Fotogrāfs Ruud Claessen

—Vai Tu esi fotogēnisks?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Kā tu nokļuvi fotogrāfijas jomā?

—In 2008, I was already doing amateur photography for a couple of year. To do something different for a change, I asked my uncle if I could photograph his wedding. It was his second marriage, they were not asking for a photographer, so there was little risk. I ended up liking it so much, that I decided to do it more.

—Kuri, Tavuprāt, ir svarīgākie labas fotogrāfijas elementi?

—Above all, the photo has to have a certain impact. Wether that's an intense emotion, a good vibe, or just a spectaculair visual impact. After that comes the technical part. So a good lighting, composition, etcetera. But for me, the impact is the most important part, by far.

—Vai Tu mīli ceļošanu?

—Yes, but with moderation though. I'd love to do 3-5 destination weddings a year. I don't think I'd enjoy doing 10, 15 or even more.

—Kas Tev vislabāk patīk savā profesijā?

—It sounds like a horrible cliché, but it's true: Every wedding is different. You never really know what's going to happen. Surprises can happen at every moment. Besides that, I think it's a great honor to be asked to create lifelong memories for the people that are getting married. 5, 10, 25 or even 50 years after they get married, people still remember who took their wedding photos. It's pretty wonderful that you can be an important part in people's lives.

—Kas Tavā profesijā Tev patīk vismazāk?

—Basically: The postprocessing. I have a horrible concentration when it comes to editing. I love editing my 50-75 favorites from a wedding, but after that, it gets hard for me to keep focused.

—Kāda būs fotogrāfijas nākotne?

—I think the future of wedding photography will be a further evolution of the direction it's going in right now. More journalistic stuff, more moments. But besides that: technical advances. Faster camera's, better low light capabilities, and other accessories like drones, light field cameras, and stuff like that, giving photographers even more tools to being creative.

—Kas ir īpašs fotogrāfijas žanrā, kurā specializējies?

—I love many aspects of it. I love the fact that people are in a good mood, they take the time to look good as well. People get married in beautiful venues, and you as a photographer gets to be a part of so many people's special day. That's amazing.

—Kā Tu uztver kritiku?

—I try to extract what people really mean with their comments. Some people have difficulties in finding the right words to give feedback, sometimes making them sound rude. But I always try to figure out what's the real message there.

—Vai fotogrāfijā ir kādas īpašas tendences?

—All the time. But me personally, I try to not let trend be the main thing in my photography. Trends are a nice touch, but I want my photography to be timeless.

—Kādi ir kritēriji, kas klientam jāņem vērā, izvēloties fotogrāfu?

—1) Do you like the photographer's work? 2) Do you like the photographer? Simple as that.

—No kā fotogrāfējot būtu jāizvairās?

—'Allowed' is a big word. I'm not the one to say what's allowed or not. However, I don't like to unnecessarily intervene in a wedding. With the exception of the posed shots, I don't like having to tell people what to do, where to stand or how to look.

—Kādus parasti nepamanītus brīžus var notvert fotogrāfs?

—A good wedding photographer can see beauty in many things, and has a better eye for good light, and good compositions. And also: a photographer is aware of what's going on and can respond quickly when something happens.

—Kas ietekmē fotogrāfijas vērtību? Kādi ir tās elementi?

—Not only is beauty in the eye of the beholder, but the same thing is true for value. A photograph that might not seem like much to a photographer or ti someone who wasn't there, can be the couple's favorite for many reasons. Never make assumptions.

—Kurš cilvēks, Tavuprāt, varētu būt 21. gadsimta simbols?

—I can't look into the future. Sorry ;-)

—Ko Tu vēlētos fotogrāfēt?

—Kind, fun and creative people that I have a great chemistry with.

—Vai Tev ir kādi profesionālie tabu?

—Not really. Except for stuff that's prohibited by law, off course.

—Ar ko Tu kopā vēlētos fotogrāfēt?

—Too many to mention.

—Par ko Tu satraucies un kāpēc?

—Sometimes I worry about the future. What will happen if I don't get any more bookings? But I think that every professional thinks that way every now and then. On the other side, it helps me improve and stay on my toes.

—Kas ir Tavas dzīves iespaidīgakais brīdis?

—I can't name just a single one. There are thousands of great moments that are impressive in their own ways.

—Kā Tu definētu veiksmi? Vai to var izmērīt?

—Success to me is finding a perfect balance by doing what you love, making a good living out of it, but also having time to live. Because even though I just love shooting weddings, I wouldn't want to shoot 60 weddings a year and have no personal time left.

—Vai Tev labāk patīk tikt mīlētam vai tikt cienītam?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Kas ir lielākā kļūda, ko Tu esi pieļāvis darbā?

—Not that many, luckily! I once accidentally switched from RAW to TIFF during a wedding. That was a pain in the ass. It cost me a lot more work to process the images, but the clients were happy.

—Kad Tu plāno ceļot, ko Tu ņem līdzi un kāpēc?

—A small but versatile camera kit. Definitely some analog cameras. And off course, the traveling essentials.

—Vai kāda ierīcēm (gadžetiem), kas Tev pieder, ir tāda, kuru Tev nebūtu vajadzējis pirkt? Kāpēc?

—Nope.

—Kā Tu mācies, lai uzņemtu arvien labākas fotogrāfijas?

—I do mentoring with photographers who are amazing in the aspects of photography that are my weakest points.

—Kuri darbi Tevi kā fotogrāfu ir visvairāk iedvesmojuši?

—I've never been inspired by certain photographers. I like to look at individual photographs, and analyse what I like about them.

—Kas ir tā lieta, ko Tu būtu gribējis zināt pirms sāki nodarboties ar fotogrāfēšanu?

—I never thought that photography can be this exhausting! But in a good way.

—Ko Tu vēlies pastāstīt ar savām fotogrāfijām?

—When looking at my photographs, I want people to feel what they felt when the moment was actually happening.

—Kas Tevi motivē turpināt uzņemt fotogrāfijas?

—Getting great feedback from customers, and seeing myself grow and becoming a better photographer.

—Vai Tavi vecāki bija stringri vai netik stingri?

—They have been perfect.

—Ja Tu varētu ceļot atpakaļ laikā, ko Tu darītu savādāk?

—I would push myself more and especially sooner. It took about 5 years before I started taking myself and my photography really serious. But since I started doing that, I have improved so very much. I wish I'd done that sooner.

—Ko Tu domā par dzīvi uz citām planētām?

—Nah. There's tons of places for me to explore on this one.

—Kas ir Tavi varoņi?

—Everybody who believes in something, in themselves, and work hard to achieve that.

—Ko Tu necieni?

—People who are arrogant, and bring other people down.

—Ko Tu dari brīvajā laikā?

—Cooking, eating, movies, riding my oldtimer bike, and some an occasional cigar.

—Kuru Tavu pusi citi nekad neredz?

—I think a lot of people see me as 'the funny guy'. However, I do have a very serious side. I'm a very contemplative person, and I can be fascinated by almost anything.

—Kad Tu esi pilnībā apmierināts ar savu darbu?

—When one of my own photographs really moves me. When I think: Wow, did I capture that? When it makes me feel proud that I've created these images.

—Vai Tu tici tradicionālajam lomu sadalījumam starp vīrieti un sievieti?

—Absolutely not.

—Vai Tu vienkārši sadraudzējies?

—Quite easily. Although sometimes, at first I stay in the background a bit more. I like to evaluate people before I connect to them.

—Kur Tu vēlētos dzīvot?

—Tough question. I've always enjoyed living in the Netherlands, but lately, this feeling of joy has diminished quite a bit. Not because of the horrible weather, but mainly because of the political climate, the discontent of society, the tension. There's a lot going on, a lot of frustrations among a lot of people, causing the general atmosphere to be a lot less relaxed, in my opinion.

—Kas ir muļķīgākā lieta, ko Tu jebkad esi piekritis izdarīt?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Vai pastāv dzīve pēc kāzām?

—Certainly. When it's a good marriage, it enriches your life a lot. A bad marriage can bring you down by an equal amount though.

—Vai Tev ir mīļākais joks? Pastāsti to mums.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Kas Tev patīk labāk - kaķi vai suņi?

—I own both. Although I've always considered myself as more of a dog person, I can thoroughly enjoy the relaxed but also stubborn attitude of cats. They have a mind of their own, which I can relate to.

—Vai ir kaut kas vai kāds, ko Tu ienīsti?

—I hate it when people aren't real. Off course, everybody has skeletons in their closet. But too many people pretend to be something their not. Relating to that: I also really dislike how much we're being lied to. In advertising, in politics, in a lot of things. There's very little sincerity and authenticity left.

—Labākā lieta dzīvē ir:

—Love, good company, good food, sex and friendship.

—Kaitinošākā lieta dzīvē ir:

—Having to type VERY long interviews. Sorry, had to do it ;-)

—Vai ir kaut kas tāds, ko Tu vēlētos mainīt?

—Yes, quite a few things. But that doesn't mean that I'm not happy!

—Ko Tu gribētu mainīt sevī?

—I'd like to be more patient, and to be able to focus better.

—Ko Tu vēlētos mainīt pasaulē?

—Total cliché, but peace. There's too much anger, aggression and frustration. Terrorism, war, mass shootings. Things that are making the world ill. I wish that the world would chill a bit more.

—Kādi būtu Tavi padomi jaunajiem fotogrāfiem?

—Be confident, but don't want too much too fast. Take your time to educate and train yourself. Being a good photographer is hard. You don't become one in a year, but that's a trend I'm seeing. People doing a couple of workshops and styled shoots, and calling themselves a professional wedding photographer after that. Workshops and photoshoots are absolutely nothing like shooting a real wedding. So take the time to develop the skills that are needed for doing that.

—Ja uz zemes nolaistos citplanētieši un Tu būtu pirmais, ko viņi satiktu, ko Tu viņiem teiktu?

—I'd love to tell them about planet Earth. And I'd love to hear where they're coming from, and also how they got here.

—Ja Tev būtu iespēja uzņemt filmu, kāda žanra filma tā būtu?

—Probably something artsy, even though I hate that term. I love movies like The Grand Budapest Hotel.

—Rīt es aiziešu un izdarīšu...

—shoot a wedding!