Φωτογράφος Ben Kelmer

—Πρώτον και κύριον – ποιόν μπορείτε να ονομάσετε ως τον καλύτερο φωτογράφο στην πόλη σας; :)

—I think one of the most interesting photographers in tel Aviv is Jen sladkov
jensladkov.com/

—Έχετε φωτογένεια;

—Depend on when I wake up

—Πώς ξεκίνησες να ασχολείσαι με τη φωτογραφία;

—Well, I was always into photography since high school, but 10 years ago I got a job as a photographer for an internet news website in Israel and from that point on things started to take off

—Ποια είναι τα πιο σημαντικά στοιχεία μιας καλής φωτογραφίας κατά τη γνώμη σας;

—when I look at a photo I try to see real filings and real emotions, in my eyes, those are the thing that will get the viewers eyes the most

—Σας αρέσει να ταξιδεύετε;

—Sure, and especially now when I have two kids its fantastic thing to travel with them and to have the ability to show them the world

—Τι σας αρέσει περισσότερο στο επάγγελμά σας;

—I think the chance I have in meeting new people almost every day is something that I will never get bored off

—Τι σας αρέσει λιγότερο στο επάγγελμά σας;

—all the logistic stuff (booking, meetings, accounting, etc..) let me shoot all day and I will be fine

—Ποιο θα είναι το μέλλον της φωτογραφίας;

—These days when I'm answering this interview (Covid-19), we are having one of the most challenging times as photographers.
But I see more and more bookings for small family portraits; people want to remember and to have a visual memory of themself.

—Τι το ιδιαίτερο υπάρχει στο φωτογραφικό είδος στο οποίο εξειδικεύεσαι;

—I shoot people, and I don't describe my self, if it's with people and to document real situations, I'm in. I think that that's the unique thing about it, the ability to show people how that looks like and how they beehive with their own family.

—Πώς αντιμετωπίζετε την κριτική;

—It's part of the job, and you have to understand that not everyone is going to like what you do, and I think that's good. You want to distinguish yourself from other photographers, not to be like everyone else.

—Υπάρχουν τάσεις στη φωτογραφία;

—Sure, like in any other industry, but try to avoid it, trends are for people that don't want to be creative if you're going to be unique, so don't copy-paste other people work

—Με ποια κριτήρια θα πρέπει ένας πελάτης να επιλέγει φωτογράφο;

—I don't think there's one criterion, in the end, it comes to how people create when they see a photo of you, how it makes them feel.

—Ποια πράγματα δεν επιτρέπονται σε καμία περίπτωση κατά τη φωτογράφηση;

—in my opinion, I try not to tell people how to act and how to move when I photograph them, I want them to be themselves for them to resonate with the work I do

—Ποιες λεπτομέρειες που συνήθως περνούν απαρατήρητες μπορεί να παρατηρήσει ένας φωτογράφος;

—The small thing that people don't pay attention to, let's say the groom forget to unzip one button, the photographer will notice it and will tell him to close it

—Ποιο πρόσωπο αποτελεί το σύμβολο του 21ου αιώνα κατά τη γνώμη σας;

—I think that in these days, its Donald Trump, unfortunately, but I think he represents the fact that people are looking for shortcuts in life and in business. And there's no shortcut, if you want to succeed you have to put in the work. I think people elected him cause that thought that in 4 years he will come and change everything and now we see that its not the case.

—Ποιον θέλετε να φωτογραφήσετε;

—I would be happy to photograph the Queen of England. I already photograph her son and one grandson.

—Έχετε επαγγελματικά ταμπού;

—I was a photojournalist for almost seven years, and I shoot a lot of stuff that happened in my country even during challenging situations, but I would not photograph something that I would have thought that will cause the other person to fill like I misrepresent what really took place.

—Με ποιους σας αρέσει να τραβάτε φωτογραφίες;

—I would like to work with Magnum photographer Alex Webb

—Τι σας ανησυχεί και γιατί;

—I worry about the fact that there are more and more wedding photographers out there today that don't know how to price the work that they do and they are bringing the industry down

—Ποια ήταν η πιο εντυπωσιακή στιγμή στη ζωή σας;

—I think the birth of my children's :)

—Εάν ήσασταν ένας λογοτεχνικός ή κινηματογραφικός χαρακτήρας ποιος θα θέλατε να είσαστε και γιατί;

—Spiderman, for sure, to have the ability to reach places in the coolest way.

—Τι σας εμπνέει στη ζωή σας και γιατί;

—I think that my father was an inspiration to me, he was a captain on container ships and he works hard, I think the working morality I got is from him.

—Ποιος είναι ο ορισμός της επιτυχίας; Πώς μετριέται η επιτυχία;

—It changes every time, I think. now success for me is to see my children grow up and becoming the amazing people that they are ❤️

—Είναι προτιμότερο να είστε αρεστός ή να σας σέβονται;

—respected for sure.

—Ποιο είναι το μεγαλύτερο σφάλμα που έχετε κάνει ποτέ στη δουλειά σας;

—only one? :) that's how we learn the best, one time, I doubled book a wedding, and I only noticed it a week before the wedding.

—Όταν πρόκειται να ταξιδέψετε, τι παίρνετε μαζί σας και γιατί;

—Now I try to travel as light as I can. So I only take with me the FUJIX100F, which is small and great for traveling + the Yashica 635 with B&W film for the more artwork that I do.

—Σε σχέση με τον εξοπλισμό που σας ανήκει, υπάρχει κάτι που εύχεστε να μην το είχατε αγοράσει. Γιατί;

—I bought a polaroid Fujifilm camera that I only used a few times and then I got bored with it

—Πώς εκπαιδεύετε τον εαυτό σας για να μάθει να παίρνει καλύτερες φωτογραφίες;

—I try (before covid19) to attend a workshop once a year, it doesn't have to be from a wedding photographer.
My all-time favorite workshop was in NYC with Alex Webb.

—Ποιανού δουλειά σας έχει επηρεάσει περισσότερο ως φωτογράφο;

—Alex Webb is one of the greatest photographers, in my opinion. I also really like the work of Chris Hondros, that was one of the greatest war photographers in modern times.

—Τι εύχεστε να γνωρίζατε όταν ξεκινήσατε να τραβάτε φωτογραφίες;

—How to charge for my work

—Τι θέλετε να πείτε με τις φωτογραφίες σας;

—I'm just trying to tell an authentic story.

—Τι σας παρακινεί να συνεχίσετε να τραβάτε φωτογραφίες;

—The feedback from my clients but also I just like it too much, it feels great every time I see that I have an exciting frame.

—Εάν μπορούσατε να πάτε πίσω στο χρόνο, τι θα κάνετε διαφορετικά;

—I would have acted differently with the money I earned and invest it more carefully

—Τι κάνετε στον ελεύθερο χρόνο σας;

—I love the sea, so I try to go swimming when I can or going on diving trips.

—Ποια πλευρά του εαυτού σας δεν βλέπει ποτέ το κοινό;

—I don't share a lot of my family, it's our moments.

—Πότε είστε τελείως ικανοποιημένος με τη δουλειά σας;

—Never :)

—Πιστεύετε στους παραδοσιακούς ρόλους για τους άνδρες και τις γυναίκες;

—No, in our house we are equal, we both have demanding jobs and the kids.
we try to be both of us with them and without the iPhone from 5-7 when its just family time

—Κάνετε εύκολα φίλους;

—Yes, part of being a people photographer.

—Που θα θέλατε να ζήσετε;

—I would like to live for one year in New Zealand, as a Hobbit fun, I think that's the perfect place for me.

—Υπάρχει ζωή μετά το γάμο;

—Sure, it's just gets better over time

—Συμπαθείτε τα σκυλιά ή τις γάτες;

—Dogs

—Το καλύτερο πράγμα στη ζωή είναι:

—As you may have guessed i think that my time with my kids is the best thing I have

—Υπάρχει κάτι γύρω σας που θα θέλατε να αλλάξετε;

—A lot.

—Μπορείτε να δώσετε μερικές συμβουλές για τους φωτογράφους που ξεκινάνε να φωτογραφίζουν;

—Yes, understand that success is something that takes time, be patient in the long run, keep learning, and do every job the best you can, and the work plus success will follow.

—Εάν έρθουν εξωγήινοι στη γη και είστε ο πρώτο άνθρωπος που συναντήσουν, τι θα τους πείτε;

—Want coffee?

—Εάν σας ζητήσουν να γυρίσετε μια ταινία, τι είδους ταινία θα είναι;

—SCI-FI

—Αύριο θα πάω και θα κάνω...

—The same