some context, not blurring the background
out fully.
On the Leica, I use both a Zeiss 50 f/2
and Leica 50 f/2.8, mostly because I can’t
afford faster Leica lenses. Both of these
lenses have a distinct and great character. I
like the 50 f/2.8 because it has some flare
that is easily controllable and it’s not too
sharp, allowing me to get creative. The Zeiss
is just a perfect all-around lens. Both these
lenses also render colour exactly how I want
it almost straight out of the camera, with
blues turning slightly cyan and very hot reds.
What shooting techniques do you use?
I shoot (almost) wide open most of the
time, and use mostly manual focus. On
the Fuji, I use the AF-on button and adjust
manually, on the Leica everything is manual
focus. I think I’ve built an understanding of
how focus enhances an image, and I often
prefer if nothing is distractingly sharp. I
think with my images you wander around
the frame, not being pulled to one thing
exclusively, and manual focus helps me get
that. I almost never use zone focus, it just
makes me too lazy, and I don’t like pictures
where everything is sharp. I always dial
in exposure manually, and try to take test
shots every once in a while. It’s a leftover
from my film days: I meter for correctly
exposed skin tones in shadows when I want
people to be prominent in my pictures, and
save highlights if I’m going for silhouettes.
As for composition techniques, I like
there to be a closer and further away
element in my images and always try to use
subframing, not always literally by boxing
something in but often by using notable
elements to create a certain balance in what
otherwise would be too chaotic a frame. I
prefer centering objects or their relationship
over the classic rule of thirds composition.
How many street photos do you take for
each successful frame, on average?
I think I need about ten shots per subject to
get a decent enough picture of them, and
only one in 100 of those decent pictures
actually sticks with me enough to think of
them as worthwhile, so I’d say around 1,000
for a successful frame.Do you edit your shots?
I do edit quite extensively, but not that
intensely. 95 per cent of my editing comes
from the HSL, colour curves and colour
balance sliders. I try to create contrast only
with colour adjustments, and the other
five per cent is brushing, mostly with the
exposure and dehaze sliders, to slightly
accentuate light that was already there.What advice would you give to those
who want to emulate your work?
I’m not sure, both shooting and editing
is mostly about a feeling for me, and it’s
hard to describe exactly what that is and
how you’d get there. Todd Hido (known for
his photographs of houses at night) wrote
in his aperture series book to “shoot like
a documentarian and print like a painter.”
That was the most important advice I’ve
read. Realise that the editing and selection
process is where you ultimately define who
you are as a photographer. What you show
and how is what becomes known as your
style. If you just saw a batch of my RAW
files, you wouldn’t recognise a style at all.
I just shoot whatever is interesting to me,
from playing kids and resting pensionersLeft
Unrequited Love
Shot through a reflection into
a night bus. i like her facial
expression and the implied
contact between her and the
man in the bottom halfMiddle
Billboard
Shot through a dirty
window. i like how painterly
it is. it is an extreme crop
(almost 1:1), which lends
to the flatnessRight
Regal
Shot on the tram in the Hague.
this woman was just so
characterful. She looked like
a queen of a fading kingdom
to meto reflections and fire hydrants, and then
later see my style emerge in the edits. As
for emulating me in editing: focus on colour
and really see what it does in a scene.What are some mistakes to be avoided?
Being a creep, lacking self-awareness and
underestimating the edit. You need to know
what it is that you’re doing and why you’re
doing it, otherwise there’ll be too much
doubt to take the pictures you want to
take when it comes to street photography.
I’m not afraid of shooting strangers and
getting close because I know my intentions
are right and because the results are more
important than me feeling comfortable. If
you look at my photos, most of them don’t
display people prominently, but if I wasn’t
comfortable shoving a lens into someone’s
face, I couldn’t take any shots, even from
a distance. And the more insecure you are,
the more creepy you become. If I feel bad,
people suddenly grow eyes on their backs
and turn around.
Those days are part of the process, and
you have to keep exposing yourself to that
insecurity and find out where it comes from,
or you’re going to miss important shots and
not get in the flow you need to take pictures.
And I’ve covered underestimating the
edit already, but I think it’s important so I’ll
repeat it: what you show and how you show
it defines your style more than the pictures
you take. Most street photographers take
tens if not hundreds of thousands of
pictures, but we only see the one per cent
that defines them.DPinterview