Valokuvaaja Stephanie Kindermann

—Ennen kaikkea - kenet voit nimetä parhaaksi kuvaajaksi kaupungissasi? :)

—Ha! There's a mad, crazy hoard of us.

—Oletko valokuvauksellinen?

—Yes, and I'll tell you why – I have a high threshold for embarrassment. The less self conscious you are, the better you photograph.

—Miten päädyit valokuvausalalle?

—So here's the story – my father had been a wedding photographer and so I had my first little film disposables from about 5 years old. I’d shot probably thousands of rolls by the time I made it to photography college, but it was the moment where I was standing in the darkroom seeing that first image rise out of the chemical trays that I remember. Everyone else around me was fairly cool about the whole process but I couldn’t stop laughing with this electric thrill. This was the moment in my life where it became absolutely clear – I knew this is what I was going to do now. Weddings? Everyone loves a party. And a wedding is the best kind of party to shoot.

—Mikä on sinusta tärkeintä hyvässä kuvassa?

—Good visual narrative – all the elements needed to give you context.
The split second – at the high point of madness.
The feels – something that makes your heart hurt or leap.

—Tykkäätkö matkustamisesta?

—I live for it.

—Mistä pidät eniten ammatissasi?

—Learning the world's secrets.
I'll share some of them with you.
No one cooks better than a Greek mama or parties as hard as a Croatian groomsman. Vietnamese elders are the bravest karaoke singers, the French do the best cigar and whiskey bar (not to mention the cheeses) and that Ghanaians will crush any dance floor. Chinese door games can be a hair raising experience, and it is deeply moving it is to see Maori women sing a welcoming song to the bride.

—Mistä pidät vähiten ammatissasi?

—When the alternate drop arrives, the chicken is always overcooked. Always.

—Mikä on valokuvauksen tulevaisuus?

—Wow this is cool, I hope it will be some sort of virtual reality with a fully rendered 3D capture from the entire day. You'll be able to bang on your head set and take a walk through the entire event from any time and angle.

—Mikä on sille valokuvauslajille erityistä, johon olet erikoistunut?

—Often having a professional photograph your family is a very rare event. With this in mind I always devote a lot of time and care to capture portraits of treasured people – grandparents, GREAT grandparents, brothers, sisters, children.

—Kuinka suhtaudut kritiikkiin?

—I walked through a lot of fire in my early years of learning to shoot, and I'm still here :) Think of my teacher as being that old guy from Kill Bill who strokes his beard a lot.

—Onko valokuvauksessa trendejä?

—Yes, and they're mostly so cheesy. Things like making love hearts with your hands.... plz no!

—Minkä kriteerien perusteella asiakkaan pitäisi valita valokuvaaja?

—Love the work – don't employ your photographer then ask for an aesthetic from another artist!
Vibes! Would you want to drink a beer with them? Ideally you start the booking process with good vibes, and finish the wedding singing bad karaoke together.

—Mikä on ehdottomasti kiellettyä kuvauksessa?

—Hunger. Bride, groom, photographer and squad members should be loaded up with snacks. Picnic style canapes and champagne if you're fancy, sausage rolls and red bull if you're not.

—Mitkä yksityiskohdat, jotka yleensä jäävät huomaamatta, valokuvaaja voi tallettaa?

—Ha! "Common people," love it.
One of my favourites is the tight-lipped, crazy-eyed stage-whispered threats of a parent to errant child – usually during a particularly tender moment during the ceremony.

—Mikä vaikuttaa kuvan arvoon? Mikä kuvissa on tärkeintä?

—The value in a photo is, I feel, in how valued the subject is in it.
For example, a wife will always love a portrait of her husband that has captured how she sees him. If he's a charismatic person, than a genuine laugh. If he's a quiet person, then a photograph of him unaware, relaxed and thoughtful.

—Kuka on sinun mielestäsi 2000-vuosisadan symboli?

—Elon Musk. Billionaire, genius, puts a model car in his real car then launches it into space. What a legend.

—Ketä haluaisit kuvata?

—People madly in love.

—Onko sinulla ammatillisia tabuja?

—I am a woman of no limits.

—Kenen kanssa haluaisit kuvata?

—Jonas Peterson. He seems like a very relaxed, interesting fellow.

—Mistä huolehdit ja miksi?

—Mostly I have dreams where I've overslept my alarm and a bride is calling me, asking where I am, and I'm a 2 hour drive away. I guess that's my biggest worry.

—Mikä on ollut elämäsi vaikuttavin hetki?

—Once, driving home very late from a wedding (of course), I saw space junk or a comet or the worlds most massive shooting star – so bright it illuminated everything around me. It travelled directly down the line of the straight highway I was driving for a full 10 seconds before burning out. An exceptional moment.

—Jos olisit animoitu, kirjallisuus- tai elokuvahahmo, kuka olisit ja miksi?

—Trinity from The Matrix. She was cool and wore latex before lip injections and enormous butts became the symbols of beauty.

—Kuka sinua on inspiroinut elämässäsi ja miksi?

—Jimmy Nelson, photographer and author of Before They Pass Away. His is a body of work that is truly exceptional and of historical value.

—Miten ja millä perusteella määrittelisit menestyksen?

—Can't measure it but you can feel it – are you getting enough quality sleep? Are you eating well and sharing good wine with friends? Do you have leisure time with your loved ones, and does your work fill you with pleasure?

—Haluaisitko olla mieluummin tykätty vai kunnioitettu?

—Not everyone will like you all of the time, but you should always conduct yourself in a way that people have no loss of respect for you.

—Mikä on suurin virheesi, jonka olet tehnyt työssäsi?

—Working at a camera shop, shipped two very expensive video cameras to someone who turned out to be fraudulent. OOPS!

—Kun lähdet matkalle, mitä otat mukaasi ja miksi?

—My husband, because he can read maps.

—Oletko koskaan toivonut, ettet olisi ostanut jotain omistamistasi vempaimista? Miksi?

—No, but people love to "gift" me their defunct camera gear. Please stop doing this baby boomer friends.

—Miten opettelet ottamaan parempia kuvia?

—I spend A LOT of time on lovely curation sites like this one.

—Kuka on vaikuttanut eniten ammattiisi valokuvaajana?

—Steve McCurry (again). Portrait photographer for National Geographic.

—Minkä yhden asian olisit toivonut tietäväsi, kun aloitit kuvaamisen?

—That the rules don't actually matter, and only diminish the potential expression of true moments.

—Mitä haluat ilmaista valokuvillasi?

—This is a mirror of your life in this moment.

—Mikä motivoi sinua jatkamaan kuvausta?

—I have no other talents. LOL, no I can cook quite well. But photographing is my true purpose.

—Olisiko vanhempiesi pitänyt olla tiukempia tai päinvastoin?

—Less. I was raised conservative Catholic. Not allowed to watch The Simpsons when you're 17... come on!

—Jos voisit palata ajassa taaksepäin, mitä tekisit eri tavalla?

—I wouldn't bother going to study, and instead buy a great kit and apprentice myself out 3 years earlier instead. I did the ol' highschool > study > apprentice > professional route. But study is now a moot point with online resources like Linda.com.

—Uskotko, että muilla planeetoilla on elämää?

—Oh jeez I hope so. Certainly spices things up.

—Ketkä ovat sankareitasi?

—My colleagues, for lifting my heavy, heavy camera bag up and down stairs and into the car innumerable times.

—Ketä et kunnioita?

—Paedophiles

—Mitä teet vapaa-ajallasi?

—I punch through Netflix series like a karate master does bricks.

—Mitä puolta yleisö ei koskaan näe sinussa?

—Lying around in pyjamas, no makeup, orange Dorito stained fingers, unshaved legs.

—Milloin olet täysin tyytyväinen työhösi?

—When a couple tells me they cried seeing the pictures. (With JOY).

—Uskotko miesten ja naisten perinteisiin rooleihin?

—There are definitely things men are better at, like being muscly and crushing rocks with their bare fists. And there are definitely things women are better at, like looking good in high heels and jean shorts.

—Saatko helposti ystäviä?

—Yes

—Missä haluaisit asua?

—I'd love a couple of years in Istanbul. I'm a big fan!

—Mikä on typerin asia, johon olet koskaan suostunut?

—To go on a VERY long bush walk, mere hours after getting home from a pub crawl.

—Jatkuuko elämä avioliiton jälkeen?

—YES! It just keeps getting better!

—Onko sinulla suosikkivitsiä? Kerro pois.

—Any Gary Larson comic ever published. He might be the funniest man on earth.

—Pidätkö koirista vai kissoista?

—Cats. I'm not embarrassed.

—Ketä tai mitä vihaat?

—Celery. Eww

—Parasta elämässä on:

—Champagne and cheeses with friends.

—Ärsyttävintä elämässä on:

—People farting next to you on flights.

—Haluaisitko muuttaa mitään ympärilläsi?

—I'm about to try my hand at home renovation, in a very literal interpretation of that question!

—Mitä haluaisit muuttaa itsessäsi?

—I would love to learn Chinese. And sign language. And also do some pottery. And learn to ride horses. Probably should exercise more too.

—Mitä haluaisit muuttaa maailmassa?

—Let's turn down the level of racism shall we, it seems to be gaining momentum instead of losing it.

—Haluaisitko antaa vinkkejä aloitteleville valokuvaajille?

—Sure! Don't train yourself out of -not- shooting things. Such as the weird, or awkward, or funny or embarrassing moments. These are some of the greatest photographs you could take!

—Jos Maahan saapuisi avaruusolioita ja he näkisivät sinut ensimmäisenä, mitä sanoisit heille?

—I guess I'd ask them if they wanted to join us for lunch, I know a good place...

—Jos sinut kutsuttaisiin kuvaamaan elokuvaa, mitä tyylilajia se edustaisi?

—Whatever genre Monty Python calls itself.

—Huomenna aion...

—EDIT! Pat my cat. Email clients! Poke around the fridge and hope for the best. Print some albums! Look at memes!