Tommy Hermansen

A very travel happy Norwegian who is interested in science, tech, computer graphics, and digital photography.

My time so far has mostly been devoted to electronic stuff like computers and gadgets, and the creative/graphic arts - as a hobbyist or professional of some kind. I am a nerd.

I started out around the mid-eighties on the Commodore 64/Amiga doing gaming, pixel tweaking, digital drawing, and simple BASIC and Pascal programming as a hobby. Then in the early nineties while studying computer science and electronics, I became quite active in my local Amiga "demoscene" as a graphic designer. I landed my first full time job as a Mac-operator in 1996 working mostly on early versions of popular programs such as QuarkXpress and Photoshop. A couple of years on; I began working as software technician for a couple of graphic arts industry suppliers. Traveling all around Norway fixing raster image processing systems for platesetters. I was also lucky to take part of the digital printing revolution around the end of the nineties.

I suffered a stress related health problem and had to quit working in December 2000. I got rid of my leased car and rented apartment, and bought a one-way ticket to Mumbai, India just to get away from it all and also looking to relocate in another country. After two amazing years of independent traveling around the World, I then returned home to Oslo and the graphic arts industry again for another two years as a technician at a successful ad agency and media house, but then several of us got fired due to some bogus economic cutbacks. The following couple of years, while doing sporadic part time pre-press and graphic design jobs, I delved into a depression and developed a drinking problem. I went to rehab for this in 2013 and I'm now getting by just fine.

I worked for a print shop for eight years from 2008 on, as a printing operator, but had to quit late 2015 because of another stress related development. Now I am just living my life doing digital photography and my own art projects. Or just chilling out; watching nerdy tech news, web surfing, listening to the radio or just doing nothing, sleeping, or walking around town. I still love the Earth and like to travel, and I spend every available week away from Norway. I am currently in successful recovery from my alcohol illness, and my distant plan for the future is to save up to go off traveling again.