VanessaJackman

VANESSA JACKMAN

If there is any Streetstyle photographer to follow from now on, it’s Vanessa Jackman.
In 2007 the self taught Australian ditched her Lawyer-lifestyle and is now living the
life in London following her heart and dreams doing what makes her happiest; and isn’t that inspiring enough!
Her Streetstyle shots have made their way into British Vogue, Lucky Magazine (US), Harper’s Bazaar (Taiwan) and Style.com trends feature, to name a few.

I was fortunate to meet with her in person on her sporadic trip to Sydney for Rosemount Australia Fashion week last May, and have since got to know her better
(such a warm, and beautiful woman let me tell you!).
I decided to do a little follow up interview with her so here is a little insight into her life and adventures thus far..

What originally inspired you to pursue fashion photography?

Bit of a long story actually! When I moved to London, I picked up my husband's little Fuji FinePix 2MP camera and started messing around with it until eventually I joined the photo-sharing website Flickr, and started doing the "100 Strangers" project in December 2007. It was the first time I had ever really photographed people other than my friends at parties back home in Sydney (and I was always chopping arms, heads off etc- I was utterly useless!) and in the beginning I was completely terrified. The thought of approaching a random stranger on the street and asking if I could take their photo went way beyond my comfort zone. However, I persevered and the project built up my confidence in approaching strangers of all ages and backgrounds, and gradually I started to learn more about light, composition, my DSLR camera settings (I upgraded from the Fuji) and post-production techniques. I have always loved fashion and style, however, and moved into shooting street style images in March 2009. I absolutely love photographing (and meeting) new people and street style photography gives me the excuse to do that every day! I have met the most wonderful, interesting, gorgeous people through my blog and on the streets, and I feel so grateful that I am doing something that I utterly adore.

How did you learn your skills? Are you self taught?

Yes, self taught. I still have so much to learn and some days I feel incredibly frustrated at myself, but I think that with photography, you never stop developing and learning new skills.

How long have you been streetstyle snapping for?

I started photographing street style in March 2009.

What trends are inpsiring you the most at the moment?

Camel, camel and even more camel! And leather-I love the way designers are making such a "tough/hard" fabric look feminine and soft.

Where do you find inspiration for your own fashion?

Definitely from the girls I photograph on the street and from magazines (I am a magazine addict!)

Will you be attending London Fashion Week in Sept 2010? What sort of trends do you predict to be on the streets

Oh yes! Ankle/mid calf heeled boots, animal print (although does this trend ever really go away?), fitted sheepskin leather jackets, camel, capes and Pamela Love inspired jewellery.

What do you do apart from pursing your photography? For fun and personal enjoyment?!

I love food, travel, meeting new people although I must admit that it all kind of meshes together with the photography.

Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years?

My biggest dream is to shoot editorials for magazines.

To see her Streetstyle snaps and to follow her journey head to

http://vanessajackman.blogspot.com/
it’s one for the bookmarks tab no questions asked.

XXXXXX

NWInterview

New Weekly is relaunching people get excited...
...and they asked me to answer some questions so here we go...

What is the most worn item of clothing in your wardrobe?
I would say my Doc Martens (okay technically NOT a clothing item..but blah whatever)....I could live in those babies.

It’s Oscar night and you can be dressed by any designer, who would you choose?
I am really in love with Georgina Chapman's designs for Marchesa...some of my favourite women have been dressed by her (Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Kate Beckinsale, Rachel Weisz, Bar Refaeli)...her designs are so fem and beautiful. They just ooooze glamour.

What trend are you tired of?
There are sooo many amazing trends right now and I am honestly not hating on any. Maybe people wearing leggins with EVERYTHING...even in summer.

If you could give any celebrity a makeover, who would it be?

Hmmm....Britney Spears? Ha or Jess Simpson...? I love them both but they just seem to get it so wrong far too often.

Who is your celebrity style icon and why?
WHERE to start?! I do love Rachel Bilson, Nicky Hilton, Alexa Chung, Chloë Sevigny and Ashlee Simpson. They all seem to have such a relaxed style. Often in jeans, boys shirts, chunky boots, endless rings etc. But all can go to the fem side and wear sheer nudes, soft tones and look totally gorgeous too.

-PS-

I have just started a Lovemore Blog 'fan page' on Facebook...

...lately I have been getting lots of friend requests from blog followers so thought it would be good to get on facebook with you all.

So if you want to check out the page head HERE ! :)

Much Love

XXXXXX

Interview: Line Thit Klein (II)

Now that you have been introduced to LTK the person (see previous post) let me share a little more of our interview, along with some of her (mouth watering) work. ENJOY!

Northern Light: I am fascinated by your food photography! I can almost taste what I am seeing, what's the secret?

Line Thit Klein: I just love food, I love everything about it. Looking at it, tasting it, smelling it... For me it's not just food but art, and it's my passion and job to present it to the world in the most amazing way I can.

The light is the secret!! If you know how to control and work with daylight, then you have come a long way.

NL: Besides being an AMAZING photographer, what else do you like to do?

LTK: I read a lot of magazines and I love to cook. I'm very lucky to learn a lot of tricks, all the cooks that visit my studio have showed me wonderful dishes and all the tricks to make it easy. Besides that (cooking) I love to take a long walk by the ocean, it clears my mind.

NL: What are you currently working on?

LTK: A new cookbook and I promise you - it's going to be fab!! It's very me and so are all the recipes. They are simple and easy for those who don't have five hours to bake a cake. We even have a chapter called "5 ingredients". There will be bits and pieces from the book on my blog.

NL: I truly love your portraits! (discover them here) What do you do to "connect" with the person? - to bring out their best side...

LTK: Luckily I find it very easy to be around all kind(s) of people. We need to (be) comfortable in each others company. Usually it takes some time, but after a while, and after we have talked some, the shoot comes alive and we create the world and atmosphere that fits the case.

Actress Tuva Novotny



Tuva Novotny
























NL: Do you exhibit your work anywhere?

LTK: I just photographed a cookbook for famous Danish Chef, Paul Cunningham. So at the moment my pictures are on exhibit in Copenhagen. It's such a thrill to see my work in a big scale, it becomes art pieces in a whole new way.

NL: Do you sell your art pieces?

LTK: Yes, I do, but only on request.

NL: Do you book work in the US?

LTK: Yes, I love to work in the US. I have just finished a shoot in the Hampton's where I did a series on fashion. Next time I would like to visit Miami.


Line Thit Klein to the far right...


















NL: How often do you travel for work and pleasure?

LTK: I think I travel a lot. In the next 6 months I'm going to Egypt, Turkey, Napoli and Dubai. I have two small girls, so I'm only away 1 - 2 weeks at a time, or else I bring them along.

NL: What is your favorite travel destination?

LTK: It must be Cote d'azur. I love going there most because of the French mentality. Things take time, have an espresso and relax. The decadence, I love it! Their temper... their wine, baguettes, (the) shopping center Carrefour, the food.. the smell of the warm air mixed with perfume.

NL:  Doing a little research for this interview, I noticed you are "everywhere"... Face Book, Website, Blog. You also have a young family... How do you keep up?

LTK: I don't! BUT, I love to blog and I try to find time every day, even though I'm busy. I try not to answer the phone and check my email when I am home with my kids, but when they are asleep, I open up to the world again (online wise).


I hope you have enjoyed reading this interview as much as I did doing it! I encourage you to check out Line's website, and check in on her blog from time to time!!
A HUGE Thank You to Line for participating, it's been a pleasure, and I hope to see much more of your work!
Let me know when you are booked for Miami ;) !

Natasha

Interview by Natasha for Northern Light Blog
All images Line Thit Klein

Interview: Line Thit Klein (I)

When on vacation this past fall, I came across some fantastic food images... I was curious to find out a little more about the photographer, and this led me to an interview with Line Thit Klein. I am absolutely sure you will love her work, but first let's get to know her!

Northern Light: I have been looking at your blog and your website. You cast a wide net; Food, Interiors, Fashion, Travel, Books and last but not least Photography. On a daily basis what inspires you?

Line Thit Klein: Actually blogging is a good way to be inspired. You stumble upon very creative people, beautiful ideas (and) passionate souls. Besides that, I have a very skilled assistant and we often have long creative talks in a visual world where there are no boundaries, and that really opens up to new thoughts.

NL: I noticed you have an inspiration board in your office, how often do you ad to that? Change it?

LTK: I don't really change it, by changing it all. (But) Everyday I find something interesting and (I) ad it, so it's constantly evolving. My mood board takes me in (a) new direction all the time, I need to be inspired on a daily basis.

NL: What made you fall in love with photography in the first place? Do you remember your first camera? The first time you thought about making photography your trade?

LTK: My dad introduced me to photography when I was quite young and I fell in love with some of his old B /W pictures. He was a skilled photographer in his young days and he gave me my first dark chamber when I was 14. That just did it for me. Our entire house was a mess filled with copies all over the place. I had an old Nikomat Camera, simple and beautiful. It's so fun to think about; so much has happened since. I have almost forgotten my early work...
When I left high school, I got a job at Denmark's largest paper and that kind of opened my eyes to the possibility that I could make a happy living out of it.

NL: If you were not "in the arts", where would you have ended up?

LTK: I think I would be quite unhappy. I really love my job and I believe I'm lucky to have such an all-around everyday life. It's fun to think about, because I can't imagine doing anything else. But, perhaps, (if) anything I would have a little flower shop, or an organic food shop, or something like that....

NL: I noticed on your blog that a little while back you picked up the Domino book. What is your take on American interiors?

LTK: I really like it, because it's so different from the typical northern simple living. In America everything is very fancy and extravagant, and I see the beauty in the difference between American and Scandinavian living. You show how lovely you live by having expensive pieces on display. In Scandinavia we also like expensive things - it just can't be obvious - very strange. Here we have a tendency to simplify everything and we are also a little scared of colors. I love Domino because it represents the complete opposite style.

NL: What does your home look like? Trendy, Nordic,
Exotic?

LTK: It's Nordic and a bit ethnic, with art and lots of cookbooks on the shelves. It's very HYGGELIGT (cozy) and with natural toned walls in grey, white and caramel.

NL: Are you adventurous? Food, clothes, travel etc?

LTK: Oh so much YES! I try not to repeat my experiences and try something new all the time (Travel). My hunger for food and new tastes is big and I don't want to miss out on anything, so I try to eat new things, but not snails or weird stuff.

NL: Free time... what is your favorite "free time" filled with?

LTK: If I had 2 hours free from the studio, I would turn off my phone, go to a nice cafe by the dock and have a good salad and do nothing. Besides that; big dinners with lots of friends, long walks and of course my family!

It's been such a pleasure getting to know Line Thit Klein, the women behind the camera, and I can't hardly wait to share Part II of the interview. Stay tuned, it will leave you drooling :) !!

In the meantime, check out Line's blog.
(find her in the blog roll to your right)

Natasha

Interview by Natasha for Northern Light Blog
All images Line Thit Klein