ABOUT ME

About Johannes Frank

Johannes Frank Photographer

About Johannes Frank

About Johannes Frank. I´m a self-taught photographer and probably got my eye for photography after years of training at the gun range as well as hunting. I was born and raised in a small fishing village in the Westfjord peninsula in Iceland and I believe that the mountains, the harsh landscape and weather in which I grew up with has had a big influence on my work. My knowledge of photography comes from reading books, taking a lot of photographs, learning from my mistakes and in the end making an image I´m happy with. My biggest passion in photography is without doubt landscape, and Icelandic horses. I sometimes mix my photography with other things like abandoned houses which have a special kind of beauty to them, they have a story, many of them long lost. I find that black and white gives me the most pleasure and I feel really good when I have shot an image I know will be great in black and white. Although I do also take some color photos but Black and White gives me the freedom I need in many photos to express what I see without color interrupting and it is giving me more graphical viewpoints in a way that color can’t. The image becomes more equal to me. I would say that 80% of the time I choose Black and White over color simply because I find they work better as a B&W image. There is a lot of color in black and white photography. My intention when I am searching for a new photo, can sometimes be an image I have in my mind. Most of the time when I go out looking for images I hope to find some places worth exploring further, holding on to the hope of finding the one image I am aiming for in my mind. I often go again to the same location if I have found that particular place or scenery interesting. I often use long exposure for landscape. By using this special technique, I can slow down certain elements to give the viewer a certain feel. It is like exploring the scenery through three dimensions.

Animals

I began taking images of horses around 2006 when I took an image I call “The Black Stallion”. The Icelandic horse is a fascinating animal and one can take images of it endlessly but the harsh condition this animal has to endure through the harsh Icelandic winters is the most important story I want to tell. I have also studied and shoot images of the Icelandic sheep witch I also find fascinating as a subject to photograph.

Today I live in Hafnarfjördur in Iceland with my beautiful wife Mayya Pigida how is also a photographerhttp://www.mayyapigida.com and our cat Lucas.

BIO

Jóhannes Frank

Born 1963 at Thingeyri in the WestFjords, Iceland. I am a self-taught photographer. 

Photographing allows me to connect to nature and recharge my inner battery. I look for areas and images where I can express power and dramatic nature. But I also look for the mild conditions and then I might use long exposure

Inspiration

From the work of Ansel Adams, Brassai, Michael Levin, Michael Kenna, and the Icelandic photographer RAX (Ragnar Axelsson) and I guess many others. There is  something different in them all. Ansel Adams developing skil  , Brassai for his dark and moody images. Michael Kenna uses the square format exceptionally well.  Michael Levin has a fantastic technical skill for long exposure images. And closer to home, RAX, gives me the inspiration to photograph northern life.“

Johannes Frank has won several international awards for his work in both professional and non professional categories. In 2010, he published his first book ‘Moments from Iceland’ that has been awarded by PX3. His second book ‘Hross’ dedicated to the Icelandic horses was published in 2014 and was awarded again by PX3. His work has also been published in galleries from Italy, Belgium and Iceland and in several magazines