Interview: Frank Peters
Luca Curci talks with Frank Peters, one of the Honorable Mention winners during the ITSLIQUID International Contest – 8th edition.

Frank Peters is an award-winning fine art, travel and landscape photographer from The Netherlands. Winner of the International Photography Awards (IPA, New York) category Minimalism and awarded in other global photography contests since 2015 like the Fine Art Photography Awards (London), Prix de la Photographie Paris, Tokyo International Foto Awards, Pano Awards, Minimalist Photography Awards and more. Peters has published a photography book “The Story of my Light”. He works on commission for several Dutch magazines and newspapers. His fine art photography is represented by art galleries in The Netherlands and international online galleries like Online Gallery, The Artling, Saatchi Art.
“To me fine art photography is the creation of tranquil, surreal, moving moments. Images that tell more about the photographer than the beauty of the images reveal. As far as I can judge for myself my work is mainly about the search for balance, perfection, the flee from reality and the unknown. Besides photographer, I’m also a poet. Sometimes they reinforce each other. About my minimalistic photographic series, I wrote a minimalist poem on the underlying idea of what fine art photography means to me: Fine art photography – Interpretation/of a/moment/that never/existed/before it/disappeared”.

Luca Curci – When you take photos, are you usually inspired by the situation or do you find inspiration in yourself?
Frank Peters – Sometimes I go outside with an idea in mind and start to realize it, but it also happens that I let myself be completely inspired by the circumstances. Sometimes it is a combination. Then I realize the idea in a different way through new inspiration on location.

LC – How much is the editing process important? How’s yours?
FP – Ansel Adams, the godfather of landscape photography, already described it very aptly in the analogue era. The negative is the sheet music and the print is the final performance of the composition. And it is still that way today. The digital file is the starting point and the final result is only as good as the quality of the orchestra’s performance. The better you master all the elements of the post-processing, the better the photo will be.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
FP – To keep it as simple as possible. In landscapes, you’ll find many distracting elements and it is my intention to leave them out of the image as much as possible. To create minimalist landscapes the composition is essential. Also, the weather conditions play an important role. Mist and clouds are ideal for Minimalism, even the snow, because these elements offer the possibility to create negative space in your images. So the weather is always a challenge and an opportunity. In post-processing, the most challenging thing is to stay subtle and make sure that the editing isn’t overdone.

LC – Do you use art to express something in particular? Is it like your medium of expression?
FP – With my photography, I try to escape the hustle and bustle, pressure and distraction in our modern society. I search for the essence without all the fuss.

LC – How do you feel when you see your work completed?
FP – Very satisfying when a work of art is finished and the idea behind it is reflected.

LC – How is being an artist nowadays?
FP – It is great to be an artist nowadays because there are so many opportunities comparing to the decades and times before. Every artist has a podium due to social media and work can spread more easily when it has been discovered. It is also easier to sell your work on a global scale and connect with other artists with completely different backgrounds and/or collectors and art lovers.