The female back is an obscure part of the body…
[Up and Coming] I came across Natalie Aniela Dybisz aka Miss Aniela photography on www.sexinart.net and thought her work was beautiful and provocative and I was eager to discover what inspires these surreal images.
“I have finished that long Thomas Hardy Novel”
Angel:Where did your interest in photography start?
Natalie D:I have always been snapping pictures more than anyone else in my family, but never really thought that photography would become a passion as it is now. It was a year ago that i really got involved intensively with image-making - digital processing being the attraction.
A:How did you learn the technical side of manipulating images, have you had any formal training?
ND:from nowhere particular - just magazine tutorials where i picked up on how to make another ‘layer’ which is essentially all you need to know to make a ‘clone’ pic - and the rest is just altering colour and contrast and stuff - techniques that you gradually harness and hone to your personal taste. No formal training
A:Talk me through the process, do you have a plan before you do a shoot or is it purely experimental?
ND:Plans never work for me - i find that i work best just taking one bit of inspiration from somewhere - say an outfit, a good location, or a prop such as an old suitcase - then i experiment with that one element in various ways through a shoot and end up with something i didn’t expect to get!
“The Fireplace”
A:What is the inspiration behind your photos, is fashion an influence?
ND:I get my influences from all over.. other Flickr artists, book authors, movies of Hitchcock/Kubrick for example, and sometimes fashion/advertisements. I recently bought Vogue magazine just for inspiration. Also I looked at the work of Guy Bourdin which is very advertisement/fashion-led
A:For people who are not familiar with this type of photography how would you describe it?
ND:postmodern, feminine yet staunchly feminist/postfeminist, surreal yet ‘real’ (and personal) imagery
A:You have an exhibition on in Brighton how is that going? what feedback have you received from it?
ND:I am getting lots of feedback press-wise and some from people in other galleries in Brighton. My Flickr ‘fanbase’ is supportive as always!
A:What is the name and address of the venue?
ND:North Laine Photography, Kensington Gardens
A:Did you choose it or were you invited to exhibit there?
ND:I was invited - which was flattering. I was planning to approach one in the near future, but by being approached, things got moving fast. As for London, that is where I would love to exhibit next.
“Moonlight Bribes”
AD:How did the venue know about your work?
ND:An artist, who exhibited there last, saw my work on Flickr and recommended me to the gallery owner.
A:Fantastic, do you self fund your photography or have you had sponsors help with costs?, did the gallery pay for promotional literature?
ND:Yes, the gallery take care of advertising, launch, print, risk costs… producing everything in house, which is good for me. I just paid for the flyers
A:What about the printing of your work? do you fund that all yourself?
ND:No that’s done by the gallery. I can choose to buy the leftover prints from them at the end of the exhib if I wish, but we may go on selling them.
A:Have you sold many pieces through the exhibition?
ND:Yes I have sold some, I hope to sell some globally through my online shop which opens up soon, which means my Flickr audience can also purchase one if they wish!
A: For any budding photographer reading this tell me a bit about the equipment you use, what camera do you have and the software you use? also how long does it take to manipulate an image from start to finish?
ND:I use a Sony R1 camera and Adobe Photoshop CS2. Manipulating an image can take anything from 10 mins to 5 hours - depends on what look you are going for. ‘The pool of tears’ and ‘Moonlight bribes’ are examples of the latter, but most of my images take less than 30 mins - cloning even.
A:Tell me about your piece entitled “I have finished that long Thomas Hardy Novel”(picture top of page)
ND:This is an example of how I have used my fondness for literature in my work, which is also part of my university degree, along with parts of the female form and creative use of light. This image uses all three. Also, the use of texture of the duvet appeals to me, in its contrast against the textures of the skin. Some people thought I was just using nudity to gain attention but the female back is an obscure part of the body to use and I find it highly artistic.
part two coming soon, where Natalie talks us through more Miss Aniela adventures
For more information about Miss Aniela Photography.
www.missaniela.com
For details about the exhibition at North Laine photography
http://brightonphotography.com
