Stories I’ve heard or read…

Chamonix, French Alps     

Today we would like to introduce you to very talented photographer – Olivier Hess:

“I attended an international school when I first came to London in the Nineties, which had 40 different nationalities at one point. The fact that I was mixing with people from Iran, Columbia, the Czech Republic and many more, made me interested in different cultures, languages, and sparked my hunger for travelling and to explore the world from an early age. My parents were very supportive of my interest in travel and photography from the start, and never questioned whether it would be safe or not.

“My main motivation for my photography/personal projects still remains travelling to places that fascinate me, where I meet new interesting people along the way. From stories I’ve heard or read, images I’ve seen in magazines or on the Internet, there are so many things in our ever-changing world we can all explore and document visually. Although it’s a very tough industry to break into, I still can’t see myself doing anything else.

“The top image was taken in the French Alps near Chamonix during the ‘Super moon’ period in March 2011. I hired a local mountaineering guide to hike up 3000 meters to a particular point I had in mind with my assistant, overlooking this valley backlit by the full moon. My exposures were between 1 to 4 minutes. To emphasize the soft look in parts of the image I strapped a piece of clear plastic over the lens and pulled it gently at various corners.

“Our careful planning worked out perfectly and we had a fantastic clear sky, no winds and the biggest full moon in 18 years. The photo prints for the series ‘Alps’ was recently printed on Fuji Crystal Archive Matt paper and is currently showing at La Galleria in Earlsfield.

Rafael Trejo, Havana Boxing Club     

“The second image is a portrait from a project I undertook about boxing in Havana, Cuba. This young and upcoming boxer is part of the legendary Rafael Trejo Gym. I managed to find a local fixer a few weeks before who organised a 5-day stay at the club for me. During shooting this included so many ‘backhanders’ and literally all of my T-shirts I had with me on the trip had to be ‘donated’.

“Everything was shot with available light on a Canon 5D MkII and a lightweight tripod that I always carry with me, even for portrait work. The story was featured in BBC Lonely Planet magazine and this particular image was a finalist in the recent Portrait Salon 12 exhibition.

Vancouver Island, Canada     

“The third image is from a recent trip to Vancouver Island, Canada. It was taken early in the morning at a disused logging company, and nearby a black bear family stood silently and watched on as I snapped away. As with all my images I didn’t do much to the image after. Most of the time a minimal colour correction will do the trick, as I’m a great believer in capturing as much as possible while shooting. I was clearly drawn by the mist, which reminded me of my ‘Super Moon’ project in the Alps.

Lord Eatwell, the President of Queen’s College, Cambridge University     

“The last image is of Lord Eatwell, currently the President of Queen’s College, Cambridge University. As is so often with portrait commissions, I was given a limited amount of time to take a variety of shots for my picture editor. My assistant and I worked out several options when we arrived at the location, and we prepared well for this particular image.

“After I had explained my idea to Lord Eatwell, he happily obliged and ended up asking for a print after the article was published. I used a Canon 5D MkII with a prime 50mm lens on a tripod, rotating my subject around a reflector that was taped to the floor to keep the same focal length.”

If you want to see more of Olivier Hess’ work, visit his website.