Little did Hansie’s grandparents realize what seed they were planting that morning when they presented Hansie with his first point-and-shoot camera on his 7th birthday.
This was evidently the beginning of a love affair with photography that has blossomed over the years.
Hansie recalls his first photographic assignment. He was promoted to team leader of the grade 3 Voortrekker team because he was the only one in the team who owned a camera.
But with this position also came the responsibility of taking the teams ‘official’ team photographs. Everybody dressed up in there uniforms, lined-up, smiled and, snap a memory forever.
After finishing school, Hansie enrolled at the University of Pretoria and graduated with a B.Comm degree in Financial Management. After working for a short while in Pretoria, he decided
to travel a bit. He had his camera serviced, packed his backpack and bought a ticket to London without the foggiest clue that only a few days later he would meet the love of his life.
After returning to South Africa Hansie and Leigh moved to Onrusrivier, Hermanus and Hansie applied to do a Diploma course in Professional Photography, and got accepted. This was great news,
but meant that he had to leave Onrus and move back to Pretoria to study. Hansie says that during the course (and since) he breathed, dreamt, thought, smelt, and ate photography. ‘What a
wonderful experience it was to soak up all this knowledge about a topic that is my biggest passion’. To receive his diploma Hansie had to prepare a diverse portfolio that was adjudicated
by three top professional photographers representing the PPSA (Professional Photography in South Africa). His portfolio was very well received by the adjudicators and he completed the
course with flying colours. As an added bonus Hansie also received the award (and the runner-up award) for the Best Wildlife Image.
Hansie and Leigh couldn't stay away from the scenic Western Cape and moved back to Onrusrivier, where they got married and recently added a baby boy to the household. Hansie often does
assignments in several of our other provinces, and abroad, but mostly in the Cape Town and Overberg area. He says that a lot of the advertorial photography for businesses is usually
done on their premises and that he uses his home studio mostly for commercial photography and his own creative photography.
Hansie says that he loves nature and the outdoors and that he often tries to incorporate this in his photos. Another passion is macro photography. You would be amazed at how interesting
the world is up close and personal. Hansie has recently won the 2008 Profoto Awards by Sony - Image of the Year Award, for a macro image of a gecko’s foot.
Hansie also has a flair for wedding photography and says it gives him goose bumps when he looks at the photos and sees the joy of the moment reflected. After all, romance is what it is
all about and that is also what he aims to translate in his work. On a wedding day everybody is all dressed up and ready for a fun day. What can be better than being part of such a
joyous occasion, while also having the added responsibility of documenting the day. Hansie says that being well prepared, and a having a complete back-up system in place, helps him
focus on what's happening on the day, relaxes him and allows him to also enjoy the day with the guests and wedding couple.
Recently Hansie has been invited by the Kamieskroon Hotel to co-present the annual Namaqualand Photographic Workshops during the Namaqualand flower season. The Kamieskroon Hotel and
its beautiful, natural surroundings have played host to the Namaqualand Photographic workshops since 1984, founded by Freeman Patterson and Colla Swart. These workshops are known
around the world and regularly draw participants from Europe, North America, New Zealand, Australia, Namibia and other countries as well as South Africa.
Photography is something that one should share and enjoy with others. It is a great way to express yourself and it teaches you to look at the world from different perspectives.
Hansie enjoys sharing his passion with other photographers and he would like to invite all persons interested to join him on one of the workshops where
he aspires to inspire.
