Carl Begai

Based in Germany, the French-American photo-journalist became an online presence in 2004 with her one-of-a-gazillion low key website, ShutterBLAST.net. With several years under her belt as a journalist, the site was initially launched as a way to showcase her photographic work, more or less acting as an outlet for shots that would have otherwise remained unpublished. Pursuing a career as a professional photographer wasn’t part of Dujardin’s plan, but life had other ideas and the rest is history. A story that’s far from over judging by the speed at which she’s travelling these days.

My first encounter with Dujardin was over a pre-festival breakfast several years ago, prior to said gas pedal being pounded to the floorboards. There was the obligatory ‘I’ve heard stuff about you’ chatter that often accompanies third-party introductions, but this was in fact the truth. I’d heard about ‘pit witch Dujardin, had seen her a couple times at shows I was covering. We clicked immediately, she made an impression beyond her looks, and since then I’ve watched her go from being the pretty face in the pit with the gung-ho attitude to a sought out personality in the metal community.