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The beginnings: 
younger than the models

From fine art to pin-up

During the years that followed, my style developed into a more sophisticated one that eventually led me to reputable success at competitions and exhibitions. For a long time, I nurtured the idea to support myself with nude art photography. Still, this idea didn't seem to work out. It took quite some time, until I realised, that artistic nude photography in black and white does indeed enjoy quite some adoration, but unfortunately doesn't pay well enough to make a living of it. This seems true for me and for other photographers, as well.

After graduating from high school in 1989, the question of my professional orientation became more pressing. Of course, I wanted to become involved with photography, but it seemed impossible to get accepted at a school for photo design. A craftsman-oriented training as a photographer didn't seem to make sense, since I had already learned so much by doing to even further develop my potential in that area. Up to this day I consider myself a self-made photographer. I don't consider this disadvantageous even though thorough schooling, especially in the technical areas would have probably helped me to reach my level much sooner.

The various jobs I supported myself with at the time and my further studies in art history and German literature didn't satisfy me at all. So, in 1995, I made the decision to branch out into a commercially-oriented colour-photography pin-up style. It wasn't an easy decision, but I thought it might be a way to finally become a professional artistic nude photographer. 

Not an artist, but 
a creative producer

Very soon, however, I realised, that this change didn't restrict my creativity, but instead provided a vast variety of possibilities for developing my own artistic and creative style. In addition, growing success in the marketing of my pictures gave me more freedom. Since my endeavours were no longer merely a costly hobby, but more like a business that began to profit handsomely, I was able to start working more intensely and at a larger expenditure. I progressed quickly, and my experience enabled me to handle technical difficulties with greater ease. I learned to avoid mistakes, and sharpen my view for the finished product at first glance. 

Refining my skills is an ongoing task that makes me a happier person; however, one can only further evolve if one is never totally satisfied. I worked in the journalistic department of a local magazine for three years and at the same time I continued to develop as a photographer on a semi-professional basis. In 1999, I started working as a full-time nude art photographer. 

Today, I don't consider myself merely an artist, rather a creative producer, who can use his freedom to turn his artistic visions into reality and to further improve on his own style. I work exclusively on a freelance basis. I do not cater to clients, but instead I offer the finished product. I value the freedom this system offers, since I am only obligated to myself.

Internet and videos

As early as 1998, when the medium of the Internet was still quite new in Germany, I went online with one of my first galleries on the Internet, first under the domain kassandra.de, then later bellaragazza.de. Within just a few years, my offering became one of the most distinguished German erotic sites. A huge obstacle for the marketing of it was, however, the German laws for the protection of children and young persons, which prescribe a complicated age verification for erotic offerings on the Internet. This procedure is hardly accepted by Internet users outside of Germany, and so for a long time, I had almost only German customers.

In order to change that, I went by the name Victor Lindenborn at the end of 2002, and took the web site www.victorlindenborn.com on the international market. The extremely restrictive laws in Germany forced me to use this pseudonym. After my move to Vienna, Austria in December 2003, I could finally give up this hiding game and publish my work under my own name again.

Aside from this, I began with the production of videos in the year 2003. I've had this idea for quite a while, but since I don't know my way around a video camera myself, there was for a long time no possibility to realize it. That all changed once I got an offer of cooperation from a professional cameraman, Marek Rosenberg from Berlin. Marek accompanied me the first time on my trip to Spain in May 2003 and also took care of a professional postproduction of the film material, putting me in the position to also show video clips, whose quality is in no way inferior to that of my pictures.

Only the best will do!

A brilliant result calls for excellent working conditions. In choosing my models, I have a reputation for being extraordinarily fastidious. I insist on them being genuine and confident, with a well proportioned and harmonic physique that hasn't been upholstered with silicon or been otherwise artificially manipulated. And of course, a professional make-up artist is always present on the set.

The location also has a special significance, as it greatly influences the atmosphere of the pictures. Only the best will do, when you strive to break away from the ordinary. I work outdoors as well as indoors with artificial lighting.The requirements are quite different: when working inside, the lighting can be totally controlled by the use of a flash. It can be set consciously and very precisely, while outdoor lighting sources call for great skill and flexibility. This holds true for daylight, which can be slightly enhanced by scims or reflectors or the positioning of the model, as well as the specific lighting conditions of the chosen location. Because these special conditions provide a large variety of possibilities, they are much more complicated to handle than a regular indoor setting.