Hera Bell began her career in the world of fashion. Originally from Istanbul, she is Armenian. She immigrated to Montreal at the age of 18 in 1978. After working 12 years as a designer/stylist for the fashion industry - traveling to Europe, the Middle East and Far East - her career brought her to everywhere, where she designed fabrics and clothing as she continued to work with a number of companies on five continents.

      She joined in 1995 the <<O>> magazine's editorial team and she was the publication's Canadian editor up until October 21 1996. Then she went on to create Le FerRouge magazine and she became the new publication's editor-in-chief for the same publisher in Germany.

      As part of her work in fashion, she often did free-lance work as an art director and eventually moved behind the camera when she started taking photography classes at the Saidye-Bronfman School of Fine Arts (Montreal) in 1997. Her newfound passion took over: she set up a dark room and began to explore digital imagery. Now, a mere four years later, she has mastered the entire color and black and white lab techniques, as well digital manipulations.

      After such a short time, Hera's photos have already been published in several European magazines, including La Fotografia Actual (Spain), Fotografia Reflex (Italy), Skin Two (United Kingdom), Secret (Belgium) and Prometheus (United States). You will also find her work in Contemporary Nudes, Volume III, (being published by Artual Sl. Publishing, January 2001), Fetish Photo Anthology Volume III, (Glitter Publishing, 2000) and Contemporary Nudes, Volume II (Artual Sl. Publishing, 1999). Her photos were exhibited at the Maison Lantier three times in 1999, and featured at the Benjamin Bjarred Gallery, Sweden, in March 2000. In addition, Hera has launched a series of postcards of her work in early fall 2000.

      At 40 years old, Hera S. Bell is a professional, an artist and a businesswoman. She is in complete control of everything she does and is recognized far beyond Canadian borders for her vast talent in photography - which, surprisingly, first emerged when she was in her mid thirties.

Hera Bell

The photographer & the artiste behind the portraits

by Victor Breedon

(August 2006)

Hera Bell’s career in photography is founded on a successful twelve years in fashion. She then moved to photography entering her first darkroom nine years ago.

Her work was soon winning awards, her images have been published in books, magazines and exhibited on an international level. Her work has been used extensively in advertisement campaigns and product catalogues.

Hera Bell is an accomplished photographer in many genres. Her scenes of nature and natural things are impressive. But her speciality is in the capture of personality in visual imagery.

Petite, vivacious, friendly, demanding of herself, and passionate about her work, Hera nevertheless makes one immediately comfortable; there is no nervousness or apprehension posing for Hera.

Her signature style photographic images are made at sessions in her studio in Montreal.

Hera has an X ray eye, using it to search below the skin to discover the hidden person.

Clients to her studio are often amazed at her perception, how she understands what they themselves wish to reveal and how they wish to be presented.

Then with practiced skill and sympathy Hera reaches beneath the coyness to entice the concealed persona to reveal itself.

Her background in fashion and her expertise at makeup enables Hera to prepare the subject perfectly, hiding flaws and accentuating the best features. Then she wields her camera like a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting deep to expose and exploit the creature beneath.

Hera’s subjects are often shocked when they first see her pictures of themselves, not because they do not recognize themselves or like the images, but because Hera has captured them, not just how they look, but how they feel, and who they are.

For her clients a session in Hera’s well equipped and comfortable studio is a journey in self discovery, with a wonderful and individual gift for themselves, a personal record they can keep for ever.

Listing of Hera Bell’s published work, and her media appearances PRESS REVIEWS AND PUBLICATIONS

Montreal Gazette October 24th. 2007 Article on fund-raiser calendar project for Lakeshore General Hospital where Hera is the photgrapher & art director.
Chronicle News October 17th. 2007 Article on fund-raiser calendar project for Lakeshore General Hospital where Hera is the photgrapher & art director.
Art Express, a Mountain Lake PBS broadcast on Hera Bell March 2006
Sheridan College Media Studies documentary on Hera 2005
A television interview on Foto (Rogers TV) taped during her Canadian Camera College Conferences in Ottawa which was aired in March 2004 CJAD Radio October 9th. 2002 an interview with Hera Bell during the radio program called "Passion".
CanalVie french TV program called "Femmes" featuring an actual photo session with Hera at her studio in November 2001
Montreal Gazette September 22nd. 2001 Cover page article at Saturday's Arts & Books Section written by Victor Swoboda
Montreal Gazette September 19th. 2001 the article on Hera's Photography by Mike Boone at Section A Page 2
Montreal Gazette Fabruary 1st. 2001 Home Section's Cover page feature written by Mike King.
City Mag (Vox), February 2000. Report on Hera's sensual photography and the photographer at work for a television segment.
Eros (Life Channel), St. Valentine's Day special, February 2000. Report by Josey Vogel.
Fetish Photo Anthology, Volume III, published in Belgium by Glitter Publishing, March 2000.
Hour Magazine, January 2000, "Exposing Myself", by Josey Vogel.
Eros (Life Channel), October 1998. Report and the photo session with Claudine Ledoux (opera singer from L'Opera De Montreal) on TV.
Dos Nudos Contemporanos, Volume II, published in Spain by Artual SI,. June 1999.
Book cover of Tochter der Nacht, published in Germany by Charon Verlag Grimme KG, 1998.

Magazine articles written about her

CAPA photo magazine (Canada)
Secret (Belgium)
Skin Two (United Kingdom)
Fotografia Reflex (Italy)
La Fotografia Actual (Spain)
Prometheus (United States)
SlagZeilen (Germany)