October 24, 2011
No words, just some images from my trip to London last week.
All shot on Fuji Pro 400 H, with the Leica M6.
October 21, 2011
Back from London since last night, a little bit later than expected, due to Eurostar… but eventually we got back!
As I went to London to accompany my girlfriend, who was attending a make-up masterclass, I had 4 days completely free to do the things I like… have a walk in the sun, make some nice pics, have a drink… just relax! The life I could get used to!
Well, as this was nice already, I decided to give it a little extra… I asked a colleague photographer to meet and have a chat about our big love: photography. Good idea… but where to start in the selection? Well, for me it was quite easy. I follow some photographers on Twitter and their blogs and I can assure you, there are only a few in London who’s work I really like! So, after writing a mail to one of them, I got a surprisingly quick and positive reaction back! Woohoo… me happy! Kjrsten Madsen found it a nice idea to have a coffee and talk about our mutual passion: photography.
Kjrsten is a photographer who came from Portland (USA) to London this year and she works 100% on film. After trying the digital world, she decided to go back where she came from and was happy with: film! And talking to her, you can see that she is really happy with what she is doing now!
By moving from Portland to London, it was a big move…not only in miles… but also in culture, climate, habits, etc. But after being a while in London now, she seems to be doing very well!
We both shared some of our experiences with clients, camera’s, commercial stuff,… without knowing time flew by. I can say that it was really nice to see how colleagues from abroad think, work and try to give the best of themselves for their clients! For my part, I really learned a few important things from the conversation and got to know a good and very kind photographer… so yes: mission accomplished!
At the end… she came up with a scary surprise… she wanted me to pose for her… ouch! A photographer posing! I usually don’t like it, but she could make me feel at ease without much of a problem…. so yes: another extra! I didn’t see the picture yet, but I’m quite sure that it will be one of the best I had until now!
If you’re in London and looking for an inspiring photographer… one good advice: take a look at Kjrsten’s work. it will be worth it!
October 14, 2011
Saturday September 24 was the day of Stephan Badal’s Haute Couture show Fall-Winter 2011-2012.
The fabulous location “Elzenveld” in Antwerp was tailored for the magnificent event of Stephan and his crew. The new collection for this Fall & Winter was showed and for the first time ever, Stephan had a male model in the show to present his fantastic suits.
A short impression of the show & backstage.
September 22, 2011
A few weeks ago we had a great shooting day @ the Rentaloft studios in Anwterp.
This location has an awesome range of possibilities for shooting with natural light. The loft-building has lots of huge windows, which offers lots of light. Also the light interior colors only add to the positive influence in lighting.
Together with Bjorn Verlinden for styling and Peggy Timmermans for makeup, our models Nathalie, Lucie and Tosca did a great job! It was really a day with tropical temperatures, but the whole crew stood out and performed like never before.
For me it was a great experience to enlargen my portfolio with some nice shots!
With this post I would like to thank again all the boys and girls who helped me out that day:
- Bjorn, for setting up some sizzling outfits for the girls
- Peggy, for making the girls sparkle and look really radiant
- Frank, for assisting me in difficult moments and providing some crazy movie captures
- Nathalie, Lucie & Tosca for showing your most beautiful selves and being super kind models
September 2, 2011
Many years ago, when I started out at photography school, digital photography was still at very beginning. No huge sensors, incredible amounts of pixels and everything in digital was really expensive!
Nowadays, anyone out there can afford a brilliant camera with enough pixels to print a wall-size poster! Is this bad? No, technology evolves and it goes faster and faster, you can’t stop evolution… just as life… goes faster and faster… time flies by!
Sometimes it’s that part that really annoys me, that everything has to be done at a really high speed. That’s why I decided to go back, and take time again for my pictures… think, frame, focus and push the button. And yes…look at the back of the camera to discover that there is no LCD-screen! Right, I was shooting film! 
I decided to get back to the beginning of my education and started getting out with a film-camera again. A few months ago I purchased a Leica M2 and took it with me on holiday to see if it did what I expected it to do! No light meters, no nothing… only the sunny 16. Also the Hasselblad 500C, it had to be taken on a test-drive to after all those years of digital madness.
As I wanted to do test on color negative I tried the new Kodak Portra 400 with my Leica and the Fuji Pro 400h with the Hasselblad. Why this choice? Well, I think the Portra is better suited for scenery, landscapes and vacation shots as the Pro 400h is better at portraits. The Hasselblad has his test-drive at a fashion-shoot, so portraits it would be!
As I can only develop B&W film myself, I relied on the services of Richard Photo Lab (California) to give me the best they could. And they did a good job! I certainly will have to get used to work with film again, but I think this was a quite good start for the first 2 rolls.
The hasselblad will be used more often again, the Leica needs a CLA. Some of the shots (at slower shutter speeds) lagged, resulting in a dark left side of the frame. But hey, the camera is already over 60 so a few minor mistakes are allowed. Only 4 of 36 frames suffered from the lag.
To give you an impression of the try-out, a few of the shots…. I can assure you one thing. More of this will follow!
No editing aftwards had been done, only resize for web.
A series from my holiday in Rota, Spain, shot with the Leica M2 on Kodak Portra 400
One of the frames suffering from the shutter-lag, resulting in the dark part at the left-side (bottom in portrait stand)
And some of the Hassy shots, shot on Fuji Pro 400 H… the sun was very strong in back-light so I took a risk, but it ended out quite good I think.
August 25, 2011
Last sunday we had a great day shooting some new fashion stuff for Bjorn Verlinden in the fabulous Rentaloft location in Antwerp.
With the great services of make-up artist Peggy Timmermans, the models Nathalie, Lucie and Tosca really were the stars of that day! This time we decided to make it possible for you to have a look behind the scenes of this hectic, hot, but especially FUN day. Therefor our super-assistant Frank van Durme made some video-footage which I converted into a small backstage video.
I hope you enjoy the summary of this day full of jokes and leg-pulling by this great team! Really hope to be able to get back together soon!!!
July 17, 2011
A few seconds ago, Quick Calcs decided who would be the number one in the list of participants for the Summer 2011 Give-Away!
With the Easter Give-Away, number 11 was the lucky one…. this time, the random number generator decided it would be number 9 !
Number 9 in the list was Yvonne! So, Yvonne, better get ready and prepare yourself for a nice and sunny (huhum.. let’s hope the weather changes soon!!!!) summer shoot!
I would like to thank you all for taking your chances… and as last time, I can only give you one good advice… keep following the blog as more is to come!
A mail to Yvonne and the rest of you is on its way and the results will be on the blog soon after our shoot!
Thanks again for taking part!!!
July 10, 2011
As promised… It’s time to present you the sequel of the previous give-away session.
For the Summer Give-Away, we’ll go back in time… way back! You have the chance to get a full portrait-session on film. We leave the digital era behind and take time to give you the feeling of the traditional black & white again. Just you, me and the camera make the best of a fun and casual shoot!
What’s in for you?
- We get out there for a session during the weekend (within 50 km’s of Turnhout)
- We will shoot for about 1-2 hours
- All images are made on B&W negative
- You get a selection of the pictures scanned on CD (high-res)
- You get 3 fibre-based barite prints of 20 x 30 cm for free!
- The most important…. 1-2 hours of fun and a nice experience for both of us!!!
Who can participate?
Anyone of 18 years and older… man, woman, young, old… doesn’t matter! The only thing that matters is that you look forward to a fun shoot!
How to participate?
Post your comment here on how long it has been that you have had a really nice picture of yourself and what makes a picture of you a success.
A random number generator will do the difficult work… pick the winner The winner will be announced on Sunday July 17 at 20.00h CET.
So I’d say… bring on your comments and keep your fingers crossed!
June 25, 2011
The magnificent location of Castle Belvédère in Schilde (Belgium) was the location for a fantastic evening organised by Maserati West-Europe and Stephan Badal, fashion designer.
It was an evening filled with exquisite products, to start with the complete line of Maserati luxury sports cars and the haute couture line of Stephan Badal, presented in an overwhelming fashion-show. To complete the event, the guests where spoiled with an overview at the luxurious jewelry and watch collection of Baskania, with a taste of the finest chocolates of Pierre Marcolini, the best bubbles of Laurent Perrier, etc…
We had the opportunity to get a view on the best cars Maserati has in its range at this moment, including the Granturismo MC Stradale, a state of the art sports car.
All this elements made this an event never to forget.
June 11, 2011
A few weeks ago, I had a shoot with Tahnee, very good and nice model. I wanted to make a few beauty head-shots and some “casual” fashion-stuff outdoors. The weather was nice, so that wasn’t any problem at all. Tahnee has already built up a nice experience as model, so it didn’t take much of an effort to get her where I wanted to be.
For the make-up, I asked the professional services of Peggy Timmermans.
A small impression of a fun day:
