We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Esseiva and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
This is a very broad question and difficult to answer because many things make me happy: being with the people I love, having eaten well in a restaurant, cuddling my cat, going on a trip or seeing the Christmas decorations.

But photography is one thing that really makes me happy. It allows me to express my emotions through my images. I need to do photography to feel good. It’s a real engine that allows me to grow.

When I am taking pictures, I am often a little stressed. I’m always looking for the best point of view and the best light. I know that an amazing photograph can be missed just by being distracted. Stress also helps to focus your mind on a specific goal. But it’s seeing them on screen that I enjoy so much. I finally get to see what I’ve captured and I’m often surprised to see that my favourite picture isn’t the one I thought it would be.

I also love to travel and visit new places. Coming from a family of globetrotters, I have been lucky enough to have travelled a lot. I really like to plan my trip and to define what the stages will be. What I like most of all is to look for the places I will take pictures of. I do research on Instagram, Google and Google Maps. I spend hours planning which route to take to find the view I want to capture.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been drawing since I was 4 years old and taking pictures since I was 15. I’ve always had an artistic streak. But I didn’t want to go down that road professionally. I did an apprenticeship as a multimedia designer. Then I followed a training in marketing. I am currently employed 100% in a company as a digital marketing assistant. I love my job and the team!

Despite this, photography remains a passion that I practice almost every weekend. After having tried portrait, reportage and nude photography, I have been perfecting my skills in landscape photography for several years. I particularly like dramatic water landscapes. I often use my tripod to take long pauses to see the movement in the clouds and smooth out the details on the water. This creates unique photographs as no two people will have exactly the same movement. Since now a year, I have an online boutique on Etsy to sell fine art prints. I am preparing a new e-boutique on my portfolio in 2022 where all my photographs will be available in fine art prints.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would love to organise this little trip! Despite its small size, Switzerland has a lot to offer! I would suggest a road trip through the country. We would start by going to Locarno in Ticino for two days. To get there, we’ll go over the Furka pass to get a glimpse of the Swiss Alps and then visit the Verzasca Valley. The turquoise water of this river coming down from the mountains is incredible.

The third day will be a rest day and we will go to the thermal baths of Vals in the Grisons. The architecture of these thermal baths is out of the ordinary. We will spend the night and the next day in Zürich. There is the Wow Museum which is a life-size illusion museum!

After Zürich, I will suggest a stop in the old town of Lucerne, a beautiful city on the shores of Lake Lucerne. There, we’ll have to find a restaurant that makes good röstis, a Swiss dish that I love.

Then it’s back home to my place in Lausanne. We will spend this last day in the Lavaux, a beautiful vineyard region on Lake Geneva. We will finish the day with a walk along the lake in Morges while eating an ice cream from Dolce Italia! The best in the region, in my opinion!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
If anyone deserves to be mentioned, it’s my boyfriend. He supports me and is 100% interested in my passion for photography. He often comes to take pictures with me. I usually suggest a place I’d like to photograph and we go there together. I take a lot of pictures with a long pause time so I need the tripod. Once I’ve chosen a location and start taking some pictures, Paolo goes exploring. He goes around and looks for new places to photograph. He makes videos and photos and shows them to me when he returns. If the place is difficult to access, he does everything to get us there with all the equipment. Many thanks to you, my love!

Website: http://jenniferesseiva.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferesseiva/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferesseiva/

Other: Behance : https://www.behance.net/jenniferesseiva Fine art prints: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JenniferEsseivaPhoto

Image Credits
All landscape images are mine. My portrait photo has been done by Paolo Chianese.

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