SOME CASES
As a documentary photographer I’m used to working in lively and real settings where situations can change very quickly. Here are some examples of my previous assignments to give you an idea of how I work:
Advertisement agency CCCP asked me to follow 5 hairdressers all over the world during their daily lives for Keune Haircosmetics. On my own, I travelled to Chicago, Moscow, Basel, Rio de Janeiro and my hometown Amsterdam while an external producer was producing from Amsterdam. Besides taking photos, I also interviewed the hairdressers, and made recordings which I sent to a writer who wrote a piece on it in Dutch. The photos were used on the website and in a book to celebrate 85 years of Keune.
Design collective CO3 asked me to photograph 30 landscapes for an assignment commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Along with an external producer, I sought out the places to photograph which included tug boats in Rotterdam and a drilling platform in the North Sea. The ministry subsequently used the pictures for the report on the National Water Plan.
Advertisement company FHV BBDO asked me to take nine portraits at Schiphol International Airport for their campaign 'Where else'. Because they wanted to use real travellers, I did a casting with visitors at the airport who I then immediately photographed, without the use of any styling or make-up. An external producer assisted with the administrative side; we finished the job in two days.
NGO Down to Zero Alliance gave me the assignment to travel to Thailand to meet and take the portraits of children who have been victims of commercial sexual abuse. Because I was not allowed to photograph them in a recognizable way, I came up with the idea of bringing along coloured pencils and having them draw their own faces on paper masks. In Thailand I worked with the journalist Lavonne who was based in Bangkok, and she wrote all of the text. The project was published in various global media and was exhibited at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was opened by Minister Sigrid Kaag.
Advertisement agency Being There asked me, in
collaboration with the Sophia Children’s Hospital, to make a visual report of the children and their parents in the hospital. Like a fly on the wall, I followed them during some of the most difficult days of their lives. I was accompanied by an employee of the hospital who was responsible for gaining the required parental permission for participation. The photos were then used in a book and on the website.
NGO's and foundations like UNICEF, the AIDS Fonds, Rutgers WPF, and Save the Children have sent me on assignments some 40 times to photograph their various projects and campaigns. Often traveling together with them, I have been all around the world. After each trip I came home with around 150 usable images, ranging from staged portraits to reports (for their magazine-campaign/website/DM letters and other types of communication). Some of these series have since been published in various global media.
UTZ Certified, a trademark for fair-trade coffee, cocoa and tea, asked me to shoot 30 staged photos for their new campaign. We flew to India, Ghana and Colombia. Together with Monique from UTZ and art director Ralph we produced everything on the spot. Once we were back home, work on the images was done by Jefta Arts of Pineapple Imaging.
For the ING Bank I was asked to photograph the members of both the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board. In order not to take up too much time from their busy schedules I had my studio set up and ready to go. Most of the portraits were taken in three minutes. They are now being used for all media publications for the ING Bank.
For the O’Neill clothing brand I took three portraits of famous athletes, shot on mountain tops. For this, I travelled to Spain and Switzerland together with the art director from O'Neill.
The Dutch National Police hired me for various assignments: I accompanied them during the raid on a marijuana plantation, made portraits for their magazine, or staged/produced photographs for their database. The thing I enjoyed most from this
assignment was when I was allowed to accompany the policemen of Urk, a fishing village in the Netherlands, for a weekend. I went along with them while they responded to a vehicle in the ditch and to the pubs of Urk.
Reuters asked me to make a documentary about a famous Dutch street football player. Like a fly on the wall, I went with him to a training, his house, his favourite fast-food restaurant, and to meet his friends. The photos have been used by Microsoft Xbox.
ELLE Magazine asked me to create a series of costume parties in Amsterdam. They arranged access and then I went out alone. After seven long nights partying, I produced a report that was published on 8 pages.
The National Committee for 4 and 5 May in collaboration with the United Nations asked me to create studio portraits of the children in the Netherlands. The children from a class at an elementary school in Amsterdam South East wanted to participate. With the help of my assistant I built a studio. In one day we made 16 portraits. These portraits were then used on the ‘Peace Tram’ that travelled across Amsterdam for a few weeks.
Volkskrant Magazine assigned me to create portraits of five women in top positions of companies and organizations such as Unilever, Action and the Ministry of foreign Affairs. Because the meeting was in a restaurant and there was no space for different portraits, I created a different idea on the spot. I set up a studio very quickly and portraited them in a raster.
For Eneco I worked along with FHV BBDO on three campaign images. For one of these images, I put on my swimming suit to photograph children in a swimming pool in Rotterdam. My assistant was also in the pool wearing his swimming suit and holding up my flash and battery, much to the great delight of the children. Those images were later edited and used for a public transport campaign by Jefta Arts from Pineapple Imaging.