Jean-Paul Honegger

Jean-Paul Honegger, known as “JP” around campus, is a freshman from Switzerland. As a very cultured and nice addition to the Bowdoin community, JP is a very talented and passionate photographer. In this issue of Campus Celebrity, more people will have a chance to get to know what drives him to produce some amazing work.
 
How did you become interested in photography?
I’ve been interested in photography for years. In primary school, I would take my little Canon film camera (which I still have) with me on trips. I loved the idea that I could so easily encapsulate a memory, a moment in time. In a way, the photo is a kind of mental trigger – that is, when I see one, I can remember all kinds of things about the environment in which I was in, be it the smells, the sounds, or what lies just off-frame.
 
Where are some of your favourite places to take photos? Why?
Switzerland, without a doubt. Even though it’s a small country, there is just so much to photograph, from the mountains across the lake to the people in the streets in Geneva, to the cows in the fields next to my house. The country’s small size belies the fact that it is incredibly varied. 
 
What do you value about your art in the 21st century?
This new century (and indeed this new millennium) has so much to offer to the artists of this world. It’s so easy now for anyone to unleash their inner artist to the world, through websites like Flickr and Tumblr. Some people lament the fact that this is supposedly diluting art, but those are people who think that art is the preserve of the few, when it really is something that all of us can and should enjoy.
 
Where do you see yourself in ten years with your photography?
In my dream world, I’d be working for National Geographic, sitting in some lost valley somewhere on the other side of the world, and loving every second of my job. My real-world aspirations, however, a much more mundane than that.
 
What advice can you give others who are interested in your craft?
Don’t set yourself low standards. On the contrary, you should be more demanding with yourself than anyone else would normally be, because it allows to reflect even more on your creation, rather than on what others think of it. You are the best judge of how good your work is.

Check out his blog at: www.flickr.com/photos/jeanpaulj