HEIMO SCHMIDT

Heimo Schmidt was born in Klagenfurt, Austria. With commercial success as a photographer since high school, Heimo Schmidt received a BFA from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, and has enjoyed a long career, exploring various genres, photographing automobiles, room sets, still life, food, product and portraits. 

During a sabbatical from commercial work he expanded into filmmaking, creating the Green Grass of Tunnel, shot on location in Iceland and screened at the San Francisco Shorts festival (Bronze Medal) and at the Das Arts festival in the Netherlands.

 Most recently, he published Luddite, a periodical magazine with an ironic subtext – Heimo claims to be one of the last people to embrace the digital aspect of photography. Having spent most of his life shooting with large format 8X10 cameras and film, he believes digital photography has allowed him to return to the basics of photography – which is simply a way of seeing.

“Just as the earlier artists struggled with the media of their time, our lack of struggle with the technical details carries the burden of content. It is a return to taking images as well as making them. The shackles of big production in commercial work have been let go in order to return to a way of seeing the things in simple form. The camera is a tool and only as good as the eye that uses it  – iPhone, digital point and shoot included. The immediate gratification of the Polaroid has been replaced by various phone apps and the joy of taking pictures.” 

As part of his practice, Schmidt shoots at least one picture a day and has done so for the last 10 years. 

“To be clear, there is taking pictures and making pictures, the latter a deliberate attempt to produce something that approaches art, the former the luck of the moment.”

Schmidt equally embraces both methods.

Career Highlights Include.

Bibliography

Fahrenheit Magazine Cover, and Feature, Mexico, 2011

Luzer's Best 200 photographers worldwide, 2007

American Photography 23, 2007

BAK Magazine 10, Interview and Photographs, 2007

Vision Magazine China, Cover and Feature, Issue 4, 2005

American Photography 19, 2003

American Photography 18, 2003

Awards

International Color Awards Photography, 2009

International Color Awards Photography, 2008

International Color Awards Photography, 2007

American Photography 23, 2007

International Color Awards Photography, 2006

American Photography 19, 2004

American Photography 18, 2003

Exhibitions

2007 Myths, Point of View Gallery, NY

2007 Raw Space Gallery, Brisbane Australia

2007 PX3 Gallery, Paris

2007 SF Shorts Festival (Bronze Medal)

2005 Museum of Applied Art,  Cologne

2005 Das Arts Festival, NL

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM