International Interview, Hannelore aka Eleanors

What's your real name?
My real name is Hannelore Tiefenthaler. I use "Eleanor's" for my shop name in remembrance of two women I really admire: my beloved grandma, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest, extraordinary and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages.

Where were you born & raised?
I was born in the city of Salzburg, Austria, and was raised in a small village nearby, surrounded by high mountains, the perfect place for adventuresome children. At the age of 14 I moved to Salzburg where I studied and lived for 15 years.

Where are you now & what led you there?
After moving around a lot I currently live between Austria's capital Vienna and a small village in Hungary. I have always been attracted to bigger cities but still won't miss nature, old trees and a bunch of rare animals.

What types of creations do you sell in your Etsy shop(s)?
At Etsy I sell my photographs, shot on film as well as digital. One of my favourite subjects are landscapes, especially trees. I also love to capture and experiment with seemingly unimportant sides of everyday life.

What's your educational background, as it relates to your work?
I mainly have been learning by doing and was lucky enough to work with experienced people I could learn a lot from. That´s one of the best educations you can get.

What age and how'd you get started creating?
Sometimes things come out very funny. In childhood I was addicted to photography. I compiled photo albums and wrote comments on every single picture I shot. School knocked my passion on the head. But towards the end of study (German Literature and History) it suddenly raised again. Finally I decided to become a photographer. To make a long story short, I started to cover a lot of concerts and theatre productions, worked for magazines and newspapers, did book covers and posters as well as exhibitions. After a couple of years I started filmmaking which turned out my main profession until right now. In my experimental and short documentary films I often had been my own director of photography.

What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on?
It´s everyday life, nature, and last but not least validation from people who love what I am doing. Whatever I hear or look at, pictures arise and inspire my imagination. Visual art is the way to express myself best.

Do you belong to any Street Teams? If so, which ones and why?
I am a proud member of European Street Team and Poe Team. Both of them are very active, doing challenges, treasuries and support each other. I do wish to have more time to take part of it, since I am still moving around a lot and I am always struggling to keep my shop running, photographing and filmmaking. Whenever possible I try to catch a treasury to promote my teammembers. I really appreciate being part of such an amazing community.

If you are on a Street Team, have you noticed any benefit to you and your shop?
I am very thankful my work gets featured in a lot of treasuries made by teammembers, and that helps to get seen more.

Do you feel there are limitations or barriers when selling Internationally?
I didn't meet with any obstacle yet when selling internationally apart from high shipping fees which might eventually distract some folks from purchasing abroad.

Where else(if any)do you sell your work? Please list any other places you sell, whether online or at a store by you.
Apart from selling offline Etsy is the only place until now I sell my photographs.

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?
The site is extremely well done, it is user-friendly, has a well-defined outline, and attractive ways of searching. Not to be overlooked the large international community.

Recommend your five favorite shops on Etsy.
There are a lot, here are some of them:

Artsy
beadedweeds
annarubyking
ExoticFlavour
krize

Three favorite items from my shop:
Daydream: A picture that seems to ask: real or not? I captured a detail of the extraordinary landscape in Hungary´s Hansag National Park at one of the last days in 2008. I love the pastel colors and the delicate flowing structure which makes the image look like a painting full of mystery.

Carved In Stone: One of my newly created collages working on several portraits of woman.

Open End: I took the picture with a Lomo at the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Galicia, a province in the north west of Spain. The light and color which come out from a special developing process and the open landscape give me the feeling like being in the middle of nowhere. In fact this place features the end of a continent, Europe.
Anything else to add?
Many thanks, Amber, for inviting me to the interview!

Your quite welcome Hannelore! I thoroughly enjoyed viewing your unique and wonderful art, thanks for sharing a piece of your world with us!

~Amber aka Blue Scarab