gloda.net

Hi!
I am Gilles (aka Gloda), an avid freelance photographer with a passion for creating images.
I started photography in 2004, when friends encouraged me more and more to take photographs. I started with a simple Point and Shoot Canon IXUS 400, but I soon started borrowing my fathers Canon G2 (manual controls - wohoo!). Alas, I soon reached its limits, which made me take the step into the mysterious realm of DSLR photography. [Insert eerie music here.]

I have since acquired experience in the multi-faceted world of digital photography through a diverse range of projects, contests and assignments. My works have been internationally published in different newspapers, magazines, brochures, catalogues, and exhibitions. I have won several national and international awards and prizes, the most recent one being the 2006 CNOUS/CROUS International Photography Prize (the awards night was in Paris; that was fun!).
My work experience includes photojournalism for newspapers in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg (D’Wort, Voix du Luxembourg) and the United Kingdom (inQuire); spontaneous photographs for friends; freelance assignments for individuals (such as www.gaardebunn.com), schools, drama groups (e.g. Stage Spiders, Maskénada), businesses and organizations (such as LGS); as well as concert, event and stock photography. I have also had some experience with layout and webdesign.
I usually take a playful approach to photography. I enjoy what I’m doing, and the relaxed atmoshphere in shootings is reflected in the images. I like to work with restricted resources and limited material, as this allows me to come up with creative approaches on how to use that which is at my disposition: many of my photographs make extensive use of such basic tools as flashlights, tinfoil, desk lights or water bottles.
Studios and controlled environments are fun, but I equally enjoy being in the middle of the action. When I cover events like the NUS student march in London, the Street Festivals in Luxembourg or the party nights in the venues, I take part in the action. I connect to the people I photograph, and I think it is this connection, condensed into a single moment, which can give photography that special impact that no other medium can convey.

When I’m not looking through the viewfinder or digitally processing photographs, I am a full time student of English and American Literature at the University of Kent. Of course, as I tend to photograph everything that is around me, the life as a student influences my photography to a certain degree, and vice-versa. In my free time I am also a scout leader in Luxembourg, which, like photography, allows me to work with the most different people of various age groups all the time.

Feel free to browse my portfolio, or have a look at my blog. If you have any questions, contact me, for comments, use the form below.