About Stefan Elf / Stefan Elf  

About me

I am a freelance Photographer and Web Designer. Below is a link to my website.
Elf Design

My passion for photography was awakened when an old photographer gave me his Nikkormat FT along with 3 manual Nikkor lenses - a 35mm, a 50mm and a 105mm - back in 1996. These lenses were pretty much a perfect setup to start off with, but in practical use the 105 was my favourite focal length. Being able to express myself through photography felt entirely natural, unlike my attempts at playing the violin and the piano... Since 2005 I've been shooting entirely digitally.

The most important part of any photographer's equipment is an eye for detail, lighting and composition. The second most important piece of equipment is the lens. Unfortunately new consumer-grade lenses very rarely live up to the sheer quality and resolution of the older, manual ones that are often available at a similar price level. The current demands for speedy autofocus, extreme focal lengths and massproduced 'kit' lenses tend to lead to a loss in sharpness, 'atmosphere' (however you define that) and definition in modern photography. Colours are usually well rendered, but pictures often end up looking like 'snapshots'. If I had the time and patience, I would use my old manual Nikkor lenses a lot more - in particular the 50mm f/2 H. Due to the 1.5 crop factor on my D200 it can turn into a very moderate telephoto - and it has been named by experts as one of the sharpest lenses ever manufactured. However, quite often I don't have the time for non-autofocus lenses.

With the D700 I feel I have returned to my roots again... having spent years with the 1.5 crop factor it's so refreshing to see my lenses work as they were originally intended. A new perspective opened up with the D700, one that will no doubt complement that of my beloved D200. It's strange how attached you can grow to some cameras, and while I was eager to upgrade I found myself unable to sell the D200. I am however looking forward to a lot of available-light photography with the high ISO capabilities of the D700!

My style and intent as a photographer is to isolate the essence of each scene that I capture. A particular colour, shape, pattern or path through the frame should provide a distinctive character to the photograph. I don't shy away from post processing; on the contrary, I often welcome the creative potential it provides. However, getting it 'right' directly in the 'decisive moment' produces pictures with something eternally different about them, and scoring such a shot always brings me a smile. That's what it is ultimately all about. Recently I read an essay called 'Abstracting the Landscape' about this at Luminous Landscape. Read it; it puts everything very well.

Everything I capture is genuinely from my life and the life of family and friends. I like to capture everyday things and situations in interesting ways. Hopefully this 'authenticity' comes across in my photographs. Enjoy!

... and now for something completely different:
(You know you needed to know this about me!)