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Alan Henriksen
Alan Henriksen
Alan Henriksen

Alan Henriksen

Country: United States
Birth: 1949

Alan Henriksen was born in 1949 in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York, and has lived his entire life on Long Island. He became interested in photography as a hobby in 1958, and began making contact prints in late 1959. His interest became serious following a chance discovery of the work of Edward Weston and Ansel Adams at the local library. Henriksen holds college degrees in Psychology and Computer Science and is now retired from a long career in software engineering. Beginning in the mid-1970?s he worked for nearly ten years at Agfa-Gevaert’s photo paper manufacturing plant on Long Island as a sensitometrist and software engineer. In the late 1980?s he authored a Zone System software program named ZoneCalc, which was marketed by the Maine Photographic Resource. In 1968 he and his wife Mary made their first visit to the Maine coast, starting a photographic project that continues to this day. They now divide their time between their homes in Smithtown, Long Island and Southwest Harbor, Maine.


All about Alan Henriksen:

AAP: When did you realize you wanted to be a photographer?
Although I had already been photographing as a hobbyist for six years, my interest became more serious in 1964 when, during a library visit, I chanced upon Peter Pollack's book, "A Picture History of Photography," and opened it to the section devoted to the work of Edward Weston.

AAP: Where did you study photography?
My formal photographic education was limited to the 1970 Ansel Adams Workshop in Yosemite National Park.

AAP:Do you have a mentor?
In 1967 I composed a letter and sent it, along with some prints, to Ansel Adams in Carmel. Toward the close of his two-page single-spaced typewritten reply he wrote, "I want to follow your work and see more of your prints." This began a correspondence, soon supplemented with phone calls, that lasted until 1970, at which time I attended his Ansel Adams Workshop in Yosemite National Park.

AAP: How long have you been a photographer?
I began photographing in 1958, purely as a hobby, and began printing in 1959.

AAP: Do you remember your first shot? What was it?
The first photograph I remember taking was made in 1958. I photographed my neighbor while she was leaning into a baby carriage to tend to her child.

AAP: What or who inspires you?
I do not believe in inspiration; I believe in simply working, and working simply. When photographing, my ideas arise directly from my exploration of the subject matter at hand. But I cannot say why I find a certain bit of the world, seen from just such an angle, in a certain light, interesting.

AAP: How could you describe your style?
I do not consciously try to apply a style to my photographs. I believe in the maxim, "Style does not precede; it results." Although there is a kind of consistency to my photographs over the years, and more so during any particular period, that is presumably because I have remained roughly the same person.

AAP: What kind of gear do you use? Camera, lens, digital, film?
I currently work with a Canon 5D Mark II and various Canon lenses.

AAP: Do you spend a lot of time editing your images?
I take an iterative approach to image editing, generally performing several editing passes. I like to leave some time between each pass in order to help me see the image with fresh eyes during each session. I consider an image completed (for the time being) when I view the image and it seems to "work" as is. For some images the editing process is completed within a few sessions, while others take much longer.
 

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Vladimir Nosalskiy (Lenin)
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Alexander Gronsky
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Publications WHO (World Health Organization), UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), USAID (United States Agency for International Development), AMURT Global Network, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Development Gateway, Id21 (Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex), Planeta Salud, ICF Macro, GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit), UNIPID (Finnish University Partnership for International Development), March (Maternal Reproductive & Child Health), The Appalachian Voice, AIP (Journal of Chemical Physics), Gazzetta di Parma, L'Informazione di Parma, Diario, Africa, Nigrizia, Popoli, Redattore Sociale, Repubblica.it, Treatment Action Campaign, CORE Group, Solidarietà e Cooperazione CIPSI, Witness Journal, Tsiry Parma Onlus, E gli Altri? Onlus, Solidarietà Muungano Onlus, Dodho Magazine, Phosmag, Terra Nuova, L'Espresso, Rex Shutterstock agency, Associated Press agency, Fotodom agency, Sipa agency, Scanpix agency, Puzzlepix agency, Le Journal du Dimanche, DeStandaard, Enough Project, Life Force Magazine, LesEchos.fr, vdi-nachtrichten.com, 20 minutes.fr, stimmenafrikas.de, wisdom wander.pl, Loveless, Illume Oy, Global Witness, QCode magazine, Street Art United States, Art Works Projects, Libéma Fun Factory, TheJournal.ie, MSN.com, Fotopolis.com, Mymodernmet.com, Traveller24.com, The Telegraph, Metro.se, All About Photo, Click Magazine, Musagetes Foundation, Vogue Italia, Alamy.com, DeAbyDay, Rai3 Tg3 Mondo, FotoNostrum, Camilo Egas Museum - MuNa, DocuMagazine, Korper magazine. Awards All About Photo: 2nd place Portrait, 2021 Art Limited: 3rd place in Reportage & Press Awards, 2021 Umbra International Photography Awards: Main category "People" winner, 2020 Smithsonian Photo Contest: Finalist, 2020 Art Limited Awards: 1st place in Reportage & Press Awards 2019 Chromatic Photography Awards: 1st place in Wildlife / Animal and 2nd place in Portrait, 2019 PX3 - Prix de la Photographie Paris: 1st place in Advertising / Book cover and 1st place in Book / People categories, 2019 Moscow Photography Awards: Gold medal in "Book / People" category , 2018 Monochrome Photography Awards: 1st and 2nd place, category "Photojournalism", 2017 IPA - International Photography Awards: 2nd place, category Book Documentary, 2016 PX3 - Prix de la Photographie Paris: Gold medal in Professional Book Documentary and Bronze medal in Professional Book People category, 2016 Exhibitions 2021 Town Hall, Möhlin, Switzerland (30/04 - 30/06) 2020 Museo Camilo Egas - MuNa, Quito, Ecuador, 16/10 - 05/12 2019 MIPA - Malta International Photo Award exhibition, Malta Postal Museum 16/02 - 16/03 (Valletta, Malta) 2018 ImagOrbetello Festival, Sale di Piazza del Popolo, 25/08 - 08/09 Orbetello (Italy), 2018 PX3 - Paris Photography Prize winner’s exhibition at the Espace Beaurepaire (Paris, 10-14 July) 2017 ImagOrbetello Festival, Sala Imago, Piazza del Popolo, Orbetello (Italy) 2017 "Black World" book at Image Text Ithaca Symposium, Ithaca College Campus (June 30th)2017 "Black World" book at Reading room at MAGNUM Foundation, New York City (June 17th) 2017 "Black World" book at Carnegie Museum of Art, PGH Photo Fair, Pittsburgh (29-30 April) 2016 Photo "Finding coltan" for permanent collection at The Design Museum, Londo, UK 2014 IPA Best of Show, Thonglor - Roof top gallery, Bangkok, Thailand 2009 "Sguardi a Sud-Est", Sorbolo (PR, Italy) Centro Civico 2007 "Sguardi a Sud-Est", Fidenza (PR, Italy) Palazzo Orsoline.
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