The Vampire Lady
The Vampire Lady
Armin Smailovic
September 27, 2019
“This photo was taken within the framework of my series on graduates from the Ernst- Busch acting school in Berlin. The idea behind my project was for the students to put on a costume and slip into a given role, and then recite the corresponding text. The graduate Noëlle Haeseling appeared in a long dress, wearing pale make-up and a black contact lens in her eye. It immediately made me think of a vampire.
When walking through the school's neglected garden, I saw this bench and spontaneously decided to photograph Noëlle there. She lay down as though in a coffin, and I thought: 'female vampire and grave, that's a perfect fit.' After taking a couple of shots, I discovered that she wasn't, in fact, playing a vampire, but had taken on the role of Anne Neville, the wife of Richard III. All of a sudden my photographic intuition didn't apply, so we went off to look for another setting.
Even though the photo wasn't part of the project, I still like it. It's delightfully unconventional. It has virtually no depth, was very much related to the situation and emerged from my first inspiration. It's not a typical Smailovic picture, not a classic portrait. Even so, it expresses my feeling with regard to that person in that moment. The ideal thing is when my inner image is recognisable in a photo.“
Read more about Armin Smailovic's photography in LFI 7.2019.
When walking through the school's neglected garden, I saw this bench and spontaneously decided to photograph Noëlle there. She lay down as though in a coffin, and I thought: 'female vampire and grave, that's a perfect fit.' After taking a couple of shots, I discovered that she wasn't, in fact, playing a vampire, but had taken on the role of Anne Neville, the wife of Richard III. All of a sudden my photographic intuition didn't apply, so we went off to look for another setting.
Even though the photo wasn't part of the project, I still like it. It's delightfully unconventional. It has virtually no depth, was very much related to the situation and emerged from my first inspiration. It's not a typical Smailovic picture, not a classic portrait. Even so, it expresses my feeling with regard to that person in that moment. The ideal thing is when my inner image is recognisable in a photo.“
Read more about Armin Smailovic's photography in LFI 7.2019.
Photo and text: © Armin Smailovic
EQUIPMENT: Leica SL with Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90 f/2.8–4 Asph
Armin Smailovic+-
Armin Smailovic works as a freelance documentary photographer. He lives in Munich and Sarajevo, but travels the whole world. He gained new perspectives at the theatre in Hamburg where he simply placed himself as an observer on the stage. In Bosnia he looks for traces of the past and of the war. He is currently travelling through Italy with director Milo Rau for a film and theatre project. He has received the Hansel Mieth Award a number of times. More