Interview: Beana Bern Photography
Beana crosses many genres; and is probably best-known for her performance photography such as the photo we featured last month of Pete Doherty (Babyshambles).
She's a photographer's photographer with a great style and always a pleasure to see at Expressions.
Beana has been on our 'must feature' list for a time. She didn't know that until late yesterday. The reason we are featuring her today is Pete Doherty is suddenly in the news. Her photo of him is way better than others we've seen at news sites today.
Her photos are not always pin sharp and steady, even though she's a bit of an equipment enthusiast she's a photographer who thinks that the photo is often the situation not the sharpness.
Read on and enjoy...
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Kristina Bern Schreibman. I am 32. I was dubbed 'Beana' at the very beginning and this name has withstood the test of time. Born in the 'breadbasket' of the USA though currently living, working and dreaming in the high peaks of Austria's Tyrolean Alps, I have had the good fortune to learn at this young age that 'presence is the best present.' I can't remember when it was, exactly, that I realized how important it was for me to record life's details and my perspective through photographic imagery but I am sure that it was around the time I held my Dad's old 35mm for the first time. That was about 15 years ago. I have had one kind of a camera, or another, on hand since then and never leave the house without one. These days I afford my passion for photography (and gear) by working at another career by day and doing freelance performance photography at night, on weekends and during holidays. The rest of the time I pursue my passion for documentary work curating my collection of streetart imagery, travel photography and experimental work. In addition to painting with film and pixels I also enjoy playing with pigments.
When, and more importantly why, did you start a photoblog?
When film was my medium I was one of those people who enjoyed making albums. When the digital medium enveloped me, which it did completely up until I purchased my Holga in 2005, I found that I felt a sense of loss at not being able to show my work in the way that an album allowed. It didn't matter that I was creating because I had no way of sharing it. It was shortly after the purchase of my first digital camera in 2002 that I began the hunt for the 'perfect' online gallery solution. My attempt at photoblogging began simultaneously with that first digital camera and has seen constant evolution since then. In an effort to find the right atmosphere to showcase and share my work I rewrote the html on my blog and photogallery as often as I would change my clothes. Over the course of years the mood changed and the work developed (not to mention the fact that I found Expressions and now I have a beautiful and flexible forum to share my perspective and portfolio.
How do you describe your style of photography?
I mentioned above that I believe 'presence to be the best present' and I think that there is a sense of that in all the kinds of work that I do. Capturing an experience, rather than a picture, is what I shoot for and, as a result, I find myself drawn to moments that are fleeting; a watery guitar solo and swooning crowd in far off land or historic venue, a piece of graffiti kissed by another then decaying in the rain, a rainbow and 500 children flying kites over Peru's Sacred Valley or, perhaps, a moment of Pete Doherty's life where he isn't a tragic junkie but a glittering rock star. This approach embodies more than simply a play of light and perspective, it entails emotions, experience and presence. There is something poetic about the impermanence of these moments and also something defiant in my desire to preserve them. A combination of vivid color, black and white and sepia as well a mixture of unaltered images and those manipulated with Adobe Photoshop and a thoughtful Title are regular fixtures though I would say that the themes in my work are more consistent than the actual styles.
Can you describe how you organize and fill your Expressions / Vividry photoblog?
The organization of my photoblog occurred organically along with the work itself. I began photographing live music and streetart around the time I was living on Manhattan's Lower East Side. My unquenchable wanderlust was prevalent long before then so my streams of Performance, StreetArt and Travel photography were all natural developments and, therefore, collections. The fourth photoblog in my portfolio, called Amalgam, is the spillover that occurs when I experiment with the other 3 or create something new, playful or simply not-classifiable. I am still debating whether or not to add a fifth album to showcase my non-photographic artwork but the jury is still out on that one.
What sort of cameras, lenses, and films do you favor?
If we are talking about digital gear, I can say without a doubt that my Canon 5D with my Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS lens attached is my all-time favorite set-up. This satisfies about 70% of the work I do and always makes me happy. If the job at hand is specifically a performance gig then I will drop my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM onto the 5D and fix the 24-70 onto my Canon Eos Digital Rebel XTi. Toss a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 into the mix for a little extra reach, a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM for snapshots, a cheap-o Tamron 19-35mm Wideangle Fisheye for fun and a pile of extra batteries and flash cards into the bag and I am ready to rock. That kit is also called 'Date Night'. I always keep my Nikon Coolpix s5 charged and on-hand because you never know... If film is the topic, I would say that my Holga is my current favorite though I also have a Holgaroid, Polaroid Sun 600 and a Pentax ME Super 35mm. Film is a joy for me to work with but the costs associated with it are a bit prohibitive at the moment so I am saving those cameras for a rainy day. The gear is clearly part of the fun for me.
Which photographers do you most admire?
Both Flickr and Expressions introduce me to new and amazing photographers everyday, so the list of who I admire and who inspires me grows exponentially. If I were to narrow it down I would say that Richard Avedon and Arnold Newman both had a big impact on me early on. Their ability to cut through the superficial and capture a personality or spirit is amazing. To be able to see other human beings in this way and then capture it is a gift, I think. Ansel Adams was also very important for me when I began processing my own black and white film and, to this day, I still try to mimic his BIGNESS and scope in some of my landscape photography. Annie Leibovitz is another icon who inspires me, as much for her portraiture as her earlier work for Rolling Stone. She was most certainly present! As a side note, the first time I was published in a magazine (Theme Magazine Issue 7) I picked up a copy and ran my hand across a beautiful double-page spread of a photo I shot of the Japanese band the boredoms. I read the photo credit, smelled the pages and turned the last page of the story to find that the very next photo credit on the very next story was, none other, that Annie Leibovitz. It was a humbling and amazing moment in my career as a photographer to find myself in that company.
A few other details about me:
- i prefer vanilla to chocolate
- i prefer macs to pcs
- i am learning to play the ukulele
- i paint (with pigments and pixels)
- i think that scars build character
- i keep promises
- i think the best is yet to come
So there you have it. A little about me… Photographer. Traveler. Eternal Optimist.
Wrap
Beana Bern is already published. We think you'll be seeing a lot more of this photographer with opinions and talent.
We like the fact that although is Austria-based her photos do not scream 'Tyrolean' like a travel book, instead they tell about her life and personality.
She must have a great gym membership (or a private chiropractor) to deal with all that gear she carries to a paying gig.