The magic of Photography and Annelie

Annelie Dillman’s story starts a little more than 40 years ago, when her dad, a keen amateur photographer, converted his darkroom into a baby room for her. To this day, if asked why she chose photography, she will answer that she believes being a photographer is her destiny.

In her parent’s house there were two beautiful black & white photographs of her mom and aunt. Spending hours staring at the photos, she tried to imagine the day they were taken. When she turned sixteen, her mom took her to get a photo taken, just like theirs. The experience was not as anticipated at all. It was quite a disappointment, to say the least. She felt uncomfortable during the session, and she hated the photo. She felt her bad experience was clear to anyone who would later see the photo.

Seeing the photo years later became an “A-HA” moment as she realised that this experience may well be the basis of her passion for studio photography, which she describes as “a fire that burns within me.” She feels that this lies behind her reasons for opening a photographic studio in the attractive business centre, Little Paris in Hartbeespoort: “It’s almost an obsession with me to make sure people are comfortable, enjoy the session and love their photos!”

She bought her first camera at the age of 16 with money she worked for waiting tables and washing her dad’s car… a lot of saving was needed for such an expensive item! It was a beautiful camera; top of the range Olympus MJU Zoom. With her camera always at her side, she continued morphing into a professional photographer, taking small steps at first, like starting a photographic club at her school. She completed her B-tech Diploma in Photography through the Technikon of Pretoria and finished top of her class while absolutely loving every bit of it! In case you want to know, yes, she was the nerdy over-achiever that always had one more question to ask!

Technikon first year students were only allowed to shoot with black and white film. Limited to a roll of 36 exposures they were taught to make every shot count. Keen for more, she figured out that if she offered to run the equipment rental store, she would get a key…  a key meant access to the studios and darkrooms too! It was a no-brainer! She immersed herself in the opportunities that opened up often working right through the night.

It was a magical time. Annelie spent hours either in the studio or in the darkroom, creating that “perfect image”.

At the end of her second year as a student, the digital era began. Despite it being still very basic and limited, a whole new world opened up to her. Just to give you an idea, her first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 950. The memory card she got with it was 8mb. That makes her smile, as today a 64GB card is commonplace.

In 2000 her path crossed with that of Paul Kruger whom at that time worked in television as a camera operator and a director. She worked with him as an assistant on various productions and later moved up to become a 2nd camera operator. Her first shots that ever made it onto television were from the Duzi Canoe Race in 2001.

This resulted in 10 years as a freelance camera-operator and later as a director. At that time, female operators were unheard of, being denied work based on their gender. She experienced this firsthand several times. Undeterred, she just kept knocking on doors and in the end it paid off and she got to  travel extensively for work around the world. She covered the U\21 World Cup in France; the African Cup of Nations in Ghana; toured with the Botswana National Rugby Team to Holland. India, Australia, New Zealand, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. During these times she was either on the back of a motorbike or hanging out a helicopter. Annelie said that she continued using the same platforms and connections over and over again and managed to keep getting work in photographic services.

You might say Annelie is like a cat with 9 lives (she’s used up quite a few of those already!) While flying in a paragliding competition in De Aar, a Griffon military airplane just missed her. Turning in a thermal, she looked down and saw the blue helmet of the pilot. Another time, she had a paragliding accident and broke her back but her stubborn streak showed up and she left to do work in the UK just two weeks after the accident. Then there’s the time that she almost drowned in the Hartbeespoort dam…. Annelie’s adventurous spirit definitely comes from her dad – he went ziplining at the age of 72!

When 2010 arrived with all its unique opportunities in South Africa, she was 5 months pregnant with her first child and once again faced cancelled bookings – this time because no one wanted a pregnant lady on location – especially as it meant carrying a 12kg camera!

In a life changing move Annelie woke up one morning and went out and sold all her television equipment – switching from Television to Photography. Nikon to Canon. Annelie never looked back and has no regrets.

Annelie absolutely love’s the versatility of her job. One day she could be shooting raw meat, capturing the process of making Vienna sausages beginning to end. The next day she’s shooting celebrities in fast cars. Often she’s guiding corporate professionals to look and feel at ease, ensuring their photographs portrays the right message.

Beckoned back to this first love Annelie has spent the past 10 years immersed in building her own studio where she specialises in portrait photography. The success of its unique selling proposition (vintage costume photos) led her to open a second vintage studio at Chameleon Village, in the Damdoryn tourist area of Hartbeespoort.

She loves the sound of laughter. A sound she hears daily at Visual Storms Vintage Studio. If she could capture the laughter, joy and energy that’s generated in the studios, she’s convinced she could solve Eskom’s national energy problems!

Unable to bottle laughter to solve the current energy crises, Annelie can brighten up your day.

Her mission with every photo session is to change or enhance how people see themselves. Her aim is that they walk away and celebrate their unique one-of-a-kind beauty with confidence, leaving the studio seeing themselves as spectacular, instead of ordinary.

Annelie takes quality portraits in a relaxed environment (great ingredients for success, right?) but insists that she’s not selling photos (although, she says, those are included in the price!) She sets out to sell an unforgettable experience because she knows how precious life is.

Why do I do what I do? “Because I believe you deserve to stand out. In fact, I believe you have a right to stand out. You can’t rewind a moment and live it again, but a photograph enables you to remember that special moment in your life.”

“I don’t just take photographs; I transform what you perceive to be ordinary, into the spectacular.”