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Workshop Summary with Alex

(Wind whooshing) Welcome to the final workshop Q and A with Mr. Hartman. <v Mr. Hartman>Mhm. I have a set of about 12 questions for you. <v Mr. Hartman>All right then. Yeah. Some easy ones, some harder ones, but mostly good fun. <v Mr. Hartman>All right. So before I dive into it, I just wanna say that it's been really inspiring watching you work for the past six days now. <v Mr. Hartman>Mhm. Thank you. No, it's always a blast when I come to Iceland to just connect with you, because I know I'm gonna have a good time. I'm gonna go to the right places, have the right food and have the right cortados. <v Mr. Hartman>Oh, that's important. Very important. We've been fueled by cortados pretty much. Thanks again, for a good time. On the fraternity side, I've seen you pretty much build as an engineer that has just worked and has delivered really epic and amazing work that it looks really true to you. And I'm wondering, besides how you built those, how do you draw or where do you dra...

w your inspiration from? <v Mr. Hartman>Hmm, interesting question. That's all right, should have started with an easy one. What do you drink in the morning? (both laugh) <v Mr. Hartman>Where do I draw my inspiration from? <v Mr. Hartman>It's a lot about the seasons. And like, if we're talking about Iceland, because that's what's you know, really relevant for me. I draw my inspiration especially for where I'm gonna shoot from the weather and the current conditions and places that I know have a specific look that I want to attain in a photograph. Or otherwise, you know, a place where I really want to reach or claim or some sort of experience will always drive the photography. So experience first, and then we have this photography of that place. That's kind of how it works for me in most cases. Unless of course I hear that there's some crazy condition somewhere then I'm probably just gonna send it for the purpose of getting that shot cause I'm excited for it. So it's experience driven. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah, usually it is. Okay. When you're at home and you're like all right, I feel like I would need to go shoot. Does it go like that? Do you feel that like that sometimes? Or more like, there's crazy conditions I should go shoot. <v Mr. Hartman>I feel like normally it's like I set a goal or a target location. Like this weekend, I wanna send it to this specific location and see what I can create out of that. And it's more just because I'm really fueled by traveling in the mountains here and over the last couple of years. Yeah. I think it's like fairly obvious. (overlapping speech) (both laugh) No, so that's kind of usually what drives me. So I'll designate a period of time, maybe it's a weekend. I know that I'm gonna go somewhere this weekend and I'm like, well that area I haven't been for a while. I wonder what's changed. Let's try and get there. And I don't know usually if I'm gonna get good photos even, I just usually know that there's a place I wanna reach. So there's no pressure. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. I don't really like to put that pressure on myself. Unless it's a shoot or whatever, but if it's just for you. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. Okay. And how often do you do that? <v Mr. Hartman>I'm going whenever I can. And that can be every week. That can be usually one proper mission a week. Unless of course I am traveling. And do you go through phases where you just don't feel like shooting? <v Mr. Hartman>I think I go through phases more so where I want to focus on editing shoots that I've already accomplished or finished up with. So for me because my edits are really intensive sometimes and require a lot of brain power to think how I want the final product to be, maybe I will do five shoots and have them kind of stocked up. And then I need to kind of put the traveling aside for a minute and the experiences to kind of go into the edit phase. Okay. <v Mr. Hartman>And that's a different head space for me and something that I'm really passionate about. So I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna just go into it. It's really interesting. So personally curious, because sometimes I feel like when I shoot something I gotta go edit it, cause otherwise in two weeks I struggle finding the courage. Sometimes I have some old photos I have never looked at. How would I find the inspiration to go send them? <v Mr. Hartman>I think use that period of time where you've taken that photo and then it seems to be like you haven't had this instant connection, you wanna go back to it. Try and take a few days to reflect on that moment when you shot it and try and build a vision of the experience you had when you were there, and some things you noticed. So it's like the prep almost, for editing. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. So you know you had did this on X day and then you're just trying to go back to that moment. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah, just have a think about the things you found to be profound about whatever you were doing at the time. If there was something. Maybe there isn't something. And this is when I'll use my type of editing to really build a story and enhance something that maybe didn't have the flavor when I was actually out there. That happens. You do that well. <v Mr. Hartman>Sometimes I just need to build that. Well, you can see that it's solid. I don't think I have the patience to do that. <v Mr. Hartman>To watch the workshop? (laughs) Understand that editing and shooting for you is a different mindset. And has there ever been a time when shooting, it hasn't felt right to shoot? Have you faced a creative block? Pretty much of editing or shooting. <v Mr. Hartman>I've faced a few creative blocks. Yeah. There's been some times where I haven't allowed myself the opportunity to balance commercial shoots, the nitty gritty side of what I do you, shooting fashion and products out in the nature, which I do quite a lot. Yeah. We just don't see it on Instagram, but you do. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. There's a lot of things I do outside of my public face, I guess. So fashion [Mr. Hartman fashion. Yeah. <v Mr. Hartman>You know, product photography. I do a lot of that. Even some consulting. Oh? <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah, on social media. Because we have a lot of companies here that are really trying to get started. So, these things can become the nitty gritty side of what I do. And sometimes the personal experiences out in the mountains, the reason I moved here, can get pushed to the side. You're just caught up? <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah, I'm just caught up trying to get by. And in those times, I've struggled a lot with creativity. How did you get past them? <v Mr. Hartman>To get past them, I have to create this little bit of additional time to do these personal trips. So even if it's one day, if I do six days of intensive work, taking one day to go into the mountains usually brings me back. It resets my mind. So building that personal time is your solution. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. <v Mr. Hartman>In my previous career in accounting, I really get a lot of satisfaction out of that job. Lik being so organized, it was like the proper level of organization. But I needed the weekend to reset my mind, and that it's kind of this thing that's played through in my life. It's always been there, this reset. Your balance like I need personal time, I'm just gonna go in. Could you feel like you recharged? <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. Okay. <v Mr. Hartman>And now for me it just happens that the personal time is also shooting, which is cool. (overlapping speech) (laughs) Useful stuff. Now going back to editing. I know, and I'm sure a lot of people know, that you don't use presets. Did you know there's this bombshell? (Hartman laughs) The man doesn't use presets. So I think it's really interesting nowadays, cause a lot of people are selling presets and there's a whole economy around it. And besides that, it's also a way that people use to just have their photos look like somebody else's really fast, but also a good way to save time. I personally use presets, just as a way to start an edit path, using presets that I've shown past workshops and I use 'em as a base and then I kind of tweak it. Why don't you use presets? <v Mr. Hartman>So I guess it's a different approach to editing. The way that I approach it is, as cliché as it sounds you have a canvas, and an artist can't get a preset bucket and throw it onto a canvas and then start their work. Like maybe they can trace a template, right. And then start from there to draw. And that template is my vision. So I have this vision already in my mind, I have the template there, but I couldn't apply and edit from another photo onto the photo that I'm now giving my 100% energy towards. Even if it's the same conditions, both white out in the snow? <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. You're gonna click the preset in that circumstance and then adjust to bring it back to how your eye sees it. So for me, I simply would rather take an additional two minutes to just do the sliders because every time you slide that slider. (both) Slide the slider. Yeah. <v Mr. Hartman>You're analyzing. Your mind is processing why you're doing that. So for me, if I skip that step, then I'm missing a crucial element of the edit. Well, okay. This is interesting because you saying that it's a canvas. So for you editing is almost like beginning to take the photo again. <v Mr. Hartman>Kind of, yeah. That's an interesting way to put it. Because I'm using the technology to sculpt and even reimagine the composition, like I'm changing the way that the light interacts with the subject. So you're like a photography alpinist. When you get to the top of a mountain, usually you say, when you get to the top, you're only 50% up, you know? Cause you gotta go down. So then this is the same way. When you shoot the photo, you're only 50% done. When most people shoot the photo, they're 90% done. Editing's 10%. So you have a different ratio there. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. Interesting. Interesting. But moving on from presets, when I look at your work, I see black, I see white, and I see this blue-green that you've developed. So does it have a name first? That color, did you name it? How did you come up with that? <v Mr. Hartman>The name. Never thought about naming it. It's the Hartman blue. <v Mr. Hartman>(chuckles) There we go. The hard blue. No, but how did you come up with that color? <v Mr. Hartman>It's a good question. I think it all stems from my, I really don't want to use this word but hatred for magenta. Okay. It has no magenta in it? It's green and blue. <v Mr. Hartman>I've never really liked that pink tinge. And when I look back at my old photos I can see it straightaway. Whenever I'm working with someone on a one to one basis helping them edit, this tinge usually is there. They've never seen it before. As soon as they slide it away, they go, whoa. They go before and after. And it's just there. It's just taking over the entire frame. I feel like it's something that's really hard for the eye to pick up on, but once you see it, you can't unsee it. The magenta tint you mean? <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. It's strange I think. It's kind of, when you see it, you're screwed. It's like when you have a good cortado, you're screwed, you can't have another one. (Hartman laughs) <v Mr. Hartman>I think that was the basis upon getting towards this color that I use now. So we kind start it with a dislike, a strong dislike. (Hartman laughs) <v Mr. Hartman>There we go, a strong dislike. Not an affinity. <v Mr. Hartman>But of course there's times where that color is needed. And so long as it has a purpose, then I'm happy to use it. But it's when there's no purpose for that color. When doesn't it have purpose? <v Mr. Hartman>In conditions where we're doing with winter in Iceland, unless we're looking at a pale Arctic sky where that color is present, it's usually not a color that we actually would see. Like blue, that is. The blue hour, that's naturally there and the time that I'm shooting. There's never this pink tinge in the landscape in that time of shooting. Cause you don't shoot that much sunset? <v Mr. Hartman>Exactly. Okay. <v Mr. Hartman>Here we go. We have uncovered. We've unlocked it. No sunsets, everything. If somebody shoots sunset, you wouldn't encourage them to remove that magenta for example? because it was there. <v Mr. Hartman>No, because it was there. There's a purpose for it to exist then. So then like you've said, editing. It's kinda like reverse engineering. I don't have magenta in my photos because I don't shoot conditions where magenta is there. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. And if it's there, you make sure to nuke it. <v Mr. Hartman>(chuckles) Nuke that guy. (Hartman laughs) I think that settles it. So it doesn't have a name. You talk about isolating your subject a lot with symmetrical compositions. When you edit, do you keep that in mind too? You isolate it on camera and then you move to the computer. Do you still keep that same mindset in there that I need to continue to isolate my subject further? <v Mr. Hartman>When I move to the edit, it's about amplifying or increasing negative space to in turn further bring the eye to the subject. So negative space is a huge part of my editing. Why? Why is it important to you to isolate your subjects? <v Mr. Hartman>I feel like as a human, I need negative space in order to stay calm. I don't know. This is a very emotion based thing for me, that I need to remove distraction and create calmness. And I feel like it's reflected in my personality and this chaotic side of my life in playing in hardcore bands, and then moving to a country that really is extreme. I feel like those two things are a similar kind of outlet for me. It's this like extreme side. And then I get a lot of my kind of Zen and calm from those editing scenarios where I'm looking at my image and bringing some peace into that. And that is negative space, isolating the subject. You're like Iceland in a way. You can have very soft line and you can have raging gale force winds in the same place. (Hartman chuckles) Is it important to you that the image you shoot and then that you edit after looks like how it was, there when you were there? Or do you try to stay true to what you saw? Or is it not relevant to you? <v Mr. Hartman>It's of course relevant, definitely. But what I'm most concerned about is bringing to life the vision or the specific thing that I have been captured by when I'm out there shooting. The example that came to mind is, I have this image of this triangular shaped piece of light that was hitting this mountain peak in Svalbard, and the way that I edited that photo was to darken it quite a lot. And if I think back about that moment, I literally can only envision in my mind, the triangle of light. It was way off in the mountains, but it was all I was looking at. So I'm not so concerned about keeping it true to exactly what the camera saw when it clicked the button, but I wanna bring out my vision of what I remember of that scene. And that requires some manipulation of the image to enhance that perspective or enhance that element of a photo. Interesting. So you have more like tunnel vision in that condition and I'm just seeing this. You almost know the edit when you're shooting it? You know how it's gonna be edited. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. Visualization, I think. Because I'm quite far into this process, it's happening really fast and subconsciously. You've done it a lot. Yeah. Easy one on editing. How much time do you spend on an image? <v Mr. Hartman>Well, it seems based on this workshop, about 18 minutes and 30 seconds every time somehow miraculously. (Both laugh) No, it can be 15 minutes or it can be two hours. It's whatever it takes for me to get to that point about this vision. Amplifying it and bringing it to life in the image of the thing that really resonated with me about that scene. I'm happy to take as long as I need to get there. How do you know when to stop? <v Mr. Hartman>Tough question. Cause I really struggle to stop. It's really hard for me because I feel like the more layers you peel off of this and the deeper you go or the more layers you add in the case of Photoshop, for example, it's hard to call it quits. You can always critique it or change it in a way. It's like a painting. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. Any rules that you developed? <v Mr. Hartman>My rules are, I get to a place that I'm happy, and I'll export it. Then I'll review it and I'll take a minute and it doesn't have to be this cliché, come back to it the next day or like next week. It can be just a few minutes to kind of reset your eyes, reset your mind. Then look at it on your phone for example, and analyze the differences. And then maybe now your mind's focused on something else. Like, oh, the sky needs a little bit more darkening or like it's a tiny bit magenta or something, I don't know, for example. So then your mind is instantly cut off from the 50 other things you did and now focused on a new really minute set of variables that need to be adjusted. I feel like maybe after 10 cycles of exporting, If you look at my phone history in the camera roll, it's like 15. You can see when I've posted a photo, cause there's like this group of the same shot. I've seen your rage edit stuff. (Both laugh) Do you have any other rituals that you've used to get in the mood? Cause it seems like it's 50% of your process, the edit. So any rituals that you have? <v Mr. Hartman>I mean, there's the occasional wim hof. Oh. Wim hof breathing techniques? <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. Yeah. I really like this cold shower therapy. I've got a bit addicted to it. I feel like when I end a warm shower, I haven't really ended the shower until I send the cold. But to send the cold, if you just do that, it's gonna screw you up. You have to be mentally ready and through the breathing exercises. (Inhales strongly) And of course we're not gonna go into wim hof cause it's gonna look like a very strange Q and A. (overlapping speech) (chuckles) I've found that's given me this real sense of peace. You just come back reset, edit? <v Mr. Hartman>Mm hmm. And also endurance. Like I don't get that cold outside ever. That's true. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. I do. (Both laugh) Switching gears again. Who are you paying attention to? Who inspires you in this specific photography space? <v Mr. Hartman>In this space, people that will inspire me are people that are doing different things to me and people that are maybe achieving something that is a different avenue to my photography, but doing well at that, whether it's graphic design. Looking at Christiane's work, for example. Christiane Watson. I've taken a lot of inspiration from the way that he's developed his color schemes for example, and then applied that into my work, and seen the way he looks at color and translates that to his graphic design, bring that into my photos and see the comparisons and whether I can achieve those color schemes myself. He's really creative. <v Mr. Hartman>He's a great guy. Someone who lately I've just been absolutely awe struck, leaves me speechless to see and gives me chills is Icelandic local Ragnar Axelsson, RAX. I've been really following his work through his books for many years, and he's actually started social media so it's giving me a way to look at his photos easily on my phone. He writes these really intricate stories about what he's doing. So basically Ragnar Axelsson, RAX, has been documenting Iceland through working with newspapers and also in his personal formats, through his books for many, many, many years. He's covered all the eruptions. Documentarian, I guess, through photography. And he does a lot of black and whites. Highly recommend his works, really awesome. Jumping into childhood. How has your earlier life in Australia shaped your style and sort of independence? <v Mr. Hartman>From a very early age, I've always had this sense of independence and it's helped me to trust my inner voice a little bit as I've grown. That's been combined with this interest in outdoor activities in the bush of Australia, kind of with motorbikes and whatever. I think combining those things, the independence and the sense of outdoor activity that I used to do. And it's kind of strange because like now I'm surrounded by people like yourself who have grown up skiing and grown up hiking in the mountains and stuff. I've never had a mountain. I never had snow. I never had skis. I couldn't do the things that I wanna achieve now back in my childhood. Yeah, it's been really interesting. It's been a journey of learning as more of a adult of these things that my friends that I'm surrounded by learnt when they were kids. Even language, so it's kind of interesting to go on that journey. But it's exciting cause you get to start from scratch, you know? Sometimes it's just fun. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. I like it. How does one go from playing in a hardcore band called Blackout to someone who's making this really white, pure snowy images? <v Mr. Hartman>Blackout white out (chuckles) I think it ties back to this sense that I feel like I am quite a calm person and the music was my outlet. It was something that was just this natural opposing force that I was putting everything into back in the day, and Iceland became that for me. It's kind of like this pursuit of being in the craziest conditions, similar to being on stage, playing this crazy music, but bringing something calm out of that situation. And now it's in the form of an image. Bring that sense of Zen out of that extreme situation. Bring that home through my camera. I like it. It's just like your new outlet. And the music stage being the outside, the wind. And then your editing session being the final product. <v Mr. Hartman>It's like leaving a big show with my band being super calm. Like I've just played some riffs, you know, head banged. I call it the bang over. It's when you wake up and you're neck is completely crooked cause you've been going too crazy in the show. (chuckles) I dunno how to bang over. <v Mr. Hartman>So now I get the banger over with my photos. (Both laugh) The banger over. <v Mr. Hartman>I wake up thinking, wow, that was a crazy day. Your back's sore. (overlapping talking) (laughs) Banger over. All right. You've been in Iceland for three years. Has the Icelandic landscape gotten old? Do you still get excited by it? <v Mr. Hartman>Feel like the more I live here, the more excited I get. That's because I'm going further into the mountains and I'm building skills. It's becoming easier for me to be in more extreme locations. The more that I dive into it, the more that I connect. People like my friend, Ziggy who has taught me so many valuable skills about being out in those extremes. The more you go into this, the further you can push and the more interesting or more unique photos you can create. So it's this infinite endless journey that I'm on. So you decided to focus on Iceland and that is just getting bigger and bigger for you. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. It's like now I'm gonna try and photograph other areas that I haven't been able to reach like big peninsulas in the north or like mountain ranges that are very remote. Like these types of things. What do I need, what tools do I need to make it there? And I'm slowly being able to get closer and closer to reaching it. So you're adding this personal development journey to the photography kinda thing. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah. Learning new skills. <v Mr. Hartman>And of course, adding in these little missions across the Arctic to extend my cold climate photography into a greater story of the entire Arctic region. At least that's one of my goals, is to photograph and reveal this curated perspective or something that is close to my heart, which is I really love glaciers and mountains, and there's a lot of issues there to cover. So I'm still building a way in which I can help the Arctic. I'm on that journey. I'm not sure exactly how it's going to pan out yet, but I feel that I need to be there sometimes. So I just go there. When you're driving down the road in Iceland and it's the end of the day, blue hour, and the road is icy. Just a beautiful moment. What is playing in your head? How do you find the landscape? How does it make you feel? <v Mr. Hartman>In those moments, especially when I'm driving, this combination of these really peaceful pieces of music combined with the view of, especially on a cloudy day. So you play peaceful music? <v Mr. Hartman>Always peaceful, or really, really heavy metal. It's kind of either or. On or off. Okay. <v Mr. Hartman>It's just a very whole experience for me. I feel like it affects my entire being, looking out at the mountains and seeing these interesting things happen, the music affecting my ears and everything is engaged. All the sensors are on. And I also drive a Defender, so I'm cold A.F. So you find it pretty relaxing experience. Do you feel like stopping to shoot a photo is gonna break that flow? <v Mr. Hartman>I feel like it might enhance it, provided that I can find a good place to stop. Always look for a parking spot. Never on the main road with your warning lights on. Safety tips. <v Mr. Hartman>Yep. Moving on to more like personal development and style, two questions. How can somebody develop their style? <v Mr. Hartman>By watching the Internet? (laughs) We've touched a lot on photography, how you can develop your photography style, but style and curation come into your life. It's not only that specific area. For example, our entire being is filled with color. So, if I had to, paint my house, there would probably be curation involved, there's gotta be a reason why I picked certain colors. So, you know, the clothes that I would pick. Not magenta. <v Mr. Hartman>No. (Both laugh) <v Mr. Hartman>Probably most likely not. So style and curation come in to your entire being, and the more that you can embrace it without it letting intrude, the more that you can refine and understand your photography style. I think the more that you can have this as your entire being, the more that's gonna be reflected in your work. So you tell people to expand their focus, I guess, because if somebody's like, oh, I wanna develop a style of photography. You'd tell 'em whoa, whoa, whoa, well you could expand? And get different music going, all the things like that. Is that what you would tell them? <v Mr. Hartman>Absolutely. It's hard to put this into words this stuff. I know. <v Mr. Hartman>So music's been a really big thing for me and I feel like my way of shooting is enhanced by specific types of music. So by trying and trialing a few different genres and seeking these external influences in other fields that have maybe curated colors or something like that, that you can build this greater picture of what you are interested in, and what like sparks and resonates with you. So color is a big deal in developing someone's style? <v Mr. Hartman>I think so. You can seek out specific colors in almost any place you travel. And that's of course, something that I want everyone to take out of this workshop, is that I focus on Iceland. That's where I live. It's my home. But the advice that we've got from this workshop can apply to any situation, any place. It's just how you think. So if you go to the desert, the desert is not gonna be your blue. <v Mr. Hartman>No, but I would love to shoot in the desert. Would be awesome. How would you tackle that? <v Mr. Hartman>I would wait for the clouds and then you can get these. which made me 300 days old. (laughs) <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah, have to camp a while. So you'd wait for like softer. <v Mr. Hartman>Softer light. Or even create a white sky when it's really pale, like maybe at the end or beginning of sunset when you have this like bright burst of light. Probably enhance that to make the sky just completely white. That would be my way, is to get these kind of two-toned images. I feel like so long as I can just get two tones, I'm happy. No more. <v Mr. Hartman>Even if it's magenta and white. Why two tones? <v Mr. Hartman>I feel like it's a reflection of me, this calmness versus this extreme. There's always these opposing forces that come together to form me, and that's reflected in the way that I like to edit. Do you have advice for people how to stay creative in their field, whatever it might be. What advice would you give somebody who's like, I'm struggling to keep reinventing myself, to remain creative. What would you tell them? <v Mr. Hartman>What has worked for me at least is to try and pursue these multiple angles on your photography. So try a bunch of different fields of photography. If you're feeling like you are stuck in a creative rut for shooting landscapes, try and access some sort of portraiture photography, or just try and mix it up. Keep the camera with you, but change up what you're shooting. And maybe that will provoke some sort of feeling inside of you that can be then translated back to the landscape. That's how I've developed this interest in macro photography. Yeah, that's true. <v Mr. Hartman>Because I've wanted to apply the compositional elements of shooting a landscape to something that is microscopic almost, and see how that works. Then I can take that back to the landscape and maybe I've learned something new about color or a way of framing or something that About the composition. <v Mr. Hartman>Yeah, these types of things. Big. [Mr. Hartman Yeah. So just expand, try something new in your field. <v Mr. Hartman>And then revisit the thing that you were having trouble with. Yeah, have to go back. And now last question, what's next for you? Whether it's in photography or in life what's next? <v Mr. Hartman>What's next for me? I would love to continue my pursuit of moving my knowledge that I've accumulated in Iceland to the Arctic region and continue that journey of understanding the differences in landscape as we move across the different parts of the Arctic. And we'll see how that translates, but maybe that could form a book. The pages are turning in my mind. Maybe I'll turn them in real life one day. So book, okay. That's a good project. <v Mr. Hartman>Big project. So I feel like these types of larger passion projects require a lot of time, and it has to be something that's natural and it all starts with the vision. So I've already been thinking of ways in which I could build collections of photos, curate my photos to form a book. So that's something I would love to do and yeah, just be in the Arctic and continue my understanding of Iceland. Learn the language more and dive deeper into the thing that has become my home. Exciting stuff. Thanks, Mr. Hartman. <v Mr. Hartman>Chip time. (chuckles) Have chips.