RPS - Benelux Chapter eJournal - Volume 18 Spring 2020

VOLUME 18 / SPRING 2020

WWW.RPS.ORG

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Royal Photographic Society Benelux Chapter Copyright The copyright of photographs and text in this eJournal belong to the author of the article of which they form part, unless otherwise indicated

VIEW FROM THE RPS BENELUX CHAPTER ORGANISERs

AGM came with some changes This is our first eJournal of 2020 and with it comes some changes. At the February AGM Richard Sylvester stood down from 6 years as the Chapter Joint Organiser and as the Benelux representative. We thank him for his contribution. In his place we welcome Didier Verriest who will become the Joint Organiser for the Benelux Chapter and the Belgium representative. Jeroen Dorrestein continues as Treasurer and we welcome André Bergmans as our Secretary. These main Officers of the Chapter are ably supported by Andre MeyerVitali as our web content manager and Armando Jongejan as the eJournal Editor. This team of volunteers will continue to work hard on your behalf to deliver an interesting and varied programme of events during 2020/21.

Documentary workshop by Tom Meerman An early date for your agenda is Saturday 6 June 2020. This will be a days Documentary workshop at a location near to Utrecht, Netherlands. More information will come out to you all about this in March, but the date is agreed with the workshop presenter Tom Meerman.

Night Photography workshop by Patrick van Dijk On Friday 18th September an evening/night workshop in Rotterdam, Netherlands. For more details, see page 40.

Cover photo © Stephan Vanfleteren - Colombo Brussels - Belgium - 2005

Editor eJournal Armando Jongejan Proof reading Dawn Black Webmaster André Meyer-Vitali Liability Disclaimer The author of an article is responsible and liable for all content, text and images provided by them.

Neither the RPS Benelux Chapter nor the editor is responsible or liable for any content therein

Photo Requirements 2000 pix long side and quality 8 no watermark or text in the photo and no borders around the photo

Do you know a good venue?

When we plan our main Chapter meetings we try to move it around different venues to give all members a chance of having an occasional event that is closer to home. We move between the Netherlands and Belgium so if you know of a good venue near you that we could consider, then do please let us know.

Finding suitable venues is one of the more difficult aspects of organising an event. Your assistance with this would be appreciated.

Join our Study Group meetings (also online) It is also appreciated that we have a few members living in France. Whilst some live too far south to make it practical to join the meetings, those further north do join in when they can.

For all members who cannot make the regular monthly RPS Distinctions Study Group meetings, held in Rotterdam, remember we can always have you attend in the virtual world, with thanks to video conferencing. Or alternatively I am happy to support those seeking to gain their LRPS Distinctions on a 1:1 basis, working remotely with them. This has proven a satisfactory method over the years, so do contact Janet Haines if you want to consider this.

New members?

Finally do remember that all RPS meetings are open to nonRPS members. So when we have a meeting if you think one of your photographer friends or club colleagues may enjoy the event then do invite them along – you never know they may even like us so much that they end up joining us!

Janet Haines ARPS and Didier Verriest ARPS RPS Benelux Chapter joint organisers

124 IN THIS ISSUE - SPRING 2020

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VIEW FROM THE RPS BENELUX CHAPTER ORGANISERS Janet Haines FIPF ARPS and Didier Verriest ARPS

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IN THIS ISSUE

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STEPHAN VANFLETEREN - PRESENT FOMU - Antwerpen

14 IT'S NOT ABOUT THE INITIALS Alessia Peviani LRPS

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24 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING André Bergmans 30 SURVEY RESULTS 2020 Janet Haines FIPF ARPS 32 BORIS VON BRAUCHITSCH ‘9’ André Bergmans

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38 PASSION: NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICK VAN DIJK & WORKSHOP Interview Armando Jongejan FRPS

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© Stephan Vanfleteren - Sean, Koninklijk Werk IBIS, Bredene, Belgium, 2017

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The RPS Benelux Chapter EXHIBITION

Stephan Vanfleteren Stephan Vanfleteren turned fifty in 2019 and he is celebrating with a major retrospective exhibition filling the entire building at Fotomuseum Antwerpen

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STEPHAN VANFLETEREN - PRESENT

text and photos with permission of FOMU and Stephan Vanfleteren Major retrospective at FOMU to 19th APRIL 2020 A journey through the oeuvre of photographer Stephan Vanfleteren, with expansive personal reflections and stories from three decades of encounters and photography. The exhibition started on 24 October 2019 and in less than 4 months exceeds more than 100,000 visitors. This is unique for FOMU Antwerp and for a photography exhibition in Flanders.

“I am more than a passenger of the past. People sometimes ask me if I look back too much. Of course, I look back, but I also look forward, to the left, to the right, up and down. Far and near. And for the first time I’m also really looking inside.”

Stephan Vanfleteren

A wide range of journalistic, documentary and artistic work Present is the renowned Belgian photographer Stephan Vanfleteren’s (°1969) first major retrospective. The general public knows him best for his evocative black-and-white portraits but in recent decades he has produced a wide range of journalistic, documentary and artistic work. This exhibition provides space for both his iconic images and his equally impressive, lesser-known photographs, which together illustrate the evolution of Vanfleteren’s oeuvre.

Belgium has found its visual chronicler Throughout his career, Vanfleteren has shifted between action and stillness, heightened human interaction and complete aloneness. He explored the world as a young photographer, hungry for action. He also took pictures in his native country: every important news event of the 90s passed before his lens. Around the turn of the millennium, his working pace slowed down and the photographer turned his attention to the things that will soon disappear. He began to record his home country and compatriots with the doggedness of an archivist. His images reflect the melancholy psyche of a true romantic and the experience of a seasoned professional. Belgium has found its visual chronicler.

For his personal, long-term projects Vanfleteren continues to travel the world, but the world is also welcomed into the intimate environment of his natural light studio. This has led to a myriad of encounters and portraits. Quietude and death have increasingly crept into his work, elements that are central to two never-before-exhibited series exploring still life and nude photography.

For Present, Vanfleteren delved into his own archive but also into FOMU’s extensive collection.

Vanfleteren presents a highly personal choice of the photographic works that have influenced him: from Berenice Abbott to Walker Evans, from Irving Penn to Bernd & Hilla Becher. This selection is complemented by objects and publications chosen by the photographer for their special meaning to him.

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The exhibition takes over the entire museum and leads the visitor on a journey through the thirtythree years of Vanfleteren’s career. Present offers the opportunity to look back on a rich and intense oeuvre with one element in common: the photographer is always present.

Bio Stephan Vanfleteren was born in Kortrijk, Belgium, in 1969. He studied photography at the Sint Lucas instituut in Brussels (1988-1992). From 1993 to 2009, he worked as a freelance photographer for the Belgian newspaper De Morgen. Alongside his assignments for the newspaper, he worked constantly on personal projects. Recent years have seen him working on commissions from various museums, exhibiting his work internationally and publishing his photographs in newspapers and magazines around the world, including Le Monde (FR), De Volkskrant (NL), The New York Times (US) and De Standaard (BE).

Exhibition FOMU

Open

Waalsekaai 47

To 19th April 2020

2000 Antwerp - Belgium

Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 - 18.00 h

Book 'Present' The exhibition is accompanied by the publication 'Present', published by Hannibal.

© Stephan Vanfleteren - 31 x 24.3 cm – 496 pages – linen hardcover with screen printing – English edition – ISBN 978 94 6388 715 1

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Š Stephan Vanfleteren - Hobo on the road, Oregon, US, 1996

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Š Stephan Vanfleteren - ReneĚ , Brussels, Belgium, 2004

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Š Stephan Vanfleteren - Theofiel, Pajottenland, Belgium, 2004-2006

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Š Stephan Vanfleteren - Swan, from the series Nature Morte, Veurne, Belgium, 2016

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The RPS Benelux-Chapter MEMBER

Alessia Peviani In this article an insight in the way Alessia made her L-panel.

Why did she do that?

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IT'S NOT ABOUT THE INITIALS, IT'S A PERSONAL CHALLENGE! text and photos by Alessia Peviani LRPS

To be allowed to use an acronym next to your name?

To remember how I came to the decision to pursue an LRPS Distinction, I have to look back to the beginning of 2017. I had finished my PhD the year before and I was taking a break from research to improve my photography, occasionally shooting at conferences and PhD defenses to earn something. My first encounter with other RPS members was under the winter drizzle in some depressing neighbourhood in Rotterdam, in an epic effort to capture each and every street of the city on camera. Despite the weather, and street photography not being my thing, I was very impressed with the organization and ambitiousness of the Rockin' Rotterdam project, so much so that I decided to give the RPS Benelux monthly study groups a try. It was at one of these meetings that I first heard about the Distinctions. To be honest, I didn't find the idea particularly exciting at the time - it sounded like submitting yourself to a lot of rules just to be allowed to use an acronym next to your name? Why bother with something like that?

Personal growth intrinsic to the pursuit of a Distinction Gradually, my attitude changed. I still don't think the letters per se make much difference to me personally, but I came to recognise the potential for personal growth intrinsic to the pursuit of a Distinction. At the study groups, I saw other photographers struggling and improving in the process of obtaining one. I developed falcon eyes while reviewing others' panels in search for technical faults that wouldn't meet Distinction standards, and became more critical of my own pictures. I also became accustomed to think of images as series, instead of as individual shots. Eventually, I was persuaded that all the hard work to meet the quality standards of some mysterious photography committee in the UK was perhaps worth the effort.

What you could learn from an L panel that an A won't teach you The first panel assembling attempts took place in 2018. Initially eager to go straight for an ARPS Distinction, I quickly abandoned the idea. I wasn't in a hurry after all, and I would have missed out on what I now consider the most beneficial aspect of working on an L panel: challenging yourself to produce quality images in a variety of photographic genres - as opposed to the narrow scope of an A panel. The RPS Summer Challenge was an excellent preparatory exercise in this sense, as it pushed me to try different types of photography (10 in total), some of which were outside my comfort zone.

Looking back at my journey, assembling a panel stimulated me to attempt new and unusual things.

For instance, I had never tried horizontal panning (used for the abstract tulip field), shooting outdoors with a strobe (to brighten the trunk of the cherry tree), or using a square frame (as in the mountain landscape). While my favorite genres remain nature and landscape, I also experimented with architectural subjects, natural light portraits, and documentary photography. I produced a wealth of images in the process, leading to a welcome side effect: making a habit of capturing my family and friends on camera. I also accepted I am not made to sneakily shoot random and potentially unwilling people on the street (aka street photography). Whatever you might think, it's completely different from event photography!

Killing your darlings to keep the balance Getting to the first L panel version started with hundreds of 10x15cm prints spread on the table (as others at the study group surely remember), covering different genres, subjects, techniques, angles,

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and palettes. It was a good starting point to understand my potential, to determine where I needed improvement, and to uncover obvious gaps. Feedback from other RPS participants was generous and spot-on. It also broke my heart a few times, but it was crucial to get through the hard selection process; it would have taken much longer to kill some of my darlings otherwise. The most difficult part was producing a balanced panel composition, without outliers. For instance, I had to throw away a pretty close-up of a daisy blossom, and a night shot of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore,

Š Alessia Peviani LRPS - Lay out L-panel

because, even if technically sound, their striking colour dominants (bright green, dark blue) could not be balanced - that is, unless I picked nearly identical images, which would have defeated the panel purpose. Eventually, only two pictures from my past archive made it to the final version; the rest was carefully selected from another few hundreds shot after the decision to pursue a LRPS Distinction.

Instead of relying on finding the perfect puzzle pieces, a more successful approach proved to be shooting fresh photos with the limitations in mind. The picture of the abstract tulip field is the best example: I wanted to take a panning shot, and knowing I would end up with something extremely colourful that would need balancing, on the same day I took images with similar tones that were different enough that they wouldn't feel redundant in the panel (such as the single red tulip).

The revelations of the printed image The final picture selection was ready in the summer of 2019. I had started a new job by then, leaving photography once again relegated to a few weekend hours, but I wasn't worried since the panel was basically done. This was the time for print tests and the last minor corrections, before sending the framed images to the UK; the assessment date was already booked. It was while looking at these semi-final prints that, to my dismay, I realised I hadn't worked hard enough. There were issues with the images all over the place: little overexposed areas, tiny sensor spots, weird colour halos, bright edges from pushing the clarity slider too far. How I did not see that before on the screen, I really don't know. When I thought the worst was past, I had to work the hardest and fastest I ever had to get my L panel ready.

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had to work the hardest and fastest I ever had to get my L panel ready. I spent many hours in Lightroom and Photoshop to fix the issues. Janet Haynes provided me remotely with the last, precious feedback on the images just before submission, as the RPS study group meetings were suspended in the summer. She's also the one who mounted and brought them to the UK for me, something else I'm still thanking her for.

Š Alessia Peviani LRPS

Lessons learned To summarise, there's no doubt that going through the process of getting a LRPS Distinction made me a better photographer. I learned to look more critically at my images. I broke my routine by experimenting with new genres and techniques. I got used to think of images in relation to each other, as part of a composition. I accrued extra editing practice. I learned to value prints and not rely only on what you see on the screen (the hard way).I would like to thank all the RPS Benelux study group participants, and especially Janet, for their precious time spent looking at my photos while helping me to achieve this goal. I hope others will find this article inspiring enough to decide to challenge themselves.

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© Alessia Peviani LRPS

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© Alessia Peviani LRPS

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© Alessia Peviani LRPS

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© Alessia Peviani LRPS

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The RPS Benelux-Chapter AGM by André Bergmans

Annual General Meeting The program was an excellent mix of ‘business’ and pleasure

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - 8TH FEBRUARY 2020 text, photos and graphs by André Bergmans

An excellent mix of ‘business’ and pleasure Our 2020 AGM took place in Antwerp = Belgium where the Committee managed to get a meeting room in the FOMU photo museum. The setting of Antwerp and the FOMU really added to the atmosphere of the day. The program was an excellent mix of ‘business’ and pleasure. Our Chair, Janet Haines, opened the meeting promptly and guided us efficiently through the agenda.

Overview of the year Again, we have had a fruitful and enjoyable year. The overall membership has grown to 62 members. In the graphs (pages 26 and 27) are various breakdowns of the membership data. In the past year we have had four general meetings, eight study group meetings and a celebration of distinctions. We were happy to have one exposition and a Summer Challenge. Quite a few members gained a Distinction and many more are working towards one. eJournals The eJournals, with Armando Jongejan as eJournal Editor and Dawn Black as Proof reader, appeared quarterly. The issues contain RPS Benelux Chapter topics but also feature leading articles on photography. We had articles in co-operation with well known photographers like: Willem Wernsen, Cor Oorthuijzen, Martin Parr and Erwin Olaf.

Janet Haines gave a call for member entries as the eJournal is ours. It gets recognition outside our Chapter as well, for both content and layout, but it remains our Chapter eJournal. So, contributions should come from all Chapter members. Write about what you are working on and show us your images. Anything you think is of interest to your fellow members.

Chapter website André Meyer-Vitali, our website manager, has migrated most of the website content to the new RPS website. We are one of the few Chapters that has managed to complete the migration. The others are Ireland, Switzerland and Germany. Please explore our new website and its content. All eJournals can also be found there.

Finance and Constitution We are an informal society according to Dutch law.

This means that the members of the committee are liable for any debt. Legally the constitution is not required but the RPS headquarters demands we have one. Also, for our membership the constitution states what kind of society we want to be and how we prefer to run the Chapter. The proposed constitution was approved by the membership.

Liability of the Committee requires that we have a healthy working capital. The treasurer, Jeroen Dorrestein, showed us a small increase in working

capital. We are healthy!

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Graph 1: Membership by Special Interest Group which indicates interest in certain genres of photography. Apart from Digital Imaging we observe Documentary/Conceptual and Landscape, Visual Art as focal areas

Graph 2: Membership by Country. France has no Chapter so we welcome members from France

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Graph 3: Membership by Gender. Is taken as just an observation without any background explanation

Graph 4: Membership by duration of RPS Membership in Years. We observe quite a young membership in “years of service”

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Forward programme The forward program was discussed in terms of suggestions for the year 2020. We have planned a workshop on documentary photography which was appreciated by the members. Also, a cooperation with the National Photo Museum in Rotterdam is in early discussion. This will be on portfolios, collections, curatorship and planning and marketing exhibitions. We also have suggestions to work closely together with the German Chapter.

To check whether the Committee still is in line with the membership Jeroen Dorrestein prepared a small survey. The results will be presented to the members after we also have polled the active members that could not attend the AGM so their voice can also be heard.

The study group meetings will continue to be in Rotterdam. For 2021 we are also investigating a cooperation with the street photography exhibition in Pelt (Belgium). The Summer challenge 2020 may be geared toward this theme.

Voting of Officers Richard Sylvester stepped down as Chapter Organiser. Richard was thanked with gifts and applause for his long-term contribution to what the Chapter is today. For the occasion RPS President Alan Hodgson ASIS FRPS was “beamed in” to address both Richard and the Chapter.

The minimum number of Officers that are needed in a Committee is three. We have Janet Haines as

Chair/Organiser and Jeroen Dorrestein as Treasurer. The proposal to have André Bergmans in the role of Secretary was accepted and so we now have a complete Committee. On top of that Didier Verriest was approved to be in the role of Co-Organiser to represent Belgium/Luxembourg and thus a member of the Committee.

Besides Officers in the Committee we can have as many volunteers outside the main Committee as we like and is required to run the Chapters’ activities. So far, we have André Meyer-Vitali as Webmaster and Armando Jongejan as eJournal Editor.

© André Bergmans - Richard was thanked by gifts

© André Bergmans - Janet and RPS President was “beamed in”

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Macro Workshop Richard Sylvester gave proof of his capabilities by giving a full day workshop on macro-photography.

Richard presented the required tools, skills and purpose and was very thorough in explaining all aspects. The documents are a robust source of information on the genre. Richard proved that once you have a passion for a genre and mastery of the skills, you can get very far (eJournal 17, p. 12-19).

Museum Visit Many members decided to have a guided tour around the Stephan Vanfleteren exposition. The way the exposition was set-up was impressive in itself. A big exposition about the life and work of one (living) photographer for which the layout of the museum was fully adapted, see also a photo below, made during our tour. We also noticed an overwhelming and young public, which means photography is not dead by far. On the contrary, photography is hot!

AOB Overall the AGM proved that actual meetings can be short. The day was a success. We hear remarks like: “we should do this more often” and “the day is always too short” and “worth the trip”. For next year we have set high standards for our gatherings so we need all hands on deck to make it happen.

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The RPS Benelux Chapter SURVEY by Janet Haines ARPS

Survey Results The opportunity to express their opinion, suggestions and general feedback

SURVEY RESULTS 2020

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by Janet Haines ARPS and graph by André Bergmans What the members want I would like to thank all of you that have participated in the small survey that we launched during our AGM in Antwerp. Another extra sample of active members that could not attend the AGM have been given the opportunity to express their opinion, suggestions and general feedback. We kept it a small survey as it should just give the Committee a sense of direction about what the members want. I am confident that all of you keep on putting forward your feedback and ideas during our regular meeting and any time outside those meetings.

To wrap up the observations Most of you use the car or come to the event together by car-pooling. A quarter uses public transport and some use both depending the venue. As usual we will keep an eye on logistics and prefer to choose a ‘smart’ venue in terms of travelling and the venue standards we wish to keep.

Travel Time does not seem to be a major issue. Of course, the shorter the better but most of you have expressed that you would go the extra mile if the content of the program justifies the travel.

The cost of a workshop or at around Euro 35, - seems to be no issue. Quite a few of you made the footnote that it should be in balance with the offer (topic, venue, speaker). So, you want real value for money which is no surprise.

At the top of the list

There are many genres and topics in photography, not to mention styles. In the survey you ticked many boxes of genres and topics that interest you. Some that are clearly at the top of the list: Street Photography, Documentary Photography and Fine Art. Besides that, Photobook Making is high on the list. The diversity of preferences makes it impossible to give all members what they want all the time. Also, we think it is sometimes useful to pull everybody out of their comfort zone with Summer Challenges and similar assignments. The observations of your preferences are in line with your membership of various Special Interest Groups that you are a member of.

All in all, I am happy with the guidance we get out of the small survey but do not hesitate to express your opinion all year around.

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The RPS Benelux-Chapter INTERVIEW by André Bergmans

Boris von Brauchitsch André had an interview with the German art historian, curator, photographer and writer They talked about ’9’

BORIS VON BRAUCHITSCH ‘9’ text by André Bergmans and photos by Boris von Brauchitsch ‘9’ to the next level In the previous issue of our newsletter I wrote a small article as an introduction on the three by three panel approach. In my introduction the concept of the three by three panel was mainly described as an interesting exercise for photo clubs as a step-up towards bigger projects.

In this article I will introduce a photographer that took the concept to the next level.

Boris von Brauchitsch (Aachen, 1963) is a German art historian, curator, photographer and writer. He mainly writes (scientific)books about art. Born into a family of photographers (both his father and his mother are photographers) he was heavily engaged in photography at an early age. He studied art history, archaeology and history at Frankfurt, Bonn and Berlin and became a doctor in art history with a thesis about the photographer Herbert List. Since 1992 he has also been a curator on numerous expositions on contemporary art.

Von Brauchitsch has taken the 3x3 body of work, or ‘9’ as he prefers to call it, to the next level i.e. from a simple photographic exercise to a systematic approach to photography as a process and a way of presenting its results. The change in his approach was triggered a long time ago by the observation that too many images are produced, especially while travelling. As many of us observe (at least I do), during holidays new visual impressions of unknown places make us greedy and we often return home with lots of rather pointless images that have to be ‘sorted out’ at a later stage.

The digital revolution in photography allows us to take many images with no cost impact, tending to increase quantity but quality may suffer.

© Boris von Brauchitsch - Soziales Plastik (2009 - 2019). Source: http://www.borisvonbrauchitsch.de/fotograf/fotoalbum1/

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Memory cubes as invitations to remember Boris von Brauchitsch has a rather radical answer to this by restricting the number of images he allows himself to take at a certain location. He allows himself 3x3 pictures to be presented in a strict square grid. In many cases the subject matter to be photographed is sometimes mundane, the

details that first caught his eye. This way of making images and presenting them in 3x3 panels or tableaux leaves it to the imagination of the spectator to define the whole. As a writer Boris adds short contextualising essays which bring an element of mixed media, image and text to the overall result. Over the last 30 years he has created his archive of ‘memory cubes’ as ‘invitations to remember’.

An e-mail dialogue

In an e-mail dialogue I had with Von Brauchitsch I asked a few questions to further understand his way of working and the background of his approach to photography.

Question:

You allow yourself to make only 9 images at a certain location to make your point. But in the end result the images also fit together in an aesthetical way and there are no double images (i.e. one that can be left out). My own experience or my way of working so far is that if I am aiming for a 3x3 I discover the topic and make a mental statement of intent, then I take many images and later I compose a fitting 3x3. All images that are not used are destroyed as if they were never made and never existed. So, they are not presented and cannot add to the flood of pointless images. My question is: do you strictly restrict yourself to making 9 or presenting 9?

Answer: I take 9 images when I come to a place for the first time. If the place offers me something I consider as ‘special’. At many places I can’t find something like that, so I didn’t take pictures. All 9 pictures are dealing with the same subject (horse statues, mirrors, inscriptions etc.), so I can arrange them to a tableau. I have many options to arrange the 9 photos! And I am trying until I am satisfied with the result. I sometimes do a bit more than 9 pictures (maybe 12 or sometimes 15) choosing the best of them before arranging the tableau.

Question: The way of working in square format is a restriction to square format. Is this a restriction because you prefer working in square format in the first place or is it a result of working in ‘9’. In other words, do you think it is feasible to do a ‘9’ in landscape or portrait or a mix of both and achieving the same goal? Have you ever tried these options?

Answer: Every format is a restriction. A restriction of the photo industry and their cameras. I use a square format because of the maximum densification. Only a circle would be more concentrated. I chose

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this format just for ‘9’. In other works, I use different formats. Of course, you can combine 9 pictures as well in other than square formats, but it has a special effect, if the combination is a square again.

Question: You take as a photographer and a writer a kind of mixed media approach i.e. text and image. There is some dominant opinion (at least in the Netherlands) that an image should tell it all and even a descriptive title is ‘too much’. I tend to disagree with that and think that image can happily marry with paint, sound, text and three-dimensional objects. However, in the publication Square Magazine 904 your images are presented with an introduction but without the text. How did you feel about that? Did you have any concerns when your work was presented without the (essential and original)

essay.

Answer:

There is much to say about that point. In the times of ancient Rome writers thought that it is a sign of a highly intellectual level not to use pictures to illustrate thoughts. Everything should be imagination, not image. Leonardo da Vinci chose a different path. The illustrations to his ideas were a fundamental part of his writings. These two opinions exist until today. I am convinced of an elementary difference between the two media: writing and photography. So, there is no reason for not combining them. If they would use the same way of transporting information, it would be stupid to combine them, but they don’t.

© Boris von Brauchitsch - 9. Source: http://www.borisvonbrauchitsch.de/fotograf/9/

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Just if you have a descriptive title, there could be a doubling: to name a picture of a landscape with a lake ‘Landscape with Lake’ doesn’t makes much sense. But if you name it ‘Ma fea’ or ‘The home of my Grandmother’ there will be an additionally information or association. This simple example shows, that a picture can never tell it all! And a picture

never tells more than 1000 words (as people are used to say). A picture tells what you see (as the viewer), your associations, your memories, your preferences. So, it tells something different to every individual viewer. I would go that far to pretend, that a picture tells nothing or very less by itself. You can choose 10 different titles for the same picture and people will see 10 different things. It’s your work as a viewer to fill the picture with information. For example, you can call a picture of a running girl ‘On the way to the ice cream parlour’, ’Fleeing an Earthquake’, or ‘Film still’ from the movie ‘Escaping into a better past. The Life of the Princess of Aragon’. All titles are possible and that’s why photos are so dangerous: they seem to tell everything, but they tell nothing without interpretation.

Therefore, you can use them easily as an instrument of propaganda. My images can exist as well without texts, for that reason I agree to publish them in a magazine without text.

But the little accompanying ‘stories’ gives them a (subjective) direction. There is as well one tableau in my book without a text. So, you can write your own story about it!

Question: You have taken to ‘9’ approach in your travel photography. I also noticed that in other projects the results are presented in the same format. Are you inclined to push the same approach into all your (new) projects?

Answer: No. I used the 9-format for one more project ‘Soziales Plastik’. Which is in a way a colourful and humouristic (or tragicomic) continuation of ‘9’. The story about plastic all over the world as a sign of strange cooperation, communication, destruction, capitalism, separatism, carelessness etc.

Question: I have been struggling with the reading direction of my own 3x3’s. One can read the 3x3 or 9 as a whole, in the linear way (top-down and left to right), criss-cross in all direction or in any enforced pre -defined way. When composing your 3x3 are you concerned in any way about the reading direction?

I noticed it may be depending on the nature of the ‘9’… is it a time lapse, sequential, associative, documentary, typology …

Answer:You are right. The direction of reading is another interesting thing. We in the west tend to read from left to right but looking at pictures, our eyes are caught by the most important or showy aspects first. The tableaus in my book try to work in different ways. Some are in order of numbers (like ‘Marakesch’), some are a unified composition (like Amsterdam), some are arranged around a centre, some are arranged in 3 lines or as a cross or ... etc.

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Question: Last and relatively unimportant, is the techniques used. I struggle in technically composing a ‘9’ and keeping the quality of the images intact. What is the technique used?

Answer:

As you can see, I took my pictures as a long-term project over more or less 25 years. So, I used different cameras (analogue in the beginning, later digital cameras of very different quality). First, in the 1990’s I arranged single pictures together in frames. Later I put them together in one file with Photoshop (or a programme like that). It makes things easier, but it doesn’t really change the result.

Further I highly recommended reading ‘Neun’ by Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg 2016 (ISBN 978-3-86828-714-1)

Website: www.borisvonbrauchitsch.de

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The RPS Benelux Chapter INTERVIEW by Armando Jongejan FRPS

Patrick van Dijk For a while I have ‘followed’ photographer Patrick van Dijk His night shots are really special A good reason to ask him some questions

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PASSION: NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY | PATRICK VAN DIJK & WORKSHOP Interview by Armando Jongejan FRPS and photos by Patrick van Dijk

As most of us do, I use Facebook and sometimes you come across something special. For a while I have ‘followed’ photographer Patrick van Dijk from Rotterdam. His night shots are really special, not only because of his technical proficiency, but also the subject matter is different. It was a good reason to ask him some questions: What about you and your photography?

My passion with photography started around 3 years ago. I'm a sailor by profession and I saw a lot of great frames when I was underway to Germany. First I shot with my mobile phone but soon after that I bought myself a Panasonic Lumix G6 and started with "real" photography. Soon I changed the Lumix for my first Nikon D3400 and I fell in love with Night photography.

Night photography, but this is different, why a harbour?

This was also the time I changed my job to work at the Port of Rotterdam on a towboat and because of that job I get to visit a lot of great places in the Port and so I started shooting the Harbour vibes. I needed a better camera and lens because the D3400 with Tokina 12-24/f4 did not shoot in a way I feel good about so very soon I bought my Nikon D7100 with Sigma Art 18-35/f1.8 lens. This is my current set up and I still love everything about it. The f1.8 is a great benefit when you need it and Sigma gives the shots a signature of itself. I love to shoot between f1.8 and f6.3 . For me, this gives a lot of light to play with. People recognize my shots especially because of how I edit the night shots and, of course because of the Harbour vibes.

Your photos looks more or less the same in quality, how do you do this?

I edit in Lightroom and always work with the same workflow, which means keeping the temperature around 3000K to keep the blue tones. Highlights I always set between -60 to -100 and shadows +60 to +100 giving a bit of a HDR vibe. The new Texture tool in Lightroom is also one of my favourites to play with in my edits. There is always a bit of noise in night shots, so I use noise reduction to clear it up. When exporting my shots for social media upload I always use 2048px long side to keep the quality as good as possible for social media standards.

We organize a workshop. How can you join?

Since one year Patrick started with workshops in night photography. The workshops are visited by people from all over the Netherlands and from Belgium. We want to organise a workshop night photography with Patrick for our Benelux Chapter on Friday 18th September 2020 in Rotterdam (if it is raining there is an alternative location). Minimum of participants 5 and maximum 10. The costs are Euro 20 pp and payment is in advance. Do you want to join? Please contact ASAP André Bergmans. If we have enough confirmed and paid registrations you find more details in the Summer edition of our eJournal.

You can find more information about Patrick on Instagram: @fackphotos or on Facebook: @fack_photography

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© Patrick van Dijk

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© Patrick van Dijk