So who am I?
01 Sep, 2017

So who am I?

Well the short bio says: "Technology and gadget geek, perfectionist and "gifted" with a slightly introvert personality..."
This is all true, but let me elaborate a bit on that:

I'm 44 years old and I'm getting slower with every day that goes by. While I have somewhat learned to accept and live with that, I still invent a new hobby or interest every once in a while to force myself to learn new stuff - stuff that are driven by the quriosity of new and interesting knowledge. My wife also claims it's an excuse to aqquire new and expensive gadgets - and while i'll always refuse that in a discussion, she may have a point ;-) 
I certainly do have a nack for picking up hobbies that requires the latest and greatest in gadgetry, and sadly the interest also have a tendency to fade once the gadgets are mastered and there's little else to learn about the technology, physics or inner workings that make up these gadgets. Consequently you can take a good guess on how many advanced technological solutions I have to non existing problems in my house :-)

"I certainly do have a nack for picking up hobbies that requires the latest and greatest in gadgetry"

This little habbit of mine is what brought photography to my attention back in ~2003. Here's a hobby that requires the best and most exciting of gadgets, and presumably it can be easily mastered with my "bulldozer - must learn every little intricate thing about the inner workings of a camera" technique .... Or so I thought....
As it turned out, learning all the physics, techniques and purchasing the greatest of camera and lenses did very little to make me a good photographer. It made me proficient in handling my camera and how to circumvent many of the limitations that the technology imposes on capturing images in difficult situations. It also made me a walking encyclopedia on how camera's work and what problems arise from physical or technical limitations, but my pictures were still crap.... This hobby required something very different and something that cannot easily be learned or mastered. It required a sense of art, composition, colors, beauty, storytelling and the list goes on. There's no bottomline answer or exact measurable result that can quantify just how good or how bad you are right now. Maybe this is why photography stuck with me, because except for cycling, no other hobby that involves gadgets have continued to nudge and challenge me to get better and to keep spending time on it with such a GREAT smile on my face every time i do.

"This hobby required something very different and something that cannot easily be learned or mastered"

How I work as photographer:
The thing is, I cannot force creativity upon myself - heck, I have weeks, months and sometimes years were nothing photo creative happens to me. I can take a lot of pictures on "autopilot" and get a decent amount of keepers - sometimes even pretty good ones - based on my photography experience and what others inspire me to redo, in my own "adjusted" way. It's pretty da** rare I'm actually genuinely creative, so I have learned myself a modus operandi that works, but unfortunately does little to stimulate proper creativity.
My approach is to start shooting with autopilot engaged to find inspiration for images that can leverage the compositional preferences and subject matter experience I have. This usually gets me decent but hardly unique or new images, but then - once in while - true creativity hits me, and I open a whole new door compared to my previous work, motives or compositions.
I'm VERY FAR from the kind of photographer that "sees" the image before I press the shutter. In fact, I rarely even have any real inspiration before I press the shutter. What I generally do is this:

  1. I see something interesting, pretty or very OCD friendly (Lots of symmetry, lines and clutter free)
  2. I take an initial photo to see how it looks as a thumbnail image

- OR -

  1. I see the photographer next to me shoot a motive that I never thought about for two seconds, but the camera thumbnail looks interesting.
  2. I try not to be the obvious copycat and take an initial photo from a very different position to see how it looks as a thumbnail image.

For both approaches I then complete the process by:

  1. I evaluate the thumbnail and start thinking about how I can reorganize the lines, the composition and subject itself to make it interesting.
  2. I try to realize my experience based, thought out improvements, into a final new image

As you can see it's hardly original creativity and inspiration that makes up the bulk off my images - rather it's experience, sheer numbers and a disciplined shooting strategy that pays off. As the years have gone by, I have gotten better at each step in this modus operandi, and when the subject is obviously right at first sight I can sometimes even start directly at the last step. I have also gotten increasingly better at pre-qualifying the subjects in step one, and saving me a lot of shots.

I like this process of improving, and I am king of the world when true creativity strikes me. My photography is the continued search for that kick :-)

"I'm VERY FAR from the kind of photographer that "sees" the image before I press the shutter. In fact, I rarely even have any real inspiration before I press the shutter"

Now, photography also brought me something that is of much greater value: Some of my best friends. In my persuit to get better I joined Hedensted Fotoklub and here I met 3 fellow photographers that all share my interest in photography and gadgets. We quickly formed a tight friendship and personal trust that socially and mentally is the best "mens club" conceivable. Our travels and meetings is by far the best mental repairkit available to me. Together we have formed a little photography group and website called splitsek.dk where we share some of our experiences and challenge each other on photography. Take a look at our site, and see the members page for finding my friends personal websites.

So now you know a little more about the man behind the viewfinder, and I hope you have time to take a look at my galleries and portfolio.
Should you ever need to reach out, then find me on tue@wolffmadsen.dk or +45 51 29 87 97