My name is Anja and I’m a photographer and filmmaker.

I specialise in documentary photography - for families, for small businesses and for myself as well.

20200205_portrait-Anja-byAmi

photo by Ami aka The Woman and the Wolf

My people see the beauty in the ordinary, appreciate authenticity and value honesty.Are you my people?

Do you identify with any of the following?

  • You have a million photos of your family and friends on your phone but you’re not in any of them (apart from a few terrible selfies).
  • You hate posing for photos.
  • You love family photos but you can think of 100 things you’d rather do than finding time in your busy life to dress up your kids and cart them to a studio or pretty field, to have some picture-perfect photos taken.
  • You recognise (or at least try to recognise) the beauty in your every day (chaotic) life.
  • You think creativity, curiosity and adventures are just as, if not more important than academia. Education is vital but it comes in different forms and shapes.
  • You feel that the days are passing way too quickly. In 5/10/20 years, you don’t just want to remember, but you will want to be able to FEEL how wonderful (yet crazy) life was today.

Does any of that resonate with you? If it does, we’ll get on well!

When beautiful moments happen right in front of me, I HAVE TO take the picture. I can’t help it (seriously, ask all my friends!). So when you book a photo session with me, you’ll get honest, authentic and wonderful family photos and films, documenting the magic of your every day.

So… what else is there to know about me? I’m passionate about a lot of things but instead of overloading you with info, let me present you with 6 facts:

The introvert

Anja-203

I’m an introvert, INFJ (Myers-Briggs anyone?). I hate talking on the phone – funny enough video calls are ok though. I prefer text and voice messages as communication – I bet that’s an introvert’s thing. Just because I can think about my reply (and overthink for ages before sending anything).

The traveller

street-colombia

The past 2 years have been tough because I love traveling and I didn’t get to do any of that. One of my favourite things is to go on street photography trips to far-away places with a bunch of other talented photographers.

The photographer

20211116_365-362_12

I’m that person who ALWAYS carries a camera. The photos I take daily are part of my project 365 which I’ve been doing for over 3 years now. It helps me to remember all the small wonderful things I get to experience.

My sidekick

anja-lee-deal-1090609

This is Lee. He’s my favourite human. He makes me laugh every day. He challenges me and is my biggest cheerleader. He also doesn’t mind being photographed which is a big plus in my world.

The heavy-lifter

crossfit throwdown event

While this is not me in the photo (I’m the one behind the camera), I’m doing heavy lifting just like Joey here whenever I’m not injured. It’s called CrossFit and it hurts.

The bird-lover

Colombia-Street-Photography-Behind-the-scenes-87-1024x684

Who would ever call themselves a bird person? Me, that’s who. When I was 5 years old, I had a budgie called Bubi. He was the best.

I found this bird on a dirt road on a Colombian island. Because I was worried that someone would run him over, I picked him up. We had a moment.

Something I'm known for....

... is having a number of personal projects on the go at all times.
Personal projects are how I learn to improve my skills and my craft. It's where I can play, experiment, fail and grow. And the benefit is that through challenging myself, I constantly learn something new that will help me provide the best possible service and products for my clients.

Long Portrait

This project started in 2018, out of a concept I've been wanting to play with for a long time.
The goal is to create a video portrait of a person, revealing more than the facade captured in a photo. An interview and music support the intensity of the portrait.

Learn more

The struggling artist

2020 was a weird year - everything stopped while the world dealt with the pandemic caused by Covid-19. The arts and entertainment industry have been hit especially hard.
The idea of this project is to show the reality of this pandemic in an artist’s life, how individuals deal with it and how they get pushed out of their comfort zone in order to keep working and creating.

Watch Episode 1

Project 365

On my birthday in November 2019, I decided to start a year-long project, where I take a photo every single day. I'm now in my fourth year of this project. This is my photo diary and the story of my mundane life. I post the daily photos on a personal Instagram account.

365 IG

Achievements

I'm not one to shout about myself but I'm proud to have won awards with my photography, been published and had the opportunity to exhibit my work nationally and internationally.

Hear me speak

Over the past couple years, I appeared on some podcasts and other speaking opportunities. Have a listen!

tib-storytelling

What I've been up to lately