Interview with Marlena Wels from Germany

While I am a self-taught photographer, my academic background includes a degree in Multimedia Production from the University of Applied Sciences in Kiel. During my time there, I skilfully incorporated photography into various media projects, including the development of surreal 360° worlds.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember the very first shot but it probably was a first try in some fairy tale-related white dress princess vibe thing with terrible editing. It’s way too long ago!

I primarily work with a Nikon Z6. Most often I will use a 50mm 1.8 for my concept shoots, but I also own a 35mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8.

I love dragging people into other worlds, out of reality. It’s some kind of escapism into beautiful, magical or haunted scenes. But under this surface, I like to implement elements and stories – most of the time, I will know exactly what I personally want to tell with this idea, as I use it often as some kind of diary. But it’s just my interpretation and I also hope that people will see their own story, the situation they’re in and feel kind of understood and cared for.

There are two that has deeply touched me:

Someone told me I was the one who inspired him to start with photography, which was a completely crazy feeling to hear that and another one told me to keep the work up, warrior of light!

Most of the time, it’s personal. Experiences, feelings, situations or thoughts I want to work through, to visualise them, process and accept them, so that they can be a part of myself in the future. But sometimes it’s also the beauty of nature - specific locations, plants or trees, which sparks an idea and the wish to capture the magic they inhere.

Surreal, magical, painterly.

It’s a great honour, of course! Seeing my work between all the other well deserving winners is quite unreal. I always had that feeling, that my style of photography doesn’t fit in and isn’t that appreciated in the photography world. So it’s a really beautiful recognition, a bit like a “Cheer up, it’s worth the hard work!”

The series ‘A Journey to the Self’ was created when I was part of a little collective with the aim of bringing a little exhibition together. We chose the old term ‘attitude’ to be the theme and I was drawn to the former meaning of it: It was a form of art back in the old days. Something between dancing, acting and pantomime, often visualising events in history, stories or important meaningful moments.

They were often compared to living pictures. Funnily, it was often performed by women which was perfect for my attempt to create my own living pictures as a self-portrait artist. I chose the journey of finding the self to be the meaningful moment and created a little travel back in time while travelling back to your roots.

I chose this series, as it’s currently my most recent series and because I like the simplicity of staying in one frame while telling the different stages of self-reflection and discovery.

It is a big motivation boost, to keep going and to create new ideas and projects. It’s beautiful and reassuring to see others value your work!

Brooke Shaden and Rosie Hardy were the ones, who I discovered on Flickr, when I was 15 years old. Their work showed me what is possible in photography and it opened up borders for me and inspired me to discover a creative way of self-portrait photography.

I didn't have a mentor when I started, and it stayed that way in the years that followed. But as I mentioned, Brooke Shaden had a key role in my photography journey. Her videos and little workshops helped me to develop my purpose in what I’m doing.

It helped me to shape my way and my messages and it made me realise how important constant self-reflection is. Not only for yourself but also to find sense in your work and strength in your story.

Keep on going! How daunting it can be to have a vision in your head and thinking it’s not as good as I wanted it to be. Spoiler alert: This will never go away. And maybe that’s the point, to never stop growing.

Always try to outgrow your own work, try to not compare yourself to others and keep in mind that every tiny step is a step forward. And we don’t need to be in a rush, every good thing takes time.

Well, I have another question: How do you define success? I often struggle to see myself as ‘successful’, even if people are saying, “Wow, it’s working out pretty well for you at the moment”. But it’s just that moment and I don’t feel that different after such things as winning this category.

If success means having a booked job every week over the year, I’m not successful. If success means being able to afford a life on my own, I’m not successful. But if it means being happy with doing what you do, I’m pretty much successful. I may be a hopeless dreamer but I’m deeply convinced that following your heart and dreams will lead you to your own kind of success.

Honestly, I don't know if I'm good at this. When it comes to photography books, workshops, etc., I find myself getting bored a little too fast. It has to be something I really want to learn. But even then, I prefer to learn things by trying and discovering them on my own.