Fotograf Jo-Ann Stokes

—Er du 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.

—Hvordan ble du en del av fotografbransjen?

—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!

—Hva er de viktigste komponentene i et bra bilde etter din mening?

—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.

—Er du glad i å reise?

—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.

—Hva liker du best med yrket ditt?

—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.

—Hva liker du minst med yrket ditt?

—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!

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ut for fotografering?

—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.

—Hva er det spesielle med den fotografisjanger du har spesialisert deg i?

—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"

—Hvordan takler du kritikk?

—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!

—Finnes det noen trender innen fotografering?

—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.

—Hva bør kriteriene være for en kunde som skal velge en fotograf?

—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.

—Hvilke ting er absolutt ikke tillatt under fotograferingen?

—Cheesy!

—Hvilke detaljer, som vanligvis ingen ville lagt merke til, kan en fotograf fange opp?

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

—Hva påvirker bildets verdi? Hvilke elementer inneholder det?

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

—Hvilken person kan være symbolet på det 21. århundre etter din mening?

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

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere?

—My next bride!

—Har du noen yrkesmessige tabuer?

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

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere sammen med?

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

—Hva bekymrer deg, og hvorfor?

—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.

—Hva er det mest imponerende øyeblikket i livet ditt?

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

—Hvilken animert figur, literær person eller filmkarakter ville du vært, og hvorfor?

—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.

—Hvem inspirerer deg i ditt liv, og hvorfor?

—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.

—Hvordan definerer du suksess? Hvordan måler du graden av suksess?

—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.

—Foretrekker du å bli likt eller respektert?

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

—Hva er den største tabben du noensinne har gjort på jobben?

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

—Når du skal ut å reise; hva tar du med deg, og hvorfor?

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

—Er de noe blant dine gadgets du angrer på å ha kjøpt? Hvorfor?

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

—Hvordan utdanner du deg for stadig å ta bedre bilder?

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

—Hvem sitt arbeid har inspirert deg mest som fotograf?

—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.

—Hva spesifikt skulle du ønske at du visste da du begynte å fotografere?

—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.

—Hva ønsker du å formidle gjennom dine bilder?

—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.

—Hva motiverer deg til å fortsette med fotografering?

—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.

—Skulle foreldrene dine ha vært mer eller mindre strenge?

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

—Hva ville du ha gjort annerledes hvis du kunne reise tilbake i tid?

—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.

—Hva tenker du angående liv på andre planeter?

—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.

—Hvem er dine helter?

—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

—Hvem har du absolutt ingen respekt for?

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

—Hva gjør du i fritiden din?

—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.

—Hvilken side av deg viser du aldri offentlig?

—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.

—Når er du helt fornøyd med arbeidet ditt?

—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!

—Tror du på tradisjonelle manne- og kvinneroller?

—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.

—Har du lett for å få nye venner?

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

—Hvor kunne du tenke deg å bo?

—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 ;)

—Hva er de teiteste du noensinne har gått med på å gjøre?

—A nude shoot

—Finnes det et liv etter bryllupet?

—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!

—Har du en favorittspøk? Fortell.

—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!

—Liker du hunder eller katter?

—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!

—Hvem eller hva hater du?

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

—Det beste i livet er:

—free!

—Det mest irriterende i livet er:

—People who do not listen

—Er det noe omkring du kunne tenkt deg å forandre på?

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—Hva hos deg selv kunne du tenkt deg å endre på?

—I wish I had more time!

—Hva i verden kunne du tenkt deg å endre på?

—Evil

—Kan du komme med noen gode råd til fotografer i startfasen?

—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!

—Forestill deg at romvesener ankommer jorda, og at du er den første de treffer. Hva ville du sagt til dem?

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

—Hvis du ble spurt om å spille inn en film, hvilken sjanger ville den være?

—A romance or a drama

—I morgen skal jeg...

—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!