Over Lex
Who is Lex?
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Taking pictures on Cuverville Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Curious gentoo penguin chicks slowly approach.
Photograph © J. Hibels 2006 |
Since I was a small I (Lex van Groningen, 1967) have always had a small camera to take snapshots. Through the years I started to take photography more serious: I spent more time on the hobby - and more money to be able to work with better equipement.
Since a couple of years I share a house in Amsterdam (Netherlands) with my girlfriend.
The common theme throughout all my photographs is composed of creativity and beauty. I could consider my entire works as one big experiment, from which I continue to learn everytime I am taking new photographs.
My experience builds up to skill, yet skill should never result in a loss of enthusiasm or creativity. Beauty on the other hand is a bit harder to describe in words: it may be the combination of light and facial expresssion of a performing artist, the impressive wingspan of an albatross, or the fragility of a small moth, or of a human model.
This website naturally reflects part of my own interests:
- Nature - insects, birds and other animals (not so much plants I admit), but also landscapes and 'seascapes'. With regards to birds, I do not chase after each and every species to be able to add them to my list.
- Antarctica - I have been privileged to visit the Antarctic peninsula twice. I have fallen in love with this continent, and most books I have read ever since are about, or related to this continent and its inhabitants.
- Music - I prefer music that is both creative and straight from the heart: the Beatles, Free, An Pierlé, Leonard Cohen and Jacques Brel are a few of the artists I regularly listen to.
At the same time I am very concerned about the degradation of this world's biodiversity resulting from human activity. This topic is also reflected in LEXsample and in the way I am taking my photographs:
LEXsample is as 'green' as possible: I recycle whenever I can, I do not own a car and I use public transport as much as possible when I am travelling. I do not see the urge to open up the few nature reserves for recreational purposes, and I fail to understand why many people who love nature will go there by car if these spots can be reached by bike or public transport too (this is especially true in my own country).
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Participating to the Dutch Bird Fair 2005.
Photo © J. Hibels 2006 |
How do you take your photographs?
Since a couple of years I am working with a digital (SLR) camera. Compared to an analogue (negative film) camera it offers some advantages, but there are as many disadvantages at the same time: I consider the choice between the old and new technologies to be a preference of tools.
More important are the lenses that one uses, and through time I have collected quite a few that I am using on and off, depending on the type of photographs I intend to take.
© LEXsample 2006