In Conversation with Travelling Photographer Kirsten Mumford

European born but raised in South Africa, Kirsten Mumford left her home two decades ago to forge a life as an expatriate, travelling the globe as a nomad. After having exhibited her fine art in Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles and Italy, she began to concentrate on photography to reflect the more immediate view she had of the world. Both as a fine artist and photographer, she is largely self-taught and enjoys every opportunity a given moment can bring in order to capture a feeling within. She always view things from different angles to bring about new creative challenges.

A: When did your passion for photography begin?
KM: My passion for photography began after my children were born, and I found taking images of them immensely satisfying. The photographs were always commented upon and eventually people began to ask me to take their portraits. This, coupled with the opportunities I had to travel so extensively and being able to take pictures of different countries and cultures, developed into my career in photography today.

A: You have a wide ranging collection of work from landscapes to portraits, do you have a preferred subject for your photography?
KM: I particularly love taking candid shots of people in their natural environment, most especially street photography, capturing the raw and honest immediacy of life as it really is.

A: What are your creative influences?
KM: Creatively, I have not looked to any photographer in particular for inspiration. Instead, I aways try to look outside of the frame and capture moments that strike a chord within. Whenever I view a scene, I do so from every possible angle, whether I am taking photos or not. I think it’s a flexibility that comes from moving around every couple of years with 3 small children, that allows one to see each and every point of view in order to survive and thrive.

A: You also work in the field of boudoir photography, do you believe that this genre can help to empower women?
KM: I branched out into boudoir photography in the hope that I could influence women on how they view themselves, and yes, definitely to empower them. I feel that women today define themselves by how others see, respond to and ultimately treat them, because their idea of self is caught up in society’s distorted idea of beauty. Women are most critical of themselves, and so it gives great gratification when women finally grasp their sense of identity through beautiful yet candid images of themselves.

Explore Kirsten’s work at kirstenmumford.zenfolio.com.

To see her listing in the Artists’ Directory in Issue 68 of Aesthetica Magazine, pick up a copy at www.aestheticamagazine.com.

Follow us on Twitter @AestheticaMag for the latest news in contemporary art and culture.

Credits:
1. Kirsten Mumford, Sunrise Silhouette, Cabarete Beach, Dominican Republic. Courtesy of the artist.