Representing Through Pictures

November 3rd, 2009

about: JANA RONA KELLER

I am 19 years old and I think that my current life is not everything I can expect. I am longing for more and I think that by means of taking photos and therefore entering a new world with many possibilities, I can achieve more. I’m not saying I’m a dreamer, but I do live in my own world somehow and in my opinion everyone can accomplish whatever he wants to if he just believes in what he does and trusts his own ideas and needs.

In some way I am just an ordinary German girl who goes to school and meets with friends, but my imagination offers a lot more.

Where are you located?
In a house with a surrounding that offers thousands of possibilities to create magic. When it comes to photography, I love my home. I live in Germany, in a village near Tübingen/Reutlingen, which is not far from Stuttgart.

A great photographer is…..
Someone who makes others feel when viewing his pictures. Who amazes them and makes them think beyond.

What drove you to become a photographer?
When somebody asked this question, I always said I didn’t know and told them that I once bought some colourful dice and took photos of them and as I liked the results I continued.

But someday I realised it wasn’t because I liked the results. It was because I wanted to achieve more. I became a member of deviantart in 2007, I don’t even remember why as I didn’t take photos at that time. But viewing the work of others made me want to be a photographer myself. Somehow I’m just a normal girl who needs recognition sometimes, and that’s what I got from the members of deviantart. They helped me a lot, by viewing, commenting and favouriting my work and by being ever so lovely, and they still are today.

Tell us about your unique photography style and the creative process behind it?
Being unique in the photography world these days is not that easy as there are so many aspiring photographers, and most of all so many good ones. I think my style is unique because I represent what I feel or what I have been feeling once with my pictures. In the beginning I just took pictures of things I thought were beautiful. Nature, my cat, etc. Later I became a big fan of pictures that have a creative idea behind them, and I still like them today. But someday I realised that what represents me most were self portraits. At the moment I’m doing a project called ’52 weeks‘, that means I take one self portraits every week for one year.

When I have an idea I either realize it as soon as I have the time or I write it down. I still have ideas in mind that I first had 2 years ago. I often think about what I’m going to do when I’m lying in my bed and cannot sleep, when I take the car or the bus to school or when I’m bored in school.

But I think my best pictures have been the results of spontaneous ideas.

If you were not a photographer, what would be the alternative career path you choose?
Well, actually I am no photographer because I’m still going to school. But it’s my last year and I really need to decide what I’m going to do with my life soon and that scares me somehow. But I guess in the end I’ll just study something that has to do with photography. I just can’t stay away from it.

How do you promote yourself?
I can be found all over the internet. I first got an account on deviantart, then on flickr, I have a carbonmade page, a facebook fanpage, an account on twitter, a homepage, I’m pretty much everywhere.

What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting the visual communication business?
I think it offers great opportunities for people like myself. For people who want to show their work or for those who just want to appreciate what others do.

Of course it can be dangerous, too, but so far I’ve only made good experiences. I met many wonderful people through my photography, people I talk to, people I admire, people who inspire me and I am very thankful for that. I’m glad the internet gives us the opportunity to present our work to the world and to see what others create.

Could you share any insight for people just entering the profession?
Just keep going. Take pictures of everything you like to retain, don’t take pictures if you don’t feel like it. In my opinion the most important thing is to represent oneself through one’s pictures. Some people don’t think so, but it’s what makes me still take pictures today.

Who is the person that you look up to in the photography world? Why so?
There’s more than one. My favourite photographers are no famous, professional ones, they are people like me, many of them even younger than me or my age. They are people I met through deviantart and flickr.

At the moment, these are my favourites:

I know these are quite a lot, but it was hard to choose from so many wonderful people I met in the past 2 years.

The people I listed above inspire me. They amaze me. They make me look at a picture and not pay attention to the quality, but to the shown emotion. They make me feel.

What music are you listening lately?
I like Jack Johnson, The Kooks, Snow Patrol, Plain White T‘s, Ben Kweller, Jason Mraz, You Me At Six, Coldplay, Hellogoodbye, Sherwood and some more.

At the moment, my favourite songs are: