About
Hendre Louw was born on the 5h of October 1977 in the town of Kimberley in the Northern Cape – South Africa.
His initial interests in photography started at the tender age of 13 when he developed an interest in the fashion industry, following every major fashion designer from Europe to the States with loads of fashion magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan littering his room. This soon developed into a need to create and capture, but with no artistic inclination for drawing, the camera seemed to be the next logical tool to use as a creative outlet.
His first commissioned work was done at the age of 16 and soon progressed into a part- time career over the next 20 years. His initial work included a mix of fashion photography; weddings and other commercial work that could help pay the bills.
His focus on limited edition “fine art photography” only started in 2011 with a major shift when he moved down from Johannesburg to the beautiful Cape where he now resides with is wife Rozanne.
As with most photographers, his career took a winding road and eventually ended up working full time in the photographic industry. Today photography makes up a large portion of his career, but he also has other platforms from which he generates an income. These include the following:
• Co-owner and Director of Profoto South Africa / HD Global Trading (insert link to website). HD Global Trading is the official importer and distributor for Profoto Lighting in Southern Africa.
• Owner and host of Southern Epic. Southern Epic is a platform for photographic workshops and training. These include bespoke photographic safaris and workshops aimed towards educating both working professionals, and enthusiasts.
• HL Private Gallery (link to page on hendrelouw.com). HL Private Gallery opened its doors in 2015 as a shared space initiative between Profoto South Africa and Hendre Louw. The gallery is used as a permanent exhibition platform for Hendre Louw’s limited edition prints with new collections on show every 6 months. The gallery attracts about 15 000 unique visitors every year with clients from all over the world.
In his own words…
…having to write your own Bio is a daunting task at best as my life and work is best represented through my pictures.
Photography to me started in the mid 90’s back in the days of film, and now 20+ years later I find myself reverting back to my roots, shooting a mix between digital and film. I take pictures of things that are appealing to me with gear that’s available at the time. I try and not make too big a fuss about equipment and rather live for the moment trying to stay in it as long as I can.
I don’t subscribe to the idea that you can only be a commercial photographer, or only a “fine art” photographer. My work is a little bit of this, and a little bit of that.. I just enjoy spending time behind the camera seeing “life though a lens”.
Early in 2015 I took a leap of faith by opening my own gallery to share my work with the world, opening myself up to all the comments, criticism and sometimes complements that come from publically showing your work. The gallery is representing some of my current work as well as pieces from 20 years worth of archives, with a mix of landscape, urban and portraiture work. Collections are changed all the time and new pieces added as often as I can.
This website has a mix of everything that made me tick over the years with no special reference to genre or industry. I jut wanted to share some of my favorite images that kept on fuelling my passion for photography.
Some pictures was shot on film and some on digital, but my hope is that any person buying my work does so because they find it visually stimulating, and not because of its technical correctness or artistic impression. Through print sales, both Limited Edition and Open, I support my passion for photography and occasionally manage to pay a bill or two.
My biggest desire is to one day after I’m gone have made a positive and longing contribution to the arts and the longevity of photography as an art form. I do not regard myself as an artist, but rather a guy with a camera that find it easier to express himself through pictures than with words, even though that may sound a bit poetic.
My career is dedicated to my Creator and my beautiful wife Rozanne. Without their support I would have not been able to do what I love.
Works
