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'Beauty Mixed with an Unease' I Interview with Photographer Nadav Kander
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'Beauty Mixed with an Unease' I Interview with Photographer Nadav Kander

The Art of Photography: A Personal Journey

The Role of Light and Atmosphere in Photography

  • The speaker emphasizes the importance of lighting in photography, stating that it adds atmosphere to images. This atmosphere is a blend of the photographer's tools and the subject's genuine self.

Early Influences and Beginnings

  • The speaker reflects on their childhood fascination with their grandfather's collection of clocks, watches, and cameras, which sparked an early love for the mechanics of photography before they appreciated taking pictures.
  • At age 13, the speaker purchased their first camera and began working as an apprentice for a photographer in London, motivated by a desire to escape apartheid.

Evolution as a Photographer

  • The speaker notes that every photograph taken has been part of a continuous journey since their first image—a close-up shot of a dead fly—indicating no deviation from this path.
  • They describe using extension lenses to capture subjects closely, revealing beauty intertwined with unease, which engages viewers by prompting them to derive personal meanings from the images.

Celebrity Photography and Human Conditions

  • The speaker discusses photographing celebrities as it captures viewer attention differently than non-recognizable subjects. This recognition brings forth shared human conditions like vulnerability and envy.
  • They highlight that despite celebrity status, everyone shares fundamental human vulnerabilities, creating a connection between the subject and viewer through common experiences.

Collaboration in Portraiture

  • When creating portraits, both the photographer's background and the subject's life experiences converge uniquely; this collaboration results in an original piece that cannot be replicated.
  • The interaction between photographer and subject is crucial; decisions made during this process contribute significantly to how the final photograph communicates meaning.
Video description

#Steidl #Photography #NadavKander #Interview Regardless of his sitter—whether family member or influential celebrity—Nadav Kander’s portraiture shows what makes that particular individual human. His aim is to move beyond capturing an accurate likeness—to access the emotions within, the uncertainty, the shadow as much as the light, the complex sense of self that otherwise lays hidden. “Revealed and concealed, beauty and destruction, ease and disease, shame and shameless,” explains Kander, “These paradoxes are essential to all my work and represent what is common to all my varied subject matter…” This collection, the first book dedicated his portraiture, shows the range and nuance of Kander’s work. With his minimal and intuitive approach, Kander shows his interest in universal experience, which transcends the specificity of public persona or status. His enigmatic depictions of actors, artists, musicians, authors, sports icons and political leaders—from Barack Obama, John le Carré, Alexander McQueen, to Tracey Emin, Robert Plant and Prince Charles—are layered and penetrating, revealing unexpected moments of reverie and vulnerability. Nadav Kander's book 'The Meeting' is available here: https://steidl.de/Buecher/The-Meeting-1729325157.html Everything you need to know about Steidl: More Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/c/SteidlPublishers Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steidlverlag Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteidlVerlag Facebook: https://de-de.facebook.com/SteidlInternational/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@steidl.publishers