Benjamin Kaufmann

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ONE PHOTO – ONE STORY

14.08.2018

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Benjamin Kaufmann’s Motion Blur series features in the latest issue of LFI 6/2018. In the following lines, the photographer explains how one of his first commissioned assignments came about.

“Certain special things only happen when you find yourself in a special place. This is why one of my basic principles is to go further than is absolutely necessary. A value is recognised as a result of having made the extra effort.

My best friend – he’s a model –, a mountain guide and I went up Mont Blanc in a cable car, to photograph winter motifs in the middle of summer. We went as high as possible, then hiked even further; finally we had to walk double quick over a fresh snow slide carrying all the equipment, so as to reach a white field of snow. Normally most glaciers are brown in the summer.

The picture was taken in 1999. It was photographed on film and the unusual light effect was not produced on the computer; it’s a a natural phenomenon that appears supernatural. It’s the reaction of the film – Fuji Velvia-100 – to the back light. I did, however, retouch the reflection in the crystal that my friend is holding in his hand.

It was an incredibly exhausting adventure, that pushed us right to our limits; but we were also rewarded by having it published in the 2000 Swaroski calender.”

Discover more about Benjamin Kaufmann’s Motion Blur work in LFI 6/2018.