Public Republic

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the photographer Andrea Laybauer

How and when did you realize that photography would be your vocation?

When I was 17, I was taking pictures of my friends in a very precarious way, using a white sheet as a background and a compact camera without resources.

A cobra


Should I stay or should I go

Why are you so attached to micro photography?

I don’t know for sure, but when I was a child, I used to play with the microscope. I loved to look through the lenses at insects, skin, leaves, blood, hair bulbs and everything that is hard to see with a naked eye.

Geometric

Silky green

Your drop shots are amazing. Why have you chosen water drops as a subject of your work?

This choice was not intentional. Every object of interest grows naturally.

Grid

The frog

What is the most exciting challenge for you as a professional photographer?

I love to take one’s breath away with my images. The challenge is to make photos that are hard to discover how I created them.

Merry Christmas

Yellow

If you are to tell a story through your photographs, what story would that be?

I started with jewelry photography, then I discovered the fire flame, and now I’m in love with water drops.

Milky

The hand

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to spend some time with my dog, I like to cook and I love to go to the movies.

More water drops

The sweetest thing

In which direction would you like to perfect your skills as a photographer?

I intend to explore more and more the world of water drops until something new finds me.

My first collision

Watch out

Do you like to experiment?

Yes. I like experimenting, it was born with it.

Thank you very much for the interview and your photos!

Neon

Water in bw

Biography:

Andrea Laybauer was born 26 years ago in a very small town in the south of Brazil, called Farroupilha.
She grew up having no idea about what her job should be, but when she was 17, she was playing with some friends and she realized that she would like to be a photographer.

Her dad gave her his own camera ( a Nikon 35mm, from the 70’s, totally manual ) and she learned how to use it by testing the presets. One year later, she already had her studio, but she wanted to keep her mind open and her opportunities enlarged. Following this dream, she moved to São Paulo.

And now, here she is. Excited by discovering new combinations of colors, new forms and new angles through the fantastic world of macro photography, especially water drop shots, her passion.