I'm 19 years old and I live a little north of Copenhagen in Denmark. I'm currently taking a gap year after high school before university to pursue photography and filmmaking. I fell in love with this craft around five years ago when I purchased my first DSLR camera and I thought I'd give it a shot professionally so I started my own company as a freelance photographer and I've been working with that for the past 8 months. I love adventure and exploration and it is what motivates me the most in life. Experiencing new things and pushing myself to get out there and create is what gets me up in the morning. I also focus a lot on my health and fitness and make sure to stay active in a variety of ways and eat a balanced diet. Overall, I'm just a guy who loves to explore, create and keep moving.
I love your Instagram page, have you studied photography?
Thank you so much! I haven't actually, I'm completely self-taught. I picked it up as a hobby around five years ago and I've just been experimenting and working on my skills ever since. I've watched a lot of YouTube tutorial videos to get the hang of the basics and different techniques, but I feel like you really learn the most when you're just out there shooting, it'll come to you eventually.
What type of camera are you using?
I use a variety of cameras. My main workhorse is a Nikon D750 with a 24-70mm f 2.8 which I use for around 80% of my work. Then I have a small point & shoot in the Sony RX100 MkIV, which is perfect on the go and takes extraordinary video for it's size. For action and water shots I have a GoPro Session, which I love for it's small size and ease of use, it's really just grab & go. Lastly, I also have an iPhone 6S Plus which I always carry on me and has taken some surprisingly great photos for me, especially after a bit of editing in VSCOcam. The best camera is always the one you have on you.
Who are your biggest inspirations in photography?
My biggest inspirations in terms of travel and lifestyle photography would have to be Ben Brown @mrbenbrown, Jack Morris @doyoutravel and Chris Burkard @chrisburkard. Their shots are extremely detailed and composed to perfection. They really have a great eye for capturing the moment. I also like to shoot concerts and musicians and in that department my inspirations would have to be Olav Stubberud @olav and Sam Kolder @sam_kolder. I occasionally dabble in model photography as well and I feel really inspired by the work of Bryant Eslava @bryant and Jorden Keith @jordenkeith.
How do you edit your photos?
I edit all my photos in Adobe Lightroom CC. I rarely use Photoshop, and I prefer the straightforward and quick workflow of Lightroom. I've created my own presets based on VSCOFilm Packs, which I highly recommend, they can really add a lot to an image in terms of color hues and contrast. I love chromatic tones like turquoise blues and I like to play around a little bit the hue and luminance of the different colours myself to set the right mood for an image. Finally, I often take them through VSCOcam as well where I add the finishing touches, often with one of the C# filters, just to add a little more edge to them.
From looking through your Instagram it seems you’ve been on pretty incredible adventures. What’s been your favourite trip you’ve taken?
I have been very fortunate to have the opportunities to travel to many astonishing places. It's hard to pick a favourite, but I'd still probably have to say Norway last summer. The vastness & emptiness of the Norwegian nature is spectacular. There are so many small little spots in Norway that almost no one know about that hold the most incredible gems, such as huge waterfalls or vast lakes surrounded my mountains. Anyone looking for a true nature adventure should definitely take a road trip through Norway.
If you could jump on a plane to absolutely anywhere right now, where would you go?
Uhhh, that's a tough one, but I'd probably have to say Hawaii. I've seen Jay Alvarrez' @jayalvarrez & Sam Kolder's @sam_kolder videos from there and it looks absolutely amazing!
You have some great videos on YouTube, is this something you’ll be doing more of going forward?
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! Yes it is actually. I'm planning on doing more videos and I'm working on creating weekly content. I've just released my newest video with my best friend @katravn of my trip to South Africa, called Into the Wild, which I'm really proud of.
Which filmmakers do you look up to?
I look up to Casey Neistat, Jay Alvarrez, Sam Kolder and Rory Kramer. They all have pretty unique styles, but I like to draw a little from all of them. Casey is amazing at storytelling, while the others shine the most in their cinematography and editing, but they are all extremely skilled filmmakers.
And finally, what do you have planned in 2016?
I actually have a pretty bold goal for this year, I want to travel to a foreign country every month of the year, and so far I've been lucky enough to have made that happen. Currently I just arrived in New York City after a three week road trip in Costa Rica. In the coming months I have a few festivals I want to take part of and photograph back in Denmark, and then the next big trip I have planned is a road trip to Italy this summer with Katrine @katravn. So a lot of things in the works, but I'm also starting university after summer, so I'll have to find a balance between education and adventure.
Be sure to follow Daniel on Instagram HERE
and to subscribe to his YouTube Channel HERE
Thanks Daniel for taking the time to TravelFoodFilm
All photos and Videos in this post belong to Daniel Jensen.
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