Interview: Mads von Hirsch
SEPTEMBER 2021 ● INTERVIEWS
Mads is an avid shooter of black-and-white film and specifically wanted to showcase his work with Ilford's HP5 Plus film stock.
• Camera of Choice: Olympus OM-1
• Favorite Lenses: Zuiko 55mm f/1.2 and Zuiko 50mm f/1.4
• Preferred Film Stocks: Ilford HP5+ and Portra 400
• Location: Norway
• Instagram: @madsvonhirsch
It’s great to have you, Mads! We’ve been planning this discussion for quite some time and I’m excited to finally get into it and find out more about you! How about we start at the beginning of your journey with photography — how did you initially fall in love with the craft? What made you fall in love with film?
Three years ago, a family friend (who is also my grandmother's high school sweetheart) came to celebrate Christmas with us. He and I have always had a good relationship and he was my sound engineer when I was 7 years old and wanted to be a rapper. Ever since we cooked up the worst piece of music known to man, we’ve been pretty close.
I had previously spoken to him about wanting to learn photography and, on that Christmas Day, he asked me if I still wanted to. He pulled out a gorgeous Olympus OM-1 and said I could have it.
I always have tons of ideas and things I want to do but rarely follow through with most of them. But this time, seeing as I was gifted the tool to get started, I felt like I really had to give it a go. And oh boy, am I glad I did!
Having zero experience with any type of photography to begin with, the learning curve was steep. I enjoyed every aspect of it and came to fall completely in love with it. I still remember waiting for that first roll to be developed and scanned. The results were horrible, but I was so happy with it.
All of the images you’ve chosen to present here were shot with black-and-white film. I know from viewing your catalog that you also quite regularly shoot color film. What is it about capturing scenes and moments in black-and-white that you find particularly gratifying? As an artist and, from your viewpoint behind the lens, how does the lack of color ultimately affect the shot’s character, its overall aura, and meaning?
I really wanted to show HP5 Plus some appreciation with this. It has always been my go-to black-and-white film stock and it never disappoints.
Don’t get me wrong, I love both color and black-and-white. There’s just something about black-and-white that always seems to appeal to me. I find it simpler and cleaner with fewer distractions surrounding the subject.
With the complete absence of color, you really have to emphasize the subject, the textures, and the composition. I’ve also felt that I quite often get better results with black-and-white, although that might just be a personal preference.
I create the photo with a different state of mind because there’s no color to draw my attention. Black-and-white often gives the shot more personality and more backbone. It's like color film's less popular, but way tougher cousin.
Many of these images — and please correct me if I’m interpreting them incorrectly — seem to represent some sort of elegant melancholia. They convey ominous, yet alluring atmospheres that weave and fuse contrasting emotions to ultimately produce fascinating imagery. Is this something you see in your own work? How would you describe the moods and feelings you aim to depict?
Elegant melancholia is a great way to put it. Personally, I really enjoy dystopia as a theme and have deliberately set out with the intention of creating something mystical, dystopian, and, as you’ve put it, elegantly melancholic.
I’m always more drawn toward the darker side of art. I find the mystery, the surrealism, and the color black to be predominant and really enticing.
I think quite often the main moods and feelings I aim to depict are isolation and loneliness, as well as the feelings of being empty. These are emotions and feelings we all experience, and photography serves as a great outlet to visualize and illustrate these for me.
Each artist has their own unique rituals, habits, techniques, and so on. Some plan shoots or are more on-the-go shooters, ready whenever the moment is right. Tell me a little bit about your process. How does a day of shooting look for you? I know you certainly love to employ the use of Ilford HP5 Plus. What is it about that film stock that you find so alluring?
I always carry a backpack, so I always carry a camera! Most days, I’ll try to take a detour on my way home from work to find something new. Over the years, I’ve explored almost every possible detour there is, so now I find myself shooting way less but still doing the detours.
On days off, I’ll happily pack my backpack with one camera loaded with color film, one camera with black-and-white film, a couple of lenses, and just bike my way around Oslo to find something cool.
For me, HP5 embodies everything that’s essentially important about a black-and-white film stock: great detail in the shadows, lovely contrast, and some real sexy grain.
Continuing with your work with HP5 Plus, how do you draw the most you possibly can out of that film to capture what you envision?
The variety of results you can get from HP5 Plus really impresses me. I think the greatest combination on Earth is heavy fog and HP5. It creates a kind of hazy, almost blurry image with tons of grain. If I'm lucky, I get a good ten days of heavy fog during the winter months. It's almost that time of the year again and I'm excited!
Your style appears to forge highly contrasted, grainy captures that portray almost mystical, or mysteriously captivating, images. How would you describe this look? These images — particularly the shots of the man sitting in a canoe, surrounded by heavy fog — radiate a certain emotion from my viewpoint. From your eyes, what is that emotion? When you composed those shots, as well as the shot of lightning striking furiously across the sky underneath thick, dark clouds, what emotions were you contemplating? What did you want to portray?
One of my goals is to always awake some kind of emotion from the person viewing the image, whether that’s happiness, excitement, awe, melancholy, depression, or anything else. It doesn’t really matter what the feeling is, but when I go through my shots after a few weeks of shooting I tend to be more enticed by the dystopian shots. I’m heavily influenced by the seasons, so as the days get darker, so does my mindset and my shots.
I love the guy in the boat. With these photographs I’ve legitimately managed to capture what I wanted to capture. It’s alluring, yet almost scary and postapocalyptic. It portrays how scary of a place the world can be; all alone in a big ocean with no real sense of direction.
I have to say, I really admire this use of contrast, grain, and light and shadow play. Are these characteristics something you’ve always been attracted to? What makes them more appealing to you, as an artist, rather than some other style or “genre” of photography?
The heavy contrast and grain quickly became a personal favorite of mine. Early on, I didn’t necessarily understand how I got those results, so I kept chasing that exact style for quite some time. After learning a bit of technique and understanding the basics of photography, I realized I needed certain lighting conditions to achieve my favorite shots.
I’m drawn to the simplicity of them and playing with the natural elements within the shot.
Who or what inspires you as an artist? What continues to fuel that creative drive and need to capture?
The escape from fast-paced, everyday life. It’s food for the soul. That's probably the most cliché thing you’ve heard all day, but it’s true. Being able to work on something for extended periods of time and not receive those instant results makes film photography such a treasure.
I’ve always dabbled in creative pursuits, whether they involve music, writing, or cooking, for example. That creative drive has always been there and I think I sorely need it to get through life happily.
What’s next — where do you see yourself taking your photographic exploits in the future? Feel free to elaborate on any creative elements you’d like to expand upon in terms of developing or incorporating into your craft.
One of my first goals when I started shooting was to ask complete strangers if I could take their photo. As a slightly introverted Norwegian, this goes against all logic in my brain. On a few occasions, I managed to overcome this irrational fear, but this definitely translates over to portraiture work. I need to work on my portrait work, and hopefully someday, I can enjoy it as much as I enjoy all the other types of photography.
I’ve asked others this same question in the past, but it’s always nice to get a glimpse into another photographer’s mindset: There are obviously so many different reasons why folks choose to create art, or in our case, shoot film. Maybe it’s to document the world around you, inspire others, express yourself in ways that are easier to convey through pictures, or maybe it’s something else. What do you find most satisfying about shooting film?
I shoot film for my own sake. It helps me to catch a break from everyday life and it’s such a great zone to be in when you’re out shooting.
It’s also a great break from screens — away from my phone, the TV, the computer, and social media. It's a task where you’re not encouraged to multitask, so you can more easily focus and forget about everything else around you. To me, that is what's so satisfying about shooting film.
Finally, tell us a little bit about yourself outside of photography! Who is Mads — what are you into and how do you enjoy spending your time?
I'm into cooking, basketball, rainy days, 90s East Coast hip hop, cabin trips, wine, squash (the sport), brand new socks, getting my hair cut, soccer, dogs, being alone, not being alone, and last but not least, my girlfriend.
This interview was featured in Y35 Mag Issue No. 9. To see all of the photographs Mads chose to present, check it out here.