dA love for everyone! #73

                                    

Tell us what defines you as a person.

I'm a prime example of an introverted person: I've never liked to be in the center of attention, however I also hated being isolated. I prefer to keep my distance but I can also be really passionate about things around me. A gentle dichotomy...

How did you find out about deviantART and why did you join the community?

In 2004 I was at the end of my "gamer period" and on some forums I saw some fancy 3D wallpapers with cool vector overlays that were downloaded from dA  - think niteangel for example. Took a look around here and sourced a lot of nice backgrounds for my desktop. After getting familiar with the actual dA version, I've found out it could be a simple, clean and ad-free (good old times... *sigh*) host for my poems. My last poem to be published on paper had my userpage's link listed at the bottom. I didn't have (and I still don't have any) knowledge in web coding and it was cool to have all my poems listed at one place, like a free homepage.

When and how did you discover your passion for art?

I wrote my first real poem back in 2000 and started to 'invent' myself as a poet. It didn't really work out: although I almost only got positive feedback and got published in magazines and anthologies, I struggled to get the words out, my poems became shorter and sparser every year.
In 2004 my dad has bought a digital camera, a Panasonic FZ-10. It was a 4 MP (!) camera with a 12x optical zoom, fixed f/2.8 aperture Leica optics and lots of manual options (focus, P/A/S/M mode, etc). The handling was a bit clumsy but I got instantly hooked on it. Real time composing and replay, virtually unlimited amount of trial-error type of experimenting pulled me deeper and deeper. It was Octavus who opened the world of controlled, planned photography with strict composition and concept for me, in the end of 2004. His minimalistic abstract works were a huge inspiration for me. So, I've stepped into the 2nd phase of my photographic "career": abstraction.
I became familiar with the works of the members at the minimalism group (sadly this community died before it got really popular). I began to do lots of 2D urban abstract shots focused on the basic aspects of composition: colors, textures, patterns, repetition, scale, placing of focus point, etc. These new skills allowed me to do conceptual shots, 'visual haikus', that literally took the place of poetry.

Later I started to use these newly learned skills to photograph anything that caught my attention. As I've always loved eye-candy, flowers and landscape shots became more and more frequent in my gallery, but I also did lots of conceptual shots that actually meant something too.
As I've reached the limits of the small sensor compacts, I've decided to go the DSLR route. Thin DOF macros/portraits, bokeh shots, ultrawide angles, fisheye perspective, long exposures, concert photography, astrophotography - all these found their way into my gallery.
The next big dream was to try infrared photography. This became rapidly my obsession: a look into a literally invisible, ethereal world is something that has no match. It never fails to enchant me.


What inspires you the most and when do you think your creativity is at its maximum?

It's like with most artists: frustration. Art itself is a way to work around frustration and other negative impacts of life. Back in my 'poet days', I could only write after a breakup. With photography, it's easier, as I've found photography a much more convenient and suiting way of self-expression - for me at least.

What do you think you'd be doing if you hadn't chosen this path?

If digital photography didn't exist, I'd be probably painting oil abstracts now.

What do you think it's your most meaningful deviation and what makes it special? Does it have a story behind it?

I think it must be Projection. It's a series of long exposure self portraits (one piece for each season), that depicts the current state of mind I was in at the time of photography. If you recognize a window shape in the frame, it's not a coincidence!


Do you have any insecurities regarding your art?

I'm afraid I'll be reaching a point where no new things will be left to discover. I already noticed that I'm starting to be repetitive with my subjects. However, photojournalism, event-, sport-, portrait-, fashion, nude-photography are all genres where there are lots of possibilities left to try myself in.

Did art ever helped you to deal with your life problems?

Of course. Besides the factors mentioned above it also has a recreational side, and landscape photography involves lots of hiking too which is good for one's health.

What is the one thing you always wanted to do but never got a chance to?

Photographing sunset/sunrise colors on mountain peaks or on clouds over ocean shores with an interesting foreground.


A few words for our fellow artists?

Keep evolving! Try new tools to discover new perspectives for your art. And for yourself. You and your art are the same thing anyways.