Φωτογράφος Stephanie Kindermann

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

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

—Έχετε φωτογένεια;

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

—Πώς ξεκίνησες να ασχολείσαι με τη φωτογραφία;

—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.

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

—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.

—Αγαπάτε τα ταξίδια;

—I live for it.

—Τι σας αρέσει περισσότερο στο επάγγελμά σας;

—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.

—Τι σας αρέσει λιγότερο στο επάγγελμά σας;

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

—Ποιο θα είναι το μέλλον της φωτογραφίας;

—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.

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

—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.

—Πώς αντιμετωπίζετε την κριτική;

—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.

—Υπάρχουν τάσεις στη φωτογραφία;

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

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

—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.

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

—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.

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

—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.

—Τι επηρεάζει την αξία της φωτογραφίας; Ποια στοιχεία;

—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.

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

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

—Ποιον θέλετε να φωτογραφήσετε;

—People madly in love.

—Έχετε επαγγελματικά ταμπού;

—I am a woman of no limits.

—Με ποιους σας αρέσει να τραβάτε φωτογραφίες;

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

—Τι σας ανησυχεί και γιατί;

—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.

—Ποια ήταν η πιο εντυπωσιακή στιγμή στη ζωή σας;

—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.

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

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

—Τι σας εμπνέει στη ζωή σας και γιατί;

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

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

—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?

—Είναι προτιμότερο να είστε αρεστός ή να σας σέβονται;

—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.

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

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

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

—My husband, because he can read maps.

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

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

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

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

—Ποιανού δουλειά σας έχει επηρεάσει περισσότερο ως φωτογράφο;

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

—Τι εύχεστε να γνωρίζατε όταν ξεκινήσατε να τραβάτε φωτογραφίες;

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

—Τι θέλετε να πείτε με τις φωτογραφίες σας;

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

—Τι σας παρακινεί να συνεχίσετε να τραβάτε φωτογραφίες;

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

—Οι γονείς σας θα έπρεπε να είναι περισσότερο ή λιγότερο αυστηροί;

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

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

—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.

—Τι πιστεύετε για τη ζωή σε άλλους πλανήτες;

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

—Ποιοι είναι οι ήρωες σας;

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

—Για ποιον δεν έχετε καθόλου σεβασμό;

—Paedophiles

—Τι κάνετε στον ελεύθερο χρόνο σας;

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

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

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

—Πότε είστε τελείως ικανοποιημένος με τη δουλειά σας;

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

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

—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.

—Κάνετε εύκολα φίλους;

—Yes

—Που θα θέλατε να ζήσετε;

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

—Ποιο είναι το πιο ανόητο πράγμα που έχετε δεχτεί ποτέ να κάνετε;

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

—Υπάρχει ζωή μετά το γάμο;

—YES! It just keeps getting better!

—Έχετε ένα αγαπημένο ανέκδοτο; Πείτε το μας.

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

—Συμπαθείτε τα σκυλιά ή τις γάτες;

—Cats. I'm not embarrassed.

—Ποιον ή τι μισείτε;

—Celery. Eww

—Το καλύτερο πράγμα στη ζωή είναι:

—Champagne and cheeses with friends.

—Το πιο ενοχλητικό πράγμα στη ζωή είναι:

—People farting next to you on flights.

—Υπάρχει κάτι γύρω σας που θα θέλατε να αλλάξετε;

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

—Τι θα θέλατε να αλλάξετε στον εαυτό σας;

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

—Τι θα θέλατε να αλλάξετε στον κόσμο;

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

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

—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!

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

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

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

—Whatever genre Monty Python calls itself.

—Αύριο θα πάω και θα κάνω...

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