Ben Heine Interviewed
by Pop Photo (*)
by Pop Photo (*)
.
.What is your background as a photographer and artist?
I am initially a painter and illustrator; I’ve always been drawing, mainly as a self-taught person. My passion for photography came later, a few years ago, when I realized how creative and powerful this discipline could be (my studies in Journalism have given me some good technical knowledge in that field). Several renowned photographers have also inspired me, and then I chose my own creative path.
.
Can you tell me a bit about how you first began Pencil Vs Camera? How long have you been doing it, and can you describe your first photo/drawing? How has the project evolved since then and how would you describe your philosophy behind it?
It all started a few months ago. I found this concept almost by coincidence while I was doing something else (my most crazy ideas always come when I’m doing something completely random, lol). The original concept was to oppose imagination and reality, drawing and photography by using simple tools: my pencils and my camera. It’s a very exciting thing to do because there is no limit. Everything is possible. The only boundary is my own perception of the world. The project has evolved in a great way since “Pencil Vs Camera – 1”. I firstly wanted to confront drawing and photography (the image being a sort of battle field between the 2 techniques…). I now think that the peaceful combination of the two mediums is even more interesting, harmonic and powerful. I also started the series by making quick and minimalist sketches; I now tend to make more detailed drawings.
.
Can you tell me a bit about your process? How do you first conceive an image, and what are your steps to go about getting the photo? What are the steps from photo through compositing to completion?
As I’ve written in a previous interview, there are 4 techniques to make Pencil Vs Camera, most of the time I choose the traditional way, being as genuine as possible, it is always a hand made drawing started from scratch. I simply draw something that comes through my mind on a small piece of paper and then take a picture of it with a realistic background behind.
Here are the 4 possible techniques to achieve the same results:
A) (Traditional way++) Make a drawing on paper; take a picture of your hand holding it with a nice scenery behind. When it’s possible, try to draw things that are more or less connected with the environment behind the paper but don’t forget that there needs to be a contrast between your imagination and the reality of the photo (this is the technique I have used most of the time).
B) (Traditional way+) Take a photo of a great place, print it in big size, make a surreal drawing still connected with the atmosphere of the photo, place the drawing over the picture with your hand holding it, take a new picture of this composition, reframe and retouch the arrangement afterwards if necessary.
C) (Digital way+) Take a photo of your hand holding the paper with a drawing on it, take another photo of any landscape, match them and assemble them afterwards in a photo editing software.
D) (Digital way++) Make a full digital work: create a digital drawing over a digital painting (landscape + paper), you don’t even need a camera if you choose this method, but you’ve got to have some good skills in painting to make everything look natural.
.
Can you describe the technical component to it? What about capturing a photo, do you need to pay specific mind to in order to make it a successful piece later?
Yes, definitely, I pay attention to every detail. Please see my answer above for the technical details…
.
Can you describe what you have learned as you've gone from your first works to a long-term series? What are the things you've discovered while working on it, and what direction is it taking now?
Working on a long-term series like “Pencil Vs Camera” has several advantages and disadvantages. It can be a bit boring and repetitive to work on the same project during several months (and I’m the kind of person who likes to work on different projects at the same time) but it’s also very challenging and rewarding, the feedbacks are huge so far. It also allowed me to have several publications around the world and to enter in well-known art galleries in Belgium and abroad. I said I would make 100 PvsC images. I hope I’ll manage to do so. I’m sure I could, the only problem is that I’ve several other ideas in mind. I’ve almost made 40 pieces so far and I’m not sure I’ll have the patience to wait another 6 months before investing my time and energy in another original series… I’ll do my best and we’ll see how things go.
.
What has been the response to your project and what has been interesting/enjoyable about your audience's reaction?
I’ve only received positive and constructive feedbacks so far, which is very nice indeed. I always enjoy to get any kind of reaction and objective criticism from other people. I read every comment and messages sent by the viewers. It’s rather exceptional but I sometimes adapt my ongoing work according to the most interesting responses I receive.
.
What has been most enjoyable about working on the series as a whole? Are you planning on continuing it? If so, what are some of your future plans for it, and, if not, what are you working on now?
As mentioned above, I’ve several other ideas and latent series in stock. I’m just waiting for Pencil Vs Camera to come to an end… And of course I hope my forthcoming projects will generate as much curiosity as Pencil Vs Camera. I can’t explain right now what I’m working on, as I would prefer it to remain secret as long as it isn’t published…
I am initially a painter and illustrator; I’ve always been drawing, mainly as a self-taught person. My passion for photography came later, a few years ago, when I realized how creative and powerful this discipline could be (my studies in Journalism have given me some good technical knowledge in that field). Several renowned photographers have also inspired me, and then I chose my own creative path.
.
Can you tell me a bit about how you first began Pencil Vs Camera? How long have you been doing it, and can you describe your first photo/drawing? How has the project evolved since then and how would you describe your philosophy behind it?
It all started a few months ago. I found this concept almost by coincidence while I was doing something else (my most crazy ideas always come when I’m doing something completely random, lol). The original concept was to oppose imagination and reality, drawing and photography by using simple tools: my pencils and my camera. It’s a very exciting thing to do because there is no limit. Everything is possible. The only boundary is my own perception of the world. The project has evolved in a great way since “Pencil Vs Camera – 1”. I firstly wanted to confront drawing and photography (the image being a sort of battle field between the 2 techniques…). I now think that the peaceful combination of the two mediums is even more interesting, harmonic and powerful. I also started the series by making quick and minimalist sketches; I now tend to make more detailed drawings.
.
Can you tell me a bit about your process? How do you first conceive an image, and what are your steps to go about getting the photo? What are the steps from photo through compositing to completion?
As I’ve written in a previous interview, there are 4 techniques to make Pencil Vs Camera, most of the time I choose the traditional way, being as genuine as possible, it is always a hand made drawing started from scratch. I simply draw something that comes through my mind on a small piece of paper and then take a picture of it with a realistic background behind.
Here are the 4 possible techniques to achieve the same results:
A) (Traditional way++) Make a drawing on paper; take a picture of your hand holding it with a nice scenery behind. When it’s possible, try to draw things that are more or less connected with the environment behind the paper but don’t forget that there needs to be a contrast between your imagination and the reality of the photo (this is the technique I have used most of the time).
B) (Traditional way+) Take a photo of a great place, print it in big size, make a surreal drawing still connected with the atmosphere of the photo, place the drawing over the picture with your hand holding it, take a new picture of this composition, reframe and retouch the arrangement afterwards if necessary.
C) (Digital way+) Take a photo of your hand holding the paper with a drawing on it, take another photo of any landscape, match them and assemble them afterwards in a photo editing software.
D) (Digital way++) Make a full digital work: create a digital drawing over a digital painting (landscape + paper), you don’t even need a camera if you choose this method, but you’ve got to have some good skills in painting to make everything look natural.
.
Can you describe the technical component to it? What about capturing a photo, do you need to pay specific mind to in order to make it a successful piece later?
Yes, definitely, I pay attention to every detail. Please see my answer above for the technical details…
.
Can you describe what you have learned as you've gone from your first works to a long-term series? What are the things you've discovered while working on it, and what direction is it taking now?
Working on a long-term series like “Pencil Vs Camera” has several advantages and disadvantages. It can be a bit boring and repetitive to work on the same project during several months (and I’m the kind of person who likes to work on different projects at the same time) but it’s also very challenging and rewarding, the feedbacks are huge so far. It also allowed me to have several publications around the world and to enter in well-known art galleries in Belgium and abroad. I said I would make 100 PvsC images. I hope I’ll manage to do so. I’m sure I could, the only problem is that I’ve several other ideas in mind. I’ve almost made 40 pieces so far and I’m not sure I’ll have the patience to wait another 6 months before investing my time and energy in another original series… I’ll do my best and we’ll see how things go.
.
What has been the response to your project and what has been interesting/enjoyable about your audience's reaction?
I’ve only received positive and constructive feedbacks so far, which is very nice indeed. I always enjoy to get any kind of reaction and objective criticism from other people. I read every comment and messages sent by the viewers. It’s rather exceptional but I sometimes adapt my ongoing work according to the most interesting responses I receive.
.
What has been most enjoyable about working on the series as a whole? Are you planning on continuing it? If so, what are some of your future plans for it, and, if not, what are you working on now?
As mentioned above, I’ve several other ideas and latent series in stock. I’m just waiting for Pencil Vs Camera to come to an end… And of course I hope my forthcoming projects will generate as much curiosity as Pencil Vs Camera. I can’t explain right now what I’m working on, as I would prefer it to remain secret as long as it isn’t published…
.
(*) Pop Photo is an online platform specialized in photography resources, featuring camera reviews, photo galleries, tutorials and contests. I was interviewed by Lori Fredrickson in November 2010
