I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa,
in 1982 and was brought up there. I have
travelled a lot during the last 8 years
and am now currently based in London,
United Kingdom, but work between here
and South Africa as I have clients and
commitments in both countries.
As far back as I can remember, I have
always had an interest in photography.
Let me correct that and rather say that
I have always been amazed at photographs
and the stories behind them. I remember
my parents always shooting photographs
of us, as a family, on holidays and then
the exciting feeling we used to share
looking back at those images and telling
stories about what we were looking at.
In highschool, I started skateboarding
and reading skateboarding magazine and
wishing that we could capture our group
of friends the way those magazines had
done. We used to steal our parents camera's
and shoot photographs without them knowing
but when we received the photographs back
from the printers, we realized that we
never had a clue. I started investigating
what worked and what didn't and I eventually
convinced my dad to buy a decent SLR so
that I could learn. We had a lot of fun
from them on although I have a bunch of
really good photographs from our highschool
skateboarding days, I also have a lot
of rubbish.
In 2000, I travelled to London for a
few months and then onto Los Angeles,
California, for a few months and I used
this time to explore photography and try
to get images that I could bring back
to my family and friends to try get them
to experience what I had over those months.
I loved it, I loved seeing their faces
when I had a good photo and I love it
now that so many years on, I can look
back and remember things almost exactly
as they had happened.
I ended up studying photography and digital
design for 2001 and 2002 and during this
time, I had started working for a big
design company and shooting as much as
I can. Quite a few of my images were published
and I really enjoyed the feeling of opening
a magazine and seeing my work, it pushed
me a lot to improve and work hard. I was
trading under the name of Melon Graphics
for all my freelance work and towards
the end of 2003 I decided to resign from
my job and really concentrate on what
I was doing.
Through Melon Graphics, I have shot photographs
for top agencies, magazines, news papers,
bands, celebrities and companies and really
had a lot of fun doing what I enjoy and
trying hard to do it well.
Melon Graphics is my design / advertising
company in South Africa. It has since
grown to be quite a large company and
has rebranded as Melon Graphics South
Africa in 2007. The reason for this is
that we expanded to the United Kingdom
and on an international level we decided
to push a new sister company now known
as Studio Melon Limited.
Visit www.melongraphics.co.za
and www.studiomelon.com
for more information about the two companies.
I started out with Canon back in the day
but never really felt comfortable with
my camera. I decided to pack it in then
and make a shift to Nikon which I have
never regretted. My first Nikon was an
F801 shortly followed by an F90X. This
became my favourite camera and this was
the camera that I shot my entire portfolio
on during my studies. I still think the
results of this camera are amazing but
due to the rush that photography brings,
I have since had to shift most of my work
onto digital.
My first digital SLR was the Nikon D70
which served me well. It was not a professional
body but I achieved some amazing results
with it and had plenty work published
proving that the operator and lenses are
way more important than the camera body.
I think I shot 180 000 photographs through
my D70 and I decided to purchase myself
the D200 when it was launched and keep
the D70 as a back up body.
Since then things have progressed a lot
and I have spent a lot of money investing
in equipment. I currently use the Nikon
D3 body as my body of choice. I have a
good collection of Nikon prime lenses
including a 14-24mm f2.8, a 24-70mm f2.8,
a 80-200mm f2.8, a 50mm f1.4 and a 60mm
macro f2.8. I shoot with light most of
the time and my flash units of choice
are the Nikon SB800 along with a few Pocket
Wizards.
To edit and post my work, I use the 17"
Macbook Pro 2.5Ghz from Apple.
For cost and delivery reasons, I would
say yes. Majority of the stuff that I
shoot is for publications and it is really
important that they get the images as
soon as possible and with digital this
a lot more possible. No lab I can think
of is open at 2am ready to process my
spool so that I can send it to print in
the morning. With digital though, I can
get back to the office after a job to
log my photos and work on the ones that
would be needed and mail them off to the
client so that they have them first thing
in the morning. It really is all about
deadlines. In saying this though, I feel
that the quality of my digital setup is
amazing and the results cannot easily
be beaten (if at all) on film.
I do still shoot film for certain things
especially when exploring and messing
around to create artistic pieces. For
this I enjoy working with my trusty F90X,
my 6x6 Yashica and my collection of Lomo
cameras.
I would have to say that most of my inspiration
comes from my friends and family. They
have always all been so supportive of
my silly ideas and helped me where they
could. I get a lot of positive feedback
from clients that I work with and this
always excites me. I think there is no
better feeling than getting appreciated
for your hard work.
With regards to other photographers,
I really pull inspiration from people
like Ross Garrett, Tim Flach, Atiba Jefferson
and Platon.
I would have to say that I prefer when
I am allowed to be creative and use my
brain. I cannot pinpoint one scecific
type of photography that I prefer more
than another as I try and make the best
out of each situation. In the begining
I really enjoyed shootings skateboarding
because I was exploring using lighting
in different ways to make the images unique.
Since then I have used those lighting
concepts to shoot band portfolios and
weddings and it has resulted in some amazing
images. I really enjoy shooting restaurant
interiors and food stills as I normally
have time to work on a few scenes to ensure
that I can really bring out the clients
product as best as possible. If I had
to point out my most favourite though,
I would have to say that shooting bands
is really where my passion lies. I enjoy
shooting their live performances as well
as working closely with them to create
their images for publications and media,
but have also been on some really amazing
and interesting tours and photographed
these as documentaries.
I have always been open minded about music
and am always willing to give everything
a chance. I obviously have my favourites
but if I think about this, the list includes
bands that try and do things right. I
enjoy when lyrics are thought out and
being in a band it taken seriously. I
feel that music and photography have a
close relationship together and both have
definitely helped shaped my life and the
person I am.
Bands that I am currently really enjoying
include Athlete, Death Cab for Cutie,
Jimmy Eat World, Zebra and Giraffe, Mute
Math, The Killers, The Editors, Interpol,
Elefant, John Mayer, Muse, Harris Tweed,
aKing, The Arcade Fire, Frou Frou, The
Kooks, The Little Ones, Tiger Army, Johnny
Cash, The Cure, Chris Rea and Rise Against.
Definitely but there are conditions. I
really feel that wedding photography has
been done totally incorrectly by a lot
of photographers and I cannot force myself
to fit into that "cheesy" stigma
that I feel exists. I feel that wedding
photos should not consist of awkward poses
with huge fake smiles as this is not a
realistic capture of what is meant to
be the most special day of someones life.
It needs to be made clear that I am not
a wedding photographer but rather a professional
photographer with a unique artistic style
that can easily shoot photographs of a
wedding. The images that I produce will
ensure that you have a documentary of
your special day and I ensure to make
it as easy and unstressful for you as
I possibly can.
Most definitely, that is how I earn my
living so I can survive and look after
my family. I am currently based between
London, United Kingdom, and Johannesburg,
South Africa, but I do have an EU and
SA passport and am willing to travel and
have done so many times. Please contact
me for a quotation or to discuss your
idea / requirements in more details.
This would be dependant on the photograph
and what the photograph was taken for.
Some of them have exclusive rights and
these would not be possible to sell. If
you are interested in any of the photographs
on this site, or any of my other previous
work, then please feel free to contact
me and I will see how I can help you.
International purchases are handled through
PayPal
so it is easy for everyone.
I love travelling. I have been to SO many
amazing places around the world and really
enjoy experiencing the different cultures
and lifestyles that each different country
has to offer. So far my favourite country
that I have visited must be Taiwan. The
culture of the Taiwanese people is unlike
any other place in the world (that I have
been to) and we were welcome with open
arms. The languaged difference was unexplainable
but this never stopped us from having
the best time ever.
I am not yet but my fiance' and I are
getting married in September 2008 so I
will have to review this after our wedding.
Anja is an amazing part of my life and
really my most greatest inspiration.
Skateboarding, free riding, travelling
and walking in parks.
|
