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1. Tell us about yourself. What is your background?
Studied economics, worked in an advertising acency for over 10 years, 2003 I opened “Lieblingsstücke” in Sachsenhausen, Brückenstrasse

2. When did you start Maria Frankfurt? 
In February 2017

3. What is the concept behind Maria Frankfurt?
no concept, it is me: I like it pure, reduced, so that everything can have its own show; you can call it a museum-, or gallery-style

4. What inspires you when buying the new collections and arranging the shop for that current season?
I do not make a plan for a new season, no map where I collect photos or newspaper articles. I take what I get, as long as it is edgy, unique, special, long lasting, stylish

5. What are your favourite brands?
Most of them are from Scandinavia. It is not that I am looking for Scandinavian brands only, but at the end of the day, these brands have this clean and stylish attitude I love.

6. Who are your favourite artists?
It is not one, there are so many. And I am not sure, if this is the right question for me: is there a favourite artist or would it be better to speak of the favourite artwork or lifework. But if we speak about fashion maybe: Martin Margiela.

7. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would this be?
Coco Chanel + Rei Kawakubo + Martin Margiela

8.  What is your favourite thing to do in Frankfurt
Go swimming

9. What is your favourite place in Frankfurt?
Münchner Strasse in the Bahnhofviertel. It is the only place where Frankfurt has a bit of a very big city.

10. What do you wish Frankfurt had? What is missing in Frankfurt?
Many more inhabitants, many more theaters, many more museums, many more bars and restaurants. Why is Frankfurt not New York?

11. Any tips or advice for newcomers to Frankfurt?
Frankfurt´s museums, especially the MMK and the Schirn have very fine Opening-Partys, maybe you will find new friends there.

Since we’ve started The Frankfurt Edit we have met some amazing people, especially very talented women and one of these women is Iva Batistic, street photographer from Frankfurt. Iva messaged us through instagram asking if we could meet up. She wanted to tell us about her Frankfurt street photography, which is right up our alley. When the three of us met for coffee it was like sparks! Iva was so friendly and warm and super interesting! She told us about her current project, the Frankfurt Street Photography calendar which is awesome and you should definitely get yourself one!!! I have mine hanging in my office and I love it!

Not everyone can capture a cool image of the streets we walk everyday, Burt Iva can. She can take an ordinary everyday life surrounding and turn it into a photo to be sought after. This is something special.

She took some time out to chat with us about her background and her work. Read on to find out more about Iva and her photography and how you can purchase her work.

1. Tell us about yourself. What is your background?
I’m a Croatian gal born and raised in Frankfurt. I’m in my 30’s – well, who are we kidding?? I’m 39 with a degree in languages. I work as a translator and I’m in the making of extending my photography services. Yes, you can book me.

2. When did you start taking photographs?
The first photo I took was during a family vacation at the age of 3 or 4. My dad loves photography and I have taken on that passion. When I was 15, I enrolled in a photo club at school and learned how to develop photos in the dark room. I blocked our bathroom for entire weekends and set up my own little dark room.

3. How would you describe your photography style?
Most of my work ranks among the so-called genre of street photography. My photos are raw and authentic. Clean lines. Sometimes dark. Often black and white, but I have introduced some color after visiting California. I also love photographing people, especially when they are not aware of it. This way you can capture beautiful and real moments.

4. What inspires you when it comes to taking new photos?
There is always something that draws my attention. It might be a person, or a constellation, something funny or the lines of a building. Reflections and shadows are always a magnet for me. I love capturing them as they change with every step you take.

5. Who are your favourite photographers?
I absolutely adore Viviane Meier and Frankfurt-based photographer Barbara Klemm. Both have/had a strong eye and tell beautiful stories. Each of their photos is unique and recognizable. I also admire Anton Corbijn. I fell in love with his work very recently after visiting his exhibition “The Living and the Dead” in Hamburg. I also tremendously enjoy Walker Evans, Garry Winogrand, Annie Leibovitz and many more.

6. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would this be?
Marina Abramovic.

7. You are selling the calendar Frankfurt Streetphotography – where can I buy one?
I’m selling the calendars at several little shops in Bornheim until Valentine’s Day, such as #re-cover, #Meder, #NaumannundEisenbletter, #BuchundWein and #Reining&Werth. You can also order them on my website https://www.iva-photography.com/. I only printed 110 copies of the 2019 edition and there are only a couple more left – you better hurry!

8. Can I buy anything else beside the calendar?
Sure you can! You can buy any photo from my website and Instagram in sizes of up to 30x30cm. FineArt prints, acrylic behind glass – anything your heart desires.

9. Where can I see your art?
I currently have an exhibition at the Markus Krankenhaus in Ginnheim, 3^rdfloor. You will find a selection of my work from New York, Paris, Versailles, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. If you’d like a private tour – drop me a line. I’m sure we can arrange something.

10. What is your favourite thing to do in Frankfurt?
I love strolling around the city with my camera, discovering new parts of Frankfurt. Afterwards I treat myself to a tasty almond cappuccino at Café 48.

11. What is your favourite place in Frankfurt?
Café 48! Except for Wednesdays. Holzhausenpark during the summer.

12. What do you wish Frankfurt had? What is missing in Frankfurt?
I wish Frankfurt had a system similar to New York where a certain quota for any cultural event (museums, theaters, concerts, readings…) is reserved for people with lower income. This way, anybody interested can enjoy such events, not depending on the size of one’s wallet.

Also, it would be amazing if Frankfurt hosted TedTalks!

13. Any tips or advice for newcomers to Frankfurt?
Explore the city any chance you get! Frankfurt has so many different neighborhoods to see and stories to tell, combining the old and the new. It is colorful, multicultural and diverse. The famous “Stolpersteine” all around the city are a reminder of the tragic history. You have remnants from Roman times and the beautiful and unique skyline welcoming the world. The art scene is so varied – there’s even an English Theater! Oh, and try Cafe48!

Kelly & Janice, thank you sooo much for having me!! It was a pleasure meeting you.

XOXO

website: https://www.iva-photography.com/home/
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/limpcassidy79/

When Nadine messaged us through instagram about a collaboration we were like, um, yes!!!! Nadine fromKoppiright Fotografie took Janice and I out one afternoon and took photos of us. It was such a lovely experience. We walked around casually talking and when she found a spot she liked we would try to act as normal as possible while she took photos of us, well mainly Janice would try act normal! She’s use to being behind the camera.

Nadine is a family photographer, and she so naturally captures those beautiful moments of a family just being a family. She talks to you with such ease, which is comforting while your having your photo taken. At moments you have no idea she is even taking your photo and that’s when she captures those beautiful moments.

We had the chance to chat with her about her journey as a photographer, her photo style and what she loves about Frankfurt. Have a read below.

1.Tell us about yourself. What is your background?
When I was 20 yrs. I started an apprenticeship as a photographer in Wiesbaden, but had to stop after 6 months because I got pregnant. I wanted to have a safe job where I could earn more money than working as a photographer. That is why I started a new apprenticeship at Levi Strauss Germany. After I had successfully finished this apprenticeship I worked in the Customer Service Team for Levi’s for 4 years. During this time I studied Marketing and communication in the evenings for 2 years and after that I got offered a new job in the marketing department of Levi’s. I was responsible for online marketing activities and online shops with customers like Amazon, Zalando, Otto.de and many others. After my second child was born and I was on maternity leave for 2 years, I couldn’t get back into my old job at Levi’s because they had restructured. So a few months later I started as an Account Manager in an advertisement agency for an email marketing. But one day I started to feel dissatisfied with this agency-work and started taking pictures with my old camera again (I hadn’t taken pictures for a long time) and totally fell in love again. That was the moment when I thought about starting my own business and doing what I always wanted to do: Taking natural pictures of interesting people in beautiful places. And then I just did it. ????And I have to say that this was the best decision I have made so far. I just absolutely love it.

2. When did you start taking photographs?
I started taking pictures in a photography workshop I participated in at school. I Think it was in the 8th grade… I was 13 or 14 years.

And I still remember one photography that we discussed about in the lessons, but I never found this picture again. Even Google cannot help me with this. ☹

It was a picture of a boy who held a camera right in front of his face so that you could only see one half of his face. The lens of the camera objective looked like it was his second eye. And this picture tells everything what I love about photography: with the one eye you see the complete reality and through the camera you see another reality that you can create yourself. I can choose how dark or light I want this moment to be remembered in the picture and I can choose in which second I take the picture…so I can pick the best moments and create a new / other reality. I think that pictures also can manipulate the reality like we all can see everyday on Instagram. That is why photography is so exiting and a creative way to express things, moments and feelings.

3. How would you describe your photography style?
Natural, uncomplicated, clean, emotional

4. What inspires you when it comes to a new photoshoot?
I love to talk to my clients in person before we start with a shooting. It is important to know, who and how this person is to take pictures of him/her. So I can say that my clients inspire me and I always come home with new ideas after having a coffee with them.

But also beautiful places in nature inspire me…every time I see a nice place my head spins around and I try to think about a possible photoshooting. ????

5. Who are your favourite photographers?
I don’t have one favorite photographer, but a lot of favorite photographs. I love black/white pictures from the early 20 century, where you can see how people looked like in this time. And also how places changed: I love to compare old pictures of places I know with the presence. One example would be the pictures of Andreas Feininger, that he took in New York in 1940.

6. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would this be?
That is a hard question…I don’t have somebody special in my mind. But I would love to take pictures of people that once changed the world. Unfortunately most of them are dead. I think about: Martin Luther King, Sophie Scholl, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks and many more. I would have loved to talk to them while taking pictures.

7. What is your favourite thing to do in Frankfurt?
I love walking around and see new places that I haven’t been to yet. Frankfurt is always changing and every time you walk around you can find new shops, cafes, houses and that is what I like about Frankfurt.

8. What is your favourite place in Frankfurt?
I have to admit, that I have a crush for the Bahnhofsviertel. I think that this is the place in Frankfurt where you can see the complete diversity of this city. You can find bankers, hipsters, junkies, tourists, lawyers, creatives and a restaurant for every country in the world.

9. What do you wish Frankfurt had? What is missing in Frankfurt?
I wish Frankfurt would have more bikes instead of cars. Just like Copenhagen, Amsterdam or any other Scandinavian city. I think the people would be less stressed, we would have less traffic jams and would not have to search 1 hour for a parking spot.

10. Any tips or advice for newcomers to Frankfurt?
Come here open-minded and Frankfurt will surprise you. ????(And YES, you have to drink Äppelwoi!)

website: https://www.koppiright-fotografie.com
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koppiright_fotografie/