Gitte Edelman

Gitte (Birgitta) Edelman was born in Helsinki, but after moving around a bit (London, Morocco, Sweden, Norway and Boston) she has lived in Newton Hall since 2001. The summers she spends in her summer home in the Finnish archipelago.

MY PHOTOGRAPHY

I shoot almost anything, but I don’t think I would ever get hooked on sports or studio portraits.

THE  BIGGEST INFLUENCE & FIRST CAMERA

A friend called Lasse showed me his photos, and how he developed and printed them in a dark room - and he even lent me his Pentax for a few days. What a thrill! When I got my first  job and salary, in 1972,  I went out and bought a Minolta SRT 101 with one Rokkor and two Sigma lenses. The camera, and (significantly enough) the Rokkor lens, still work, despite having been hauled to four continents, hitch-hiked with some dodgy people, and having been on duty in –20 degrees, with snow  up to its shutter, and in +35 degrees, with sand storms beating its snout.

I have to admit that for many years I didn’t take a lot of pictures. Film, as well as paper and chemicals, were expensive, and other things came in between as well. But around 1990 my interest was rekindled, and the Minolta (or ‘Minorota’ to us fans) was as keen to shoot as ever.  

MY FAVOURITE CURRENT KIT

I have upgraded my gear a few times since 1990, and although I still look at my Minolota with loving eyes I can’t say I miss the hassle with the darkroom, and the films. A Canon 550D fits my grip these days.  I hesitate to invest in big and heavy gear. (A Canon 70-200 L, f4, IS is the maximum I have stretched to).

MY FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Some favourites are to be found among the new Nordic nature photographers, who take moody and impressionistic pictures, and don’t try to depict animals as if they posed  for a handbook, or fauna.

Otherwise I would like to take pictures like Edward Hopper or George Shaw (exhibited in the Baltic 2011) paint.

ME AND THE DPS

I joined in 2001. Awards? I guess I got some – but never for my best pictures, so now I stick to my own awards – i.e. the trill down the spine, and the YES! when I nail it. J

 THE ONE THING I ENJOY MOST BEING A MEMBER OF THE DPS

is the portfolio groups, because there you can exchange views with the photographer, or commentator. That’s the only way to develop, I think. Judges steer the pictures into more of the same, with stereotypical comments, and stereotypical picks.

MY PHOTOGRAPHIC  AMBITION

at the moment, is to photograph the Finnish archipelago in a new, and personal way.

THE PEARL (Advice to budding photographers)

Look for moods – every picture should contain a surprise, a mystery. If everything is there you might end up with a boring illustration.