WHO?
My name is Kristin Bethge and I live in Berlin and Rio de Janeiro. I’m working as a photographer.
I’m wandering around with a small backpack. When I’ve seen something, which rise my attention, I will take out my discreet camera. After taking the photo, I put my camera back in my backpack. Maybe that’s a way of describing who I am when I’m taking photos.
WHAT?
There is no limit for me. I find people and my connection with them a very exciting topic. I feel that it is often less about WHAT I’m photographing and more about the HOW. Photography is a lot about the viewer’s expectations, moods and emotions that are coming up when looking at pictures.
WHEN?
When I am mindful. For me, the activity of taking photos is a way of seeing. To take photos, I need a motivation. My motivation lies in the simple fact that I feel or perceive a beauty and profundity in a person, a situation or a place. In the best case, I can also represent this emotion in the photo I took.
WHERE?
I’m attracted by places, where I’m finding a lot of light. But not all light is the same. There are some places that, from my point of view, have particularly beautiful light. For example, I love the light in Guinea-Bissau. It is a very warm light with different shades of orange and yellow mixed with a dustiness. I can’t describe these nuances in my own words, it’s more about a visual atmosphere. At the same time, the shadows of the light of Guinea-Bissau are very harsh. It’s the most beautiful and surprising light I’ve seen so far. The use of natural light is very important for my photographic work, which is one of the reasons why I can be found in Brazil several months a year.
WHY?
When I take photos, I try to show circumstances, places and individuals with my perception, it’s less about the “truth”. And thus to contribute to questioning and deconstructing stereotypical points of view and “truths” that have been produced over decades by mainly white male European and American photographers. Photography becomes all the richer the more diversity there is in the representation of complex situations.
