Kristin Birt

Kristin hopes to use her imagery to evoke strong, sensory memories, transporting the viewer to a time and place

Skilled image maker as she is, documentary photography is far from Kristin Birt’s only outlet. She founded and owns a vintage store, and more recently, launched B-Side Magazine – a nonprofit dedicated to helping musicians and aspiring music documentarians. Fittingly, her creative approach is grounded in factual depiction

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/75 sec at F3.2, ISO 4000

Momentary Truths

To move ahead as artists, we must look back at what’s come before. Between technology, subject matter, and stylistic reflections of culture, every image made is a product of its era. But some creatives look further than most – opting for decades-old tools and historic ideals. Kristin Birt is one such artist. Before being selected as a winner of Fujifilm’s Students of Storytelling, she hadn’t touched a camera released later than 1990, and it all came about as if by fate.

“I got into photography when I was 15. I had just discovered eBay and I believe I was ordering some band T-shirts, but I got sent the wrong package, and an analog camera arrived. There was no way to return it, so I thought, okay, I’ll use it and see what it’s like,” Kristen recounts.

“I was most interested in the imperfections of things, which I still really like. I was going to a lot of shows around that time, so I would photograph the musicians. I also loved documenting individuals in the crowd, around the performances.”

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/75 sec at F3.2, ISO 4000

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/80 sec at F2.8, ISO 10,000

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/80 sec at F2.8, ISO 10,000

Despite having her finger on the pulse, hearing about every show by word of mouth was an impossibility. Before long, Kristin took it upon herself to make a change.

“I decided to create a website, and find every live music performance happening in Boise for people to see,” she explains. “Then I thought, what if there’s a page where bands can create their own profiles, with links to their music? I set that up as B-Side Magazine, and discovered there were over 100 local bands here, and 42 venues.

“I wanted to expand that further after the Students of Storytelling project, because of what Fujifilm did for me and opened my eyes to. It was a huge opportunity. To pass that on and get people involved in music photography myself, I turned B-Side into a non-profit where we could collect grants and funding to give people access to cameras. The initial Kickstarter campaign raised $10,000 for equipment, which is really great. A lot of people have the drive and the creativity, but not the opportunities to learn or create.”

Philanthropic as the following months have been, the Students of Storytelling experience was an opportunity for Kristin herself to grow as a creator. She brought a precise vision and an open mind to meet with mentors Giulio Meliani, Tom Baumgaertel, and Robin Laananen.

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/5000 sec at F2.8, ISO 640

“The side- and backstage access was fantastic, because I like to see what’s going on behind the curtain,” Kristin reveals. “I like to be close enough to see the way that musicians are looking at each other, and the signals they send to each other during their performance. I want to see the guitarist’s foot hitting the guitar pedals. That’s what’s fun for me.

“I also want to photograph the moments of emotion in the performance. When the band is in the heart of the action, drenched in sweat, that’s where you’ll find me. It goes back to my love of the sixties and seventies. The music is incredible, but so was the filming style. The way the camera would zoom in on a musician holding the microphone, up close, where you could just see half their face – there’s something about it that reflects the way your eyes naturally wander while you’re watching a show. I want to create in a way that pays tribute to that older style of cinematography, but bring it into the future.”

Distinctive as this visual stamp can be, any bold sense of aesthetic in Kristin’s work gives way to accuracy. In her own value system as an artist, truth has come to carry more meaning than all else.

“I don’t want to speak for other audience members, but it’s important for me that when I see an image, it represents what I saw,” the creative notes. “I want an image you can look at and say, ‘oh, that’s this venue at this time.’ It’s like olfactory memory, but visual. When I make a picture, I like it to be a true representation of what the crowd saw, because I know it brings on that memory of what they felt.

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/5000 sec at F2.8, ISO 640

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/15 sec at F2.8, ISO 2000

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/15 sec at F2.8, ISO 2000

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/160 sec at F2.8, ISO 2000

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/16,000 sec at F2.8, ISO 640

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/16,000 sec at F2.8, ISO 640

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/100 sec at F3.2, ISO 2000

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/100 sec at F3.2, ISO 2000

“Manipulated imagery is great for a photographer’s art – but in my opinion, if you’re making an art piece, you’re not truly documenting a band. I’ve tried it, but it’s a created experience, not a memory of one that actually happened.”

The jump to a cutting-edge mirrorless system is significant for most, but Kristin was stepping through over 30 years of history. Awarded with FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR as a Students of Storytelling participant, the trip to Desert Daze festival was her first experience with a digital system. It was a challenging but invaluable learning experience.

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/400 sec at F2.8, ISO 2000

“At the first show, I was trying to make a picture, and I realized I had no idea what I was doing. All of my photos from that performance look like a toddler got a hold of the camera,” Kristin laughs. “But, as the night went on, it all got a lot more seamless. That’s one thing I loved about FUJIFILM X Series. The trial-and-error process is immediate, so the learning comes quickly.

“I’m still learning the technical aspect of digital photography, so it’s a lot to go through all the different settings when I’m in the moment. As a first step, I set X-H2S to automatic exposure and focus, which worked great. Then, for night two, Giulio showed me his go-to settings, which I saved and used, then examined when I had moments of down time.

“I loved the look,” says Kristin, turning to Fujifilm’s renowned filmic aesthetic. “I was able to manipulate everything manually, including customization to the Film Simulations, to bring out more gold and pink hues. Now I’ve got a whole recipe book, to adjust settings and emulate different specific films. It’s an amazing system for that alone.

“FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 was also perfect, to cover the action from the pit or side stage. Keeping my whole set-up compact and easy to move around with is definitely important as a documentary photographer, so it was a great choice in that sense.”

In just a few short months, Kristin has already turned the mentorship tables, through B-Side. Back in her element, it’s a natural progression – but she has not forgotten Giulio, Tom, and Robin’s guiding hands, when they were needed most.

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR, 1/400 sec at F2.8, ISO 2000

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/250 sec at F2.8, ISO 8000

Photo 2022 © Kristin Birt | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/250 sec at F2.8, ISO 8000

“The mentors were one of my favorite parts of the experience – I call them my gurus,” she enthuses. “They each brought something different. I loved Giulio’s shared background with analog photography, and Robin’s experience working behind the scenes with bands.

“Everything I learned has impacted the way I’m approaching imaging now. Beyond the mentors, the broader experience had me do things I wouldn’t otherwise have done. It pushed me outside the box, which I really appreciated. It inspired a growth mindset. Sometimes, whether you’re ready or not, you just have to do things.

“I just finished at Treefort Music Fest, which was B-Side Magazine’s first festival as press,” Kristin concludes. “And I had another photographer with me, who I met while I was photographing Babe Rainbow, right when I got back from Desert Daze. I saw this young girl who looked like she didn’t know anyone, so I got talking to her. I found out she was in the Marines, but wanted to photograph bands because she felt that’s what she was meant to do. So I asked her if she wanted to join the team.

“Her experience was the exact same thing I felt at the Desert Daze festival. She got to live in this creative whirlwind, which is just the best feeling. Bringing her into the circle was so fulfilling. There have been so many fun, positive moments, made possible by my time with Fujifilm.”

To explore more of Kristin’s work, visit her Instagram. Shop FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR today. Learn more and read the full specifications here.