SAREL VAN STADEN

MARYNA COTTON

Sarel van Staden has been a professional photographer for more than two decades and has been winning awards for as many years. Like most photographers, his career started as a wedding and event photographer, but his love for creative lighting techniques resulted in a shift to commercial photography and more specifically automotive photography.

The challenge to beautifully light the reflective surfaces of cars, became an obsession. “Driven my the passion to apply the seemingly limitless possibilities of artificial light sources in my photography, as well as the unavailability of commercial lighting systems which could give the desired results, I had no alternative but the develop unique custom-built light sources to create the effect I wanted.”

Sarel claims that “many failed attempts lead to a better understanding of light and some awesome discoveries” which resulted in his impressive collection of car fine art images.

The shapes of beautiful cars are a source of inspiration for Sarel’s art. “Through my car fine art images I pay hommage to car designers, the true artists.”

Sarel teaches his students how to “create images instead of only recording them”. His workshops are presented in a fun and creative way with the use of illustrations, photos and practical demonstrations. His passion for his craft is intoxicating and he is a popular guest lecturer through out the country.

When Sarel is not teaching he photographs for commercial clients. His passion for automotive photography is evident in his work and he is fast becoming SA’s top automotive photographer. .

See more of Sarel’s work on Behance

Maryna is a full-time professional photographer and has been making photographs, with passionate enthusiasm, most of her life. Her passion for photography and her desire to create memorable images have motivated her to become a creative still life and commercial photographer. Maryna focuses in her images on showing the beauty of the subject that is photographed. Using creative and innovative lighting techniques sets her internationally acclaimed work apart form the rest. This is especially evident in her automotive work.

Maryna is a storyteller – her lifestyle and personal branding imagery adorns many websites of regular commercial clients. For the same reason, Maryna enjoys photographing events. Her fly on the wall approach  maintain a natural and unobtrusive environment for clients and she believes this relaxed yet focused style captures the best of any event or conference.

“I am a photographer and digital artist. There is an obvious visual thread that can be seen when you look through the body of my work. By taking a personal responsibility for both the capture and the post-production of my images,  I am able to create images that not only meet my clients’ brief’s, but ensure the consistency and quality of the work produced, whether I am telling a story or presenting my client’s product.” 

Maryna’s passion for people and her eagerness to share her knowledge makes her a much-loved lecturer in the classroom and a popular guest lecturer at photography clubs and workshops. See more of Maryna’s work on Behance