Hansjörg Hinrichs: "Photography means letting yourself go.

"Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia - Hansjörg Hinrichs knows the South Pacific like no other Swiss..." wrote the Sunday newspaper about the photojournalist, author, keynote speaker and owner of the exclusive travel boutique PACIFIC SOCIETY. "My actions are my life - life is travel": Behind this statement by Hansjörg Hinrichs lies over 40 years of travel experience, gathered on journeys of discovery through what are probably the most beautiful island paradises on our planet. On the way on foot, by canoe, bush plane and helicopter, he has spent countless island days with the locals. This mostly far away from our modern civilisation, in the middle of magnificent natural worlds of primeval power and beauty.

In an interview Hansjörg Hinrichs lets us take a deep look into his treasure chest full of experiences and also presents his illustrated book "Sehnsucht Südsee".

Hansjörg Hinrichs, how often have you visited the South Seas?
I don't know exactly. At some point I stopped counting - it must have been well over a hundred times.

Why the South Seas of all places?
In the course of my many years of travelling I have visited many places all over the world. For me, nothing was and is comparable with the South Seas. I have full understanding for all those who never wanted or want to go back: From Gauguin and mutineers to irritated missionaries and today's circumnavigators and others. For many, the South Seas has its own indescribable magic. For me too.
In the course of my many years of travelling I have visited many places all over the world. For me, nothing was and is comparable with the South Seas. I have full understanding for all those who never wanted or want to go back: From Gauguin and mutineers to irritated missionaries and today's circumnavigators and others. For many, the South Seas has its own indescribable magic. For me too.

Tahaa with Bora Bora / French Polynesia

Why did you not stay there?
I am a wanderer between two worlds. Appenzellerland, my home, and the South Seas, my second home, are island worlds with substantial commonalities: Characterised by natural beauty, animated by culturally independent people. Appenzell is also home to the PACIFIC SOCIETY , a South Seas world in its own right: over 60,000 of my own pictures, an exclusive archive of films, music, maps, artefacts and books, and almost daily direct links to our contacts, friends and acquaintances on the other side of the world. Together with them we create tailor-made, high-quality South Sea experiences with pleasure and delight. In this sense we have our own South Sea island at the foot of the Säntis. And I have one foot in the South Seas every day, so to speak, while the cows graze outside my workplace.

Men of the Huli tribe adorn themselves for the dance / Papua New Guinea

Travelling in the distant South Seas - what do you have to imagine?
Certainly - seen from Europe, the South Seas is at the other end of the world, but right on the doorstep of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America and the USA. That is why it is selectively developed for tourism: Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, Cook Islands and other islands are well known, but overall they seem lost in the blue expanse of the South Pacific, which is littered with over 40,000 islands. These are self-contained worlds, far away from mass tourism, the real South Seas. Many dream of it, but only a few get there.

Dancers on the island of Moorea / French Polynesia

Why?
Travelling away from the masses cannot be industrialised, is time-consuming and costly. Transport connections are hardly structured, communication is often difficult. Mentalities, customs and traditions also play a role. Respect and attentiveness are also required.

Atoll of Tikehau / French Polynesia

Is it worth the effort?
Yes, for sure. The equivalent values are authenticity, depth of experience and exclusive travel quality. But that's not all: journeys through the barely known treasure troves of the South Seas change your life, leaving behind lifelong memories. And they are actually priceless.

Women of the Melpa Tribe / Papua New Guinea

Your offer is not cheap.
Right - quality has its value. Our trips are high-quality investments with a corresponding value. The success of PACIFIC SOCIETY is not based on clever marketing strategies but on fulfilled promises and enthusiastic guests. Speaking of financing: "My heirs have paid for this trip..." said one of our tour participants.

Chief of the Foi tribe / Papua New Guinea

What makes your trips high quality?
Our guests travel in small groups or privately, away from the crowds, at the pulse of nature, country and people. The personal experience is of absolutely central importance. More than 30 years of experience, full service, a wealth of experiences, a very cultivated level of comfort and a private travel style guarantee decisive added value. They also offer a reliable guarantee of enjoyment, safety and health. Connoisseurs and epicures appreciate this: Over 80% travel with us several times.

Valley of the Kings in the Marquesas Islands / French Polynesia

"Our journeys change your life" is the message of PACIFIC SOCIETY. What does that mean?
We linger where others pass by, enabling rhythm, closeness and depth. We offer unique opportunities for personal fulfilment.

Certainly - the world will become accessible again. But in the future this will hardly be enough. The decisive factor is how we discover the world. It is interesting what happens around us when we travel. What is much more important, however, is what happens within us when we travel. And it is precisely these values that PACIFIC SOCIETY focuses on: travelling understood as a pleasurable experience of self and happiness. Experience shows that this often has a life-changing effect. It remains sustainable and enriching in any case. Seen in this light, we give travel back its meaning. This in the most beautiful island gardens of our earth.

Fraternity ritual / Papua New Guinea

Your homepage has a dominant image. Are all photos of you?
Yes, all photos were taken during our travels. Photography, together with travelling, is my second passion. For over 50 years.

Crocodile Tattoo / Papua New Guinea

How did you come to photography?
It has shaped my perception of life since my childhood. My mother used an Agfabox 44, model 1932, and I had to take her films to the drugstore to have them developed. My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic. During my studies I was fascinated by Henri Cartier-Bresson's understanding of images. The power and the sense of documentary photography fascinated me at that time. They nourish my passion to this day and accompany me on all my travels. I found my visual language step by step by self-education, entered the field of reportage photography and published in practically all the major newspapers and magazines in Switzerland. In addition, there were exhibitions, lectures and an engagement with National Geographic. A special feature remains the commission from luxury watch manufacturer Carl F. Bucherer for a photo shoot of its Patravi ScubaTec and Patravi TravelTec line in the South Seas in May 2019.

What does photography mean to you?
"Opening eyes and hearts" - photography for me is communication. It can and should touch and move. Photography for me means "letting yourself fall", into other worlds, into the magic of the moment. This with the desire to capture the fleeting moment of reality with all my senses, to make it into a picture. I let myself be fascinated and inspired, flooded with impressions and emotions to the point of sheer drunkenness. Through photography I have learned over the many years in gratitude of conscious and attentive perception. A gift of life. Often the camera remains untouched.

Fire dancers on Samoa

Smartphones: Everyone is taking pictures today
This should and can be a pleasure. In addition, the devices are amazingly powerful. Nevertheless, I am very sceptical about the banalisation of photography by smartphones.

Tongariki / Easter Island

Your equipment?
OLYMPUS cameras have been with me since my first report. The equipment is small, handy and high-precision, ideal for me because weight and space are limited when travelling. In addition - in addition to a cool head - a high reaction speed and sovereign handling of the equipment is often required. From 7 to 1,600 millimetres focal length including flash, everything is included, but not of central importance. What is decisive for me is the gift, talent and willingness to see, combined with the desire to touch in a visual way. Added to this is self-critical grounding and the willingness to grow outside the comfort zone. A lifelong process in all ups and downs.

Your illustrated book "Longing for the South Seas" costs Fr 600.-
Together with Hans Burkhardt (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bubu AG, note), for me one of the best bookmakers of all, and other specialists in their field, we have created an exclusive work: A 160-page illustrated book in a state-of-the-art flat-book binding (without a fold in the middle) together with documentation and background information presented in a high-quality slipcase. Handmade, in a limited edition of 300 copies. It is not a travel book in the usual sense, but a philosophy book, illustrated with trouvailles from my fund. Pictures and text provide touching insights into the worlds of the South Seas, question human existence and actions, accompany and inspire in the search for paradise, wherever it may be. All proceeds will be donated to the relief organisation "Medicine in the South Pacific". Its founder, the Swiss doctor Hermann Oberli, in cooperation with the LIONSCLUB Meiringen, is in charge of the project with the aim of alleviating need and establishing medical structures in the South Pacific. www.hermannoberli.ch

According to the motto "help for self-help", the donations are carefully and mainly used for sustainable education. Organisation and administration are very flat, completely transparent and are supported by competent volunteers. Whoever buys a photo book not only treats himself to a special gift, but also does good at the same time. Browse through the photo book. www.pacificsociety.ch/sehnsucht-suedsee

Young fisherman on Santa Ana / Solomon Islands

In 2018 they appeared as keynote speakers at the Swiss SME Day in front of 1,200 managers.
In the context of a slide show on a large screen, I demonstrated in words and pictures what not only managers can learn from South Sea people. My presentations are about reflection and inspiration on the topics of leadership, management and communication. The indigenous peoples of the South Pacific, often disparaged as savages, have and live many things that we have long since forgotten. Overall, many of them live happier than we do. The question of "why" and "how" opens eyes, head and heart.

Morning on Malaita / Solomon Islands

In the eyes of many people, the South Seas is paradise on earth...
This is fiction and wishful thinking at the same time. The fact is that we are probably talking about one of the most beautiful regions of our world, but we must also recognise that its inhabitants deserve our support. For centuries they were exploited colonially and despised as so-called savages. Today, climate change, inadequate medical care and a widespread lack of educational opportunities weigh heavily on them. Entire habitats are sinking into the sea, hopelessness clouds the proverbial joie de vivre here and there...

Evening over Palau / Micronesia

Are there prospects?
Mutual respect and fairness at eye level are of fundamental importance. They enable considerate economic exchange and holistically shaped growth. In addition to the use of raw materials, tourism is of central importance. What is needed is ecological care and moderate, mutually supported growth.