Interview with Maie Vaks

Hi Maie! Tell us about yourself in two sentences - who are you?

I am a self-taught photographer, still learning a lot every day. I see it as a journey that never ends. I love traveling but even a traveler needs a fixed point in the world, and for me that is Stockholm, Sweden.

QWhat's the weirdest situation you've found yourself in while taking a photograph?

AWhen I was in Gambia, in a small fishing village, our guide told us that the locals consider the camera lens to be an evil omen, “the evil eye” as they called it. You could really tell this was true whenever they saw a camera which always caused a little turmoil, with hand gestures and shouting. I had to be really stealthy and quick in order to catch interesting moments while not offending anyone. It was during one of these hectic moments that I managed to take “Hands Holding Catch of Fish”. The shot was taken in a hurry and I was not even sure I had gotten the shot until after I left the area.

QWhat do you shoot on? What's your favourite set up?

AI'm an observer and interested in capturing details in context. I love street photography, so my goal is always to capture raw emotions and moments, wherever I am. I mainly shoot with a Canon EOS 7D and change between 4 different lenses. For street photography I feel most comfortable with a normal zoom such as a Canon EFS 15-85mm IS USM lens. I also enjoy capturing photos with a lot of bokeh and for that I usually use my Sigma DG 70-300mm zoom lens. It is difficult to say which one is the favourite since I use them in different situations. I am thinking about upgrading to a smaller, more agile mirrorless camera.

QWhat's your number one tip for an aspiring photographer?

AIt is good to know a lot of photography techniques, about light and image composition. I'm sure that even skilled photographers want to be better in their cause. But we're all different and we see the images and the world differently. The writer writes, the photographer takes pictures.
Try to tell your story through your pictures!