The company asked me to do some simple portraits of some of our employees and though I’m not their official photographer, I saw a great opportunity to create some fine-art portraits as well for my ongoing project ”seconds”.

Meet Tamara, Tina, Ana, Tomislav, Hrvoje and Ines. Some have made their portrait before, so click on their name to see the previous photo of them. It is nice to see how people are changing (or not) throughout time.

As winter is approaching, it is getting dark early these days so windowlight is not as much available as I’d like, so I used a ledpanel as main source while filling in with a reflector (as always). Exposure time ranging from two to four seconds.

As Tomislav works in the same department as Ana, he joined her for a session. The long exposure one took us 4 seconds, using a led-light and a sunbounce.

Next to the portrait above, we also did some ‘normal’ portraits. Personally I love the black & white ones. 

All with a short shutterspeed and a huge umbrella using the xh1 and processed in c1.

First thing I do when arriving at work is taking a coffee. Actually two. Two short ones, poured down my throat as it is rakija. The whole process of ordering, cooking, paying and drinking this coffee takes me probably one to two minutes. While waiting for the coffee, in this short moment, I noticed Ana drinking coffee as well and I really loved the styling of her hair that particular morning. Happily she agreed to create a fine-art portrait.

Led-light, my favorite reflector and 4 seconds exposure.

In the early morning I was able to walk through the harbor of Trieste, looking at yachts being prepared for the winter to come. Remind me of my youth: cleaning and polishing our boats together my father and sometimes brothers. Many Saturdays were spend doing this.

Anyway, back to the harbor of Trieste, somewhere, at the end, at the most ugliest part, there was a huge mural with wonderful shades of blue…

Such a shame it is hidden somewhere in the back of a harbor and therefore not that visible. 

I had to go to Trieste for a couple of days and we were staying in the center. Rain falled heavily those days but during the evening it was dry so we could go for a small walk. 

The main square is rather impressive and probably photographed a million times so one more photo from me wouldn’t make a difference and an exposure of 15 seconds and traffic-lights stopping the flow of cars was all what I needed.

Yet playing with reflections was much more fun and gave me a whole different set of images, really reflecting (pun intended) the evening mood.

For photographers: the fist image is shot on a dp3 merill and processed in spp, the rest is from a xpro1 and converted with c1.

The company asked me to do some simple portraits of some of our employees and though I’m not their official photographer, I saw a great opportunity to create some fine-art portraits as well for my ongoing project ”seconds”. 

Meet Filip, Sunny, Davor, Snjezana and Christian. Some have made their portrait before, so click on their name to see the previous photo of them. It is nice to see how people are changing (or not) throughout time.

As winter is approaching, it is getting dark early these days so windowlight is not as much available as I’d like, so I used a ledpanel as main source while filling in with a reflector (as always). Exposure time ranging from two to four seconds.

I didn’t do portraits in the office for a long time. Sometimes daily life just takes over and you’re stucked in excel tables and powerpoints. Of course, the drive to create is there, but time is simply lacking. Reality meets dreams.

And then, Martina walked in, she was told she needed her portrait taken with me. I was not even sure what kind of portrait. A normal one, or a long exposure one?

I went for the long exposure one, cause in the end, that’s what I do, but to be on the safe side, I took some normal photos as well.

Those who know me, will notice a subtle change: I went back to the original processing of the long exposure portraits. I tried colour, even loved it, but it dates after one year. Black and white is here to stay, especially the processing I had from the start. It simply fitted a long exposure. So black and white it is again. No skin smoothening except the use of a red filter which whitens the skin. As usual, available light, my dear reflector and this time an exposure of around two seconds.

And, just to be complete, I took some normal photos as well. No strobes, just window, a small reflector and a borrowed fuji xt20.

Processing in C1. Didn’t use it for a while and need to get used to it. Especially for black & white.

As photographers we document life around us. Mostly life of others as rarely we take the time and patience to photograph the mundane, the obvious, (or) our own family. Sad and stupid but true.

Earlier this year I went back to Holland, one weekend only, to celebrate my mother’s birthday (ofcourse I can’t say which one, but I give you a hint, it was a rounded one).

Every (family) occasion I have a camera with me, and I even take photos. Nevertheless, I mostly never edit or publish them. The negatives/files are put away somewhere in a safe or on a disk. 

I remember when I emigrated, I invited all our friends, I photographed them with medium-format, and though the negatives are safe somewhere, prints - except for contacts - where never made. In my mind it is important that I have them, just in case… a stupid thought though, as images are here to share.

Therefore, some images of a family gathering earlier this year. Us, just being lazy, doing nothing, yet enjoying the presence of each other.

I love this image of my father. It is so him. He was lightened by the window-light and editing was kept to a minimum: conversion to black & white and dodging a bit on the left and right in C1. Simple and exactly as I remember it.

The other images below are simply converted to B&W with some small adjustments and slightly cropped in C1.

Now, the nice thing is, that I took some ‘formal’ portraits as well. Time to ‘develop’ those. Images should not be hidden. Images are here to be shown…

Istanbul. I love to stroll. I don’t need special sightseeing, not attractions. Let me just wander around in a city, an area, a street, observing life as it flows by. Great with coffee, even better with a glass of wine.

I hang around in one of the busiest streets around our hotel, looking at both locals and tourists enjoying a lovely day.

Last but not least, sunsets always looks better in other places. Sometimes people just don’t see the beauty in front of them.

Istanbul. The Spice Market. Touristic as hell, yet great to look and experience the smells and colors. Buying is for tourists though so don’t. But the colours …