May 08, 2008 Member Spotlight: Ksenia Bruner, Part Two
Kristina Roth George recently interviewed Ksenia Bruner (OC/kbbruner), an Orthodox photographer and deacon’s wife.Following is Part Two of the interview.
What led you to attend seminary, and what subjects did you most enjoy studying there?
I went to seminary with the intention of getting into youth ministry. I interned at the Department of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministry and received my M.A. in Religious Education. Although I really enjoyed my classes in Religious Education and youth ministry in particular, I actually mostly enjoyed my classes in Liturgics. I loved learning the history of the services, as well as the “technical” knowledge of knowing how the services work. It was actually at seminary that I really started to get into photography, and the Liturgics study was a huge part of that!
The photos that you take for your business, Eighth Day Photography, are beautiful. Can you tell us what specific advantages you bring as a photographer for Orthodox weddings, baptisms, and ordinations (as opposed to a non-Orthodox photographer)?
Thank you for the compliment! Because I have studied Liturgics and have attended so many different types of services, it’s been incredibly helpful to my photography. Not only knowing where and when a certain action is going to happen, but also to understand the true meaning of it all, in order to best capture the emotion and feeling on camera. It helps to know where NOT to go and do as well! Priests really seem to like having someone around who knows how things work! I think what’s most beneficial is that I’m not just capturing a particular moment, I’m capturing the full ceremony with the full knowledge of what it all means. It’s not just another day, but an extremely important sacrament.
As a photographer, how do you capture your subjects’ true personalities?
Each event that I cover is so different from every other, even though, liturgically, it all kind of looks the same. But every person’s reaction is different to their circumstances, so I really try to find what it is that the person is feeling. I’m not an “in your face” photographer, so I mostly just stand back and wait for those emotions and personalities to start shining through. I’m not one to direct people around, so as people go about their special day, whether it be a baptism, ordination or wedding, eventually, the real person is going to come out, and I’ll be there to capture it!
What has being a photographer taught you about people and serving God in the world? Do you find that being an Orthodox Christian photographer also brings opportunities to minister to those who seek your business, if even in small ways?
One of the biggest things that I remember in my business is what it was like to be me. I didn’t grow up having lots of money and when my husband and I were getting married, I had just graduated from seminary and he was still a student. We really pulled it all together because of the love of friends and family and we couldn’t afford a professional photographer. So, when I meet people who are in need of photography, I try to remember my own situation as well. And now being part of a clergy family, I really understand the financial constraints that children of clergy can often feel, so we really try to help out when we can. What I capture on camera is people’s love for each other and people’s love for God.
On a small level, having taken pastoral classes, I have been able to talk down very stressed out brides or mothers of the bride! It’s been a bigger part of my job that I had imagined it would be!
What other websites do you find yourself spending time on? What makes OrthodoXCircle different from them for you?
I split my time on the web between Orthodox sites, such as OrthodoXCircle and photography sites, as well as social networking, such as facebook. I like OrthodoXCircle, because I feel like I can relate to every person on the site, at least in some small way. On so many other sites, even Christian ones, I find myself very often the only Orthodox Christian, often in a sea of Evangelical Christians, whom I simply don’t relate to.
Is there any advice you have for Orthodox Christians living in the world that you wish to share?
I think the only advice that I feel I can share is to not take it all too seriously, but also to really understand what it is you do. Although I grew up in a Russian household, my parents made sure that we grew up “American”, so I have a really hard time with “little t” traditions. I’m all for anything that brings a person closer to Christ, as long as it is understood why a certain action is done. Then again, this advice is coming from someone who never covers her head, who will wear pants to church, and has not been known as a particularly strict faster.
What else would you like us to know about yourself, or what you've done, or plan to do?
I like to think of myself as a really simple person who happens to have a job that she loves, working in a Church that she loves. It’s very hard for a woman to find a way to work in the Church, but I really feel like I have found my niche. Sure, I have a small problem with ordination photos on occasion, but overall, I am extremely lucky to be a woman and be able to work in the Church the way that I do. I’ve been extremely blessed by God with a talent and really feel that I am able to give back, at least in a small way.
"It helps to know where NOT to go and do as well!" Amen to that! My mom plays the organ at weddings (only Orthodox ones), and often I go with her to help her out with page turns/letting her know which bridesmaids are how far down the aisle, etc... But before the Processional begins, there's really nothing for me to do. So I sit and read and pray and watch the people coming in. One things that REALLY annoys me is mixed marriages (or not) during Pascha-tide. In the Greek tradition, the Royal Gates stay open all 40 days (I know this is a "little t" tradition that varies a little bit), and once I was watching this florist (Idk if she was Orthodox or not, but I was scared that she wasn't...) and the Doors were open, and she's putting bouquets of flowers on the pillars on either side of the Gates, and I swear, I was SOOO scared that she was just gonna walk right through! Cuz at that church, the Solea and the Altar are on one level, there is no step like there is at my church. And the tile doesn't change either. So to the non-Orthodox, it would not look off-limits. And she was arranging those flowers SOO close to the Gates, I was soooo scared. And then the priest comes from the side room, through the Altar, and right through the Gate and starts talking to her! I love the priest, but I was scared he set a bad example by just walking through. She never walked through, Thank God, but when you said that, it reminded me of that and other similar stories. Wowo, I've rambled a really long time! LOL
OrthodoXCircle journalist Sevasti Leontaritis recently interviewed OC member Martha Baier (OC/Marfa) to feature in our Member Spotlight.Tell us a li...
