Fotografas Jo-Ann Stokes

—Ar esate fotogeniškas?

—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.

—Kaip jūs atsiradote fotografijos industrijoje?

—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!

—Jūsų nuomone, kokie yra svarbiausi geros nuotraukos komponentai?

—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.

—Ar mėgstate keliauti?

—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.

—Kas šioje profesijoje Jums patinka labiausiai?

—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.

—Kas šioje profesijoje Jums patinka mažiausiai?

—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!

—Kokia bus fotografijos ateitis?

—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.

—Kuo ypatingas fotografijos žanras, kuriame jūs specializuojatės?

—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"

—Kaip susitvarkote su kritika?

—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!

—Ar fotografijoje egzistuoja tendencijos?

—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.

—Kokie turėtų būti kliento kriterijai, kad pasirinkti fotografą?

—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.

—Kokių dalykų turi būti vengiama fotografuojant?

—Cheesy!

—Kokias detales, kurios paprastai būna nepastebėtos, gali pastebėti fotografas?

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

—Kas įtakoja nuotraukos vertę? Kokie yra jos elementai?

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

—Koks žmogus Jūsų manymu galėtų būti 21 amžiaus simboliu?

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

—Ką norite fotografuoti?

—My next bride!

—Ar turite profesinių tabu?

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

—Su kuo norėtumėte kartu fotografuoti?

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

—Dėl ko nerimaujate ir kodėl?

—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.

—Kas yra įsimintiniausias dalykas nutikęs Jūsų gyvenime?

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

—Jeigu būtumėte animacinio filmo, knygos arba filmo veikėju, kuo norėtumėte būti ir kodėl?

—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.

—Kas ir kodėl Jus įkvepia gyvenime?

—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.

—Kaip Jūs apibrėžtumėte sėkmės terminą? Kaip ją "matuojate"?

—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.

—Geriau būti mėgiamu ar gerbiamu?

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

—Kokia yra didžiausia klaida kurią padarėte darbe?

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

—Kuomet keliaujate, ką ir kodėl imate su savimi?

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

—Ar tarp turimų prietaisų yra tokių kurių geriau būtumėte nepirkę? Kodėl?

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

—Kaip mokotės gauti kokybiškesnes nuotraukas?

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

—Kieno darbas jus kaip fotografą įtakojo labiausiai?

—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.

—Išskirkite vieną dalyką kurį būtumėte norėjęs žinoti prieš pradedant fotografo karjerą?

—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.

—Ką norite pasakyti savo nuotraukomis?

—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.

—Kas motyvuoja Jus toliau fotografuoti?

—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.

—Jūsų tėvai turėjo būti labiau ar mažiau griežti?

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

—Jeigu galėtumėte grįžti į praeitį, ką darytumėte kitaip?

—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.

—Ką manote apie gyvybę kitose planetose?

—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.

—Kas yra jūsų herojai?

—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

—Kam nejaučiate pagarbos?

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

—Ką veikite laisvalaikiu?

—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.

—Kokia yra Jūsų pusė, kurios visuomenė niekada nemato?

—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.

—Kada esate visiškai patenkinti savo darbu?

—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!

—Ar tikite tradicinėmis vyrų ir moterų rolėmis?

—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.

—Ar lengvai randate draugų?

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

—Kur norėtumėte gyventi?

—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 ;)

—Koks yra kvailiausias dalykas kūrį buvote padarę?

—A nude shoot

—Ar gyveimas tęsiasi po vedybų?

—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!

—Ar turite mėgstamą anekdotą? Papasakokite.

—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!

—Labiau mėgstate šunis ar kates?

—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!

—Ko nekenčiate?

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

—Geriausias dalykas gyvenime yra:

—free!

—Labiausiai erzinantis dalykas gyvenime yra:

—People who do not listen

—Ar yra kas nors aplink jus, ką norėtumėte pakeisti?

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—Ką norėtmėte pakeisti savyje?

—I wish I had more time!

—Ką norėtumėte pakeisti pasaulyje?

—Evil

—Ar galite duoti keletą patarimų tik pradedantiems fotografams?

—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!

—Jei į žemę atvyktų ateiviai ir jūs būtumėte pirmas jų sutiktas žmogus, ką jiems pasakytumėte?

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

—Jei filmuotumėtė filmą, koks būtų jo žanras?

—A romance or a drama

—Rytoj aš eisiu ir darysiu...

—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!