In the quiet parking lot in front of the Kakushöhle in Mechernich stands a rock queen. Julia Katharina Stark, a 28-year-old woman, is dressed in flowing blue synthetic hair and a tulle dress that drags along the ground. Sharp iron nails longer than her fingers adorn her hands. To navigate safely in nature, the rock queen wears sneakers. And to stay warm in the around 10-degree weather, she sports a dark blue down jacket.
For many years, the Euskirchen photographer has been taking pictures with wild animals. A woman in a black coat with red faux fur trim circles the rock queen like a dwarf planet. She adjusts the hair, secures the elaborate headpiece, and scrutinizes the model’s outfit critically. Vanessa Gebhardt, from Euskirchen, is a fantasy photographer. Young women transform into elf queens on her images, turning the Eifel region into a fantasy world. A world where magic exists, natural laws do not apply, and wild animals are loyal companions. In Gebhardt’s photos, young women pose with full-grown crocodiles, tigers, pythons, and elephants.
Vanessa Gebhardt recently returned from Orléans, France, where she met Valentin, a Canadian black bear, after a 14-hour drive. „Before starting a photo project, I want to get to know the animals I shoot with,“ she explains. It is crucial, especially with wild animals, to determine if they are suitable for a lengthy photoshoot.
„I was really nervous about meeting this bear,“ Gebhardt admits. However, upon entering his enclosure, all her fears vanished. Valentin emerged from his den gently and seemed more like a large dog than a wild bear. Curiously, he sniffed her shoe and then licked it approvingly.
The animals Gebhardt works with are always domesticated. She only does photoshoots with animals that have been accustomed to humans since birth. To work with elephants, both the model and the photographer must travel a long distance.
However, the bear’s friendliness was likely due to his familiarity with humans, explains Gebhardt. His French owner is a film animal trainer, and Valentin has been in his care for 14 years. The trainer saved Valentin from a terrible fate, as he was raised by humans in Canada with the intention of being sold to people who hunted bears with crossbows.
„For me, it’s not the animals, but the people who are the real beasts,“ Gebhardt says. When the trainer learned about this, he took Valentin in to point a camera at him instead of a crossbow. Valentin has since appeared in many French films and series, most recently in French Vogue. And soon, in Vanessa Gebhardt’s portfolio.
Upon entering the film animal trainer’s ranch, Gebhardt saw cows next to pelicans next to pigs next to ducks next to geese next to donkeys next to llamas next to pumas next to tigers next to lions. „I felt like I had stumbled onto Noah’s Ark,“ she says. Getting access to exotic animals for a photoshoot is usually the exception.
The contact with the trainer came about through a lucky coincidence. Often, Gebhardt spends hours searching the internet to find suitable animals for her shoots – on Instagram, through acquaintances, or through web searches. Even if someone has the right animal, a photoshoot may not be possible. The film animal trainer, for example, had a brown bear next to Valentin’s enclosure. But a shoot with him was too dangerous, he said. „Not suitable character,“ Gebhardt calls it. It is essential that animals are accustomed to humans from an early age.
Gebhardt often works with exotic animals held by private individuals. Of course, this comes with a list of requirements to fulfill. „The more exotic the animal, the more precise and elaborate the care requirements,“ she adds. A friend who keeps reptiles told her this. Gebhardt has also taken photos with his crocodiles. To work with exotic animals, one must remain flexible. After all, not all of them can be found in the Euskirchen district. Some require both the model and the photographer to prepare for a longer journey.
Julia Katharina Stark, a model, sits on a bench in front of the entrance to the Kakushöhle, exchanging her sneakers and socks for silver strappy sandals with heels. The 28-year-old did not have a particularly long journey; she comes from Cologne. She has stood in front of Gebhardt’s camera several times as a model. As an actress, she was seen for years in the WDR series „Die Anrheiner.“
The photographer has found a location with optimal lighting conditions. Ivy climbs into the chosen frame. She positions her model and unpacks her props. Blue „rock flowers“ made of wire and tulle. A fabric similar to Stark’s dress.
Gebhardt designed the dress herself, as well as the headpiece worn by the Cologne native. Crafting, sewing, and a hot glue gun are as much a part of Gebhardt’s work as a camera and image editing programs. „That’s why I practically live in a prop warehouse,“ she says. At her home, she explains, costumes, props, and unfinished craft projects are scattered everywhere – much to the chagrin of her cat, Salem. She emphasizes that each image involves many hours of work, from the idea to post-production, which can take weeks. She sees her work as a „total work of art“: „After all, I don’t take passport photos.“ And because the images are so elaborate, Gebhardt ensures that the models who shoot with her are fairly compensated for the many hours she invests in her „total work of art.“
However, the 41-year-old does not have a traditional photographic education. She trained as a wholesale and retail saleswoman – a „classic office job.“ It did not make her truly happy. Her work life was tough and dull. After work, she often felt the desire to be creative. „Back then, I painted a lot.“ She started photography in 2014. She began with „those little digi-cams.“ Quickly, she wanted more and bought her DSLR camera. „A Nikon 3100,“ she says as affectionately as a mother naming her firstborn son.
„That’s when my fire was ignited.“ Her photos have always been opulent, but she has always known how to take it a step further. Just as two DSLR cameras followed the „digi-cam,“ wilder animals soon followed photos of „normal animals“ like horses. „My first wildlife shoot was in 2016 with birds of prey.“ Photography quickly took up more and more space in her life. She left the office job that did not make her happy. „I wanted to do something that was ’not normal,'“ says the former wholesale and retail saleswoman, laughing.
This is also the essence of her images: escaping everyday life and immersing oneself in other worlds. „Women should be allowed to explore who they can still be.“ They should be able to discover something they did not know was there. „Fantasy means to me that there are no limits. And that there is another world out there, away from the normal.“
As an actress, Julia Katharina Stark is closer to television than the theater stage. „In theater, you have to exaggerate every gesture,“ she says. In television, everything is more genuine, more subtle. That suits her better. She spreads her skirt and fingers with the metal nails.
Vanessa Gebhardt photographs at a slow pace. She observes, only pressing the shutter when it is right, when the image matches the intended concept. Julia Katharina spreads her arms and fingers as if she wants to cut the air with her long nails. By removing her sneakers and down jacket, her movements have changed. The costume and setting simply lead her to do so, she says. Vanessa Gebhardt looks at the photos on her Nikon 3100 and nods in satisfaction.
