It’s been a busy 5 – 6 weeks putting the final touches to a worldwide campaign for one of my London based clients.Now I have some spare time to work on ideas for some personal projects. Sometimes, however, we all can get stuck in a creative rut and I’ve learned over the years you can’t force things you have to just gently roll with it and kick start creative juices.
I’ve mentioned before in my post Scooters,Skinheads & Dodgy Snaps that my Photography career started via my youth spent riding and customising Vespa & Lambretta Scooters. It’s a long drawn out story that I won’t bore you with but it led to my first paid photography work for a magazine called Scootering way back in the mid 80’s
While on assignment in Rotterdam Holland last year I had a day spare to explore and take in the sights of Amsterdam.
Only having less than a day mean’t priortising what to take in so I decided to explore the old part of town along the canals and take a boat trip before heading to the airport and home.
Even though I knew Amsterdam was renowned for it bicycles (amongst other things) it was still a sight to see so many being ridden or parked up up on every corner.
This image is a composite using images captured just a few feet from each other.Shooting this way allowed me to create a cleaner more uncluttered composition will a slightly more compressed look which suits my vision.
This wonderful smile belonged to a man I stumbled upon in the intence summer heat of Side (pronounced Ceday) in Turkey.
I was in Side in 2001 for my honeymoon but of course if you are a location photographer then honeymoon or not the camera gear has to come along !
It was mid afternoon and still exremely hot when we went for a walk and I remember seeing a crowd of people ahead on the shaded road.As we approached it soon came apparent that a crowd had gathered to quench their thrist with fresh orange juice this guy was selling from his mobile cart.
I have to say I dont think I have ever seen a man with such striking blue eyes that seemed to compliment his shirt perfectly.Then there was his amazing smile and almost perfect white teeth which in a country where so many men smoke is probably not a common site.
After buying some juice I gestured if I may take his picture and he happily without stopping his work obliged with a smile.
This image would have been a disater if not for the open shade of the trees which although cast a slight green but correctable cast on him softened the harsh summer light enough to avoid distracting contrasy light to take attention away from his wonderful expression.
This was also the days before digital at least for me so there where no checking histograms or image previews I had to rely on knowing my films characteristics (contrast range,latitude etc) and my experience metering and interpreting the readings…phew what a lot we had to contend with !
This image was captured during one of my many trips to Turkey.
I set out just after dawn to walk along the beach to explore and capture anything that took my fancy in the glourious if not a little harsh morning light.
I had only walked for less than 5 minutes when I noticed this gentleman who I later discovered was called Asur sat smoking a cigarette enjoying the beautiful morning over Gumbet bay.
After a few nods to each other I decided to approach him to ask if I may take his picture.
He spoke no english and my limited Turkish was not any good but we got by and I positioned him with an iconic Gulet in the background.
He must have enjoyed his 5 mins of fame as he insisted I take more images of him on the balcony of the hotel beach bar he worked for !
I returned a year later with some prints but never saw him again.
Several years ago I had the enviable position of being on a retainer for Trader Media Group.
At the beginning my main contract was photographing prestigious & sports cars for the cover of Trader Media’s Top Marques publication.
With a good creative relationship and understanding of what was required for Trader I was soon asked to take on other projects including photographing some glamourous images of young ladies for Bike Trader Magazine.
Most of the brief required studio shots of the girls for various posters,magazine cover and give away’s.
For this image which was to be a poster give away I suggested we move out of the comfort of the studio and it’s clinical white cove and try something above and beyond the brief.
Fortunately the creative director and I had worked together for nearly a year or more by now so trusted me.In fact I think he had got used to me pushing the brief a little and was one of the reasons the relationship worked so well.
I dont mind the studio but working on location just can’t be beaten for me although being winter I’m not sure the girls would not have agreed !
My wife and I purchased a holiday home in Turkey 8 years ago and so I have traveled to the Bodrum area of Turkey a fair bit.
On one such “Working Trip” (as I tell my wife) myself with several of my friends popped across to the beautiful Greek island of Kos for the day.It was during a tour around the Castle that I was drawn to this delightful man called George who was offering his services as a tour guide.
I knew straight away I had to photograph him so I sat out of the blistering May heat on a marble bench with him and struck up a conversation.
I mentioned we where over from Turkey where I had a home and he got slightly animated telling me why you should not trust the Turks !
It’s no secret there is a lot historic bad blood between the Greeks & the Turks and being in his 80’s he had obviously see a lot of it.
We continued to chat before my friends caught me up, so I captured his portrait and we said our goodbye’s.
I adore meeting,chatting and photographing people like George after all they have been there seen it and done it all.
If you ever find yourself on Kos keep an eye out for George although I suspect he might no longer be with us.
Occasionally when time permits I will dig into my archive and look at images that I’ve never used and simply have some creative fun. This is one such image which I captured while visiting an Advertising Agency in Paris about a job I had been shortlisted for. I decided to stay on after my meeting to spend a couple of days simply getting out at dawn with my camera and following my nose shooting whatever took my eye.I came back with several images that I published from the trip and many more that I did not do anything with which is sometimes the case.Like when I captured the images I decided just to enjoy the creative process of retouching and follow my instincts to end up with the image here which sums up the cool November morning in that park in Paris.
If it’s possible for an image of somebody to somehow define you then this is the image I’d choose.
This is an old print of my Dad with his Leica camera around his neck,shot I believe in Ephesus Turkey while on a cruise of the Aegean during the early 1970’s.
This image is a draw for me for a couple of reasons. My Dad loved photography and always had camera gear around the house while I was growing up and this without doubt aided my early interest.
Another passion I inherited was his love of ancient Greece & Turkey and all it’s history & myths.It’s this that sent me travelling around Greece during my teens armed with his “borrowed” camera gear that acted as the catalyst to taking up photography as a career 26 years ago.
So when I look at this age stained old print it kind of sums me up, in fact all that’s really missing from this scene would be a Vespa or Lambretta parked up and a kid kicking a football and it would define me almost perfectly.
Erwin Olaf has been one of the top advertising and people photographers in the world for over twenty-five years. His current show Waiting: Selections from Erwin Olaf: Volume I & II is being exhibited at the Hasted Kraeutler Gallery in New York. While continuing to do innovative commercial work, he has increasingly become focused on his personal work. I had a recent opportunity to ask about his career and future artistic ambitions.
Ken Weingart: How did you get started in photography?
Erwin Olaf: I started out doing School for Journalism in Utrecht, the Netherlands. One of the courses had some photography in it, and after doing some photography, one of my teachers really encouraged me to continue with it, and I fell in love with it.
In your fine art work, what are you trying to say, or achieve?
In my personal work I want people think about the subtext of the photograph. I create a highly stylized look in photography, which draws in the viewer… and once they are ‘lured’ in by the ‘beauty’, I hope they then get the second message or concept as to what exactly is different for each series.
How do you come up with your ideas?
Usually just by sitting on my couch a lot, and looking out of the window. I love my house. But seriously, I get ideas from everywhere, traveling and staying in anonymous hotels (Hotel series, 2010) to my relationship with my Mother (Separation, 2003), or growing older (Mature, 1998). Inspiration can come from anywhere.
What are the commissions you enjoy the most? What types of clients do prefer to work with?
I enjoy commissions that are demanding, that trigger me to do something new, and combine with a little of what I already know. I like intelligent, trusting clients, who come to me because they trust me do something with them that exceeds our expectations. I am not fond of clients who just want me to do my ‘trick’.
Do you find editorial more interesting and gratifying than advertising, and what is more important, commercial work or fine art/ personal work?
My personal work is the most important to me right now. There was a time when the commercial work allowed me freedom to do my personal work, but now the personal work does that in itself, which is great. I like commercial work, as long as it is challenging and inspiring. Editorial is not really more interesting than advertising, its just a different field. It is also exciting, but totally different, with a different agenda.
How would you describe your lighting? Some might call it painterly; how did you learn and evolve into this type of lighting?
By visualizing and taking the proper time to light someone or something. You use your eyes and learn by trial and error. It’s called painterly, because I used one light when I started out, and painters usually have only one main light.
What cameras and lights are you using — do you prefer film or digital? Are you using any special digital filters for post processing?
I use a Hasselblad with a digital back (phase 1). I don’t have a preference, but digital has made life easier. Right now I’m in the process of turning digital files into negatives so I can print my own silver gelatins again. Nothing beats a beautiful well-printed silver gelatin.
Hotel 2010 has a certain sexuality implied. How would you describe your connection to the images?
I have been to a lot of hotel rooms, and they were always a little depressing and sexual at the same time, and that is what I was trying to catch with my series. I think the sexuality has something to do with the anonymity of a hotel room, or the fact that they usually have good beds.
Self Portraits is very edgy, and also has a lot of sexuality in the images. Were they all photographed on the actual dates listed, and what is the overall objective, or it there one?
I have done many self-portraits because I think it’s an important photographic document of my state of mind. That’s the overall objective — to catch my mindset and development at the moment. In my 20’s it was very sexual, in my 50’s, I am occupied by my health issues.
Who are your favorite photographers and influences past or present?
I like filmmakers of the 70’s (Pasolini, Visconti), and photographers like Helmut Newton and Mapplethorpe. The list is very diverse, and changes every now and then.
In Hope and Rain series, many of the subjects are standing very rigid and upright. Does this tie into the theme of hope and rain, and what do you mean by hope and rain?
Hope and rain are metaphors. The people are standing rigid because they have just received really bad news (at least that what I imagined). With Rain the news was just delivered, with Hope it sets in, and the consequences become clear.
Your backdrops are very interesting and moody. Do you create sets with a set builder? Does this become expensive to create?
I work a lot with the same team (among them the set designer Floris Vos). We create a mood together, and he sets off to work with his team. Yes, it is very expensive.
How would you describe the way your art and career have been evolving since you started, and are you surprised by it?
I am very happy with the way it has been evolving, always changing, slowly moving in the right direction, always exciting, and as I always say… Never a dull moment. Right now I am extremely happy that I can focus mainly on my personal work, and continue to delve into that. Also, the recognition one receives from all the galleries and museums around the world is gratifying.
What are your favorite series and works to date, and what kind of ideas do you think you will be pursuing in the next few years?
In the next few years I would like to go back to the darkroom and do my own printing again — start working a little smaller, more intimate. I don’t have a favorite series. I have favorite pieces from each series.
Your film works, are they mostly personal works or assignments? Are you hoping to direct feature films?
I am going to direct a feature film, a book adaptation from a Dutch writer, Arthur Japin. My recent film works have been mostly personal, or part of installations (like the Keyhole, or Waiting).
Would you say there is a main theme, style, or point of view in your works that tie together both the print and the film?
There is no big main theme. For the installations they are obviously different perspectives or narratives of the same subject.
How do you like living in Amsterdam? What are the best and worst things about it?
I love living in Amsterdam. The best things are the canals, it’s small, we have many birds, my beautiful apartment. The worst thing: maybe it’s a little crowded, especially in the smaller old streets, and parking your car in Amsterdam is not ideal.
How do like your time the U.S.? What is most different about the U.S. for you?
People are always polite in the U.S. I love my time in the U.S. It’s a great unlimited very diverse country. But also you have a very tough society; its very dog eat dog. That is something I don’t miss so much at home.
About the author: Ken Weingart is a photographer based in Los Angeles and New York. He started out as an assistant for a number of renowned photographers, he he has since become an award-winning photographer himself with work that has been widely published across the world. You can see his work on his website and read his writing on his blog. This interview originally appeared here.
Image credits: Header portrait by Sebastiaan ter Burg
