What made you want to become a photographer?
My whole life I was interested in movies, images, etc. I was brought up in a family that did a lot of video and photography and I think it rubbed off on me. Now doing it as a hobby and professional is a huge difference, I think I was just lucky to be able to do this as a profession and to be honest I love it and wouldn’t want to go back to doing other things.
How and why are you using Lume Cube 2.0s in your work?
The Lume Cubes are awesome because thanks to their size you can just slip them into your pocket, have a phone in the other and voila you have a studio with you. But they are also great for just lighting up a scene, using them to light paint on a drone (which I don’t) but for video they are also great especially when traveling. Now, of course, they won’t fight the sun, but the can often just open up the eyes a bit. There are so many uses. I also often use them on a selfie stick that way I can position my light even besides or behind my subject and get some cool shots.
Who are you inspired by?
Oempf, that’s hard to answer, I think if I have to choose only one it’s David Lachapelle, but I also really love George Hurrell, Avedon, Newton…. Yep, a lot of the oldies. And when you look at painters without a doubt Caravaggio
If you weren’t a photographer? What would you be instead?
Musician or recording engineer without a doubt, if I can choose right? In reality, I would probably still run a successful PC shop with my wife, we sold the PC store in 2013 to focus 100% on photography, I just couldn’t combine them anymore.
If you could only shoot with ONE lens-type for the rest of your life, which would it be? Fisheye, wide-angle, prime, zoom, macro, or a telephoto lens?
Easy, zoom 24-70 this is the lens I use the most. I would miss the extreme wide angles but the 24-70 gives me many different looks…. Oh wait a minute can I say 24-240, I have this one in my bag from Sony and it’s an awesome lens, the only problem is that it’s not a fixed f2.8 (duh) which I found very handy for some situations so that’s why I choose the 24-70 but it will be a hard choice, if it’s really never something else…… maybe the 24-240 than.
What is your go-to camera?
Sony A7RIV and Huawei P30 pro.
Any advice for new photographers?
Don’t try to forcefully make your profession from photography, there is only a slight chance you can make money out of it to support your family, but…. If you do it with passion and don’t push yourself to “have to make money, have to make money” your passion will show itself to clients and they will start to hire you more and tell other people. It’s also how I started I never had the idea of becoming a photographer or instructor…. No way, but I loved photography so much and sharing the knowledge I got that at one point people just started to pick it up and asking me for advice which I gave (and still give) for free, and from that, it just grew into workshops, more clients, abroad, etc. every day we start with to see what it brings and I told Annewiek (my wife) the moment I go to “work” I stop. That’s the biggest killer for creativity.
Just do what you love and share it and show people how much you care about your quality, trust me it will happen, but it will NOT happen overnight, all those stories about overnight success, mostly those people spend years and years building it, and then it just happens, but it doesn’t mean they went to a store and bought a guitar or camera and the next morning they were famous, it’s often one small/big thing you do without any intention to have that outcome and it happens. Look at Billy Elish for example, overnight success or genius that worked for years and was discovered and blew up overnight...
What is the best part of your day?
Waking up every morning.
Coffee or tea?
None, but if I have to choose... tea.
What’s your favorite photo you’ve taken and why?
Oempf, that’s impossible it’s like asking what is your favorite child (Ok we only have one, but still) I think this changes every day, but I think if I have to choose only one that also defines my style the best it must be the “dragon lady” it’s also the only shot I actually named.
If you could photograph anything in the world (person, place, thing, etc), what would it be?
That’s very very easy Brian May from Queen. I would go to the end of the earth for that.
What is your favorite thing about Photography?
The creative process, it’s the same with music, you start with nothing or a click track and you start cooking, thinking, trying and you end up with a complete work of art (or crap). It’s insanely inspiring to look at what people can achieve with any art form, that a human being can create something beautiful out of nothing is still for me the magic of art and creativity.
What is your least favorite thing about Photography?
When I have to lay the camera down because the day is over. It sucks.
Describe your photography style in 5 words.
Contrast, depth, storytelling, on the edge, and I hope creative.
What is one photography type/technique that you want to try next?
360 without a doubt. I already tried it with a few cameras and was disappointed every time with the end results. For social media it’s ok but not for “real” I just love definition and detail and 360 results are from that. But we just ordered the new Insta360 R and I hope that will open up a whole new ballgame.
What is the final tip you would like to give our readers?
Let me see, I think the best tip is to never say “I can’t."
There is always, and I mean always a way to make it work. The outcome might be different or even disappointing but at least you tried. And remember that you can never fail, the only moment you fail is when you stop trying, all the other times are just learning moments, so failure is not an option it’s a choice.
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