Big World Picture: Photographer's highlight #16 STINE LOE JENSSEN

Stine Loe Jenssen is form a small town called Førde on the west coast of Norway and now resides in Oslo.

In 2007 Stine studied the art of photography and now works as freelance photographer in Oslo. Her ideas come from her great interest in the mysteries of the human mind and she likes to study the structure and dynamics of communication and change.

When I asked her about her inspiration Stine says, “My fascination with photography started at a young age when I was playing in the house of my grandparents. My grandmother’s uncle was one of the pioneer photographers and my grandma inherited his house, therefore the house was filled with photographic work. I could spend hours looking at old photo albums, full of unfamiliar people from the old days. Their expressions are so full of earnest, solemnity and wonder. The photographs feature couples, siblings, families, young and old, with their best clothes on and solemn faces. I kept wondering why they rarely smiled. I have never ceased to love old photographs.”

Some of the many photographers that inspire Stine are people such as Julia Margaret Cameron, for the way that she worked at home and would use her friends and family as models. Stine says that she wishes she could be as courageous as Sally Mann for the way that she addresses taboos, loving Mann’s saying, “why should I leave home to make art?”. The photographer that Stine feels has most influenced her is Joyce Tenneson after, in 2009, she attended one of Joyce’s workshop and from this mentored Stine on her first project called “Free – A journey of the mind”. Other photographers that Stine finds inspiring are William Ropp, Sarah Moon, Deborah Turbeville, Morten Krogvold, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Robert Sannes and Josef Sudek to name a few.

Stine says of her work, “A lot of my work is about the inner self. Although I have loved photography all my life and have been an avid hobby photographer, I discovered photography in earnest after I became ill autumn 2006. I was ill after a period of massive stress and felt an inner darkness and imbalance that was completely unknown to me. Photography helped me to see myself from the outside and worked well as self-learning and self-therapy.” .

Stine goes on to say, “I have continued trying to understand mine and others' inner world through photography. I try to activate the subconscious when I'm working, trying not to think too much, working with flow and emotions. In moment like this, I take my best pictures. To me Photography and art is all about expressing feeling, and sharing the human experience.”

It was about a year ago when Stine started to use Instagram. Initially using this online platform for fun, she now uses it for daily inspiration. She finds it to be a great place to find other talented photographers, as do I and this is how I found Stine’s wonderful photography.

Below is only a select few images from her Instagram profile.