#najade

[donkringel]

I got the cool chance to do some Illustrations for an upcoming Tabletop RPG called “Fragments - Pulverdampf”! I’m so excited to post the first one. The crowdfunding campaign will start tomorrow, [HERE] , go check it out!

[wbs70]

Westliches Najadenbecken, Schlosspark Schönbrunn #najadenbecken #najade #naiad #reflection #reflectionpool #statue #schlosspark #palacegardens #schoenbrunn #schönbrunn #vienna @schoenbrunnpalace (at Schloss Schönbrunn) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAcRaoqWMe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[nastidoesstuff]

petersburg, 2016.

[epilogue-blog]

Interview - Freya Najade

We recently spoke with photographer Freya Najade, originally from Germany and now based in London, she works on long-term personal projects and commissions. The most recently completed of her projects, Jazorina, is being released as a book, launching at The Photographer’s Gallery on May 5th. The subjects that she has photographed is broad, from Ukranian pleasure seekers in the center of Kiev to the production of strawberries in winter time. We discuss the themes of her work and the processes that take her projects from ideas to fruition.

HL: How would you describe your way of working within photography?

FN: Besides doing commercial photography work, I continue to work on long-term personal projects which fit somewhere within the field of documentary photography. The project themes vary and are typically quite different from each other. I am quite open with regard to the topics. The way a new project generally emerges is that I come across something I find fascinating and would like to learn more about and believe that others could also be curious about. My approach and visual language evolve when working on a project, it all depends very much on the topic, how I perceive it and what I would like to put across.

HL: A strong theme throughout your work appears to be tourism and the ways in which people use their leisure time, has this always been a strong interest of yours?  

FN: The way people spend their free time says quite a lot about a culture and a place, which is why capturing leisure activities can be very interesting and it became part of my last two projects. However, I wasn’t interested in investigating leisure as such and it has been a coincidence that Hidropark and Jazorina were both related to this topic in a wider sense.

I had different motivations when I started working on both projects. When I came across Hidropark, which is in the middle of Kiev, I was captivated by the place and the people and felt strongly that I wanted to photograph it to show a slice of life in the middle of Kiev – especially because not many people were talking about Ukraine at the time and had very stereotypical images in their minds. In the series Jazorina I was fascinated by man’s attempt to change the face of a whole region in such drastic way, capturing the emerging tourism was one important element of the project.

HL: Within the subject of tourism there is an undercurrent of artifice, of the manufactured, the development of the land and the way that people interact with these spaces. Why are you looking at these locations specifically? Is this relationship between tourism and man made destinations continually within your thought process?

FN: In the project Jazorina I was definitely drawn to the artificiality of the manufactured landscapes and how people interact with them. It’s not just the relationship between tourism and man-made destinations specifically which I an drawn to, rather that these are landscapes which show undeniable traces of human activity, this is what most interests me. I am curious about our relationship to nature – humans versus man-made – and the drive of humans overpowering nature, this was also a very important element in the project Strawberries in Winter. I was captivated by the artificial landscapes and sites, which produce our food.

HL: When beginning a new project how do you take it from idea to getting out and photographing? Do you do much research into the subject that you are photographing or do you like to discover things as you progress?

FN: Research is important for me for when starting most photographic projects. I research texts, photographs, films about the topic I would like to work on in order to learn more about the subject and to see what else was already said about it.

Once I start working on a project, I definitely like to discover things as I progress. My projects depend a lot on the people I meet, and places I find, it’s much more difficult and lengthy to research that in advance. Just going somewhere, meeting people and looking for places is, from my experience, easier. People are often more willing to participate in a project if they meet you in person, they can introduce you to others or recommend places to go to or where else to find information.

I think sometimes one gets a preconceived opinion about a topic when doing a lot of research beforehand, I think it’s much better to have an open mind.  

HL: Change and transition are also ideas that are present in your work, whether it be the transition of a landscape such as in your latest project Jazorina or the transformation of a certain individual as in your If You Are Lucky You Get Old series. Do you approach these subjects with a view of documenting them at a certain stage in that transition?

FN: The theme of transition is in both projects a very important element of the work. In Jazorina I was interested in showing the transition of a mining region into a holiday destination. In If You Are Lucky You Get Old it was for me very important to show that people above seventy can still change, live through transitional periods and inner growth continues. In both projects it was not so important to show the transition at a specific stage but rather to capture different elements of that transitional phase.

HL: Do you think it is important for photographers to have a core set of interests within their work that tie everything together?

FN: I don’t think you need a core set of interests in fact I don’t have one. I find myself exploring very different themes. There was a time I questioned that a lot and wondered if I should just focus on one topic and if I would need something that ‘ties everything together’. It seemed to make one more valid as a photographer if one would say ‘I am interested in conflict or environmental issues or women’s rights’. But in my case this would just not be authentic I am interested in very different things, I am not just drawn to one topic, I am curious about the transformation of a mining region into a holiday destination, or in the lives of older people or where our food comes from. By now I think that is totally fine. Most importantly, one has to be true to oneself in order to create good work.

HL: What inspires you?

FN: When going places, I feel very often I would like to do a project about this and that. I see things that touch me or that I find fascinating. At the moment London inspires me a lot, I have so many project ideas here that I would like to work on next. Movies inspire me too, especially documentaries. Radio shows like This American Life are very inspiring. Other photographers inspire me of course, but not as much as they used to. When I got into photography I was obsessed with looking at other photographers such as Alec Soth or Taryn Simon.  

HL: What advice would you give photographers with regard to using social media?

FN: I think using social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is very important as a photographer. It allows you to connect with people very easily, to show your work and to see what’s happening. For some people being active on social media comes more naturally than for others, I find that I have to push myself a little bit, but I see it now as part of my practice and try to dedicate some time to it every day.

HL: Thank you, Freya.

Freya’s latest book Jazorina launches on 5.05.2016 6-8pm at The Photographer’s Gallery, London. Copies of the book are available to pre-order here.

Check out more of the work and connect with Freya on her website, twitter , instagram and facebook.

[shellauw]

Hello pretties. #najade #uwr #underwaterrugby I'm in business. Time to train.

[vierenenvaren]

[vierenenvaren]

De Sinterklaasintocht op de Amstel zondag was een groot succes.

Van Rederij de Nederlanden waren de trekschuiten Jacob van Lennep, Hildebrand en de salonboten Najade en Proost van Sint Jan, opvallend aanwezig.

[vierenenvaren]

De salonboten van Rederij de Nederlanden.