Om even de drukte van Amsterdam te ontvluchten en een deel van de lockdown elders door te brengen ben ik afgereisd naar Limburg voor een week in Kerkrade en omstreken. Mijn camera is vanzelfsprekend mee gevlucht naar het zuiden en zodoende is dit album gevuld met een selectie van de tijdens deze week geschoten beelden. Dit zijn voornamelijk natuurfoto's met zo nu en dan wat kunst of iets anders wat ik interessant vond tussendoor.

p 19 januari 2019 kwamen op het Hyperion Lyceum in Amsterdam-Noord 125 ouders en derdejaars leerlingen samen voor de eerste editie van het Alumni Study Event. Hier hebben zij kunnen proeven aan wat de familie die IMC Weekendschool heet te bieden heeft voor haar leerlingen nadat zij hun diploma hebben gehaald zoals workshops door alumni voor alumni (connecties), hulp bij het vinden van stages en de ambassadeursopleiding.

Een project door jongeren om andere jongeren te inspireren.

Voor dit tweede evenement met Elizabeth reisden we af naar het oosten van het land. Haar bedrijf was ingehuurd door de vrouw van André om een verrassingsfeest met Afrikaans thema te verzorgen. Wij waren vervolgens weer mee om het geheel vast te leggen. Enerzijds foto's van het (heerlijke) eten, anderzijds foto's van de groep. Een avondje genieten.

Elizabeth Njeru heeft voor ogen om Keniaans eten hier in Nederland net zo vanzelfsprekend te maken als Chinees of Thais. Een stukje cultuur verspreiden en mensen door middel van eten dichter bij elkaar brengen. Voor de opening van de expo "180 Amsterdammers" in de OBA verzorgde zij de catering. Hier waren wij kort bij om wat foto's te maken.

Roos is an longtime friend who wanted a few new portrait pictures for a while now. Since I had a Canon 85mm f/1.2L II USM at my disposal we scheduled a meet. We took to a location near the IJ in Amsterdam. It was pretty windy but letting the wind play with her hair made a few playful shots. We found a little square close by with a a little less wind where we tried a few other shots. Another fun day shooting.

Julia and I met at another job and agreed to take a series of portraits together. We took to an industrial area and took some shots at multiple locations while using different props we found on site. With mostly clouds and the sun coming in now and then we had great lighting to shoot with the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II USM.

Dockyard was one of the many things to do during the Amsterdam Dance Event. My mission on this day was to take shots of the stages and the lightning technology. Caught between water and land, between the brick warehouses and slipways. The old iron and concrete of the dockyard radiates a sturdy yet derelict character; raw and full of energy. Dockyard festival springs from the seeds spread from the surrounding ageing materials that express the netherland’s industrial heritage. The sawing, drilling and hammering of the past are replaced with the beats of the djs that punch through the air this ADE. The sound of ships sledded from the slopes under loud cheering now become music and cheering voices of the audience as they dance and become a part of dockyard’s futuristic dystopia.” - Dockyard

During the Amsterdam Dance Event, HYTE had multiple nights in the Warehouse. This venue in the western part of the city really suits the industrial image of the party. It was turned into an underground mecca with a lineup of house and techno luminaries over the four consecutive nights. We were on site to take a few shots of the hardworking ladies and gentlemen behind the bar.

These lovely ladies are the new board for student society Anguilla in Amsterdam. We had a great time shooting these group shots and portraits in the centre of Amsterdam. They wanted to have businesslike pictures; but they wanted to retain their sweetness and playfulness. I think we succeeded in creating that feel in the pictures.

Located in Amsterdam, Cinekid is the world’s largest media festival for children. Every year more than 50.000 children are given the opportunity to visit over 500 media productions selected by the festival: feature films, children’s documentaries, short films, animations, television series and single productions, cross media productions, interactive installations and set-ups as well as workshops. I was on site for two groups from the IMC Weekendschool. Their second-year students had been working on documentaries to show at the festival while the third-year students had been preparing for a fierce debate. Both groups got to enter the 'medialab' afterwards. Here they could experience a lot of new media including virtual reality. How cool!

London is a wondrous city filled with street artists, street art, impressive tall buildings and cute markets. I've been there a few times already and it never dissappoints. I love the diversity amongst the people, the way the old and new city blend together and the interaction of people in the streets. The few days I had didn't even come close to being enough to see everything; especially when travelling by foot. I can't wait till next time!

NDSM is a decommissioned shipyard in the north part of the city. The remnants of this previous function are all over the place which makes it a great place for photographers. I did some reconnaissance with fellow photographers Thomas Korver and Jeroen Degekamp.

IJburg is one of the prime examples of how the Dutch learned to live with water. To expand the city this youngest part was created and now it's a vibrant community housing lot's of families. They host a yearly fair in the local harbour with amusement for all ages. I was at the festival as a sound technician but saw time to take a few pictures during the day.

This series of portrets was shot at a large patch of sand in the middle of the woods near Nunspeet. With the sun providing nice natural light during the sunset we had a lot of fun looking for the right shots.

For this little trip we went to a small village in Limburg close to Schin op Geul. This area is one of the only with hills in the Netherlands. A beautiful place to be; especially in the summer.