Interview For Der Bildbearbeiter

Working on "Walking Lion" animation

What education do you have? Did you study?

I have a degree in Communication/Information. I also briefly studied Painting and Sculpture in an Art School in UK. You can view a short version of my CV on LinkedIn.
 

Did you learn your illustrating techniques by yourself?

Yes indeed, I learned most of the techniques I’m using on my own. I’m a self taught person in drawing and in Digital Photography (although I learned the basics of analog photography in my Journalism studies). 

Working on "Walking Lion"

What Software do you use? Do you use Photoshop or a 3D Software?

I use Adobe Photoshop mainly in my digital photography work and for some graphic projects. For my music projects, I use Ableton Live.

Do you still remember your very first commissioned artwork? If you do, what was it?

It was a large traditional acrylic painting featuring Buddha for an Asian restaurant in Hastings, UK. I was 18 y/o.

How would you describe your style? How did it develop through the years?

Many people tell me that my photos look like paintings. It’s because I paint and draw on them. Also, I’m mainly known for “Pencil Vs Camera”, a series mixing drawing and photography. So "mixed media" is what I'm the best at. This could be my style.

Working on "Walking Lion"

Where do you find your themes and subjects? Where does your inspiration come from?

I find inspiration mainly by observing people around me and by living intense experiences and emotions but strangely, inspiration comes from small and insignificant events most of the time.

What would you advise our readers to do to become an illustrator like you?

I would tell them to keep working hard and try developing a concept that has never been done before. Also, I'd suggest them to think about other jobs too, haha.

When you get a request for a new illustration, how do you start? (Do you make a lot of research? Do you travel to a particular place?)

I usually receive requests by email and then I choose the collaborations I find the most interesting. In some cases, I travel to meet the clients. It helps getting better results sometimes.
 

At Culinaria festival

Working with clients can be difficult, as they have their idea in mind that may not correspond with yours. How do you cope with such situations?

Exactly, it’s often difficult for both parties to be totally happy with the final work, so it’s important to establish the terms of collaboration from the beginning and to anticipate such conflicts.

Do you have a favorite image, which you have made yourself?

I would say this image is currently one of my favorite ones.

Who are your role models?

I admire people who managed to change the world in a positive way and who succeeded in bringing a bit of happiness and enjoyment in people’s life.
 

What do you do to relax?

I spend time with my family and I also like playing video games just to relax my brain between the projects I’m involved in.

Printed publication and interview in Der Bildbearbeiter, 2013

(*) Der Bildbearbeiter is a magazine about art and design for professionals. It's based in Germany.

© 2013 - Ben Heine

You've Got a Choice
.© 2008 - Ben Heine
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Energy Vs Pollution:
How to clean the air?
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By Dr Jagdish P N Giri (*)
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The new growth wave on emerging trends in corporate social responsibility aims at evaluating impacts the globalisation might have on natural environment and global environmental and energy policy approaches.

An ongoing debate on inter-relationships among trade/investment, energy and environment, its footprints on environment and climate and quality of energy business in terms of natural environments in countries exporting environmental goods and energy services in the context of producers and consumers of a variety of energy resources viz carbon, hydrogen and renewable across the globe, including developing and transition economies, has already taken a significant shape.

Energy use and supply is of fundamental importance to society and, with the possible exception of agriculture and forestry, has made the greatest impact on the environment of any human activity a result of large-scale and pervasive nature of energy related activities. Although energy and environment concerns were originally local in character for example, problems associated with extraction, transport or noxious emissions they have now widened to cover regional and global issues such as acid rain, trans boundary impacts of energy use and the greenhouse effect.

Such problems have now become major political issues and the subject of international debate and regulation. It is for this reason that there is a need for the emergence of new growth wave on corporate social responsibility dedicated to energy and environmental issues on sustainable development and millennium development goals.

Globalisation, energy and environment is an inter-disciplinary corporate social responsibility in terms of evolving dimensions of society and business strategies aimed at natural scientists, technologists, economists and the international social science and policy communities covering the direct and indirect environmental impacts of energy acquisition, transport, production and use.

A particular objective of the debate is to cover social, economic and political dimensions of such issues at local, regional and international level. The relatively recent awareness about environmental concerns have convinced the policy makers to extend their attention beyond the black-box, least-cost models and consider other aspects of their policy decisions. As such, the policy makers have now moved ahead of analysis in taking a more comprehensive approach to energy strategy.

Consequently, the debate forum is inviting stakeholders from all countries with contributions that would help Aaditya Energy Foundation, based in Chennai to lead a global movement for sustainable energy, environment and economy in 21st century to outline more clearly the major debate around taming versus uncritically supporting globalisation and global energy/ environmental policy.

The debate aims to engage experts from exporting developing and transition economies as well as specialists from industrialised countries to share their experience on various aspects of energy resource exploitation, its environmental consequences, on consumption patterns, and markets, with corporate environmental and social responsibilities. In the near term energy technology perspective defined by International Energy Agency seems to provide a viable direction to energy business at large.

ENERGY TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE
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Secure, reliable and affordable energy supplies are fundamental to economic stability and development of the nation. Threat of disruptive climate change, erosion of energy security and growing energy needs of emerging economies of Asia like India and China, all pose major challenges for energy decision makers, as well as energy producers, traders and consumers.

That can only be met through innovation, adoption of new cost-effective technologies, and a better use of existing energy efficient technologies. Energy technology perspectives' present status and prospects for key energy technologies and assesses their potential; to make a difference in mid century term, in the following aspects:

• How much can technology contribute to securing adequate and affordable energy supplies and lower CO2 emissions? What energy technologies hold the most promise? How long will it take?

• At their 2005 summit, G-8 leaders confronted these questions and decided to act with resolve and urgency. They called upon the International Energy Agency to provide advice on scenarios and strategies for a clean and secure energy future. Energy technology perspectives are a response for G 8 request.

• Numerous innovative works demonstrates how energy technologies can make a difference in a series of global scenarios to 2050. It reviews in detail the status and prospects of key energy technologies in electricity generation, buildings, industry and transport. It assesses ways the world can enhance energy security and contain growth in CO2 emissions by using a portfolio of current and emerging technologies. Major strategic elements of a successful portfolio are energy efficiency, CO2 capture and storage, renewable energy resources and nuclear power.

• While technology does hold great promise for the future, we must act now if we are to unlock the potential of current and emerging technologies and reduce the impact of fossil; fuel dependence on energy security and the environment. The key challenge in global energy policy is to create an energy system that supports continuing economic development and considerably reduces the risks of climate change. Energy efficiency is currently the most affordable tool to mitigate climate change.

• The fourth assessment report of the IPCC documents many of the large number of energy efficiency policies and measures that have already been implemented worldwide on the supply and demand side.

The accelerated technology scenarios (ACTs ) that form the backbone of energy technology perspectives demonstrate that by employing technologies that already exist or are under development, the world could be brought onto a much more sustainable energy path.

The scenarios show how energy related CO2 emissions can be returned to their current levels by 2050 and the growth of oil demand can be moderated. It also shows that by 2050, energy efficiency measures can reduce electricity demand by a third below the baseline levels. Savings from liquid fuels would equal more than half of today's global oil consumption, after setting about 56% of growth in oil demand foreseen in the baseline scenario. The substantial changes demonstrated in the accelerated technology (ACT) scenarios are grouped in:

• Strong energy efficiency gains in the transport, industry, commercial and domestic sectors,

• Electricity supply becoming significantly decarbonised as the power generation mix shifts towards nuclear power, renewables, natural gas and coal with CO2 capture and storage,

• Increased use of biofuels for road transport.

(*) Dr Jagdish P N Giri is the founder and ED of Aaditya Energy Foundation, Chennai. He can be reached at jpngiri@aadityaenergyfoundation.com

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--> This article appeared on Commodityonline.com

Cigaret Kills
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© 2007 - Ben Heine

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The War on Cigarettes
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By Olivia Rose-Innes

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Alcohol, tooth-rotting fizzy drinks, lardburgers, fast cars – the world is full of fun stuff that isn’t very good for us. So is it fair to single out cigarettes for demonisation?

Patricia Lambert, Director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, certainly believes so. At first glance, Lambert appears no more formidable than a nice lady on the PTA, but when she speaks on tobacco control, a steely quality enters her well-modulated voice.

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It is because of her considerable resolve, said Yussuf Saloojee, Executive Director of the National Council Against Smoking, introducing Lambert at the recent 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, that a journalist was once inspired to refer to her as a “neo-Nazi nanny”.

Are stalwarts of the anti-tobacco lobby indeed shrill lifestyle fascists wasting their energies on an irrelevant cause, or are they correct to target smoking as one of the most crucial public health issues of our time? Some of Lambert's highly convincing arguments follow here.

A smokeless planet?

Lambert was at the conference to speak on the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the first co-ordinated global effort to reduce tobacco use, and the world’s first public health treaty.

And nothing less than a full-scale planetary effort will do, says Lambert, who has been instrumental in developing the FCTC since it was first proposed, “Because the transnational tobacco industries have no use for national borders. They will sell their product to satisfy their shareholders any where they can and any how they can.”

The objective of the FCTC is “to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke”, and here Lambert likes to draw everyone’s attention to the word “devastating”.

“ People who draft international treaties aren’t given to flowery language; these documents are, as a rule, on the dry side. But we needed expressive language to stress the impact of tobacco on the world.

Devastating: that word was selected to be deliberately strong by the 190 countries who negotiated the convention, because that was how we saw it.”

It’s just not normal

Two oft-repeated arguments by the anti-tobacco lobby as to why tobacco deserves special demon status:

1. A cigarette is the only legally available consumer product that kills through normal use.

2. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke.

Says Lambert: “Just in case we forget: this isn’t a normal, ordinary consumer product. It kills 50% of the people who use it. With each breath, a smoker takes in 4000 chemicals, 50 of which are known carcinogens.

"When posed the question: ‘If a cigarette were invented today, would any regulatory authority on earth licence it for human consumption?’ I’ve never had any such authority give an answer that wasn’t a flat 'No'.”

Unequivocal health message

The medical community changes its mind frequently – as a result of the nature of scientific research, which, when progressing as it should, constantly checks and modifies itself as new evidence from studies arises.

But there are some areas in medicine where the evidence is so overwhelming that the public health message has remained the same for years now, as in: Eat your Greens, Keep Moving, oh, and – Rather Don’t Smoke.

In the same way that the evidence on the health effects of smoking began to mount mid-20th century and increasingly stilled dissenting voices, the research on the negative impact of passive smoking is now steadily convincing the doubters.

What tobacco costs the world

Lost lives: Currently, close on 5 million people die each year as a result of smoking. By 2030, that figure will have doubled: 10 million deaths. Of these, 70% will occur in developing countries.

“This staggering projected increase in death and disease in developing countries, compared to the relatively small increase in developed countries, is another indication that international control is really the only way to go,” says Lambert.

“There has been a tendency in Africa – and I’m sure in other developing countries – to say that tobacco control is something that rich countries should be doing. But if the burden of disease is coming our way, as developing countries the only prudent and responsible thing we can do is make sure that we initiate and maintain the strongest tobacco control measures possible.”

Poverty:“Tobacco control, rather than being a luxury that only rich nations can afford, is now a necessity that all countries must address.” - WHO report: Tobacco and Poverty: A Vicious Cycle, 2004.

Tobacco consumption is highest among the poor, who spend a larger proportion of their income on tobacco. It further exacerbates poverty due to healthcare costs, illness and premature death.

The costs to government and society are also severe: “The tobacco industry always tells us they bring in huge amounts of tax – they don’t; they only collect it,” says Lambert. “The World Bank estimates that the economic cost of tobacco use is more than 11 times greater than the economic benefits.”

Annual tobacco-attributable health care costs are estimated at between 6% and 15% of total health care costs.

In addition, productivity is greatly decreased by illness and premature death. If current trends persist, about 500 million people alive today will eventually be killed by tobacco, and half will die in their productive middle years. Most smokers lose 20 to 25 years of life.

Environmental damage:Tobacco production causes considerable environmental damage in terms of deforestation and carbon emissions – especially, as Lambert points out, in countries in Africa where tobacco is cured by burning wood.

Towards 100% smoke-free

To date, 151 countries – including South Africa – have acceded to or ratified the FTCT. Its key elements include:

* Raising taxes and prices of tobacco products

* Banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship

* Changing the packaging and labelling to depict health risks

* Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke

The ultimate aim of these measures is 100% smoke-free, i.e. no smoking in all work and public environments.

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--> The article appeared on health24.com
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