Interview: Lars Henrik Brøndsted
Luca Curci talks with Lars Henrik Brøndsted, winner of PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE MONTH – MAY 2022.

“Poetry, visual poetry or poetic realism is what I aim to convey. We have so much visual realism – with smartphones – but what I think we need is the poetry of human life. The fragility of life. With long exposure the realistic identity fades, and identity is more than the realistic image, identity is also the feeling of another human person. And feeling can be in the movement of a hand.”

Luca Curci – When you take photos, are you usually inspired by the situation or do you find inspiration in yourself?
Lars Henrik Brøndsted – It depends. I find inspiration when I meet a person, or objects can give ideas for images. I had a black cloth and gave it to the model and I waited for the situation to evolve: What would she do? I wait for the moment.

LC – How important is the editing process in your work? How’s yours?
LHB – The editing proces is not very important. I tend to make the picture in the shooting. When I use long exposure it is a matter of combining the movement of the model and the time of exposure. And for that I don’t need editing. I have worked long time in a darkroom, and there you just adjust light and contrast – so that is what I do when shooting digital.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
LHB – The challenging part is when I meet the person for a fotoshoot. It is so important to create an atmosphere of confidence in order for the person to open up, give loose and give me the possibility to create a picture of the person’s personality.

LC – How is your creative process?
LHB – Ideas come when I am on my bike, or just before I go to sleep or when I meet a person who inspire. Sometimes I make a sketch with pencil.

LC -Are your artworks focused on a specific theme?
LHB – Many people have said to me that there is a certain amount of sadness in my pictures. I think it is true, perhaps also a certain angst and tension. So this must be my internal theme.