I grew up with my fair share of surrealism. Just sayin’…

With a little imagination you can create a whole story around a single image. Karen’s letter to her mother offers a little insight into the workings of this family.

My tendency is to look at things with a bit of humor. So when I read an article in a magazine (honestly can’t remember which one, but it was captivating) about a convention for people who suffer with Obsessive Compulsive disorder, I started imagining who the participants may be. And as it often happens, once you start thinking about something everyone around you seems to be talking about it too! Thus came up the idea of a guy who eats his chocolate bars with knife and a fork. That visual got stuck in my head and the only way to get it out was to create the character and photograph it. I admit, I am obsessive compulsive that way too! So I had the idea, but I thought it would be so much more interesting if he had a family as well and the real work began.

I was so incredibly happy when one of my favorite models Jerald agreed to work on this with me! He is great with creating characters and playing them out. He brought so much to the shoot, just amazing! And he brought along his beautiful daughter Sage, who I can honestly say has a great career ahead of her! She was so delighted when I asked her to spill ice cream onto her dress. She wanted to giggle, but stayed in character and gave me some fantastic shots to work with.

The always beautiful Karin made our perfect mother of the family. I’m always happy to provide a challenge for models. Each character in the dessert shot is photographed separately and the image is a composite. We worked with expressions and ideas and later on I edited the images down to get the true moment and the tension at the table between the family members.

This image and the other two in the series worked out better than I had imagined!

Ah Amsterdam! You are so much fun! My week spent there had totally cemented my adoration for it. It was all bout work and Art this time! I want to go back already! Here is a slideshow with a few pictures I shot with my iPhone! Enjoy!

There is more on my FB page too!

It’s been a few years since I went last. But the week I just spent in Amsterdam cemented my love for this gorgeous city completely. This time it was all about work and art. I really hope I’ll get to go back soon! Very soon!

Here is a little slideshow of some of the pictures I took while I was there. Enjoy!

4 Euros for 20 roses!

At long last! Haha! Here it is, the Yoga Dominatrix!
I have been telling my yoga teacher, that I have this visual of her walking around the class in leather gear with whip in her hand, as she is teaching the yoga class. It’s not that she is bossy (well, maybe just a little!), it’s more about me subjecting myself to this pain under her direction. Pain that actually feels really good and is the reason why I keep coming back for more. The pain that makes me feel, like maybe I may be a bit of a masochist.
Here is a little video by the amazing Amanda Lowe

And here is the finished product:

© Henrieta Haniskova Photography

I hope you love it as much as I do! Thank you Josie Houpt for being such a fantastic yoga teacher and friend and for being a sport and putting on the leather outfit!, You looked hot!!!
Chrys Muszka! Thank you so much for playing along and letting me put the dog collar on you! And holding those poses for EVER like you did, so that I could get a shot!
Thank you Terri Dacquisto for the wonderful styling job and playing along even when I come up with the craziest ideas! Thank you Mila Veronica! The hair and make-up were PERFECT!
And no small thanks to Kula studio, for letting us use the fantastic space for this!

I haven’t been lazy, I’ve been busy! Really busy working on new stuff to show off soon! There is my FB page, that I use as somewhat of a photo diary. Check it out and Like, if you like it!

So a lot has happened in the last month or so! Very exciting news I haven’t had the time to share here yet! And since I keep getting asked for the link to the short film I shot with an amazing team and ended up winning first place in the 24 hour Toronto Film Challenge, here it is!

There is a long story that could be made into a movie that comes with this short film! It was a long day and night! Very long! But really fun, filled with hard work, tons of creativity, positive energy and love! This was my first try as a DOP other than documentary style work and camera work.
This was a new experience and I really love it! I hope there will be other opportunities for us to make more short films together in the future! The team was fantastic! Damon Runyan, the director gave me this opportunity and there was no way I would turn it down! Damon and Jodie Dowdall Runyan, his lovely wife and the producer on this film did a great job as well as the rest of the crew, all fantastic actors, Kristi Angus, Justin Mader, Darius Jones and Carlos Velis. The editing was done by a creative and fast editor as well as a very brave man who broke his leg the night we won and celebrated, hope he’s feeling better, Sean Stanley!
And I have thanked my Big Daddy personally twice now, but will thank again! Thank you Hasnain! And Thank you Zach for being so kind and letting us use your gear!

But I really want to know what YOU think! So leave me a comment!

Last Saturday we drove with my assistant Adam up to Collingwood area. A beautiful place called Timpano Farms. It was a crisp morning, but it was sun filled and gorgeous!

My friend Lance is writing and recording beautiful country songs and we went up to a horse farm to photograph him. The images are still in works, but here is a couple I just love and couldn’t wait to share!

Thank you boys!

Do I need to say more?

Thank you Amanda Lowe for this video! Thank you to Persilia Caton for the great curating work and Contact for giving me this fantastic opportunity. Thank you to Adam Scott, Bruce Stewart, Will Thompson, Lance Dobinson, Thane Dunn, Christopher Ayotte, Thor Bonfig and all other  Elvis Tribute artists who helped me make this happen. As well as Adam Coish and David Larraguibel for giving me a hand!

It’s all out of my hands! Done! Well, almost done! I’m going to see the show being installed tomorrow! Yey! That was a lot of work and a lot of very kind people helping me through it all! This is an image that will not be a part of the show, there are others just as great if not better! I love it still and wish I could see it printed large, like the rest. And maybe I will eventually!

It’s been a fun ride, a roller-coaster. I have been up and down southern Ontario, Newcastle, Burlington, Nottawa, Collingwood, Fort Erie, Durham. And I would have gone further if I had more money and if some of my other favorite ETA’s weren’t so busy traveling and performing to celebrate Elvis’ birthday in the month of January!

It’s been a long trip from stumbling into Collingwood on the very same weekend the Elvis Festival was happening and feeling like I was asleep and dreaming everyone in the streets is Elvis! To calling the festival organizers the following year to beg for the opportunity to set up a studio at the festival and photograph these fascinating men. And now, invading their homes to make them dress up for me as Elvis and maybe even do a little dance!

The costume identifies and Elvis Tribute Artist or an Impersonator very quickly, that is true. But what is hidden beneath the persona and why is a lot more exciting and interesting to me. And that is exactly why I have gone the distance and what my show is all about. I have learned a very interesting thing, that no matter which angle I approach this from, all people want to see is Elvis. But I have arrived at a place, where Elvis is just a fractions of the interest to me and it’s become the people that go through all kinds of effort to keep the King alive, that matter to me so much more. And it is them, not Elvis I want to talk about.

We have all been influenced by Elvis in one way or another. And perhaps we don’t even realize how much he changed the world. As an artist it is my job to look at the world with the eyes of a child, like I have never seen it before. I walked into this without any judgments, not knowing what to expect. My grandmother or my mother never listened to Elvis, neither of them owned a record player. My aunts and uncles did eventually, but their record collections never included foreign performers and most definitely not ones that were the symbols of “rotten capitalism” in the eyes of the leading communist party in the socialist system I was growing up in.

I had not seen a movie with Elvis until about 2 years ago. I had some understanding of his iconic status, but the deep rooted sentimental attachment to Elvis and what he meant to the generations that adored him during the start and the peak of his carrier was something I couldn’t possibly have a grasp on. I could not help but feel like an alien visiting another planet when I walked the streets of Collingwood with all 200 Elvii in jumpsuits prancing around and gyrating their hips.

The dedication of the tribute artists and their fans was incredibly intriguing to me and my profession allows for certain liberties to be taken and given. I wanted to understand, to relate, to make sense of the behavior I liked but did not grasp.

Do I have those answers now? I don’t know, but I know I am a whole lot closer to them now, then I ever was! And maybe you’ll be inspired to look at the men that put on jumpsuits in different way after seeing my work as well! See you at the Contact gallery!

Almost there! The most exciting event in my year so far. A big solo show for the first time in a non commercial gallery! And it’s a big space to fill! Look at this gorgeous gallery space! Thank you Contact!

Contact Gallery

And my dear friend Amanda Lowe made another sweet little video behind the scenes from a photo-shoot with the lovely Lance Dobinson. Here it is! Let me know how you like it!

I Am Elvis (II) – Henrieta Haniskova from Amanda Lowe on Vimeo.

I haven’t been too active on my blog recently for a good reason. I have been busy shooting even over the holidays. I don’t mind, I love it and I really enjoy the people I work with. I love a good team and it shows in the results.

Last year I was lucky duck and won the Contact Festival Portfolio Review Competition. Thank you to everyone who was there and believed in me and as a result gave me this amazing opportunity to create a body of work that would be shown in the beautiful Contact Gallery in Toronto. Vistek has pitched in as well with amazing offer for equipment rental, which may I say made a huge difference for me!
I do have to admit, I felt that the opportunity was amazing, but the time line I got was so tight! 3 months in total made me fell panicked!  I managed to submit a grant proposal, review and edit over 4 thousand photographs and photograph 4 Elvises in their homes in a matter of 2 months. Now it’s onto the retouching and printing! The opening is only 3 weeks away!

I feel like I’m in a race, but also feel like I work well under pressure and managed to create something worth seeing. But right now here is a little taste of what I have been up to in the last several weeks!

I Am Elvis – Henrieta Haniskova from Amanda Lowe on Vimeo.

Huge Thank you to Adam Scott and Adam Coish and Amanda Lowe for this beautiful video!

If you enjoyed it, let me know! I love to hear from you!