What is your background and how did you end up doing what you are doing today?
I
have to admit that I always was fascinated by this technical miracle
capturing a moment of our life
and seeing it projected on a wall or appearing magically on a print
in the darkroom.
Well,
times have changed and digital photographs can instantly be viewed on
the back of the cameras. A good thing I assume. I don’t care so
much about the technical side anymore. I focus only on what’s
happening in front of the camera and eventually check rapidly after
if, for example, the exposure was correct. Going through the shoot
still has its surprises though – almost like when shooting on film.
I
have assisted other Photographers for many years and traveled a bit
through the world - shooting catalogs for mail-order-houses,
advertising campaigns for cars or editorials for sports & health magazines. But rarely fashion – (un)fortunately ! I guess that’s
why I had to leave Germany.
Becoming
a fashion photographer was not because of the fashion but what it
allows you to do with it. Transforming and directing the models how
to pose in front of the camera is only a part of many others that I
love. And so you can see at my current exhibition at Pavlovs Dog,
the process of the casting is another major aspect of my work that I
enjoy.
What
is your motivation?
Good
question! I don’t know anything else I’m good at! Not saying I’m
a good photographer – it just happens to work out for me – at
least for the moment! And what else can be more exciting in photography than shooting women and experiencing the aesthetics of the
female body!?
Who
would you like to work with?
I
still ask myself how it would feel to photograph a blind person.
Would it be like with kids that don’t have this self-perception
like models do…? And how would I feel about the fact that they
would never see the result of their effort?
What
is your favorite subject in your photography?
See
answer to question no.2
If
your weren´t a Photographer, what else would you be?
I
grew up in the country side in the south of Germany. As kids we spent
most of time outside
on the fields or in the forests. Before taking it more seriously with
photography I
thougt I should do something considered ecological, following an
ideal.
What
is your favorite place to be?
Behind
my camera! Best place to hide and to observe! Feels sometimes like
wearing a magic mask that
allows you to do things you wouldn’t dare with out it!
What
does a typical Sunday morning look like for you?
Sunday,
Monday or Friday is all kind of the same. Except that most people
don´t work on the weekends, so I don´t have to stick to anyone´s
schedule. that’s why I enjoy the weekend more – there isn’t
any rush!
If
you were a color, what color would it be and why?
I
reckon it would be something simple, subtle. Look at the colour of my
skin, I would probably be just that colour. But to be honest, I find
it quite a difficult to point out a color. I´m kind of scared of
colours, and if you look around my place, there´s hardly any colour
that jumps out. 60% grey is a bit boring, but I reckon that might do
the job…
www.markpillai.com
www.markpillai.com