Hello, APUG!
A brief introduction: Henning Jansen from Stavanger - Norway. Born in 1971 - now married & got two kids. I have Masters Degree in comp. sci. and working as a senior systems engineer in an oil-technology company. I live a typical life and do typical things like moving the lawn, shovel snow, cleaning the car, walking the dog and playing with my kids. And I take pictures.
A more comprehensive introduction: I have been an amateur photographer since my early teens (don't use my 18 years of experience against me when looking at my photos! ;-) . The past 5 years photography have become so much more than just a hobby - it is my biggest thing in life except from family & friends. During those 5 years I have given up on colors totally - for now at least - and found a new & better looking world among shades of grey. I have moved my gear towards Medium format, first 6x6 then back to 6x4,5. I have moved from slamming mirrors to quiet rangefinders. I have also moved my target from misunderstood nature studies to street/rural photography in a broad sense. I have moved my ambitions from trying to sell pictures to cheap tourist magazines and stock agencies towards galleries & exhibition style presentations - but not really succeeded so far. And my goal in life is no longer the glorious life of a stock photographer, but instead the glorious life of a non-commercial pro doing exhibitions and selling fine-art prints with severe deficit. My dreams and goals have a 10-20 years perspective...
I believe strongly in analog photography. I believe the fast pace and work process in digital photography has no real benefit for the fine-art photographer. Increased speed will in my eyes limit our creative skills on a long term basis. The world is moving too fast already as it is. Art is time-less and should be approached with gentle respect & consideration and not with great hurry.
Buying digital gear that is outdated in 18-36 months doesn't make us better photographers - but it makes us work more overtime to pay for the stuff. More overtime at work is less shooting- or darkroom time. Analouge gear is also expensive - but its more often an investment than a plain disbursement.
I believe that the traditional skill of silver-gelatin photographic printmaking will survive the digital age and establish an exclusive niche for us to rumble around in the galleries in 10-20 years from now. While the rest of the world moves on with increased speed and digital image-processing is more and more convenient I will stay still, honing my skills as a traditional photographer and printmaker.
My current photographic activities are mainly building my exhibition portfolio based on the finest prints I can accommodate. And I try to shoot something new every week since I am doing this PAW thing - Picture A Week which is running on several mailing-lists. My work can be viewed on http://www.henning-jansen.com You'll find a Portfolio section containing links to the PAW.
I strongly recommend the text in this link: http://www.digitalsucks.com/intro/wax.html
A brief introduction: Henning Jansen from Stavanger - Norway. Born in 1971 - now married & got two kids. I have Masters Degree in comp. sci. and working as a senior systems engineer in an oil-technology company. I live a typical life and do typical things like moving the lawn, shovel snow, cleaning the car, walking the dog and playing with my kids. And I take pictures.
A more comprehensive introduction: I have been an amateur photographer since my early teens (don't use my 18 years of experience against me when looking at my photos! ;-) . The past 5 years photography have become so much more than just a hobby - it is my biggest thing in life except from family & friends. During those 5 years I have given up on colors totally - for now at least - and found a new & better looking world among shades of grey. I have moved my gear towards Medium format, first 6x6 then back to 6x4,5. I have moved from slamming mirrors to quiet rangefinders. I have also moved my target from misunderstood nature studies to street/rural photography in a broad sense. I have moved my ambitions from trying to sell pictures to cheap tourist magazines and stock agencies towards galleries & exhibition style presentations - but not really succeeded so far. And my goal in life is no longer the glorious life of a stock photographer, but instead the glorious life of a non-commercial pro doing exhibitions and selling fine-art prints with severe deficit. My dreams and goals have a 10-20 years perspective...
I believe strongly in analog photography. I believe the fast pace and work process in digital photography has no real benefit for the fine-art photographer. Increased speed will in my eyes limit our creative skills on a long term basis. The world is moving too fast already as it is. Art is time-less and should be approached with gentle respect & consideration and not with great hurry.
Buying digital gear that is outdated in 18-36 months doesn't make us better photographers - but it makes us work more overtime to pay for the stuff. More overtime at work is less shooting- or darkroom time. Analouge gear is also expensive - but its more often an investment than a plain disbursement.
I believe that the traditional skill of silver-gelatin photographic printmaking will survive the digital age and establish an exclusive niche for us to rumble around in the galleries in 10-20 years from now. While the rest of the world moves on with increased speed and digital image-processing is more and more convenient I will stay still, honing my skills as a traditional photographer and printmaker.
My current photographic activities are mainly building my exhibition portfolio based on the finest prints I can accommodate. And I try to shoot something new every week since I am doing this PAW thing - Picture A Week which is running on several mailing-lists. My work can be viewed on http://www.henning-jansen.com You'll find a Portfolio section containing links to the PAW.
I strongly recommend the text in this link: http://www.digitalsucks.com/intro/wax.html