About me
What’s happening in the society in which I live? What do people do and what do they think?
Which topics cause commotion and what are the discourses? Where is the tension climbing and where does the fire ignite? What are the personal stories behind it?
These are some of the questions that continue to fascinate and fuel me.
A small fraction of the enormous amount of societal events I try to grab for a second, visually and from close by, to capture the intensity right there, where you can taste the emotions best. Storytelling in practice, at the heart of the action.
Storytelling
On the one hand, I focus on what is brewing politically on the surface, in a wide variety of environments.
I immersed myself in farmers protests, climate marches, rallies against the war in Gaza, against the Iranian regime and against the animal industry, pride marches, demonstrations during the pandemic, and protests of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Not to attach an opinion or a judgement to it necessarily, but to document my era.
Along with a few of those photo reports, you can read snippets of text too. Sometimes a longer, separate interview resulted from the conversations I had, such as with the young artist Kimia Nasirian, who shared with me the interesting story about her past life in Iran.
Underground
On the other hand, I use my lens to portray what is smoldering beneath the surface, in more enclosed circles. Currently, I focus on a specific topic: rave culture. This societal phenomenon too serves as a valve through which an enormous energy is released. That intrigues me.
What the microcosm of Belgian rave culture looks like from the inside, or at least a little piece of it, I try to sketch through a series of photos I made in the abandoned Flemish village of Doel, in the midst of the tunnels running underneath the Brussels city center (Listen), in the unique world of Horst where music and art merge with each other, and under the bridge in Anderlecht, while the heavy truck traffic kept driving by on the highway, twenty meters above the heads of all ravers (XRDS).
Street Photography
When I bought my first camera a couple of years ago, I did so to illustrate my writings with captivating images, to be able to draw readers into my stories with a single glance. Soon after, the camera became an instrument with which I became almost physically fused, ready to register, freeze the moment and stop time. The camera became my window to the world, my foot in the door, and so often the trigger for a stimulating conversation.
When I stroll along the streets today, I try to seize the interesting in the ordinary by searching for lines, shapes and silhouettes, for example. As a result, I am starting to perceive the world around me more and more in compositions and in frames.
The provisional result of this you can view in my galleries (black & white and white & grey). Do some of those images appeal to you? You can order them through the web shop or by e-mailing me with your specific wishes or needs. I will then send you the pictures printed on high quality paper, inspected, numbered (as they are always part of a limited edition) and signed.
In this regard, know that I am continuously working, passionate and committed, to produce increasingly better work, and to make every investment in my work pay off for all my clients, both financially and aesthetically.
Portraits and Events
Do you feel like experimenting with portrait photography, in the studio or in natural light outside? Send me a message and we’ll make it happen.
Would you like me to come over to shoot your event, combined or not with short interviews or other kinds of text? Just give me a call and we’ll plan it.
Thanks for having a look here. Please browse along, hopefully it will inspire you. Let’s stay in touch.
See you soon!
Hans
