flickrz.interviews

Solea is maybe the most popular flickr photographer in the Netherlands. Her work is many-sided but she is best known for her body language. She loves to experiment and we can expect a lot of extraordinary new photographs of her soon.



There was a full-page article about your work on flickr in a well known Dutch newspaper. Did it change your life in any way?

Oh God, that was such a strange experience to see myself in the biggest newspaper in Holland. I remember going to the shop and buying it, it even had one of my photos on the front page saying: carmen superstar on the internet - page 77. I could not believe my eyes really. That day it was as if I had walked into the twillight zone; people were calling me, SMSing me, congratulating me.

Even people I haven't talked to in ages were signing in on flickr to contact me. It was actually kind of a madhouse a few days. I got really great responses and people mailing me wanting me to photograph them. I actually have contact with one guy who organizes concert events and he asked me if I was interested in shooting live concerts, and if I wanted to shoot a poster of a rock band. I have no experience doing concerts but, hey, I never let a challenge get in my way. The most challenging thing is that this man has a muscle disease and is in a wheelchair. I will shoot him too... and I really want to do something special... sexy, provocative, but I am still breaking my head on it. But it is really challenging and it will be great. So, yes, the article put me on the map as a photographer outside flickr, so in that way it changed my life.



You're doing very sensual self nudes and portraits. What is important in that kind of photography for you? Any tips you can give us about posing and taking selfportraits?

It is important because I am a very sensual and feminine creature and I have found a way to express it in photography. I love artistic nudes a lot. I started to experiment in this field with myself as a model and the outcome to me was amazing. Just to see that I could exactly project the images I have in my head onto film was a true discovery. So I never stopped and continue to explore the field of selfportraiture.

I am really now in a phase, though, to start taking more photographs of other people. Male and females. I have had excellent exercise using myself as a model and I am dying to take it a step further.

I do try to make an aesthetically beautiful photo but I would also do that if I had a model posing for me. At this moment in time I am into that but it will maybe change. Maybe just to shock people I would like to make photos in the future of imperfections in the human body, including mine.

Tips? Maybe if you are thinking about exploring the field of selfportraiture - just take a tripod, a remote and your camera and experiment. Also take a look at lots of photographs of other photographers... you will get inspired in so many ways.

Your profile told me that you're female and single. How many flirty mails do you get per day? :)

It is really nice and flattering to get mail from people saying that they like my photography and that I inspire them a lot. I also get a lot of technical questions concerning photography - which lighting I use, which lenses, etc. And yes, I do get a lot of flirty mails too. It is really sweet sometimes what I find in my mailbox and I really appreciate it a lot that people take the time to write me an email telling me how they feel.

What's your profession? Is there any relation between your real job and your photography work on flickr?

I am a logistics/sales person in a tool factory in a little town in the North East of the Netherlands so no there is no relation. I am also a photography student though. I study next to my full-time job and college will start in September again so it will be hard. But I am fully committed to photography and I really want to continue the path that I am following now. I have some great photographer friends with whom I have plans to do an exhibition.

I am also in a project with my flickr friend Carlos Bravo that is called ArteTerrestre. It is a group of talented photographers all over the world and the goal is to promote our photographs in the countries we are living. But it is still under construction. I have seen the test website though and it's looking good already, so I am really anxious to start with this project and see what it will bring us.

Tell us something about your equipment and lighting, please.

I have a Canon Powershot G6 with a turnable LCD screen for my selfportraits and I have a Canon EOS 350D with a standard kit lens. I have a tripod and a remote and that is it. I do have the opportunity to rent equipment and a studio at college though, but so far I have not had the urge to do it. I am starting to get itchy though... I would love to experiment more with long exposure shots in the night with a wide-angle lens and I want to do more with macro in the future too. Ah, I also have a bunch of toy cameras and a lomo... I haven't used them a lot though. But I am sure you will be seeing more photos taken with those in my stream too in the future.

Do you retouch your photos a lot? Whats your favorite tricks, filters, plugins?

I am a total Photoshop freak! It is the modern doka nowadays, you know. Isn't it grand that things you needed half a day for in a darkroom with analogue photography can now be done in Photoshop within 5 minutes?

I use a lot of filters in Photoshop, yes, layers, and all the plug-ins you can imagine; noiseninja, gaussianblur, mystical lighting, flamingpear. Photos I get from a shoot will be painted into something I have in my mind.

Any final words?

Final words? Just a big thank you for supporting me along the way. For making me feel loved and appreciated and being proud to be part of such a great community.