
The photographer
In photography, there are two subjects I am most passionate about: people and cultural peculiarities.
I like people in their individuality and diversity. I seek less the beauty of youth than the character and the life experience as shown in the wrinkles brought along by old age. Photographing people while traveling is a door opener. It allows getting in direct contact with persons instead of simply walking past them. I enjoy the challenge of getting people to relax and show who they are or how they like to present themselves. See also the street portrait book Strangers on the Street (https://www.blurb.com/b/8668671-strangers-on-the-street).
Cultural peculiarities are the phenomena we are not used to. They belong to people we are less familiar with or to changes in society. I perceive as noteworthy people dressing their dogs or carrying them around in handbags, but also strong religious expression and people’s urge to take selfies. When we travel, we are particularly struck by the differences we observe. These may be related to objects such as different kinds of food we find in foreign market halls or to different toilet models we get confronted with. Observed differences may also be linked to the interaction between the locals, to the way they dress or the way they live their religion.
I live both of these passions while traveling, hence the screenname phototravelography. I try to pinpoint the perceived peculiarities and to capture them in my photos. For me, there is no right and wrong, but we mostly notice what we are not used to. Photography is highly subjective and it often tells more about the photographers than about the subjects they capture.
Besides photography, I spent my working life following another passion, which is computational linguistics. My life as a linguist who aims to teach computers to deal with human language thus has its own little area on this site.

Photo by Gabi Breitenbach
Exhibitions and Publications
Main exhibitions
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Andare alla deriva in terre lontane (Drifting into Foreign Lands). Mostra di sculture e fotografie. Ex-Colonia Elioterapica di Germignaga, Germignaga (VA), Italy, Aug+Sep 2023.
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Die Welt ist bunt, und das ist gut so. Portraits und Reisefotografie. Galerie im Hinterhalt, Wolfratshausen, Germany, Nov+Dec 2019 (Website).
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Fundstücke aus Italien (with photos by Gabi Breitenbach and sculptures by Antje Schmuck). Kunstturm am Schwankl Eck, Wolfratshausen, Germany, May+June 2021.
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Menschen und ihre Kulturen. Stiftung Gute Tat, München, Germany. Sept 2020 – May 2021. Online-Talk on the theme on 24.11.2020 (75 minutes).
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Street Portraits. Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy, Feb 2020.
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Die Welt ist bunt, und das ist gut so. Portraits und Reisefotografie II. Amtsgericht Wolfratshausen, Germany, Jan-Sept 2020.
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Impressions from Guatemala. With Gabi Breitenbach. Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy, June 2018.
Group exhibitions
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Bilder, Briefe, Noten. Autorengalerie, München, Germany, May 2024
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Visions on Water. Galleria Pro Sesto Calende, Italy, May 2022.
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Painting and Photography. Galleria Pro Sesto Calende, Italy, June 2021 and Hotel Sirio, Dormelletto, Italy, June-Oct. 2022.
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About Water. Hotel Sirio, Dormelletto, Italy, July to Oct 2022.
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Forza e Fragilità - Natura a Scatti (Strength and Fragility of Nature), Hotel Europa, Ispra (VA), Italy, 3-19 March 2023.
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Mostra Fotografia e Pittura Dedicata alla Donna per il Mese Internazionale della Donna. Hotel Sirio, Dormelletto (NO), Italy, 1-31 March 2023.
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Acqua Intorno a Noi. Comune, Ranco (VA), Italy, 22-23 April 2023.
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Emozioni. Galleria Pro Sesto Calende, Italy, Dec. 2022 - Jan 2023.
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Ritratti. Castelletto Ticino, Italy, Aug 2023.
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Piazze e Monumenti d’Italia. Castelletto Ticino, Italy, Aug 2022.
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Fotogrammi. Castelletto Ticino, Italy Aug 2021.
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Magic Nights. Ispra, Italy, June 2019.
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Atomiade 2018 – Sports Photography. JRC-Ispra, Italy, July 2018.
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Adult Grimaces and other portraits. Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy, Sept 2017.
Photo publications
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Strangers on the Street. 2018. Blurb book.
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Adult Grimaces. 2020. Blurb booklet.
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Modern Hunters - The Soul of Street Photography. Photo booklet. 2020
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Where the Dead Go. Photo booklet. 2021
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My World. SoulScape Music-Video by JJ Beeme. Fundación del Garabato. 2020.
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I had a Dream. Music animation by JJ Beeme. Fundaciòn del Garabato. 2023
Photography-related articles (Text and photos)
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Photographing Religious Rites. EXPOSED Magazine #6, pp. 44-51. Dec 2020.
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Impressions from Dilated Times – Covid-19 quarantine narrated by the JRC FotoCineClub. Joint work with 8 other photographers. EXPOSED Magazine #5, July 2020.
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Editorial. EXPOSED Magazine #5, July 2020.
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Clothes make the man – producing an actor’s portfolio. EXPOSED Magazine #3, pp. 22-27. Feb 2020.
Books including my photos (group work)
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Esposizione – Foto-Racconti. Associazione Culturale Europea. 2022
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10 autori in cerca di personaggio. Associazione Culturale Europea. 2022
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Sindrome Sur – 22 crónicas meridionales. Von JJ Beeme. Fundación del Garabato. 2019
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16th Atomiade – The Research Centre Games. JRC Ispra Varese. European Commission. 2018
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Point Break. With ZooPark Publishing. 2021. (Zine)
You will find dozens of articles in magazines and blog entries where my photos have been used for illustrative purposes, by searching for images with the text Ralf Steinberger or phototravelography.
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For my scientific publications, see my dedicated computational linguistics webpage or my Google Scholar entry.
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