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RAMAK BAMZAR

Ramak Bamzar | Interview

Currently based in Melbourne, Ezra caught up with photographer Ramak Bamzar, who has been on the search for creativity since painting when she was a young child. Born in Tehran, her surroundings and life experiences strongly influence her work, and after discovering her passion for photography in high school she studied a course at university. During her years there she developed a love for photojournalism, and after the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran, she joined other photographers to capture the stories and photographs of people who where affected.

“The portraits taken of the locals during that time stay with me, it has fed a desire to capture the story and emotion behind the lens.”

In 2005, Ramak spent time employed as a studio based wedding photographer and out on location. Mostly the portraits were posed, had the brides featured in traditional dress of their families, with Ramak stating it was striking to see the comparison between modern communities and societies and the ones she visited. The images she captured predominately focused on a small town called “Karaj” between 2005 and 2008, with some images taken during this time featuring in the Head On Sydney exhibition in May of 2015.

5When asked about whether the events of the 2003 earthquake personally affected her or the way she works, Ramak stated that the experiences she has lived through and the culture and people she has met along the way as helped shape her and the work she does.

“Capturing the story of people’s lives and their rituals and struggles helped shape how l work and the way l see life. People, culture, my experiencing, observations and surroundings influence how l work and how l see life, it dictates what will be captured. I am passionate about taking photos of the feminine form and the act of storytelling. It’s largely what l do when I create fantasy and mythical based photo shoots.”

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When you live in a country, which is full of crisis, story and news, unconsciously you will move towards documentary and photojournalism. I believe it is an artist’s responsibility to show the realities of society without censorship in whatever art form they are interested.

“If I could collaborate with another photographer, I would have to choose Anka Zhuravleva. I really admire her work. I have a passion to create art for the purpose of femininity, and Anka Zhuravleva clearly shares a similar passion and insight. She creates such high quality images, every shot is beautifully crafted, full of tones, and vibrant in colour, evoking emotions and a strong sense of story.”

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“I would love to continue exploring people and telling stories. There is such an immense treasure-trove of stories that l long to share and make a reality. My surroundings and people inspire me to create photography that is strong in symbolism and narrative/story.”

It’s interesting to see how a photographer’s style can change depending on what they are photographing. For Ramak, she dabbles in fine art and creates very feminine images with soft light and pale backgrounds, emanating Brooke Shaden. This is in comparison to her journalistic images; they’re candid, not forced and are simply capturing the moment but with photographic aspects in mind.

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“I need to keep creating, as it is something that sustains me. I believe that everyone has a story within them. It is my desire to bring this out and capture it within the lens of the camera.  How we tell that story determines not only the type of artist we become, but what kind of people we are as well. We should never stop telling our story or the story of others.”

You can check out more of her work on her website or Facebook.

ramakbamzar.com.au

facebook.com/ramak.bamzar.photography

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