Featured photographer from Austria living in Vietnam.
First of all, I would like to thank you so very much for reaching out to me and for offering this enormous opportunity to present myself.
Having a possibility to get featured as photographer on the Agora Blog is an amazing opportunity to share some insights about me and about my photography – thank you so very much for this –
I am Gérard GERHARD
Born in Austria on the second of February 1954, I had an intense and Rollercoaster-like adventurers life – serving more than 15 years at the French Foreign Legion gave me the opportunity to restart my life as a French Passport holder. Retired from active duty since 2002 I enjoy traveling and living in Asia.
After meeting end of 2018 personally the famous french portrait photographer RÉHAHN at one of his Galleries at UNESCO Heritage Site Hoi An in Central Vietnam – I was overwhelmed by the beauty of his pictures – so I decided to take the next flight to Singapore, to celebrate Christmas and New Year and to buy for my very first time a real Camera – in this case the Canon EOS R with two lenses (RF 24/105 f4 and 70/200 f2.8).
Every day since I walk around with my camera and capture the most precious moments – within a year I made many more than twenty thousand photos and offered some of the best to Elderly Subjects which I was fortunate enough to meet several times.
Meantime I used Internet and YouTube a lot to understand technical bases and rules as much as possible and every month my photos where getting better and better. Hungry to now more and to do more I bought a DJI MavicAir Air 2 drone and I got an Apple iMac with Lightroom software.
These two years I lost already about thirty kilograms body fat and I feel full of energy – 2020 I posted on Instagram (Santa.today) so I started to let grow a white beard that I can be a Santa Claus visiting different abled kids at some places around Hoi An – great joy for them and myself.
Beginning of 2021 I sold my EOS R to buy a EOS R6 which I really love to use – so much better !
When Agora came in my sight I was so happy to see somebody who let people upload photos and gave them a chance to get recognized for their pictures – at my big surprise Agora selected me three times already into the Top 50 – what an amazing experience each time it was !
I don’t know if people really understand how much Joy and Happiness is activated when somebody like me get catapulted from 0 to one of the top 50 – so much excitement and fun – again thank you All so much for your votes – actually I continue every day to express myself with my pictures longing to learn more and more and to get better and better – so maybe one day some people will get mesmerized by looking at my pictures as I got transformed by looking at these amazing soul touching pictures from RÉHAHN.
I try to make contact with my Eyes and the Subjects Eyes first without speaking, giving them sign that I want to take a picture – this is in my point of view the moment that I can touch the Subject’s soul – totally relaxed and peaceful – looking into the lens – the right split of the second – click – and I smile back.
If I like the picture a lot – I print it and look for the Subject to offer it as Souvenir
The best selected picture into the Top 50 was with the #StreetPhotography2020, just after sunset I passed by an old shophouse in Hoi An’s Ancient town where an Elderly Gentleman was sitting outside next to the street watching ongoing life in surrounding neighborhood.
I think people voted for this picture because of several reasons :
The relaxed and peaceful sitting Elderly, his dog in the middle of the entrance door looking in the direction of the Ancestors house temple, Chinese letters influence the observer to localize the scene as Asian and the lanterns help expressing the evening mood.
This picture shows Past with all Ancestors shown inside the shop, Present with the peaceful living together scene Owner and his Dog, the Future with the reminder to be more careful with the environment finding this yellow plastic bag just in front of the shop – not important enough for an Elderly person who survived more than one war – but very very important for now young people !
2020 I had also the opportunity to participate in an Indonesian ongoing competition where the Judges selected my pictures more than eighty times – which kept me really really busy and happy.
Today I started to print about fifty of my best pictures to prepare for my very first Exhibition as soon this COVID 19 story finally ends – I would like to use this opportunity to allow myself to try to give you some advise :
DO WHAT YOU LIKE than OTHERS WILL LIKE WHAT YOU DO
ENJOY EVERY DAY AT THE FULLEST and FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE
ONLY BY DOING CAN WE GET EXPERIENCED
I don’t have a WebPage yet but I invite you to feel free to look me up at Facebook (Gérard GERHARD) or Instagram (Santa.today) and please don’t overwhelm me with to many e-mails (gerard.gerhard@icloud.com)