The following is the first of a series of interviews launched for Abstract and Surreal photography week in Project Educate 2008.

`wroth creates images that are the epitome of abstract photography. Textures, forms, and gradations dictate the mood of his work and create stunning non-representational art out of the real world, as re-interpreted by the camera and the artist.

Basics and Background

Name and location?
Shawn Hansen. I was born and raised in California but now live at the family ranch in the rugged mountains of western Canada.

How long have you been practicing photography?
2002 or 2001 as I recall was when I first picked up a camera, before that I don't remember ever being interested or trying photography. That was a point and shoot digi cam without manual focus or much control, I moved up to a DSLR in mid '05 when I got serious about it. It feels like a lot less time then that for some reason.

Do you have any formal training in the arts?
No. Hard work and user manuals is all I've had to go on I suppose, do not think I've ever read a whole book on the subject besides manuals. I did seriously consider going to fine arts school but was afraid I would not find my own voice there because I see a lot of people's creative spirit crushed that sort of institutionalization, so I have tried to find it by working alone. There are pros and cons to either approach I think, there are great things about art school and also about finding your own way, and down sides to each as well.

What cameras are your personal must-haves on a shoot?
I have fairly spartan gear, my 350D gets the job done and is always with me when I hit the field. I do not feel as though I've reached the limits of that equipment yet, but am looking to upgrade a ways to a 5D and maybe try an old view camera if I can manage learning traditional darkroom skills.

How did you come to embrace the genres you prefer to work in?
They came to embrace me I suppose, the style of any piece is defined by what will best suit the content of that piece. As I mentioned in another interview last week, the borders of style are porous at times and many styles can overlap on one image. I do not try to impose a style on my work, but let it emerge naturally. If certain kinds of styles are more common for me, it's likely because certain kinds of content interest me more then others... I don't really like the concept of genres, grouping kinds of art together is convenient at times, but each artist's work is unique or should be. I never go out trying to make 'genre pieces'.

Art and abstraction

Do you have a favorite abstract photographer? If so, who and why? If not, who is your favorite artist in general?
Hmm, no I think I have to admit that the my appreciation for abstract art is mostly academic. It provokes my thoughts, challenges me to think about art in different ways, and I learn a lot about form from studying it, but the art that really touches me on deeper levels comes from other movements like Symbolism.

Of course it is hard to pick just one artist I have a few that are major influences. Ansel Adams is my favorite artist I guess I would have to say, though there are many reasons for me to choose him the main reason is how well he seemed able to share what touched his spirit. He accomplished so many of the things I struggle to attain that he has my deepest respect and the gravity of his work can nearly move me to tears at times. His work reminds me of the real value art has for humanity.

What does abstraction mean to you in photography?
Abstraction means using visual form to disclose things invisible and formless, it also means drawing out some particular aspect from your subject. Imo. All images do this to some extent, there is almost always something in visual art which is unseen but gestured at by the formal qualities of the work, and the whole subject is never included in it's fully dimensional reality just particular aspects of it. I believe abstraction is a process at the core of all art photography no matter how realistic the shot may look, since we draw with only aspects of the world and use it to give form to our invisible content and our inner world.

I think fully abstract images happen when the attention to form takes over completely and any real life subjects the form might be drawn from pale in significance, when representation is no longer the main issue and the stress is totally on formal aspects of the image. I rarely take it to that level the subject is very often still important, so I do not really think of myself as an abstract artist, but in all my work I'm conscious of abstraction's role. In particular I want all the formal elements of the image to speak to my intentions making the image, that includes the technical aspects of the camera. I want depth of field for example to speak for me in the same way brush strokes can speak for painters.

Do you find influence from other mediums?
Certainly. Books, film, music, sequential art, martial arts, woodblock prints, everything is influential to an extent no matter how unlikely. It all adds to our experience of culture and art, and that has an influence in how we go about making our own art even if we don't always admit or recognize the influence. Paintings are a huge influence on me, more so then other photography I think.

What kind of in-camera manipulations do you perform to achieve abstract effects and impact?
I would suppose everything to do with a camera is a manipulation of reality in someway. But the sort you mean I do very few, I try to get exposures with straight forward technique if I'm able. Depth of field's relation to distance, shutter speed's relation to movement, the elemental relationships like that are the way I usually get abstract effects... Occasionally I change focal lengths or move the camera while making an exposure, [as seen in my 'Vertere' series of photos], this can make for interesting abstraction effects and people might want to give a try if they are looking for a fun easy way to get started in abstract photo effects... But generally in-camera manipulation is not my thing, darkroom manipulation is very important though [within limits of course].

What suggestions would you give other photographers about harnessing light to create a desired mood in their imagery?
Well light is the essential element of what we photographers do, it's important to understand and respect that... I'd say they need to find a quality of light that really interests or moves them, no matter what sort of light that is. When I say quality of light, I mean an atmosphere of light, the way light fills a room or landscape and surrounds us, how it falls on things to interest us. I bet even non-photographers can think of times when the light around them was almost magic, that sunset in the park, or night-lights of the street, the rise of the sun and mist in the forrest, the perfect rig in the studio, etc. That magic is out there in all light, but it's easiest to appreciate when it is a sort of light that resonates with us personally. Seeking out the light that creates a mood of depth within you, will lead to depth of mood in the work you make with it. When you are not inspired by the light it is a struggle to use, but it will flow very easily when you are in a mood in sync with it.

Words of wisdom

What advice do you have for beginning photographers?
If you are not serious about photography give it up and walk away. You're wasting your own time. Find something else you can be serious about and put your whole heart into that... Not trying to be harsh, but people's halfassed attempts at photography disrespects their own potential, and disrespects photography. It deserves your full attention, and you deserve something you can give your full attention to.

If you are serious then practice a lot, and push yourself, I found that to be the crux of progressing and progressing gives you the ability to get more and more out of your work. Work hard at understanding the technical processes going on in your camera the sooner you understand the better, it's your instrument you need to know it. Don't ever let yourself be fully satisfied with your work because you will likely stagnate, hold it against the highest standard you can find because even though the comparison is unfair you may not reach that high level unless you learn to judge yourself against it. And still enjoy yourself while doing all this.

What advice would you give to professional photographers in a rut?
The same advice I would give anyone in a rut. Walls are for climbing, obstacles are there for our growth, overcoming is a joy imo. All artists hit ruts, but it's a chance to find ways to outgrow our present and move onto new levels of work. Ruts are really useful to show us something is wrong with what we are doing or the way we are doing it, you feel it in your bones sometimes that this is not really what you want to be doing, it forces us to change for the better and learn new modes of being. So I say look at the rut as an opportunity to grow and try new approaches to pass it.

What advice would you, at present, give yourself 5 years ago if you could reach back in time?
Besides the stock market history for the last five years? ... I don't know, I'd tell me I'm still not sure where this path or the hard work is going to end, but stick with it because it's been interesting so far. There is not a whole lot I would like to change, just work even harder I suppose, life is too short and progress always seems too slow.

What do you hope people find in your art? Or, what do you hope they definitely don't find in it?
I hope they don't see it as superficial nature photography about the mundane physical subjects of the work, and see it as fine art; see that it's about internal experience. If they can see through to the real content, then I hope they find something there that will help expand their own perspectives. Either see my message in the work, or form their own meaning. If they can get engaged in the process of thinking about the work or forming some emotional connection to it then I think I've done a good job. Expanding my own perspective is what I hope to find when I view other artist's work as I said above regarding influences, so when viewers come to my work hope they can find something positive to add to their perspectives.

Ego

Who is your favorite deviantART photographer and why?
Hard to say, impossible really, I'm sure my opinion would change day to day. I have a lot of friends at DA that are good photographers and there are a lot of photographers here I admire greatly but don't know as well. In my photography fav collection I list the photographers that I watch, of course there are a lot of other great photographers who I like but don't watch or who are not listed there because photography is not their primary medium. It is a somewhat diverse list but that gives you a sense of the kind of photography that interests me, the favs themselves should shed more light on my taste. Quieter pieces, deeper ones, thoughtful ones, subtler ones, those are the photos I respond to best. Photographers that produce that kind of work tend to be my favorites.

What is your favorite image of your own, so far? Why?

Again ask me on a different day and I would likely give you a different answer. There are only a handful of pieces I take much pride in, atm I would say Instrumental Learning is my favorite. I spoke about ruts before, and that piece was me coming out of a major rut so I have a soft spot for it, it's like day break after a long night in my artistic history. It was also one of the best conceptual digital composites, which like abstract photos is a type of work where technical form is highly important to me. And it occupies a space that is hard to chart, part photo part manipulation part painting, and part landscape part surreal part abstract part post-impressionist, I can keep coming back to it and find it interesting because of that I think.

What is your preferred subject (people, objects, places, etc) and why do you like to shoot that subject, whatever the style?
My subjects are pretty much anything I find in nature, ranging from landscapes to mud, whatever seems meaningful when I see it. Nature is both fascinating and beautiful, it's a subject you can explore and reflect on endlessly because of it's complexity, and it surrounds me when I'm in my most productive state of mind. It's being out in the wilderness or nature that puts me in a frame of mind to make better art, you might call it a heightened awareness of a spiritual sort. I feel when I am in this state I can view subjects with more insight, I try to share that insight with my art. I don't use models as subjects in my work because I want the viewer to interact with the work in the first person, when you put a model in the work the viewer becomes a third person observer of an interaction which is fine but not what I'm after, since my experience is direct and first person that is the way I want to try and share it. Existence, through my eyes, through my lens. My perspective on existence is of course no more important then anyone else's, but sharing our perspectives with each other through art is a very important part of being human and coming to some understanding of the rest of humanity.

Favorite ice cream flavor?
I'm not too particular. A Häagen-Dazs coffee always makes for good times though.

If you could be any other person, who would it be and why?
It's all well and good to say you want to be Hiroshi Yoshida for his artistic mastery, to be Nietzsche for his brilliance, to be Christian Bale for the triceps he has and I want [son of a bitch!], Buddha for his enlightenment, or to be someone the girl you love would be able to love back, etc. But you are who you are, you should not believe that you are incapable of finding your own greatness. I guess I'd just want to be a better me, that would be another person I think, all that greatness I can see in other people I want to see in myself one of this days. Try to be brilliant, try to find some enlightenment, try to attain artistic mastery, etc, in my own life. That's not to say I am unhappy with who I am now, but that I feel driven to push to the limits of my potential. If that is achievable or not is hardly the point, working towards it is the point [especially on the triceps], that's what is important no matter who you are and not matter who you want to be.

Anything else you'd like to say?
Not much. I'm looking forward to reading the other interviews, thanks a lot for including me I hope it was somewhat interesting.



#Abstractography is the dAmn headquarters for Abstract and Surreal week. Be sure to drop by this week to meet the artists interviewed in this series, myself, and many other abstract and surreal photographers here on deviantART!