Capturing the Cinematic - An Interview with Mark Broyer

Mark Broyer has a great understanding of aesthetics, composition, and all-things cinema. He looks at things the way a film maker does and instead of forcing things to happen, Mark waits for things to naturally fall into place. We were lucky enough to get a hold of him for a brief interview and he shares with us why he took up photography, what inspires him, and more.

Hey, Mark. Welcome to the Lomography Magazine. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, my name is Mark Broyer and I am a photographer and art director from Hamburg, Germany.

How would you define photography?

It is all about finding beauty in the ordinary. Sometimes you just have to take a closer look or take a different perspective to see the hidden story.

Could you tell us your first memorable encounter with it?

I saw an exhibition by Lee Friedlander titled "America by Car." I loved the simplicity and persistence.

What's your favorite thing about taking photographs?

That I do not have to rely on anybody than myself to create stuff. There are no rules I have to follow. Especially at night, it has a meditative feeling to go outside and shoot photos.

Let's talk a bit about your work -- how would you describe your photographic style/approach?

It is all about color and available light.

Who or what would you say was the biggest influence in your work?

I once saw a painting of Roman Opalka. He painted numbers from one to infinity in tiny horizontal rows on canvas. Each new canvas took up the counting where the last left off. Theoretical everybody could do this but in effect nearly nobody would do. But he did it and created something unique just by persistence! I was blown away by this.

It is a great motivation for me. I always think of this when I take photos. Most images become much better when they a part of a series.

How do you stay creative?

I try to photograph as much as I can. Because I will find an idea by just doing stuff.

We are in love with your After Hours series -- they have that cinematic feel to them. Were you going for that particular look/aesthetic?

Thank you! Yes, I am looking for these places which look like a movie set only waiting for the appearance of the actors.

We also noticed that your other projects look like they could belong to different films. Style-wise, what pushed you to go in that direction?

I often think in movie scenes when I take a picture. In general, I try to leave space in my photos, where one can tell their own story.

What are you trying to get across with your photography?

Overall I focus on the urban environment and how this reflects the lives of its people.

What was the idea behind Transitory Beauty? We sense a lot of character in the environment and the cars themselves.

To be honest, I just love vintage cars. Especially American cars. While being on vacation in Los Angeles for a couple of weeks I noticed all these roadside beauties and I really liked the ones with some patina in particular. Because they symbolized the decay of the car industry of the US. But despite the rust and the dents they kept their dignity.

Any artist/photographer out there worth following?

I am a big fan of Emmanuel Monzon, Greg Girard, Arnaud Montagard, Patrick Clelland, Thomas Brown and Erica Snyder. Just to name a few.

We would like to express our gratitude to Mark for letting us feature his work on the Online Magazine. If you're interested in Mark's work, you may head over to his website, Instagram, and Behance for more.

written by Marc Ocampo on 2018-01-15 #people #night #light #artist #photography #feature #mark-broyer