Miriam Marlene
Berlin, Germany
Bio:
Miriam Marlene Waldner was born in Berlin, Germany. She started photographing at the age of 13 during her teenage years often capturing her friends experiences and the surroundings around her at the time as a way to interact with people through the lens as she was too shy in doing so without any real reason. The camera gave her a means to hide behind an object and lead the attention to something other than herself.
She began arranging small photoshoots with people she felt interested in and inspired by, through this over the years she became much more sociable.
Miriam shoots with solely analogue cameras and almost never uses any post processing or retouching. She often produces everything her self from concepts and set building to casting, styling and prop making. She does it all under one umbrella.
She has a passion for music and fashion which she loves to combine within her works and was awarded the “New Fave in Fashion” in 2019 by the British Fashion Council.
She’s shot for the likes of Vogue, Playboy & Gucci and since 2017 she has been working and living between Berlin and LA.
Where are you from, where do you live now and can you tell us a little about both?
I’m from Germany, I grew up in Berlin. To be more specific, in a small town just 20 minutes away from the centre of Berlin.
At the moment I’m currently between Los Angeles and Berlin. I’ve had my US artist visa for 2 years but haven’t fully decided to move there so I keep going back and forth.
Growing up in Berlin how do you feel that it shaped the way your are now and were you exposed to a certain idea / way of living from an early age?
I think growing up in Berlin gave me a great independency to travel alone from a young age. I’ve always felt safe in Berlin and was never scared to explore other cities alone.
Berlin, or in general Germany, seems to have a less wasteful consumer culture and more eco friendly. I’m glad I grew up in an environment that seems to take care of the planet.
Whats your most memorable early photograph or a specific shoot from when you were just starting out?
My shooting for Rookie magazine. I photographed 13 people I met through the internet and dressed them in Pierrots costumes that I had made.
What draws you to analogue photography?
The realness to it, the grain and the colours. I never get tired of going to the photo lab, dropping off the film and receiving the scans a few days later.
What promoted to move to Los Angeles, how is working out there and does the flow differ to Europe’s for you?
In Los Angeles I feel like there is no limit for passion and if you really want something it works out.
The city is so colourful in locations too!
I shoot mostly talents / characters , for me there are many more interesting people to photograph. The city seems to attract (in a good way) crazy people, which I love to photograph.
Do you have anything now that you’re working on and what is coming from you next?
I did a shoot with people dressing up as Ronald Mc’Donald in LA. I can’t wait to show the results from that shoot! I have a little obsession with the Mc’Donalds aesthetic, not the food.
Next would be an exhibition in Berlin hopefully!
Where can we find you online?
Best is on Instagram, @miriam_marlene
