Atlantica - 01.05.2002, Qupperneq 46

Bernhard Valsson moved to Paris straight out of college. He
planned to stay one year. That was 15 years ago.
After a humbling stretch as a photographer’s assistant, the talented
photojournalist landed a job at the French daily Libération, where
he “could get to know people and learn how to approach profes-
sional life”.
“Things started rolling for me in 1995,” Benni says, referring to
those early years where he not only worked at learning his craft, but
also at overcoming the culture shock of moving from a small
Icelandic town to the thriving capital of Paris. “The years before
that were just education.”
And Benni became educated. He now shoots for the elite fashion
magazines, as well as entertainment magazines like French
Premiere. He travels Europe shooting rock stars and ventures to
Cannes where he takes intimate portraits of flashy directors and
movie stars. Of the cast of stars he’s frozen in his portraits, who are
the most interesting?
“David Lynch was brilliant,” Benni recalls. “To take his portraits
was something I will remember for a long while. There’s something
very human and warm about him. He’s a great artist and a good
person. Not like some of the people I meet who are great artists, but
shitty people. Shooting Björk is always something special, as well.
It’s never like ping-pong. She always is really giving. She gives and
I take, as usual.”
A dream job? Perhaps, but shooting the stars has its downside.
“The worst part of the job is the hangover.” An occupational haz-
zard, “It’s just a part of photography.”
Edward Weinman is a staff writer.
Shooting
the Stars
Photographer Bernhard Valsson (Benni) left his native Akureyri (north Iceland) for the glamour of Paris,
where he now earns a living taking portraits of movie and rock stars. After a weekend spent jetting across
Europe with the likes of Depeche Mode, the photojournalist shared his acclaimed portraits with Atlantica.
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