We were lucky to catch up with Katarina Benzova recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katarina , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project regarding to photography has definitely been my foundation Mission11.org . Mission11 provides complimentary campaign design, photography, and cinematography services to support and enhance the causes of organizations tackling some of the earth’s most crucial challenges. Our campaigns include collaboration with artists, celebrities, and public figures to shine brighter light on your mission and spread your message around the globe.
​Our Missions are diverse like the planet we love, ranging from global warming and deforestation, to animal poaching and human rights.
We aim to support organizations that are making substantial impacts in combating earth’s challenges by heightening community awareness, inspiring change, and building sustainable solutions – not short time ‘fixes’.
Through Mission11, I will support organizations that generate impact in raising consciousness and awareness in programs that nurture our planet — making sure next generations will be able to enjoy our precious home.
We are collectively over 7.5 billion human inhabitants sharing this same lifetime together. Throughout my life, I’ve watched as life on our planet has become increasingly more fragile and used to think — I’m just one person, how do I make a change? But then I remembered what Mahatma Gandhi said,
“Be the change you want to see in the world”
Through this project, I hope to start being that change. With the power of photography, art, strong social campaigns, and undying motivation to make an impact, we can stand up and bolster the organizations fighting for this planet. We can all become better caretakers, guardians, and servant leaders.
All campaigns are produced and shot by me.

Katarina , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a photographer, director & creator, based in Venice, Los Angeles, born and raised in the mountains of Slovakia and always up for an adventure.

After a decade working around the globe as a fashion model, my ambitions finally outgrew the runway, prompting a deeper need to rediscover both myself and the rest of the world from the other side of the lens.

I started my professional career in photography as the tour photographer for Guns N’ Roses in 2010, and since become high-demand photographer, working with legendary musicians, including AC/DC, Aerosmith, KISS, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Anthony Kiedis, Courtney Love, and countless other household names.

I’m trying to capture musicians when they are like lighting rods receiving and transmitting the energy of the universe for all to hear. There are moments that happen on stage, moments of sheer bliss that transcend all. Where the music is flowing through the musicians and connects with the audience in an incredibly transcendental way, capturing those spiritual high points and artists at the perfect moment when their souls are completely exposed.”

I was recently named Leica’s newest Ambassador, I had presented my work in numerous exhibitions worldwide including at Cannes Film Festival, and in the KISS exhibition alongside legends Neil Preston, Bob Gruen, and Lynn Goldsmith. My fine art prints are available through the legendary Morrison Hotel Gallery and The Rock Photography Museum.

I had devoted my time and creativity to a number of worthy causes, and in 2017 established my own foundation, MISSION 11, which produces photographic campaigns & services for charitable organizations including Animals Asia, Janie’s Fund, The Wolf Conservation Center, and DoVE Project. These campaigns have featured star talent from Jason Momoa and Axl Rose, to Simon Le Bon, Matt Lucas, and Steve O, amongst many others.

My work can be seen in ads for Maserati, Gibson Guitars, Fender, Monster Energy, Leica Camera, Live Nation, and Hard Rock Hotels, and in some of the most prominent publications including LIFE Magazine, Rolling Stone, Vogue and Billboard.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I am an empath and I’m highly attuned to the feelings and emotions of those around me. So I started to explore photography as a medium to make these feelings last and be able to share it with the world. To make people hear the music from the photographs when they can’t be at the concert, to highlight unseen issues, to help people and animals in need, to make people feel and see. I made it my life mission, my purpose.
Photography it’s such a mind-bending tool that has the ability to transform your perception of the world. It’s a chance to see the world through someone else’s eye. To move you and leave a piece of that vision within you.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Power of community and collaboration. I’ve been a ‘lone wolf’ and ‘one women show’ most of my career as I thought nobody can do and see things the way I do, therefor they can’t help me.
My solution was learning everything myself and wearing multiple hats what led to full blown burn out and hate towards my craft.
At one point I was doing everything on all of my projects. Production, photography, videography, editing of both, running social media accounts and campaigns, marketing, design, creative direction, etc and that’s just the creative side, then you have to run a Bussines on the top of that.
That led to not being 100% at what I do best and that’s photography. So in the last few years I started to open myself up to creating with other like-minded and like-driven artists where we can stay in our main roles and do what we do best and have a beautiful project as a result at the end. Mostly even better than we would have created on our own as you inspire each other to dig deeper and shoot higher, you co-create ideas that would have never been born.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.katbenzova.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katbenzova_rockphoto/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNpN8uCnX60