JOHN VAN DEVENTER: Who am I?
My journey into photography started when I left school to go study Graphic Design. I instantly fell in love with the art. In those days I was shooting on a Minolta Dynax on black and white film and then developing the images myself in the darkroom… It’s a method that teaches you a lot about getting composition and lighting right before you press the shutter….
But as is with some of life’s journeys, I didn’t go into the design field but instead ended up following a corporate career for almost 18 years.
However capturing images always stayed with me and I passionately pursued my photography until one day deciding that it should be more than just a “hobby”… Long story short I resigned from my job and dived head first into being a full time photographer.
My style…
Candid and Documentary
From a young age I can remember reading Time Magazine and National Geographic and being in awe of the way the photographers told their stories and captured raw emotion – this was the type of storytelling I wanted to do.
So I like to think of myself as an “Image Creator and Memory Capturer”… getting great photos is not just about being in the right place at the right time. It’s about being able to spot a special moment that tells a story, and then “create the image” through proper framing of the subject and lighting (sometimes these are out of your control so you just hope for the best…) and then pressing the shutter at the right moment to capture the memory.
My Gear…
Falling in Love Again
Coming from being a DSLR shooter, the move over to mirrorless was a big step, but one I’m so glad I took. Coming from a film background, the colour reproduction (and I love shooting in B&W so don’t get me started on Acros…) and quality I found in the Fujifilm ecosystem was incredible and made me find new ways to love taking photographs again.
When I’m not working at Weddings or Events, I keep myself sharp by photographing images that are a little “left of centre” of what I usually do – and this for me of late has been ballets and superbikes…
Both have an element of fast moving action and it forces me to use my camera and lenses in a different way (and they are more than capable of keeping up) to get the perfect shot!
