German-born Ronya originally planned to only visit London on a temporary business, to improve her English and take in the culture. Then, as she puts it, "life happened, love happened and I never actually left." Now, she's been in the city for quite a few years and has firmly embedded herself in the capital. As a passionate and long-time photographer, Ronya decided to combine her love of London and photography with a new tour for Airbnb. Although, by her own admission, she fell into photography almost by chance, the hours she's put in honing her craft have left her with a growing client base, a Sony World Photography Award nomination, and exhibitions at Liberty's of London and the Pall Mall Gallery.
On the face of it, the experience involves a "photo-walk", strolling through the Big Smoke, finding new bits of the city you didn't know existed and honing your photography skills along the way, as well as to appreciate more well-known landmarks in new ways. Since the tour takes you from Trafalgar Square, through Covent Garden, Soho, Bloomsbury, and the South Bank, there's obviously a fair amount of architecture and history too.
We spoke to Ronya about photography as a medium, her route into it as a career, as well as the value of the hobby. From our discussion it sounded as if it had genuinely improved her life and opened her up to a whole bunch of experiences, people and so on, that she might never have encountered.
We're here to talk about your Street Photography Experience with Airbnb. How did this come about? Why did you decide to do it?
The team at Airbnb approached me after seeing some of my work listed in an article about 'Top Street Photographers in the UK'. When they talked me through their new venture, I loved the concept of experiences straight away and was delighted to take part in the project.
I am very passionate about street photography and I love meeting and speaking to people. So, to be given the opportunity to share my passion for photography, pass on my knowledge and love of London with people from all over the world has been priceless.
How did you get into photography and why did you choose street photography as your subject?
I have to say that it was probably more a case of photography finding me than the other way around. Other than taking pictures at parties, family gatherings and on holiday I wasn’t actually too interested in photography up until the point when I was working as a marketing manager for one of Britain's biggest banks when the credit crunch happened.
With quite significant changes at work, all of a sudden I had more time on my hands than ever before and I can't quite recall why but for some reason I started taking my little point-and-shoot camera out with me at lunchtime and after work. I started taking pictures of the people around me and even though at that stage I wasn't aware of the genre of street photography, I absolutely loved documenting what I saw and used street photography to make sense of the world around me at the time.
Literally only a few weeks into my photography 'journey' I submitted one of my pictures to the Sony World Photography Awards and was blown away when I actually got NOMINATED. I was flown out to the awards ceremony in Cannes where I met photography legends such as Phil Stern, Elliott Erwitt and Martin Parr and looking back it was most definitely this experience that changed the course of my life and made me want to become a professional photographer.
How's it been working with Airbnb? What's been their involvement?
Working with the team at Airbnb has been fantastic. Throughout the trial and following the global launch, I have been in constant communication with the team and they have been brilliant at sorting out a few inevitable tech glitches and answer questions that have come up along the lines.
There is also an ever growing network of experienced hosts who exchange information as well as tips and hints on an on-going basis and this has meant that even though we are dotted all around the world, there has been a real sense of collaboration and community. I feel fortunate to have been involved in this project right from the start.
What can people expect from your Experience?
The experience itself is pretty relaxed and informal and consists of a three hour photo-walk through London. I want my guests to see London through the eyes of a local and that is why I always cover a range of lesser known sights and spots that you don’t necessarily find in a guide book.
As far as the teaching of techniques and methods for street photography is concerned, for me it is very important that I build my sessions around the needs of my guests. Street and urban photography is a very personal thing and any tuition absolutely needs to reflect that. We all have very different motivations, confidence levels and technical knowledge when it comes to photographing complete strangers and I work with my guests in finding the approach that works best for them. There is no 'one-size fits all'.
One of the most rewarding things with these experiences is seeing people's eyes getting 'activated' during our time together. I love seeing how my guests, who in many cases have not practised much street photography prior to the sessions, start seeing precious moments and begin to connect with their surroundings as a result of the workshop. A lot of my previous guests have stayed in touch with me afterwards and are sharing their images with me and I am always proud and happy to watch my guests set off on their very own street photography journey.
Were your parents artistic/creative? Did they support you?
My mum was a very creative woman who tried her hands at all sorts of arts and crafts and I guess I inherited her natural sense of curiosity and eagerness to try something new as well as her appreciation for art.
My parents have been very supportive over the years. I left home after I finished school in Germany and planned to move to London and stay here for one year to improve my English. Well… as is so often the case, life happened, love happened and I never actually left.
At what point did you realise photography was a serious passion for you?
As I mentioned earlier, it was the nomination for the Sony World Photography awards very early on in my photography journey that was the catalyst for my decision to give up my then career as a marketing manager and become a full-time photographer.
With my mind made up, I worked relentlessly at building a portfolio, honing my skills and building a client base up until the point when I decided to take that leap, leave my full-time job and become a professional photographer.
One of the most interesting and inspiring aspects of this whole process for me has been to see that even in your 20s, when you think you know who you are and what you like, there are things that you don't know you can be good at and you can enjoy doing so much. I suppose you can draw parallels with love in that way: you never know how much you can love someone until you meet them.
The experience has definitely made me more open-minded overall and has taught me how important it is to follow your heart.
What are your plans for the future?
I am working on quite a few exciting projects at the moment: there is a street photography book project, I am doing a lot more portrait work and recently I have also got heavily involved in documentary filming and travel stories which I am looking to do more of—workload and schedule permitting.
Find out more about Airbnb Trips on their website.
