Interview with Gero Heine

By Jessica Johnson

I have known Gero Heine since the mid-80s when he was a new student at Aptos High School. With his quick wit, good looks, and thick accent he was hard to miss. Gero didn’t miss a beat and quickly became a true Mariner as he took up the sport of surfing and fell in love with the aquatic nature that surrounds us.

After graduating, Gero went on to Pepperdine University and a long career in the corporate world. How he went from that world to become an accomplished wildlife photographer and world traveler is an inspiring story of turning a passion into not only a successful business, but a way of life.

Q: What brought you to Santa Cruz?

My dad’s job brought my family here in 1984. I grew up in Germany, near the Black Forest.

Q: Are there other creatives in your family? Parents? Siblings?

My dad was very creative in a math and technical way. He has 30 or 40 patents. My mother was a competitive ballroom dancer. My brother is also a photographer – and a musician.

Q: What is the first thing you remember making/writing/creating?

In Germany I remember carving little wooden knives. But you know, my family came to visit the States in 1979, when I was 12. I had my first camera and took lots of pictures. When I went back to Germany I did a slide show for my class.

Q: When did you first call yourself an “artist”?

It took a long time. Maybe after ten years of doing this – so maybe 5 years ago?

Q: What is your daily routine?

I go to bed really late, and so my breakfast is at everyone else’s lunch time. I have lunch at 5:00 and then dinner at 9:00 or 10:00. In the afternoon I will do office work, emails, calls, deal with shipping, that sort of thing. Then I like to surf or go to the gym. I do my most creative work late at night. Now, if I am on location I will shoot in the morning, then nap or scout in the afternoon and shoot again in the afternoon.

Q: How do ideas come to you? Are you a “flasher” or a “percolator”?

Being out and about — seeing the work of other artists at shows, or watching a nature show on TV — that brings whatever is inside of me out. It’s like I am uncorked!

Q: Who are your creative idols? Why?

Florian Schulz – I like his style. David Muench for landscapes. Art Wolfe for his use of motion and his cultural work.

Q: What never fails to inspire you?

By the end of the show season I am burned out and tired. So I kind of disappear and just do a lot of surfing. When I am on the water and the light is great, I feel reinvigorated, especially in the fall with the birds, the light, and the incoming storms.

Q: Do you have dry spells? What do you if you do?

If I do I just drive south for the day. The color of the water is therapeutic. The visual drama, my subconscious is influenced by all that.

Q: What is the best advice you have been given about being an artist/creator/maker?

To treat this as a business. I am a business guy and you get out what you put in. I learned not to take the highs too high or the lows too low, but to keep it measured.

Q: What is the biggest myth about creativity?

That it is all fun in the sun. It’s a career, it’s a job. 25% of what I do is photography, the other 75% is business.

To learn more about Gero Heine and view his amazing work visit www.geroheine.com. He is on the road currently, but he will be back in town in the fall. You can catch him at the Capitola Art & Wine Festival September 10 & 11. Gero is also part of the Open Studios Art Tour October 1 &2 and 15& 16. Visit www.openstudiosarttour.org for more information.

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Raised in Aptos, Jessica Johnson is a freelance writer, author and blogger dedicated to helping others embrace their creative lives. Read more about her journey as a writer at www.vinegarandvanilla.com. Email your questions, comments and creative suggestions to her at jessica@vinegarandvanilla.com