Interview With Christopher Behrend

I'm Chris! I am a professional artist and photographer living in the great city of Buffalo, NY. I'm a published writer, cat lover, video gamer, rare book collector, and freelance IT specialist business owner. Traveling to distant lands and exploring the world is a very important part of my life and artistry. I'm a huge National Geographic fan and reading countless magazines in the 90s and early 2000s hooked me up. I was so envious of their work and promised myself that one day I would produce shots of their caliber and create something I could be proud of.

I took an introductory course in photography in my senior year of high school, all the way back to 1998. Digital cameras hadn't arrived yet, so I was grateful I learned all about film, fixer, and manual cameras. I enjoyed the process of exposing the film in dark rooms and the chemical process it took to make my shots come to life. It was a last-minute experience that I thoroughly enjoyed as the world stood on the brink of a new century and the age of digital everything. Everything else I've learned so far has been self-taught or from the experiences of other professionals on the Internet.

At this point in my career, I would very much appreciate the continued exposure of competing in national/international exhibitions/contests such as this one, but even more is my desire to connect with other photographers and artists to share work, talk shop, collaborate and hopefully find some artistic friendship.

I have an epic drone shot of Mt. Kallur in the Faroe Islands I took back in 2017 and while staying at a B&B one weekend, I shared it with the owner on my iPhone during a short conversation. He was so moved by the beauty and awe of the mountain. Its color and depth brought him to tears. I didn't know what to say and I'll never forget such a deep reaction to my work.

Rennandi Island is an aerial photograph of a remote glacial river on the southern island near the Westmann Islands. The river itself runs through a vast black sand beach and is not easy to find or navigate. In addition, the winds and weather in that part of Iceland are notorious for changing at any time and making aerial work quite risky. Truth be told, I flew my drone over 12,000 feet to reach this glacier river and I barely got the drone back with 1% battery left. It was an absolute miracle that my drone didn't fall into the sand or become lost in the landscape from strong winds.

Development comes from trust and I am sure I speak to all the fantastic photographers who have benefited from the NY Photography Awards that an achievement like this is a huge boost of confidence, not only for the artist but also for those who appreciate and invest in his/her work.

The Internet has had a profound impact on everyone's life around the world, especially in the world of art and photography. Considering how over-accessible cameras have become to anyone in the world with the advent of smartphones, I know how closed one can feel from the endless amount of images uploaded and tossed around digitally daily. For many, it has ceased to be anything special. But it's organizations like the NY Photography Awards (and thankfully many others) that keep the bar high for those of us who come from the days when photography was worshipped as a unique and special art – pursued only by those who could capture the world around us with an 'eye' to shoot something amazing, without the burden of disruptive need to slap it on social media and pray for views.

For my part, I believe that a successful photographer must be so driven to seek out and find that particular place, person, or scene that he/she will do whatever it takes to complete that journey from start to finish. The best stories come from absolute passion, and there's nothing more satisfying than chasing that dream to the end.