Breathtakingly Beautiful Underwater Photography By Ilse Moore
Who is Ilse Moore and what do you do?
I grew up in Deneysville on the Vaal dam, which forms part of the border between the Free State and Gauteng. My entire childhood was spent in, around and on the water and it was only when I turned twenty that we left the Marina. I still live in the Vaal, a stone’s throw away form the Vaal dam, but work mostly in and around Johannesburg. While much of my time is spent shooting underwater fine art and fashion images, I also run a wedding photography business with my husband, Sean Moore, called GingerAle Photography.
I have been doing general photography for approximately 7 years. Four years ago I bought my first underwater housing and have been in love with underwater photography ever since. I completed my Visual Arts Degree in 2009 and this conceptually guided background has allowed me to explore my photography in a more meaningful way. Other than that, I’m a very practical, easily adaptable and enthusiastic person in general and I love to get out of the studio with Sean, who is also my lighting assistant with underwater work.
How would you define your style or art?
Every shoot I do is done with a fine/visual art approach. Whenever I get the chance to do a personal project, I love to add a more deliberately surreal, almost unsettling, mood to my work. Due to the fact that I work in water, something inherently and simultaneously life giving and devastating, my themes and concepts are naturally saturated in a symbolic “struggle”. It is this multi-layered meaning of water that motivates every image I create, be it more aesthetic in nature or not.
What inspires your work?
While I do plan every shoot and constantly dream of new ideas and concepts, it is not until I view the raw images after a shoot, that I really understand where I want to it go. As for the initial ideas, a little thing like a sketch or a piece of jewelry or even an cinematic moment in a movie, often triggers new ideas with me. While I try to guide all my ideas towards a central concept in my work, I love to simply get lost in the visuals around me.
What are you currently working on?
I’m never sure what’s around the corner, but I do have a few exciting collaborations coming up and can’t wait to start working on them. Getting to work with like-minded people is incredibly enriching!
What advice would you give young creatives looking to do what you do?
There is always room for more creatives in any particular industry, but simply doing something because you find it inspiring or visually stimulating, is not going to get you to where you want to be… What makes us different is usually what will make us stand out from the rest. You need to live and breathe your craft. It needs to be a part of who you are and you need to understand why you are doing it.
Where can our readers follow your work?
https://www.facebook.com/ilsemoorephotography
http://www.behance.net/ilsemoore
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilsemoore/
Wedding Photography: http://gingeralephotography.com/
