New Work: Maarten

My friend Maarten is possibly the one person that I have photographed the most. The very first “proper” portrait I took was of him. This was about 20 years ago when I was still at uni and simultaneously taking a course in photography at the local art house. I didn’t really know Maarten and had never hung out with him, I only knew him as the flatmate of a friend of mine. When I got an assignment to “take someone’s portrait” I knew exactly what to do. I phoned Maarten and asked if he’d be willing to sit for me. Fortunately, he agreed:) Yet when I showed up, he wasn’t there and I left feeling rather disappointed as I had been so excited about this shoot.

When I got home though, the phone rang and it was Maarten. He apologized and explained that he was held up at work which why he was late, but he was home now and if I still wanted to do the shoot I was very welcome to come by? I agreed, of course. I got there, rang the doorbell and when he opened the door the first thing I noticed was that his hair was tied up in all these tiny little Bjork-type knots. In an instant I knew I’d get my shot and that we would be vast friends for a long time to come.:)
I am still taking his picture to this day.

I just finished reading Mark Lanegan’s “Sing Backwards and Weep” and damn, that was one hell of a read. Obviously, listening to *anything by Mark Lanegan now.

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New Work: Waiting for winter to pass

It’s been a rather gloomy winter, or more to the point; I’ve been feeling rather gloomy this winter. One way out of this feeling is to have fun with friends. Which is why I asked my friend Maarten to come over and sit for me. While having a glass of rose or two, of course.;)

Listening to Cat Power ‘The Greatest” and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy ‘Ease Down the Road’.

New Work; it’s a nice day for a white wedding

Most shoots I’ve done over the past years are either one-on-one or couple / band shoots, but they’re hardly ever weddings. I feel they require a special skill and I’m not sure if that’s where my forte lies. Plus, I really enjoy the intimacy of smaller shoots and having more control over the setting itself.

Yet when Annamarie and Bas contacted me about a month ago to talk about their upcoming wedding day I was intrigued, and as soon as they mentioned Tiengemeten I gladly accepted the job. I mean, shooting a wedding on a small island? Count me in for sure!

We arrived on Tiengemeten a couple of hours before the other guests and I used that time to scope out the location, find the best spot to shoot the actual ceremony and a pre-wedding couple shoot.

As you can see the day started of quite overcast, but fortunately the sun broke though the clouds later that day. It was lovely, loving and celebratory day and massive congratulations to the new mr and mrs!

 

New Work: Richard Seba, singer-songwriter

I met Richard on a very unrelated family function, being his grandparents-in-law and my parents friends’ 50th wedding anniversary, and when he needed some photographs to accompany his first record we decided to collaborate. At first I wasn’t really sure of where to do the shoot so about a week prior I went on a drive looking for a cool location. I found a derelict, abandoned mansion just a few minutes from where I live and decided that was the perfect place to shoot. Although we couldn’t actually get in the building the grounds were rather enchanting, quiet and provided us with enough privacy to simply get on with it.

New Work – NZa

About two months ago I was asked by Utrecht based graphic design company Taluut to shoot several portraits for the Nza (Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit which roughly translates into the Dutch Healthcare Authority). When I started the final design hadn’t been decided on yet and so we thought it best to shoot in both portrait and landscape style. Naturally, a square design was chosen in the end;) Unfortunately, not all the portraits made it into the report. Here are a few of my favorites that didn’t make the cut.

It was a fun assignment that took me all across the Netherlands in a very short amount of time. Driving across the NL in autumn with the radio blasting… there are definitely worse ways to spend your day:)

Right now I am working on a few different assignments amongst which another series of 3 portraits for 3 different magazines published by FCB. More to follow soon…

Listening to: Kitty, Daisy & Lewis and Courtney Barnett

New Work: I’m where you are

A couple of months ago, a really good friend of mine came to visit the Netherlands together with his beautiful, and pregnant, wife. I had the pleasure of spending time with them and photographing them at his parents house. It’s been quite a few years since I did my last pregnancy shoot and this was only the 4th ever.

It’s so cool to see a friend again after both of us lived abroad for a couple of years and to see him now as a married man and parent-to-be.

I did not realize it at the time of the shoot, but things changed for me as well. The shoot brought me out of a photography funk and general career doubt. Less than two weeks later I started a new job; in a new line of work and in a new city. Change is apparently good as photography work has been flowing since as well:)

There was one thing in particular that stuck in my mind all through last year; somebody told me that trying to get somewhere in the photography business can feel like wading through heavy, sticky mud and you may get stuck for a while, but you’ll never reach the other side unless you continue. Well, that was pretty much my mantra for the entire year;)

About a month after the shoot a beautiful baby girl was born. Good days, indeed:)

Listening to Shocking Blue, Black Hotels and Daryll-Ann