Dahoam
A documentary photography series about Sennerinnen working and living in the Bavarian Alps
About
Home is something highly personal and constantly changing. For some, it is a place, for others a feeling.
With Dahoam – Bavarian for home – I followed Sennerinnen, women who spend the summer months living and working on alpine pastures, to understand why they choose a life far away from cities and constant connectivity.
The goal was to understand and visually capture what makes the mountains feel like home to them.
Photographer, Concept Development, Art Direction, Editing
June 2022
University Project · Photography
Lightroom
Context
A Sennerin spends an entire summer living and working on an Alm. Days often start around five in the morning and involve caring for cattle, preparing food, serving guests, and maintaining the alpine farm.
Despite long working days and often living in isolation, many consciously choose this way of life every year.
The project explores the question: Why do people who live far away from cities, cell service, internet, and everyday routines describe this as home?
Growing up close to the mountains myself, I always associated them with calmness and freedom. But for Sennerinnen, the mountains are part of everyday life.
Target Group
The project addresses people who feel connected to mountain culture and rural traditions.
At the same time, it aims to give people from more urban environments a glimpse into a lifestyle that often feels distant and idealized, while revealing the work and commitment behind it.
Concept
The idea was not simply to photograph landscapes or mountains, but to show the relationship between the Sennerinnen and their surroundings – the alpine huts, animals, nature, and everyday moments that shape their lives.
The visual direction follows a documentary style with soft colors and a slightly muted, almost nostalgic look to reflect tradition and familiarity.
Process
Since the project depended heavily on real situations, weather conditions, and the natural flow of the day, flexibility became an important part of the process.
Rather than staging scenes, I focused on observing and following moments as they happened naturally.