Peacemaker Interview
- What does visual peacemaking mean to you?
What’s important in life is to understand that in everything you do, your presence should ensure that the life of people you meet are better for meeting you than if they hadn’t. This applies to photography too. What talents and interests you’re given should be used to enlighten your surroundings. Visual peacemaking is all about using photography in just the same way that you use all your other talents: By your pictures to make this world just a little better.
- What motivates you to be a peacemaker?
It’s what drives us as humans. Some say ignorance is bliss, but as Edmund Burke said: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. I don’t want to remember as someone who didn’t do anything, and I don’t want to leave this life knowing that I was ignorant. Also I find it important to underline that peacemaking isn’t about all those foreign fields of death, but an attitude to carry with you in every part of life. If I can’t be a peacemaker in my own house, how can I be a peacemaker at the opposite end of the World?
- Have you ever felt stereotyped?
All the time. People take to little time to understand, and too much time to explain. But how can you explain someone you really don’t know. In our modern society, I feel that people don’t spend the time really needed to understand me, and I don’t spend enough time understanding others. Because of this it’s easy to say that Geir is like this or that, while I know that this isn’t the truth. This is easiest to see for instance sitting at the Thorn Tree Restaurant in Nairobi, being the rich white guy always being served first, while the people around have to wait till I’m satisfied, but it happens all the time here at home to - home being Stavanger, Norway.
- How does your camera get you to reflect on your world and your life?
Sometimes it’s a hindrance, making me see my surroundings and the people I meet as objects and not subjects with a worth in themselves. At those times, it’s best to leave the camera behind, and spending time focusing on the Other. I love Emmanuel Levinas point that Meaning is found only when you behold the eyes of The Other. I think that is a great attitude to have also when photographing. Why should I take pictures of anyone or anything whom I have no interest in other than them being objects of my photographic desire.
On the other side: Having a camera helps me look for things I otherwise wouldn’t have been looking for. The camera is a tool for awareness, observation and motivation to find those special things I meet. But I must always remember that my motives always are subjects in themselves, and not objects of my photo desire as I just said. - What do you like to photograph best?
People, and people in their context. I always feel that there is something missing even in the most beautiful landscape if there aren’t people in them. I don’t know why it’s like that, but I always get the most satisfaction when having captured an image see my subject smiling, knowing that what just happened was a genuine and satisfactory meeting between two or more people who interest each others.
Apart from that, being a traveller, I love documenting places, the broad horizons and the small details. - What technical aspect of photography do you find most challenging?
Well, I believe you can do almost anything you chose with a camera, but for me the most challenging aspect is introducing artificial light to image capturing. I know that the right use of strobes can give your images a lift that’s hard to do with natural light only, but having always relied on available light in a place, which I favor both for technical and aesthetical reasons, I find it time consuming and also to a degree introduces the wrong kind of impression into an image. But to put it simple; I’m not very good at it.
- Is there a particular group you feel is misunderstood or stereotyped that you’d like to document common humanity amongst?
African children. There is nothing I hate more than white, rich people coming back from African slums talking about how happy the street kids are in spite of them lacking basic needs and how much we have to learn from them. “They have more than us” these rich westerners say, but forget that the main reason for the street kids laughing is the crazy ways they’re approached by strange, pink/blue creatures from another world. There is nothing to learn from poverty other than that poverty degenerates people. What we can learn from these situations is that there is a strengt to survive in humans that sometimes surprises us, but don’t glorify street kids for their poverty.
- Do you have an idea worth sharing?
Very simple. Use your time wisely. If you don’t have time to take pictures, leave the camera behind. Bring your camera when you have time, and wait for the right moment. It will come, if you wait long enough, and look hard enough.
My Biography
The first image I remember taking, was of a rhino in Nairobi National Park. I was 12 and remember still the pleasure of discovering how the use of aperture influenced the image. Since then photography has been a natural part of my life, taking pictures and studying photography on and off since the early 80’s. For the last ten years I’ve been teaching photography at Solborg Folk High School in Stavanger, Norway, and consider myself more a photo educator than a photographer. The humanitarian photographer doesn’t ring true to me, but a photo educator teaching humanitarian photography sounds more like the biz.
Since 2000 photography, travel and solidarity has been my main educational occupation, having taught 300 young people the joy of photography. There is nothing more fun and exciting than helping young talent find their feet, and boy, have I found some talents.
My Recent Activity
- I added: Cambodian Market Square
to Photo Stories on July 08, 2011 - I added: Facing Cambodia
to Galleries on November 14, 2010
My Availability
For anyone looking for photo tutoring specializing on digital photography, workflow, travel and humanitarian photography, I’m available from medio May till medio August every year for short courses, larger workshops, photo safaris and photo commission. Having visited more than 50 countries, I specialize in travel photograph, and can also teach Apple Aperture workflow software, targeting East and Southern Africa and Southeast Asia including Hong Kong as my favorite areas to photograph.
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