Showcase: Maren Becker

Maren Becker is a former law student and now media designer by profession, living in Southern Germany. 

Where are you now and what’s the weather like?

I am at home in Germany, and it is a crisp cold but sunny winter day.

What is photography for you? When did you start?

Taking photos is addictive and it makes me happy.  It sounds so cliché, but I’ve always been interested in photography in a very basic way. I started taking photos on a more “serious” level 4 years ago.

As a child I loved looking at my family’s photo albums and was fascinated by the stories they told and how they were a window to the past. Today photography is an important way to express myself. What I am interested in is not primarily capturing memories for all eternity, but capturing atmosphere, emotions and a certain state of mind. Photography has taught me so much about light, atmosphere and emotion, to see different things and to see things differently.

Besides, the plain act of taking photos is challenging and calming at the same time, almost contemplative. I feel alive when taking photos. I really enjoy being out and about with my camera, it can be so recreational and after a good shooting I feel grounded and deeply satisfied.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to face to get a great picture?

I love to sleep late, but unfortunately morning light is truly awesome! So getting up (very) early for a photo shoot always is a big challenge (which I have failed very often) ;-)

Oh, and I MUST mention the blueberry pancakes I was baking in order to shoot them. I  HATE baking!

You have a lot of interesting Sets on Flickr: ” I went to the woods”, “Memories of Shoes”, “Delicious” are just some of them, which one is your favourite?

Actually, the “I went to the woods” set is one of my favourites! I live close to a forest and I love the peacefulness there, the fresh air and it really never gets boring! Also very important is “Moi”, my collection of self portraits. Some are snapshots, but many more on an experimental or conceptual level, trying to express myself or get feelings and ideas across through these photos.

6. Last movie that you have seen?

I don’t remember. I don’t really like watching movies that much. I would rather watch TV series or read a book (the last book I read was “Before I go to sleep” by SJ Watson which was really good!)

If you were:

-  A color… Turquoise or Blue

-  An object… I don’t want to be an object.

-  A city… Hamburg (Germany)

Roma & New York…Two interesting Cities, what makes them so similar and what makes them so different? Pros and cons

Both are (relatively) big cities with a great mixture of historical and modern architecture. Both very atmospheric cities – but totally contrary atmospheres!

New York Pros: Skyscrapers!! Yellow Cabs! VERY big coffee mugs.

New York Cons: 8 hours flight from my home town. Way too big for just a weekend trip. NOISY!

Roma Pros: Just 45 minutes flight, ideal for a short trip. So much ancient history in the air. Dolce Vita, great food.

Roma cons: Very small (but good) coffee. Can get hot during the summer. I mean hot as in H.O.T.

Coca-Cola or Fanta?

Pepsi.

The question you would never want to answer?

I hate decisions so any question that requires a decision is a bad question.

What are the pros and cons of being a photographer? Please be specific.

The pros are definitely that you are able to create entire worlds of your own with your photos. It’s fun to find your own style, to work on it. And most importantly: If you are willing to really and passionately give it your all, you can learn so much about light, about life, about people. And about yourself. And of course you always have enough pictures to decorate your walls at home with :-)

I don’t see any significant cons of being a photographer except maybe the getting up early part from question 4. Plus the fact that photography as an art and is still far too underestimated as a profession. So many people think it’s the camera and maybe the computer that does all the work. I merely hit the shutter, don’t I?

What would you like to see/read on Fluster Magazine?

Anything that inspires me.

(Images © Maren Becker)

More of Maren’s work here