Interview with Hanneke Van Camp

Can you tell us a little bit about how you became a photographer?

My love for nature and being outdoors has always been there and led me to study biology. Over the years I gradually moved from experiencing nature at home and while traveling, to wanting to capture it. I got inspired by photographers who used their images for conservation purposes, like Ansel Adams, Carleton Watkins, or Paul Nicklen today. I hope to inspire people to connect with nature more, by showing them its beauty and how I experience it.

And that’s where it all starts for me; with the experience of being outdoors and enjoying the sunrise as often as I can. 

Photo: Hanneke Van Camp // The frame Hamburg made of real wood veneer forms a harmonious connection with the forest motif - and thus enhances the effect of the picture.

Please share something about your images. What is your special interest? How do you choose the colors, composition, themes etc.? 

The north is known for its harsh conditions, but everything has a hard and a soft side. I like to transfer what I feel, what I experience, through my photos. For me arctic Europe is a region of contrasts, in which I find freedom and tranquility. I’m drawn to its soft light and the colourful skies you’d especially find around dawn and dusk, during polar night or when it’s midnight sun. 

With my telephoto lens, I select small fragments of landscapes out of the vast world around me. From atop a mountain looking out over a cloud inversion, from the shore of a misty lake or out on a snowshoe hike; I always try to find more minimalistic scenes in uniform colours. Misty trees, snow and reindeer are probably my favourite subjects. While they make my heart skip a beat, they symbolize both the peace and constant change I associate with the north, while also giving viewers something to dream of or relate to, just like I do. 

Photo: Hanneke Van Camp // The black Basel floater frame sets a clear visual boundary and creates depth. The eye is drawn to the intense color contrasts of the motif.

Where does this interest (photographing in Northern Europe) come from? 

The variation in the seasons feels more drastic up north, from nightless nights in summer to polar night in winter and everything in between. Photography allows me to reflect on these fleeting moments, their uniqueness and their importance. It’s a way to spend time in nature, slowing down. Becoming more aware of how the landscape lives and changes around you, and how the light affects the way we see the world. 

How do you get inspired? And what inspires you the most? Films, books, or magazines? Or what surrounds you? 

Nature is my biggest inspiration. That’s also why my partner and I travel north for long periods. To immerse ourselves in these landscapes, to experience it fully, to enjoy. It’s always nice to go out with a goal in mind, but along the way it always becomes clear that the journey there may be worth more than the destination. 

Photo: Hanneke Van Camp // Understated and precise: the slimline edging in black frames the winter motif without weighing it down.

What are your plans for the rest of the day?

I usually start the day early, with a sunrise hike or a morning run. For me, being out in nature is the best way to get energized. And that’s also how I like to end the day: stretching my legs with the setting sun or underneath the northern lights. 

What else should we know about you?  

Bio:  

Hanneke Van Camp (32yo) is a nature photographer based in Belgium but traveling through Arctic Europe in a small campervan most of the year. Trying to live a life closer to nature, she continues to push the boundaries of her comfort zone. Her soft landscape photos are often captured during sunrise hikes out on the fells, looking out over the environment around her. In this misty world full of suggestion, it’s as if time stands still. Because as vast, rugged, or extreme the North may be, this feeling of tranquility always seems to prevail. 

Hanneke’s love for and inspiration from nature has always been a big part of her life. It led her to become a biologist and science communicator and influences her work as a photographer today.

With her photos Hanneke hopes to inspire people to connect to nature, to rediscover its value, and to eventually become ambassadors for its conservation.