Blake Andrews: Where did you grow up?
Julia Baier: I grew up in the south of Germany, in Bavaria in a small town, Passau, next to three rivers.
Blake Andrews: How did you first get interested in photography?
Julia Baier: My interest in photography first started when it was clear that I would leave the town to go study elsewhere. So it was the classical aspect of photography to archive and to hold on things to keep it better in memory. I went to buy my first camera, a Minolta X300. And I also did my first internship in a small photo shop in Passau — this was the best I could do. The person working in the photo lab introduced me to b/w photography, so I fell completely in love with darkroom work.
Interviews
Interview with Margarita Mavromichalis
WHO? I come from a family of Greek diplomats and, in my entire life, I have never lived for more than four years anywhere in the world (I will spare myself doing the math!). I had a French education, spoke Greek at home, English soon became a predominant language of mine and I also speak German and Spanish.
Interview with Meral Güler
WHO? I am a British artist living in Los Angeles. My father was an engineer and I spent my childhood watching him capture our lives on cine film. With accuracy and precision, he memorialised our adventures.
Interview with Sebastian Siadecki
WHO? My name is Sebastian Siadecki. I live in Durham, North Carolina, but I still consider New York City to be home. I grew up in the suburbs of northern New Jersey, the only child of immigrants from Poland. I lived in NYC from when I started college, one week before 9/11, until 2018, but I still make frequent trips back whenever I can.
Interview with Phillip Jenkins
WHO? Born in Swansea, South Wales, some of my earliest memories is having a camera in my hand. I remember running around the streets as a child taking pictures of people passing by, even though the camera I was using had no film in it.
Interview with Silvia S. Hagge
WHO? Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina 51 years ago, from an early age, I was attracted to different cultures. A Spanish-English translator and teacher turned into a stewardess who enjoys traveling to remote places.
Interview with Roza Vulf
WHO? I was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. I lived in Vilnius most of my adult life and then in my 40s I moved to Germany. Later, I relocated to Rome, where I reside now. Since I was a teenager I have always had a tight connection with photography. In high school I interned at a local newspaper in Vilnius. I wanted to explore photography world and dreamed to become a professional.
Jack Simpson in Conversation with Blake Andrews
Blake Andrews: Where are you from and how did you first get into photography?
Jack Simpson: Well I was born in Michigan and grew up in North Carolina. I moved out to San Francisco in 2010 and have been in the San Francisco Bay area ever since. When I first moved to San Francisco all I could afford was a studio apartment in the notorious Tenderloin district. I began documenting the things I would see in my neighborhood and on my way to work with an iPhone 3 or whatever was available, an old Nikon…Fights, crime scenes, crazy characters— you name it, the place was begging to be photographed.
Interview with Eléonore Simon
WHO? I’m a photographer, patient observer, insatiable traveler and woman of few words. I was born in the United States to French parents, and spent my childhood moving from place to place, in different countries and various regions of France. I moved to New York after my art history studies, and from then on became more and more involved with photography, taking courses whenever I could, from darkroom printing to book design, before working in the field.
Melissa O’Shaughnessy in Conversation with Blake Andrews
Blake Andrews: Where are you from?
Melissa O’Shaughnessy: I grew up in Minneapolis, but have been living in the New York City area since 1991.
Blake Andrews: Can you trace your interest in photography back to your roots?
Melissa O’Shaughnessy:
I really came to photography quite late—when my children were in high school. But my father was an avid amateur photographer so there may be a genetic influence.