Meet Cornelia Connie” Kurtew | Photographer “

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cornelia “Connie” Kurtew and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cornelia “Connie”, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I get bored quickly. I like to take different routes to the same places just so I can see something different. Being artistic means I can choose  and change my environment.  I can control the process and create new, change the perspective. I can show other people what I see and how I see it.  Being creative gives you the privilege to do that.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

​I started out as the family photographer at a young age, we had a ​Beirette SL 100, a plastic camera, Holga-like. It was the East-German standard at that time. I shot mostly with black and white film, just later we had color film.
Much later,after the wall coming down and leaving Germany, I moved to California, and switched to a digital camera. Now I discovered the beauty of film again and I am shooting medium format.
Out of boredom during the pandemic I taught myself to develop my own film in my bathroom. It’s extra time you get to spend with your creation .The process of creating photographs starts way before I have the camera in my hand. I like to get to know the person, finding out the most possible. Creating a sense of familiarity, maybe even a bond.

Sometimes is it fun to make things up , add confusion. But either way, portraitures reveal the real person, the truth. You can’t hide. All that fake stuff, all those made-up worlds and things and stuff come to the surface when you get in front of a lens. That is when you have to – Farbe bekennen- a German term for facing the truth – facing the colors.
Other times I have to improvise.
Which is now easier but it took a lot of work and experience to get there. I get older and I have more tools to use.
After all those years working with people it is very attractive to me to go back out in nature or work with animals. I discovered I need more calm and kindness in my life than anything else. Maybe that is one of the reason I am not shooting red carpets and events anymore. It’s too much going on. Red carpet Photographers are very competitive (most of them – of course not all) and it can get very hostile. I don’t need that. Here and there I still shoot events,but that is mostly for friends .

With doing portraiture I can control my environment, the time and place. I can chose the form of communication.

I am over small talk. I was never really good at it , maybe for a moment . It doesn’t come natural to me and I am sure some people think I am weird . Haha but I don’t care. If I have nothing to say, I just don’t say anything.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love to show people from out of town The Griffith Park, to hike and be around nature as well as Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Park which has amazing hiking paths .Both places have an amazing view above the city, sunrise or sunset. All the beaches here are wonderful and very different, from Venice beach to Matador beach. I love to take my dogs to the beach but have to drive more south for dog beaches, too bad we don’t really have any here. Los Angeles has some of the best Ramen, Vegan and Thai foods , to pick a favorite place is hard as I have not eating out in almost 3 years.
What I really love about living here is the diversity, the different neighborhoods , there is always something to do.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
for sure my family in Germany is the most significant support. as well as my friends in San Diego where I started my career as a Photographer in America and my friends in Los Angeles, especially Andrea Krauss who introduced me to many many amazing humans, my wife Dalila Ali Rajah, an amazing artist herself who is still connecting me with just lovely artists and beautiful humans. Outfest LA gave me the opportunity to meet many incredible artists who became friends and family.

Website: https://www.kurtewphotography.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kurtew/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ckurtew/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kurtew

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KurtewPhotography

Other: I am also curating with a friend of mine Eugene Huffman https://www.eugenehuffmanart.com/ a monthly virtual art show where we are showing artists from all over the world in a themed show. https://www.kunstmatrix.com/en/kunsthaus-rozig https://www.instagram.com/kunsthaus_rozig/