Fotografo Stephanie Kindermann

—Prima di tutto - chi puoi definire come il miglior fotografo di Brisbane, Australia? :)

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

—Sei fotogenico?

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

—Come sei entrato nell'industria della fotografia?

—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.

—Secondo te, quali sono le componenti più importanti di una bella foto?

—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.

—Ti piace viaggiare?

—I live for it.

—Che cosa ti piace di più nella tua professione?

—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.

—Che cosa ti piace di meno nella tua professione?

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

—Quale sarà il futuro della fotografia?

—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.

—Cosa c'è di speciale nel genere di fotografia in cui sei specializzato?

—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.

—Come gestisci la critica?

—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.

—Ci sono determinate tendenze nella fotografia?

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

—Quali criteri dovrebbe utilizzare un cliente per scegliere un fotografo?

—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.

—Che cosa non è ammesso durante la ripresa fotografica?

—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.

—Quali dettagli, che solitamente passano inosservati, riesce a notare un fotografo?

—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.

—Che cosa influisce sul valore di una foto? Quali sono le sue componenti?

—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.

—Secondo te, chi può essere considerato simbolo del XXI secolo?

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

—Chi vorresti fotografare?

—People madly in love.

—Hai qualche tabù professionale?

—I am a woman of no limits.

—Con chi vorresti fare una sessione di ripresa fotografica?

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

—Che cosa ti fa preoccupare e perché?

—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.

—Qual è stato il momento più impressionante della tua vita?

—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.

—Se tu fossi un personaggio di cartone animato, libro o film, chi saresti e perché?

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

—Chi ti ispira nella vita e perché?

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

—Come puoi definire il successo? Come si misura?

—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?

—Preferiresti essere amato o rispettato?

—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.

—Qual è stato il più grande errore che hai commesso nel lavoro?

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

—Preparandoti per partire, che cosa metteresti in valigia e perché?

—My husband, because he can read maps.

—Tra i gadget che possiedi, c'è qualcosa che vorresti non aver comprato? Perché?

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

—Che formazione professionale segui per fare fotografie migliori?

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

—Il lavoro di chi ha avuto la maggiore influenza su di te come fotografo?

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

—Qual è l'unica cosa che vorresti aver saputo iniziando a scattare foto?

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

—Che cosa vuoi dire con le tue fotografie?

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

—Qual è la tua motivazione per continuare a scattare fotografie?

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

—Pensi che i tuoi genitori avrebbero dovuto essere più o meno severi?

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

—Se potessi tornare nel passato, che cosa faresti in modo diverso?

—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.

—Che cosa pensi della vita su altri pianeti?

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

—Chi sono i tuoi eroi?

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

—Per chi non hai rispetto?

—Paedophiles

—Che cosa fai nel tuo tempo libero?

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

—Quale lato di te non è mai visibile al pubblico?

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

—Quando ti senti completamente soddisfatto dal tuo lavoro?

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

—Credi nei ruoli tradizionali di donne e uomini?

—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.

—Fai facilmente amicizia?

—Yes

—Dove ti piacerebbe vivere?

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

—Qual è stata la cosa più stupida che hai accettato di fare?

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

—Esiste la vita dopo il matrimonio?

—YES! It just keeps getting better!

—Hai uno scherzo preferito? Raccontacelo.

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

—Ti piacciono i cani o i gatti?

—Cats. I'm not embarrassed.

—Chi o che cosa odi?

—Celery. Eww

—La cosa migliore nella vita è:

—Champagne and cheeses with friends.

—La cosa più fastidiosa nella vita è:

—People farting next to you on flights.

—C'è qualcosa intorno a te che vorresti cambiare?

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

—Che cosa vorresti cambiare in te stesso?

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

—Che cosa vorresti cambiare nel mondo?

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

—Puoi dare alcuni consigli ai fotografi alle prime armi?

—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!

—Se gli alieni dovessero arrivare sulla Terra e tu fossi la prima persona ad incontrarli, che cosa diresti?

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

—Se dovessi essere invitato a girare un film, di che genere sarebbe?

—Whatever genre Monty Python calls itself.

—Domani vado a fare...

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