Fotograaf Jo-Ann Stokes

—Kas sa oled fotogeenne?

—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.

—Kuidas sa sattusid fotograafiamaailma?

—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!

—Mis on sinu arvates hea foto kõige olulisead komponendid?

—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.

—Kas sulle meeldib reisida?

—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.

—Mis sulle sinu töö juures kõige rohkem meeldib?

—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.

—Mis sulle sinu töö juures kõige vähem meeldib?

—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!

—Millisena näed sa fotograafia tulevikku?

—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.

—Mis on sinu fotograafiažanris erilist?

—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"

—Kuidas sa suhtud kriitikasse?

—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!

—Kas fotograafias on teatud trende?

—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.

—Millised peaksid fotograafi valides olema kliendi kriteeriumid?

—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.

—Mida pildistades kindlasti ei tohiks teha?

—Cheesy!

—Mis võiksid olla need detailid, millele tavaliselt tähelepanu ei pöörata, kuid mida fotograaf võib märgata?

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

—Mis teeb fotost väärtusliku? Mis elemendid on olulised?

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

—Milline inimene on sinu arvates 21. sajandi sümbol?

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

—Keda sa sooviksid pildistada?

—My next bride!

—Kas sul on teatud ametialaseid tabusid?

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

—Kellega koos sa tahaksid pildistada?

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

—Mille pärast sa muretsed ja miks?

—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.

—Mis on olnud su elu kõige kõige muljetavaldavam hetk?

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

—Kui sa oleksid tegelane multikast, raamatust või filmist, siis kes sa oleksid ja miks?

—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.

—Kes sind su elus inspireerib ja miks?

—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.

—Kuidas sa defineeriksid edu? Kuidas sa seda mõõdad?

—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.

—Kas sa tahaksid, et sa pigem meeldiksid inimestele või et nad austaksid sind?

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

—Mis on suurim viga, mida sa töötades oled teinud?

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

—Mida sa endaga reisides kaasa võtad ja miks?

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

—Kas sul on mõni vidin, mida sa omad, aga sooviksid, et poleks ostnud? Miks?

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

—Kuidas sa ennast koolitad, et paremaks fotograafiks saada?

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

—Kelle töö on sind kui fotograafi kõige rohkem mõjutanud?

—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.

—Mis oleks see üks asi, mida sa sooviksid, et oleks teadnud enne fotograafiaga alustamist?

—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.

—Mida sa oma fotodega öelda soovid?

—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.

—Mis motiveerib sind fotograafina jätkama?

—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.

—Kas sa arvad, et sinu vanemad oleksid pidanud sinuga olema rangemad või leebemad?

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

—Kui sa saaksid ajas tagasi minna, mida sa teeksid erinevalt?

—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.

—Kas sa arvad, et teistel planeetidel on elu?

—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.

—Kes on su kangelased?

—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

—Keda sa ei austa?

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

—Mida sa vabal ajal teed?

—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.

—Millist poolt sinust avalikkus kunagi ei näe?

—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.

—Millal sa oled oma tööga täiesti rahul?

—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!

—Kas sa usud meeste ja naiste traditsioonilistesse rollidesse?

—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.

—Kas sa leiad kergesti sõpru?

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

—Kus sa tahaksid elada?

—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 ;)

—Mis on kõige rumalam asi, mida sa kunagi oled nõustunud tegema?

—A nude shoot

—Kas pärast abielu on elu?

—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!

—Kas sul on lemmiknali? Räägi see meile.

—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!

—Kas sulle meeldivad koerad või kassid?

—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!

—Keda või mida sa vihkad?

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

—Parim asi elus on:

—free!

—Kõige ärritavam asi elus on:

—People who do not listen

—Kas sa näed oma ümber midagi sellist, mida sa tahaksid muuta?

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—Mida sa iseenda juures tahaksid muuta?

—I wish I had more time!

—Mida sa maailmas tahaksid muuta?

—Evil

—Kas sa võiksid anda mõned näpunäited alustavatele fotograafidele?

—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!

—Kui Maale saabuksid tulnukad ja sina oleksid esimene inimene, keda nad kohtaksid, mida sa neile ütleksid?

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

—Kui sul oleks võimalik vändata film, siis mis žanrist see oleks?

—A romance or a drama

—Homme hakkan ma...

—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!