Childhood

For a short series of photographs about my childhood (a Fotoacademie assignment) I wanted to build a small house with Lego. Sitting at my dinner table, sticking the first bricks on the base plate, peace descended on me. I forgot what time it was and what chores I needed to finish as well that afternoon. … Continue reading “Childhood”

Oud hout / Old wood

One of the Fotoacademie assignments is “portrait of an artist” with some additional requirements. I had met Diederick Kraaijeveld, the artist “Oud hout” (which means old wood), some 10 years ago and he stuck in my mind. Not only as a very amiable person, but also as a driven artist making realistic depictions of iconic … Continue reading “Oud hout / Old wood”

Fotoacademie second year exam

Last week we had our final exam of the second year at the Fotoacademie. tl;dr; I can start the third year with no extra tasks. But if I keep this up I will not graduate Cum Laude in two years which is my goal. There are some issues with my performance at the Fotoacademie. I … Continue reading “Fotoacademie second year exam”

Principal of an elementary school

This is a short documentary about a principal of a public elementary school I shot for the Fotoacademie. The principal wants to remain anonymous (NO NAME) but agreed to publishing the photographs on this blog. As a whole the series of photos paints a specific portrait of the principal which is not necessarily “true” but … Continue reading “Principal of an elementary school”

Fotoacademie second year period 1 exam

Last thursday my class and I had our exam of period 1 in our second year. For me it was a big flashback to period 1 of year 1 at the Fotoacademie… Right down to the tl;dr;… tl;dr;: I passed with no extra tasks. Feedback for me remains largely the same. Pointers to take away … Continue reading “Fotoacademie second year period 1 exam”

Maybe I am a landscape photographer

Recently photographer Eli Dijkers contacted me with some questions about the Pentax 645D I own. Naturally I invited him to dinner to talk photography and art. Eli Dijkers graduated from the Fotoacademie in 2012, he is now making some beautiful work and exhibiting too. During our conversation he mentioned that my landscape photographs looked a … Continue reading “Maybe I am a landscape photographer”

Beach portraits Rineke Dijkstra

One of the assignments in the second year of the Fotoacademie is to shoot a beach portrait like Rineke Dijkstra. Rineke has become famous with her beach portraits of adolescents. She uses a simple lighting scheme where she underexposes ambient light by about one stop and uses flashlight to expose the model correctly. After trying … Continue reading “Beach portraits Rineke Dijkstra”

Street portraits with large format camera

A couple of days ago photographers Tessa Beurskens, Marieta Landkroon and me were at the Vondelpark in Amsterdam shooting street portraits with a large format camera. The portraits are inspired by Avedon. We fixed a sheet with gaffer tape to a secluded wall so as to have a white background. We took turns scouting subjects, … Continue reading “Street portraits with large format camera”

Looking for substance

After the summer break, fixing up our house and moving into it, I’m kickstarting photography again. To my surprise this makes me feel like one of those flies frantically trying to exit the room through a glass window while the door next to it is wide open. With series like Human males in contemporary society … Continue reading “Looking for substance”

Fotoacademie first year exam

Last tuesday my class and I had our final exam of the first year at the Fotoacademie. This time I had all the photos matted which looked a lot better than just the prints laying on the table. All colour works were larger prints (A3) which are a lot nicer to look at than regular … Continue reading “Fotoacademie first year exam”