Photography For The Soul

She got her first ever C in her photography course in high school, a far cry from the straight As she otherwise garnered. “I don’t know if I saw this as some sort of challenge but something stuck,” she says. And it really did stick indelibly as she is now an avid photographer who admits to working on five bodies of work simultaneously. Her photography reflects the intricate workings of a mind that accords significance and meaning to everything and sees beyond the superficial, surface layer that people normally can’t see past. In her own words, she delves into the who, what, when, where, and why of being, compounded by her interest in the sociological nature of people. This month, we are speaking to Lois Bielefeld, a native of Milwaukee in the Midwestern United States, who has carved a niche for herself as quite a maverick photographer. She is a member of the Portrait Society Gallery, a contemporary art gallery dedicated to the issues surrounding the genre of portraiture.

- Nandana James

“Inadvertently I am interested in anthropology (not in the traditional scholastic manner), but in a very unscientific field-work way through photographing and informally interviewing people. People are incredibly complex. Yet, on a day-to-day basis, we revert to our habits because it’s easier [face it, we’re cognitive misers]. There is a consistency in our habits and rituals that to a degree define who we are. I am continuously curious about why people do things, what they are doing, where are they doing it, and how. Perhaps it’s because I’m really nosy but it’s also because I’m interested in our immense diversity. What forms behaviour and personality? What is the essence of each person?” she muses. Lois is, as is obvious from her ruminations, a photographer who feels deeply and profoundly, and this has effortlessly managed to permeate through her work. Her interest in anthropology reflects in the ideation and work underpinning her photos, as her intuitive eye for detail and ability to see beyond what the eye permits is evident in her photography.

The dark room has always been a source of intrigue for Lois as she “loved black and white, making prints and the magic of chemistry and light. But it wasn’t until around senior year that I realized I could study photography and make it a career.” She studied advertising photography in Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York as she wished to become technically proficient, although art photography has always been of utmost interest to her. In 2008, she started her first series based work, The Bedroom, after a stint with various odd shooting jobs during college. “It has informed my practice to this day how I approach and develop my work,” she says.