New Work: Fleur

I recently had the opportunity to photograph the smart and stunningly beautiful Fleur who has her eyes set on a modeling career in the near future. I for one have no doubts whatsoever that she will achieve whichever goal she sets her eyes on. The future is female!:)

Listening to a lot of Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand’s first record.

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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.

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 – 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

Masterclass with Jimmy Katz

I had the good fortune to be invited to attend a workshop by famed jazz photographer Jimmy Katz on July 7th, and I’m pretty darned pleased I had the opportunity to do so. I found it super inspiring to hear masters talk about their craft.

Jimmy Katz is pretty much the most important photographer working in jazz today. He has shot portraits of Sonny Rollins (one of my favorites), Ornette Coleman, Ray Charles, BB King, the list goes on and on. It’s definitely worth doing a Google search 🙂 There is great video on YouTube, shot by the local TV station, about the exhibition of his work at Kasteel Woerden, which just happened to be the location for masterclass as well.

All in all it was a pretty hectic day, as I had to go to work in the morning and then rush to Woerden as soon as I was able to leave. There were quite a few other photographers already and I found it a little bit daunting when I walked in. Who are all these people? Will I look like a sucker when I show my work? Thank goodness, I quickly spotted a few familiar faces, and pretty much fit right in. Hearing Jimmy talk about his own work was pretty amazing.

We all had the opportunity to show our own work which is both very exciting as it is scary. Fortunately, I received a good review 🙂 Jimmy’s wife Dena was also present during the whole day and it’s cool to see just how in tune they are with each other, personally and professionally. They both seem to represent a different aspect of being great photographers, making them a very successful pair indeed. I actually really enjoyed talking to Dena, she has such a fantastic technical eye and pays great attention to detail. She showed me a few things that I could improve on in a very positive and constructive way. 

Jimmy Katz reviewing my work.

Jimmy Katz reviewing work during the masterclass at Kasteel Woerden

P = for Print

I came back from a meeting in town with the Museum Gallery guy, Dylan, just now and he showed me the prints for the exhibition. They are beautiful! Orms really did a stunning job and they were *fast* as well.  All prints are all C-grade prints which means they are printed on photographic paper using a chemical process. They are also guaranteed to not fade in color for the next 85 years. Got a sneak preview of the whole set as well and it’s going to be an awesome exhibition. It is such a diverse body of work ranging from landscape to portrait to super imposed collages.

The photo is of Leon Visser (of Hot Water fame) or ‘the one that didn’t quite make the selection’. It is a personal favorite and was shot on a beach in The Netherlands in 2008. I love the idea of a South Africa and Afrikaans man at that, sitting on the beach in Holland facing the landscape with the sea behind him. Like he’s come full circle. Even if it is a pity that the photo didn’t make it into the exhibition, I do like the fact that the photos that will be shown were taken during my stay recent here in SA.