Nancy Kilpatrick Writer: January 2020

Get to Know Photographer...

STEPHANE LORD

Stephane Lord
photo by Luc Lauziere

NK - You've been a photographer who has sold his work since 1996, but did you have an interest in photography prior to that? What's your background?

SL - I started by studying professional photography in 1983 for 3 years but my interest in the "dark and mysterious" only came in 1996. For several years I kind of took a break from photography after I finished college because I couldn't find a decent job in that field.

NK - With all its sub- and sub-sub genres, what is it about the gothic-rock scene that appeals to you?

SL - Apart from the music, I love the mysterious, romantic, stylish side of the scene. I like Victorian, medieval and fetish style as well but it's also something that attracts other Goths, especially if you look at the German Goth scene.

NK - Besides musicians, you have also created gorgeous photographs of the most delicate-looking females who may or may not have wings. Faeries, really. Why are you attracted to that type of image?

SL - I love faeries... I collect all sorts of figurines and illustration books. I like their beauty but also the romantic and mysterious side of them. I have tried to infuse interpretations into some of my pictures, and some results were better than others; when I started in the late '90's, I was shooting with film so nothing from the film days has been Photoshopped.

NK - You are a bilingual Quebecker but have traveled every year for decades to either England or Germany or both. What appeals to you about those two countries specifically that inspires your photography?

SL - The first time I visited England was in 1988. I immediately fell in love with the country. My first year of traveling in the UK was very much "music-oriented". I made a few contacts and met some wonderful people but this was during my break in photography. It was only 10 years later, two years after I started doing photography again, that I did some sessions in the UK, mostly in London. The old buildings, the overgrown cemeteries, the vegetation, the ivy...that was fantastic! There have been times when I was doing more sessions in a few weeks there than all the rest of the year in Montreal. I love the Goth scene over there and through the years I've made several friends which is another reason to return...and English ales, of course!

My fascination with Germany came later. I loved the vibrant nightlife that I found in Berlin years ago, but everything changed when I discovered the Wave Gotik Treffen festival in Leipzig. It attracts between 20,000 and 25,000 Goths. You can see so many extravagant styles that you'll never see in Montreal. As everybody is running from one venue to another to see their favorite bands, it's almost impossible to try to organize a session, so I’m not going there in hopes of doing photo sessions...a few snapshots, maybe.

NK - What is your latest photographic project and where can we see it?

SL - Amanda Rogers, an American singer that I've known for years, used a picture from a session we did in Montreal for her new album cover. It was actually just a test shot before removing her coat on a cold autumn day. You can see the cover here:
The Hallow

Photographs