Art
Art is about communication, emotion, creativity and originality. Art is also about cognitive processes and intellectual work in relation to an underlying idea and an overall concept. Images needs to be more than merely a demonstration of technical excellence. They need to tell a story or convey a message by evoking feelings and thoughts in the observer.
The Work
Creating photographic art is my greatest passion and something I feel compelled to do. My work reflects strong dramatic emotions and the beautiful, but with a fragility and an underlying message. I consider myself an artist who uses photography to express myself.
Inspiration
Inspiration is about who you are and what you have experienced, your inner images, impressions and experiences.
My desire is to create something unique, something timeless and something that inspires and creates emotions. Photographs that convey messages and ask questions.
My work is inspired by the works of Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Edward Burtynsky, Andreas Gursky, Howard Schatz, Elliot Erwitt and Alfred Stieglitz.
“Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
Elliot Erwitt
Motivation
My motivation and what compels me to create is a strong passion for photography as a medium of expression. I have a strong desire to always create better images and work consciously to further develop as a photographer. I consider feedback and criticism as important tools that enable me to learn and grow as an artist.
The passion I have for photography gives me motivation. It is in the creative process where I develop my artistic approach and it is the experiences on my journey that drives me.
Recent Work
“Birth, Death and Resurrection”
Artist Comments
“The universe and all within it, inanimate or as life forms, is implacably subject to the laws of physics, namely the time continuum and the resulting cycle of life which can be measured in millenniums or nanoseconds. Nothing is permanent, matter and energy are in constant flux, our sun is half empty and in a short 5 billion years our solar system will recycle into something new.
The cycle of life is the one crucial pondering for humans, classified as “mortals” relative to the infinite lives and transmutations of the gods and goddesses necessary to make sense of the terrible affliction of life and death. Religion, philosophy, lysergic acid diethylamide, mystics, stoic foretellers, and cryogenic preservation have all provided a myriad of answers with varying degrees of surprising and at times unsavory methods. The paramount question remains and it may well be that it is too much of a question to ask.
The goddess is the perfect emissary to the gods who have all the answers, and as the mother goddess with aptitudes including birth, fertility, the cycle of seasons, sexuality, water and solid connections as the mother of many gods. Perhaps, when a pandemic rages on earth, as they have in times past we can find consolation in the enduring goddess who reminds us of the beauty of birth, and the resurrection that follows death. She has many names, mother goddess seems most appropriate.”
“Dysmorphobia”
Artist Comments
“The Narcissus complex was first ingrained in Greek mythology and subsequently appropriated by the Romans within their own mythology dubstep. Throughout history, tribes have demanded a specific appearance or certain standards of beauty, often dictated by patriarchal enforcement. The current global society merely consists of many larger tribes, connected through the illusory hyperreality of the internet, and at the not-so-transparent claws of industry.
Standards of beauty, specific body features, and the quest for contentment through physical appearance have been commercialized for centuries. Ancient Greek standards of beauty have permeated all Western cultures and provided an irresistible opportunity for commerce to monetize a false perception of beauty. Since very few humans fit the idealized physiognomy, it is implied that we should spend large sums on a myriad of beauty products, diets, instantaneous surgical transformations, snake oil remedies, and trendy exercise contraptions; a false perception leading billions of customers to embrace the poisoned cool-aid of the industry.
Social media, the fantasy world of non-connections with its cruel judgmental pathology and constant peer pressure, has encouraged us to alter our appearance in order to be accepted in whatever sub-tribe we seek to join. As another highly profitable branch of industry, with data mining, manipulations, and intrusions, social media has idolized false standards of beauty, often leading to a self-destructive sense of self, further isolation, and an escape into a fantasy world.”
Torleif is a member of Norges Fotografforbund, Federation of European Professional Photographers and Professional Photographers of America.
Norges Fotografforbund NFF
The Norwegian Photographer’s Association (NFF) was founded in 1894. It is a Norwegian association with more than 500 professional photographers. The association’s purpose is to bring together the country’s professional photographers to collaborate on the development of photography and safeguard the interest of the photographer.
Federation of European Professional Photographers
The Federation of European Professional Photographers (FEP) is a nonprofit organization that organizes national professional photographers associations in the geographic area represented by the Council of Europe and has member organizations in some 29 countries. FEP is officially headquartered in Brussels. The Secretariat is in Rome. As the central reference authority for Photography in the European Union, it represents over 50.000 professional photographers in Europe.
The FEP defends the rights of professional photographers directly and in communion with national and international organisations. about-insetIt represents the interests of member associations on a global scale on topics like education, training, professional standards, authors rights etc. The FEP cooperates in the organisation of national events of member associations and international congresses, and promotes an exchange of keynote speakers.
The main aim of the FEP is to validate the standard of qualifications of professional photographers throughout Europe. In 1998, with help of the British Institute of Professional Photography (the BIPP), the FEP instigated a European qualification called QEP.
Professional Photographers of America
Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is the largest and longest-standing nonprofit photography trade association with a 150-year history. It currently helps 30,000+ pros elevate their craft and grow their business with resources, protection, and education, all under PPA’s core guiding principle of closing the gap between what photographers do as artists and entrepreneurs and what consumers want.