Hi Erlend! Tell us about yourself in two sentences - who are you?
I am 24 years old and I never feel like I'm doing enough photography, yet I have studied it for three years. Photography is at the heart of my life and for me it really is the hardest and the easiest thing in the world, at the same time.
QWhat's the weirdest situation you've found yourself in while taking a photograph?
AI can't pick out one single image, but I took a trip with a cruise ferry with my friend. The intention was to do a photo series on the other travellers aboard. It was a surreal view into what gambling, drinks and international waters can do to people who are stuck on a boat, with no escape, for two days. I took images of them to show how desperate their partying was and it wasn't the most flattering imagery, and then I had to meet everyone again, sober, the day after. We were all trapped on that boat.
QWhat do you shoot on? What's your favourite set up?
AI have been using a Canon 5D Mk II, a workhorse of a camera, with mostly a small 35mm f/2.0 attached. It's a crude lens, but it's small and so good for it size. I'm currently in a time of transition. I've moved more and more from 35mm to 50mm and I'm thinking of converting from Canon to a Nikon D750. For a tech geek like me this is a big step. It has been very fun to have to familiarise myself with a new camera though. It has given me a refreshing look at how I use a camera and I have gotten out of some bad habits.
QWhat's your number one tip for an aspiring photographer?
AIf you're just starting out, take a lot of images, a LOT. Throw away most. The more images you take, the faster you will learn the technical stuff. The more images you have to choose from, the better you will get at picking out the good ones. But most of all, think about and talk about photography. Find someone you trust and talk about what you think photography means to you. Creating your own philosophy will be one of the hardest, but most rewarding things you will ever do. I'm still struggling with that last one.
'Picking a favourite shot is one of the hardest questions for me because I get very attached to all of my photos, but "Man in A Red Hat" is one of my all time favourites. I was ... Read more
'Picking a favourite shot is one of the hardest questions for me because I get very attached to all of my photos, but "Man in A Red Hat" is one of my all time favourites. I was walking in Oslo, Norway, looking for people above the age of 60, wearing glasses. It was for a series of photos for a school project. I saw this man sitting on a bench and immediately went over and asked if I could take his picture. He wasn't sure and I sat down and talked to him for a good ten minutes. He showed me some documents he carried around stating that he had been a soldier and I understood that he was a troubled person with so much history. I had been so busy looking for visually interesting characters that I had stopped seeing the person behind the skin. It was good to get this reminder that the people you see on the streets can have the most amazing and heartbreaking life-stories. After our talk he let me take one, single frame. I asked to take another, because I wanted to move closer, but he closed up and didn't want me to take any more.' Read less
by Erlend Daae
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