Fotograf Jo-Ann Stokes

—Sind Sie fotogen?

—Unfortunately not ....but probably best that I am not because it makes me try extra hard to make my couples feel comfortable in front of the lens and capture beautiful photographs that they will love of themselves.

—Wie sind sind zur Fotografiebranche gekommen?

—Purely by accident to be honest! My trip into photography started by documenting my life, my kids and then into landscape photography. A friend saw my photos, told her friend who was getting married and they contacted me and asked me to do their wedding. I explained that I had never done a wedding but they were fine with that. I loved it ....and the rest ...is history! And my first clients are still one of my biggest fans!

—Was macht Ihrer Meinung nach ein gutes Foto aus?

—A photograph that touches your soul ...no matter the composition, the editing etc ...that makes for a good photo ...no actually, that makes for a "great" photo ....but if all you want is good ..then good composition, good lighting and good posing would make a good photo .....I continuously strive to take a "great" photo.

—Reisen Sie gern?

—Do you seriously have to ask? I "love" to travel ...it feeds my soul, opens my eyes, enriches my life and makes me appreciate everything that God created for us.

—Was gefällt Ihnen an Ihrem Beruf am meisten?

—The creativity ...if you can visualise it ....you can photograph it! The continious learning curve....there are new things to learn all the time! I am continiously challenged and excited by my profession.

—Was gefällt Ihnen an Ihrem Beruf am wenigsten?

—The admin!! Wish we were taking photographs 100% of the time ...unfortunately its only a small portion of our workload. And selling myself ...I find it so hard to do!

—Was ist die Zukunft der Fotografie?

—There will alwasy be a future for wedding photography ...people will continously fall in love and want to get married and start families of that I have no doubt ....I think how we photograph weddings will stay fundamentally the same ..but the way we grab our image might change. I see change coming in the fact that we will film the wedding and grab our photographs from the video ...and I am excited about that because a hair breadth of a second can make all the difference to an image.

—Was das Besondere an dem Fotografiegenre, auf das Sie sich spezialisiert haben?

—Wedding photography is special because it makes you forget all the bad things in the world for a few brief moments. It makes you believe that the world is all rosy, full of love and that there is bright future ahead and there is truth in fairytales and the "happy ever after"

—Wie gehen Sie mit Kritik um?

—Well I am a creative ...so lets just say ...it can hurt! But I am also open-minded so I can take a step back and look at it through that persons eyes and see if their criticism is valuable. Good criticism is worth its weight in gold!

—Gibt es irgendwelche Trends in der Fotografie?

—There are always trends in photography! The question needs to be asked ..how will your images look in 30 years ...will the trend stand the test of time. Quality, timeless photography will never date.

—Was sollten die Kriterien für Kunden bei der Wahl eines Fotografen sein?

—Initially the couple should love the photography ...it should speak to them. But the most important criteria is that you like your photographer and feel comfortable with them....you will spend a large part of your day with this person in your space ..its best that you like them.

—Was ist bei Fotoaufnahmen strikt verboten?

—Cheesy!

—Welche Details werden häufig übersehen, die ein Fotograf aber erkennt?

—We can see moments that develop and are waiting for them to happen.

—Was beeinflusst den Wert eines Fotos? Welche Elemente sind wichtig?

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

—Welche Person verkörpert für Sie das 21. Jahrhundert am besten?

—The co-founders of google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. And our very own, Nelson Mandela!

—Was würden Sie gern fotografieren?

—My next bride!

—Gibt es für Sie in Ihrem Beruf Tabus?

—One or two ...nudity is not my thing!

—Mit welcher Ausrüstung würden Sie gern fotografieren?

—Thats a tough one ...Jose Villa, ..I love his pastel, airy, film look but I also love the dark, moody look from Susan Stripling.

—Worüber machen Sie sich Sorgen und warum?

—I worry about my children ...I am first and foremost a Mom! From a wedding photographers perspective ..that I lose a wedding due to faulty cards, crashing computers & harddrives. I have made every provision to safeguard my clients weddings but it is natural to worry about their images.

—Was war der eindrucksvollste Moment in Ihrem Leben?

—The birth of my sons. Everything else pales into insignificance in comparison to those moments.

—Welche literarische Figur oder Filmfigur wären Sie gern und warum?

—I am enjoying the character, Elizabeth McCord from Madam Secretary at the moment. She handles problems with intelligence, respect and sensitivity in very fragile situations.

—Wer inspiriert Sie in Ihrem Leben und warum?

—My family inspire me ...they inspire me to be better...they inspire me to prove to them that life is for living and that you make your own destiny with the choices and decisions that you make. Every action has a reaction. Mistakes are not always bad as the experience it teaches you is sometimes more valuable that getting something 100% correct.

—Wie definieren Sie Erfolg? Wie messen Sie ihn?

—A successful person is a person who has balance in their life! A happy marriage, family life & career ..is my definition of success! Only having a successful career with money in the bank ...can make for a very lonely/empty life.

—Gefällt es Ihnen mehr, wenn man Sie mag oder wenn Sie respektiert werden?

—Neither ....I would prefer to be loved!

—Was war der größte Fehler bei Ihrer Arbeit?

—When I worked in banking ....I paid a rather large sum of money into the wrong persons account!

—Was nehmen Sie mit, wenn Sie auf Reisen gehen und warum?

—My camera and a lens ...do I need anything more?

—Haben Sie Apparate oder Ausrüstung, die Sie lieber nicht hätten kaufen sollen? Warum?

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

—Wie bilden Sie sich weiter, damit Ihre Bilder noch besser werden?

—I attend workshops, watch videos, practice, practice, practice!

—Welche Arbeiten haben Sie als Fotografen am meisten beeindruckt?

—Many of my photographer friends have in their own small way influenced me. Each one has at some stage dropped a pearl of wisdom on my eager ears.

—Was hätten Sie auf jeden Fall wissen müssen, als Sie mit der Fotografie begannen?

—I initially started to play around with a camera when i was a teenager ...I wish I had figured out then, that this was the career that I loved.

—Was möchten Sie mit Ihren Fotos zum Ausdruck bringen?

—I am not big into props ....I prefer the people in my photographs to be the focal point. It is their essence, emotions that tell the story.

—Was motiviert Sie weiterzumachen?

—I dont think there is anything that motivates me to continue to take photos ....I think it is an extension of who I am ...even when I dont have my camera with me ...I am still framing photos in my eye and taking a mental photo of a scene.

—Hätten Ihre Eltern strenger sein müssen?

—They were perfect. I like the way I turned out ...lol!

—Wenn Sie zurückschauen, was hätten Sie besser machen können?

—Nothing ...if i went back in time to change anything ...then my outcome might be very different to where I am now ....and I kind of like where I am now. And if I had actually done photography from a teenager then my people skills would not have been developed. I believe there was a reason for only discovering my love for photography later on.

—Was halten Sie vom Leben auf anderen Planeten?

—Possible ...but have no interest in finding out ...its bad enough controlling the human race that we have here ...we sure as heck dont need the headache of another race somewhere else.

—Wer sind Ihre Helden?

—There are no heroes ....everyone is only human ...we all err on this road we call life. There are people who I respect i.e Nelson Mandela, FW De Klerk, Mother Theresa, Pope Francis, Thuli Madonsela

—Wovor haben Sie keinerlei Respekt?

—Dictators, bad politicians, criminals, children and animal abusers! Our president, Jacob Zuma, Stupidity, Robert Mugabe.

—Was tun Sie in Ihrer Freizeit?

—My hubby has a Harley Davidson motorbike and we often will go on road trips around the Cape and needless to say ...I take photos. I enjoy socialising with fellow photographers. I walk in a farm close to my house with my dogs.

—Welche Seite Ihrer Persönlichkeit bleibt dem Publikum verborgen?

—They dont see me stressed or worried. I show a calm face to the outside world and behind the scenes I make a plan. I also have a wicked sense of humour that I try to keep in check.

—Wann sind Sie mit Ihrer Arbeit in jeder Hinsicht zufrieden?

—I wish I knew the answer ...then i would create a formula and stick to it ..but there again then I might end up being bored!

—Glauben Sie an die traditionellen Rollen von Mann und Frau?

—Yes and no ....I believe women can do anything they put their minds too ...but I also believe that men are traditionally the hunters and do not enjoy being the hunted. Let them enjoy the chase.

—Schließen Sie schnell Freundschaft?

—Very easily. I can chat to complete strangers wherever I am.

—Wo würden Sie gern leben?

—If I couldnt live in Cape Town for whatever reason ...then I would go to the next extreme and live in London ...but only if I had a lot of money ;)

—Was war das Dümmste, auf das Sie sich je eingelassen haben?

—A nude shoot

—Gibt es ein Leben nach der Heirat?

—lol ...yes, definitely! I have done more and had more fun with my husband than with any other human being. He is the one who has my back, who I rely on, who I can be real with, who accepts me for who I am ...who will look after me when I am sick or sad ....to lend a Greys Anatomy line ..."he is my person" ...but yes there were times when I could have lovingly strangled his neck..he definitely still knows how to push my buttons!

—Haben Sie einen Lieblingswitz? Erzählen Sie ihn.

—Yes ..I do ...but I think it might be a bit too dirty for a wedding blog ...especially for people considering getting married ...lol! Only old married couples would find it amusing!

—Lieben Sie Hunde oder Katzen?

—Dogs ...grew up with them all my life! My dad was allergic to cats ..so was never allowed to have one ....so not too sure if I would have loved cats more!

—Wen oder was hassen Sie?

—People who are rigid and the world is black and white and do not see outside the box.

—Das Beste im Leben ist:

—free!

—Das Ärgerlichste im Leben ist:

—People who do not listen

—Gibt es etwas in Ihrem Umfeld, das Sie ändern möchten?

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—Was würden Sie an sich selbst gern ändern?

—I wish I had more time!

—Was würden Sie in der Welt ändern?

—Evil

—Haben Sie ein paar Tipps für angehende Fotografen?

—Be unique ...find your own style ....do not be like sheep and copy everyone else! Trust in the way you see the world ..you will develop!

—Wenn Außerirdische auf der Erde ankommen und Sie sind die erste Person, die sie treffen, was sagen Sie zu ihnen?

—If you know whats good for you ...turn around and run in the opposite direction

—Angenommen Sie erhalten den Auftrag, einen Film aufzunehmen. Welches Genre würden Sie für den Film wählen?

—A romance or a drama

—Morgen werde ich...

—some food shopping, a maternity shoot, some editing ...watch our national rugby team , the Springboks play their first game at the Rugby World Cup 15 in England against Japan!