My name is Stef Van Alsenoy. I am a photographer, sound designer and recording engineer.

My photography is often landscape based - but is rarely about the scenery per se. Shapes, motion and textures are essential, as is the presence of visual silence. When I was introduced to the Japanese concept of ‘Ma’ - 間 - or ‘negative space’ I soon realised that this minimalism permeates my work, of which many examples can be found here
Another important Japanese concept in my work is ‘Mono No Aware’ - 物の哀れ - or the awareness of the fragile transience, and the appreciation of the beauty of the temporary. In analogy to the ‘hanami’ - the melancholic appreciation of the short lived beauty of the cherry blossoms - this concept runs throughout my cloud photography - in their shapes and motions during formation, evolution and eventually their dissolution into nothingness.
Examples can be found in my Clouds around Mount Fuji series of photographs and time lapses, and the Undulatus series of photographs.

My sound designs are often acoustic extensions of visual arts or theatrical performances. I created soundscapes for among others exhibitions of photographer Stephan Vanfleteren, performances of the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and Flemish Radio Choir, and theatre maker Kris Verdonck – as well as for my own work as a photographer.
Minimalism, organic textures and the use of ‘found’ sounds are at the core of my sonic works. They aim to create an acoustic ‘presence’ as another dimension of the visual context – rather than being a standalone musical dimension parallel to the visual. Most of my soundscapes are created with surround sound which adds to this extra dimension.
As in my photography - Japanese ‘Ma’ - 間 permeates my soundscapes - where silence can be an as important component as the minimalist slowly evolving sonic textures.

Sound design and photography are two complimentary art forms to me.
I created minimalist soundscapes as a dialogue with my own photography and time lapses – for my ‘Mono No Aware’ exhibition at the Concertgebouw in Brugge, and the ‘Clouds around Mount Fuji’ exhibition at Tours and Taxis in Brussels, and the Flagey concert hall in Brussels.
For Brussels Philharmonic and Flemish Radio Choir I created photography and time lapse videos combined with surround sound design - for Haydn’s ‘Seven Last Words’ and McMillan’s ‘Seven Angels’ concerts.

Time is an essential component in both my photography and soundscapes. Whether it is frozen time through long exposure photography, contracted time with time lapse photography, or evolving slowed down sonic landscapes bridging time - stepping out of real time is something our sensory perception is simply incapable of - so these sonic and/or visual representations are an effort to capture these elusive experiences.

I am also a recording engineer, which provides me with a solid technical background underlying artistic creations and performances.
I have recorded and mixed more than 2.500 concerts as the resident recording engineer at the Ancienne Belgique concert hall in Brussels - for artists such as Iggy Pop, Faithless, Roisin Murphy, Serge Lama and many others
As a freelance studio recording engineer I have recorded and/or mixed albums by Axelle Red, Daan, Dead Man Ray, Gwen Cresens Quartet, …
As a mastering engineer I have done restauration and mastering work for Baudoin Oosterlinck, Michael Ranta, Arsène Souffriau, …