera over the older analog model and positioning it so that the lens looks directly into the older camera’s viewfinder, Hihn is able to capture an image that’s even more beautiful than the original gorgeous landscape shots he would have taken using a single camera. Instead of portraying solely trees, fields, and sunny skies, Hihn’s combination shots capture that sceneĀ through the vintage camera so that observers can see the scene through the viewfinder rather than head on.

Sunlit leaves through a vintage viewfinder Sunlit fields through a vintage viewfinder Pebbled road through a vintage viewfinder

Perhaps the best part of these photos is that Hihn doesn’t crop them. Instead of trimming the image so that only the outdoor scenery shows, he keeps the image of the vintage camera within the frame, creating a gorgeously unique image. We also adore that, in each photo, the background on which the camera is placed changes and complements the landscape you see in the vintage camera’s viewfinder. This elevates the “outdoors” element of each shot, creating a balance between that and the emphasis on technology where Hihn’s cameras are concerned.

Open country road through a vintage viewfinder Graffiti wall through a vintage viewfinder Forest landscape through a vintage viewfinder Birds in a distanced sky through a vintage viewfinder

If you’d like to see more photography by Oliver Hihn and keep up to date on his work, check out his Instagram page!