About photography

I have had a fascination for photography for over three decades. It started in the late eighties with a fixed-lens Agfa camera that was older than I was, shooting only black-and-white film because it could be developed at home. Later I found a picture of myself as a toddler, with my grandfather behind me kneeling down to take a photograph with the exact same camera. It was an old one, a simple one, and one that worked. A few years later I bought a Praktica (MTL 5B), still mostly shooting in black and white, but later in colour as well.

Although I missed the distinctive and restrictive characteristics of film in the beginning, once the digital camera — and with it the digital darkroom — entered my life, I said goodbye to the analog era full of its quirks, beautiful softness, and its frustrations, and fully embraced the digital life. It only fed my desire to experiment more often, with the opportunity to see the results quicker, and to manipulate the image more freely.

Starting analogue however, the limited number of exposures available per roll of film gave me the advantage of truly looking first at what to shoot, how to frame the subject, and carefully considering the exposure before pressing the shutter. I started out at a young age, and many times only had 36 exposures available for one summer holiday. It teaches you to be frugal, and to be careful when to press the shutter. Considering the shots that I missed later on in the digital life, perhaps I have become a bit too careful.

I mainly shoot landscapes and objects, but have had experience with photographing weddings as well. My most recent project was called “Memories of summer“, in which I explored the topic of memories being coloured over time, as well as the ability to colour them in the moment using different editing styles.

Here is what I would like to say: