You guys may recognise the name “Tuva Wolf” as the photography studio responsible for our amazing covers. Well, we sat down with the founder and photographer, Merja Iileka aka Shadows of Wolf, to find out a little more about her creative passion and how the studio was born.
So who is Shadows of Wolf?
Shadows Of Wolf is a fierce student of life… constantly searching, self-improving, learning and growing her art. She is also a proud mother to twins, a creative, an advocate for the advancement of the arts and an independent woman who remains unapologetic about the spaces she occupies.
What did you want to be, when you were a little girl?
I didn’t really have a clear direction of where I wanted to end up because I had so many passions throughout my childhood. As a young girl, I naturally wanted to emulate the example of my parents, both medical doctors, and thought I would end up in medicine. I later changed my mind and decided I would rather become a lawyer, mainly due to my love for American comedy series, Boston Legal, and people encouraging me to study law because of how I spoke and reasoned when arguing my case. This was, however, short-lived as I soon realised that I was better with my hands and could sketch garments, coupled with my deep love for fashion, so fashion design seemed like the best career option for me. Finally, in high school, as the founder and first editor-in-chief of the school magazine, I knew I would end up in media.
So photography? How did you get into that?
I’ve always had a wild imagination and the seemingly mundane always fascinated me more than it did my peers. Before I owned a camera, I would create a lens by shaping my index and pointer fingers on both hands into a square and I would point them in the direction of my subject, imaging what was inside the square of my fingers a photograph. At age 10, my father got me my first camera, which I abused even though back then developing film was expensive. I didn’t think I was particularly good at it until I studied photography as a subject at varsity as part of my media course and my lecturer encouraged me to take it up professionally.
You do it part-time now, do you have plans on doing it full time?
Even though I have a full time job, I never think of photography as something I’m doing part-time because I work with images every day and my art is not restricted to after hours.
How did it transform from a hobby to a business?
I started off taking pictures of my twins, family and friends, as well as for my published articles while working as a journalist. One day a friend insisted to pay for my creativity and soon after, clients started knocking on my door due to referrals.
Talk to us about running a creative business, how is that like?
It’s fun, and challenging, and time consuming, especially when you want to satisfy all your clients. I think of my creative business as my labour of love… leaving pieces of myself in intimate paves that will live on long after I’m gone. I’m also an insomniac, so I mostly work throughout the night, but because I am employed, I don’t have the luxury to sleep in. So, a lot of play and a lot of hard work with loads of cups of strong coffee.
Other than photography, what else do you get up to creatively?
I also draw and have sold some of paintings locally and internationally. I’m a writer with hopes, but still a lot of hesitations, to someday publish a book. Other times I also dabble in styling.
Where do you garner inspiration from?
I get inspired by locations when driving or taking a walk. Images flesh in my mind when reading a book or having a conversation. I also get inspired by other creatives’ work when browsing social media or paging through a fashion magazine. There is art in everything.
What do you want to achieve with your art?
Photography is a powerful tool with the ability to transform lives. My focus this year is to tell people’s stories through images. I want to start conversations and make people feel.
Which was your favorite shoot ever?
I’ve been very fortunate to work with many great creatives and to bring their vision to life, so every shoot has fond and personal memories. The one that immediately comes to mind, however, is one of my more recent shoots where I photographed Ovahimba women in Avis for a high profile client.
Describe your ultimate client/subject?
I love working with clients that have an idea of what they want, but are open to letting Mother Nature lead the way. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and an ultimate client is one that is open to a change in direction when forces beyond our control present themselves.
Who and/or what would like to capture one day?
I would love to travel to Kenya and India and spend days capturing the people and the natural beauty in those countries.
Your favorite photographers? Name 3
This is a tough one, because I have so many. If I had to narrow it down, it would probably be Patrick Demarchelier, Emily Soto, Osborne Macharia, Omar Victor Diop and Jimmy Nelson. Apologies, that’s five.
Your top 3 favorite images?
I would say a maternity shoot I had with a beautiful black pregnant woman holding a bouquet of flowers over her face, an underwater photograph I took of a couple, mostly because I was in uncharted waters (pun intended) and a photograph I took of a Himba woman blowing a saxophone.
Plans for TuvaWolf?
My plan is to build the brand and gain more recognition locally and abroad with my images through publication, billboards and photography exhibitions. The plan is also to eventually develop the business into to a fully equipped studio with an advertising and marketing department. Tuva Wolf is here to stay.
