Fotógrafo Jo-Ann Stokes

—¿Es usted fotogénico(a)?

—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.

—¿Cómo empezó a trabajar en la industria de fotografía?

—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!

—¿En su opinión, cuáles son los elementos más importantes de una buena fotografía?

—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.

—¿Le gusta viajar?

—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.

—¿Qué le gusta más de su profesión?

—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.

—¿Qué le gusta menos de su profesión?

—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!

—¿Cuál será el futuro de la fotografía?

—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.

—¿Qué tiene de especial el género fotográfico en que trabaja?

—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"

—¿Cómo gestiona las críticas?

—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!

—¿Existe alguna tendencia en la fotografía?

—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.

—¿Qué criterios debería tener en cuenta una persona a la hora de elegir a un fotógrafo?

—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.

—¿Qué no está permitido de ningún modo cuando realiza una fotografía?

—Cheesy!

—¿Qué detalles que normalmente no tenemos en cuenta puede un fotógrafo captar?

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

—¿Qué influye en el valor de una fotografía? ¿Cuáles son sus elementos?

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

—En su opinión, ¿qué persona podría ser un símbolo del siglo XXI?

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

—¿A quién le gustaría fotografiar?

—My next bride!

—¿Tiene tabúes profesionales?

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

—¿Con quién le gustaría fotografiarse?

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

—¿Qué le preocupa y por qué?

—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.

—¿Cuál ha sido el momento más impactante de su vida?

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

—Si fuera un personaje de animación, literario o cinematográfico, ¿quién le gustaría ser y por qué?

—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.

—¿Quién le inspira en su vida y por qué?

—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.

—¿Cómo definiría el éxito? ¿Cómo lo mide?

—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.

—¿Qué prefiere, gustar o sentirse respetado?

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

—¿Cuál es el mayor error que ha cometido en su trabajo?

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

—Cuando va de viaje, ¿qué lleva consigo y por qué?

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

—¿Se arrepiente de alguno de los gadgets que ha comprado? ¿Por qué?

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

—¿Cómo se forma para tomar las mejores imágenes?

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

—¿A quién pertenece el trabajo que le ha influenciado más como fotógrafo?

—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.

—¿Cuál es la única cosa que desearía haber sabido cuando comenzó a tomar fotografías?

—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.

—¿Qué desea decir con sus fotografías?

—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.

—¿Qué le motiva a continuar tomando imágenes?

—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.

—¿Cree que sus padres deberían haber sido más o menos estrictos?

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

—¿Si pudiera volver atrás en el tiempo, qué haría de forma diferente?

—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.

—¿Qué piensa de la vida en otros planetas?

—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.

—¿Quiénes son sus héroes?

—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

—¿Por quién no siente respeto?

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

—¿Qué hace en su tiempo libre?

—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.

—¿Cuál es su lado desconocido que la gente nunca quiere ver?

—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.

—¿Está complemente satisfecho de su trabajo?

—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!

—¿Cree en los roles tradicionales de hombres y mujeres?

—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.

—¿Hace amigos con facilidad?

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

—¿Dónde le gustaría vivir?

—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 ;)

—¿Cuál es la cosa más estúpida que ha aceptado hacer?

—A nude shoot

—¿Hay vida después del matrimonio?

—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!

—¿Tiene un chiste favorito? Cuéntenoslo.

—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!

—¿Le gustan los perros o los gatos?

—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!

—¿A quién o qué odia?

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

—Lo mejor de su vida es:

—free!

—Lo más molesto de su vida es:

—People who do not listen

—¿Hay algo a su alrededor que le gustaría cambiar?

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—¿Qué le gustaría cambiar de usted mismo?

—I wish I had more time!

—¿Qué le gustaría cambiar del mundo?

—Evil

—¿Podría ofrecer algunos consejos a los fotógrafos que empiezan?

—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!

—Si los extraterrestres llegaran a la Tierra y fuera la primera persona que encontraran, ¿qué les diría?

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

—Si le llamaran como fotógrafo de una película, ¿a qué género pertenecería?

—A romance or a drama

—Mañana voy a hacer...

—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!