Markus Kurzthaler born 1985 Tirol

After primary and secondary in Tirol and the technical building education in Saalfelden, I changed my perspective of life to a new direction – visual art. So I moved and I studied in the „Mediakolleg Innsbruck“.

I struggled to get into the Movie-Making-Buisness as I wanted it, so I decided to go for another education.

Being a director was my dream, Skiing instructoring helped me financially and it was one thing I was good at. So I decided to study what was avaiable for teaching or Movie making. I became a teacher of Mathematics and Woodwork. I got a chance to go to Ireland, Limerick, where I had an opportunity to change woodwork with documentary master studies.

Returning home was hard, after I had seen again how much passion I have for Movie-Making.

Being a teacher for two years in Tirol, I didn´t really like the schoolsystem, but my experience there is worth a movie (someday). So I changed to Vietnam. There I loved my job, but it was hard to imagine a future in Hanoi. So I moved to Bali and became a Divemaster. After this two years of Asian beauty and some lifechanging experiences, I returned to Austria. I worked in several Movie-Sets, where I got to know Mathias, a passionate photographer.

Later I wrote a book about a previous travel and started to teach again. Now I am in the Mediaworkshop of ProVita, which I was allowed to develop there. I also started to fly, got a motorbike and moved to Vienna.

I always took pictures as long as I remember, as my grandfathers on both parental sides were supportive to my mum and she was to me. It started with the typical single-use cameras, had plenty of film-cameras and ended up with a DSLR Camera, which I bought with the help of my viennese grandfather. Cameras change so do we, right? I still work on a documentary.

Mathias Eisenmann born 1994 Tirol

Raised in Brixen im Thale, taking primary and upper school with the goal to graduate and continue to study at university.

For me, it all changed after my 3rd year of secondary school when i attended a boarding college in Ireland for 3 years. After I’ve completed my leaving certificate, i was 16 and without any idea what direction i would take next. Sports was my ultimate passion at that time, so i started to work as a ski instructor in winter, and a rafting-guide in summer.

With 23 i got quite interrested in biology, and my desire was to explore more of nature and it’s connection to human influences. I went to croatia for two summers. I visited a marine biology institute, where I first started with a little course about marine life and later got the chance to work for them. I was guiding school groups from different countries, teaching them about fauna and flora in the Adrian sea. We did a lot of diving, cleaning shores, exploring the landside, as well as underwater caves. When we did lectures afterwards in the classrooms, I’ve made my first proper experience with a camera, since I was filming the animals and plant life and projecting the live image on a big screen.

This little aspect of documentation started my passion for photography. I bought a small mirrorless camera with a kit lense and with 25 i started in the austrian movie industry as a driver where i met Markus, who had already much more experience and inside knowledge about movie making.

Alongside taking pictures from the crew and behind the scenes I tried to get into set-photography which is not easy to get in.

Luckily I got into the prop-department where shooting photos became a big part. I got to do my first portraits and had the pleasure to work with actors and guide them through a photo shoot.

Today I’m still working on movie sets and tv shows all around Austria, but my fascination for the outdoors has not faded away.

My ultimate dream still is, working as a professional landscape and wildlife photographer. Especially underwater shootings were ever so fascinating to me. Reason was my time in croatia and a certain Austrian marine biologist and pioneer in underwater documentation called Hans Hass, that made a huge influence on the way I look at this art form.

For me it’s all about connecting with the elements of nature, with family and friends. And all different kinds of people, their stories and their characters.