Joscha Bruckert is the man behind one of our favorite online zines,
Romka. It's their 1st birthday and Issue #4 just dropped over night so I thought I'd catch up with the man in charge. Download the issue by clicking
HERE and read the interview behind the cut.
Who are you, how old are you, and where are you from?I'm Joscha, 22 year old German sociopath.
Joscha Bruckert
What do you do?
I take/look at/publish/collect photographs. That's about it, I don't have any hobbies and sit in front my computer most of the time.
Irwin Barbé from Romka 4
In 10 words or less what is Romka Magazine?
Your favorite photographs.
Jordan Tate from Romka 4
What is your interest in peoples' favorites as opposed to the rest of their work?
Peoples' portfolios are often too much influenced by the wrong interests. A lot of photographers try to be hip, trendy and arty. They see the contemporary photography out there and think that that's how you do it. They only present work that is similar to what they already saw somebody else do, which makes it all so freaking boring and predictable. Take portraits from behind as an example. Some people did and it turned out great. That would have been the right time to do something different, but what does everybody else do? Take portraits from behind. There is a fucking shitload of portraits from behind on flickr alone, some are better than the first ones, but come on. Same thing with triangles, neo-occultism and shit. Honest favorites are not influenced by that. They're more authentic and tell you much more about the person who took them.
Charlie Hillhouse from Romka 4
You choose to feature students and young artists along side professionals. What do you hope to achieve by doing this?
I do this because having a favorite photograph has nothing to do with the role of photography in your life and/or your skills. There are a lot of different aspects, meanings and perspectives in photography and a commercial career is only one.
Angus R. Shamal from Romka 4
I can see that you also take some really great photographs. How do you think making Romka has affected your personal work?
Thanks man. I think Romka helped me to stop taking everything so seriously and to try out a bit more. I used to think that every picture I take should be good enough to make it into my portfolio, which has been just wrong and a huge waste of time.
Joscha Bruckert
What are you working on right now? Anything coming up?
I'm working on a kick ass state of the art booklet full of mind-blowing photographic awesomeness with my friend and fellow student Andy. It's called "A man sat alone in his room" and will be available in a few months. (If you want to be informed about the release date and other future projects, send an email to joscha@joschabruckert.de)
Joscha Bruckert
Do anything wild in Germany lately? I've never been there but I have seen that X-Rated Rammstein music video, so it's a little hard to judge the place haha.
I always get the impression that Rammstein is popular everywhere but in Germany. When I think about it, nobody ever mentions them but foreigners..just like David Hasselhoff, the other way around. The music video was pretty rad, though. How's Canada? All I know is that you people never lock your front doors. Oh, and Buck 65.
Don't worry man, Rammstein isn't actually popular anywhere. People in North America just think they're funny. Canada's good though and I totally lock my door.
Go to Romkamagazine.com to learn about all things Romka. Look at issues 1 through 3, donate some money, enjoy photos. Thanks Joscha!
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