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[INTERVIEW] Meet “snapeverything” photographer Axel Buhrmann

“It’s probably in the genes, and a carry-over from my father, who seemed to catalogue everything he possibly could,” says Johannesburg-based professional photographer Axel Buhrmann, when looking back at how he got into his chosen career path, “I don’t think I quite grasped that until I digitised a collection of his photographs dating back to the early 50s, when he first arrived in South Africa.”

Axel Buhrmann (9)
Buhrmann, a rare sighting in front of the camera.

Mainstream media tends to portray photographers as hardened journalists who only go into the most war-torn regions to get the perfect shot. A good example of that is the famous Bang Bang Club, a group of photographers who extensively covered the events leading up to South Africa’s 1994 elections.

Buhrmann also had aspirations to being a war photographer when he was younger, but soon realised it was a little bit more complex than that.

“As a teenager, I had these vague – and romantic – notions of being a war photographer. When I moved into having an actual career after studying, my first job was as a photographer – architecture, interior decor, gardens, and the like. But I quickly discovered that being ‘forced’ to take photographs for a living killed my love for it, so I purposely moved away.”

Spending some time in journalism, writing about technology and everything that goes with that, Buhrmann took up photography as a hobby, and while he doesn’t focus on one specific topic to showcase his skill, he explains that he really enjoys experimenting with different styles and techniques.

“People have told me my style is quite distinct, but I just don’t see it. I love experimenting. But I am most certainly not a ‘technical’ photographer – worry about the intricacies of shooting something,” he reveals, joking that “my camera is not set to the green setting; I do know how to use AV and TV modes.”

In his mind, having no specific style or technique leaves him open to explore more subjects that others would hesitate about, but after all these years he does prefer macro photography – if the subject permits.

“I think my Flickr nickname – snapeverything – says it all. If something can be photographed, I’d like to do it.”

One of his favourite macro images are from a miniature Star Wars set which features that ever-snappy Han Solo, where Buhrmann improved to add lifelike steam to the image.

“A favourite snap is of Han Solo catching a train. The ‘steam’ you see here comes from a hot cup of coffee. The character itself is smaller than the size of a pinkie nail.”

After many years as a photographer, it tends to become harder and harder to choose a photograph as your best work – the one image that you are the most proud of. And Buhrmann is still struggling to answer the question fully.

“Hell’s teeth, that’s a difficult one. It depends on subject, I suppose. And it’s very subjective too. Two of my favourite shots are of my son, who used to be a willing victim of my camera. One is an inadvertent chiaroscuro snap – it encapsulates my little man’s love for life at the tender age of three. The other is a Lensbaby capture – a completely manual snap that just worked out, despite all the settings (including focusing) needing to be manual.”

Advice for young people who might want to get into photography, Buhrmann says aspiring snapper should start perfecting the equipment that they already have. “The best camera is the one you have – start there and proceed onwards. Don’t get bogged down in technical stuff; first focus on developing your own creative eye.”

And that is how he has done it over the years, collecting photography books and if time permits, browsing resources on the internet to sharpen his skills. Perseverance, he says, is one of the most important traits to have in photography.

Buhrmann has exhibited that he definitely knows a thing or two about photography, as his Flickr page has over a million views – three million to be exact.

“I joined Flickr eight years ago, quite a while before other – and now more successful – photography and cloud storage sites appeared on the scene. Since I am very right-brained, my filing of anything tends towards the chaotic. I’ve come to regard Flickr as my filing cabinet; it allows one to upload and download at full size.”

Buhrmann currently uses a Canon 7D, a 100-400 zoom lens, a 50 mm f1,2  wide-angle lens, a number of  Lensbaby equipment,  and some off-camera technology.

[All images – CC by 2.0/Axel Bührmann]

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