Fotogrāfs Stephanie Kindermann

—Pirmkārt un galvenokārt - kurš Tavuprāt ir labākais fotogrāfs Tavā pilsētā? :)

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

—Vai Tu esi fotogēnisks?

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

—Kā tu nokļuvi fotogrāfijas jomā?

—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.

—Kuri, Tavuprāt, ir svarīgākie labas fotogrāfijas elementi?

—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.

—Vai Tu mīli ceļošanu?

—I live for it.

—Kas Tev vislabāk patīk savā profesijā?

—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.

—Kas Tavā profesijā Tev patīk vismazāk?

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

—Kāda būs fotogrāfijas nākotne?

—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.

—Kas ir īpašs fotogrāfijas žanrā, kurā specializējies?

—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.

—Kā Tu uztver kritiku?

—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.

—Vai fotogrāfijā ir kādas īpašas tendences?

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

—Kādi ir kritēriji, kas klientam jāņem vērā, izvēloties fotogrāfu?

—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.

—No kā fotogrāfējot būtu jāizvairās?

—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.

—Kādus parasti nepamanītus brīžus var notvert fotogrāfs?

—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.

—Kas ietekmē fotogrāfijas vērtību? Kādi ir tās elementi?

—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.

—Kurš cilvēks, Tavuprāt, varētu būt 21. gadsimta simbols?

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

—Ko Tu vēlētos fotogrāfēt?

—People madly in love.

—Vai Tev ir kādi profesionālie tabu?

—I am a woman of no limits.

—Ar ko Tu kopā vēlētos fotogrāfēt?

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

—Par ko Tu satraucies un kāpēc?

—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.

—Kas ir Tavas dzīves iespaidīgakais brīdis?

—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.

—Ja Tu būtu multfilmas, grāmatas vai filmas varonis, kurš tas būtu un kāpēc?

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

—Kas Tevi iedvesmo dzīvē un kāpēc?

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

—Kā Tu definētu veiksmi? Vai to var izmērīt?

—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?

—Vai Tev labāk patīk tikt mīlētam vai tikt cienītam?

—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.

—Kas ir lielākā kļūda, ko Tu esi pieļāvis darbā?

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

—Kad Tu plāno ceļot, ko Tu ņem līdzi un kāpēc?

—My husband, because he can read maps.

—Vai kāda ierīcēm (gadžetiem), kas Tev pieder, ir tāda, kuru Tev nebūtu vajadzējis pirkt? Kāpēc?

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

—Kā Tu mācies, lai uzņemtu arvien labākas fotogrāfijas?

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

—Kuri darbi Tevi kā fotogrāfu ir visvairāk iedvesmojuši?

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

—Kas ir tā lieta, ko Tu būtu gribējis zināt pirms sāki nodarboties ar fotogrāfēšanu?

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

—Ko Tu vēlies pastāstīt ar savām fotogrāfijām?

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

—Kas Tevi motivē turpināt uzņemt fotogrāfijas?

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

—Vai Tavi vecāki bija stringri vai netik stingri?

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

—Ja Tu varētu ceļot atpakaļ laikā, ko Tu darītu savādāk?

—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.

—Ko Tu domā par dzīvi uz citām planētām?

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

—Kas ir Tavi varoņi?

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

—Ko Tu necieni?

—Paedophiles

—Ko Tu dari brīvajā laikā?

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

—Kuru Tavu pusi citi nekad neredz?

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

—Kad Tu esi pilnībā apmierināts ar savu darbu?

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

—Vai Tu tici tradicionālajam lomu sadalījumam starp vīrieti un sievieti?

—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.

—Vai Tu vienkārši sadraudzējies?

—Yes

—Kur Tu vēlētos dzīvot?

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

—Kas ir muļķīgākā lieta, ko Tu jebkad esi piekritis izdarīt?

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

—Vai pastāv dzīve pēc kāzām?

—YES! It just keeps getting better!

—Vai Tev ir mīļākais joks? Pastāsti to mums.

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

—Kas Tev patīk labāk - kaķi vai suņi?

—Cats. I'm not embarrassed.

—Vai ir kaut kas vai kāds, ko Tu ienīsti?

—Celery. Eww

—Labākā lieta dzīvē ir:

—Champagne and cheeses with friends.

—Kaitinošākā lieta dzīvē ir:

—People farting next to you on flights.

—Vai ir kaut kas tāds, ko Tu vēlētos mainīt?

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

—Ko Tu gribētu mainīt sevī?

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

—Ko Tu vēlētos mainīt pasaulē?

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

—Kādi būtu Tavi padomi jaunajiem fotogrāfiem?

—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!

—Ja uz zemes nolaistos citplanētieši un Tu būtu pirmais, ko viņi satiktu, ko Tu viņiem teiktu?

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

—Ja Tev būtu iespēja uzņemt filmu, kāda žanra filma tā būtu?

—Whatever genre Monty Python calls itself.

—Rīt es aiziešu un izdarīšu...

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