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Table of Contents

Interview with Essdras Suarez

Myrtle Avenue

People of the Market

The Hidden Harmony

Hans Leeuwenburgh on Street Photography

Familiar Streets with a Singular Prism

Street Shooters of May 2018

Hans Leeuwenburgh on Street Photography

Hans Leeuwenburgh

On finding his passion…

That was a very slow process. My interest in photography in general came very late. At first I didn’t take it very seriously and I was more interested in paintings, music and architecture. A few years ago though, I saw a documentary about Vivian Maier and that was the beginning of my passion for street photography.

On architecture…

I live in Rotterdam and am surrounded by great architecture. I am not very interested in photographing the most beautiful buildings, rather, I want to use the architecture to create compositions, interesting backgrounds, light, spaces, etc., to create my own scene. Because I am not much of a traveller, (almost all my pictures are shot in Rotterdam) it has become a challenge for me to focus only on Rotterdam. Every time I go shooting I force myself to see the city from a different perspective.

The Red Apple

On his sense of perspective and composition when creating dramatic scenes…

I think my perspective comes from my musical background and the fact that I have also drawn and painted a lot in the past. As a classical musician, I am used to thinking about compositions, rhythms, drama etc. and I learned to recreate what was made by a composer. I think that’s always in the back of my mind. I used it in my drawings and now I use it as a starting point in my photography, mostly unconsciously.

Erasmusbrug

On color vs. black and white…

I like both, it really depends on the picture and what is neccessary for the composition or the story you want to tell. I found shooting in color much more difficult, because it can distract you from the subject and if done wrong, your picture soon looks like an ordinary holiday picture. But color can be a very expressive tool and some really beautiful street pictures have been made in color. Saul Leiter (one of my favorites) is a good example of this.

Untitled

On people in street photography…

I try to use the architecture in my street pictures more like a tool to navigate the eye to the person in the picture. Ultimately, the person in the picture is the most important, even if 75 to 90 percent of the image is architecture. I think the people in my pictures are a little bit a reflection of my own character. By nature, I am a rather shy person and not much in the foreground. Maybe you can see that reflected in the people in my pictures.

Lost

On the message behind the images…

In comments on Flickr people sometimes say that they recognize the place but have never seen it like this. For me that a big compliment and a little bit wat I wanted to achieve. I think photography for me is about stealing from reality to create a new – and hopefully interesting – reality.

On lessons learned from street photography…

“A turtle sees more than a hare on the way”, I think we have to slow down to see the beauty of life.

Erasmusbrug Rotterdam

Editor’s Note: You can see more of Hans’ work by visiting his Flickr photostream. Hans was selected from our Flickr group (Street Photography Magazine) where we regularly choose photographers’ work to be published in our magazine.

Articles
May 2018

Interview with Essdras Suarez

Pulitzer prize winning photojournalist and street photographer, Essdras Suarez, shares some incredible stories and insights on photography.

Myrtle Avenue

Robert Gerhardt photographs Myrtle Avenue, seeking evidence and counter-evidence of the claims of Henry Miller, who wrote a fictionalized account of his life in Brooklyn in the 1920s.

People of the Market

As a humanitarian photographer and filmmaker, it is my job to find characters in ordinary circumstances and bring them to life in an interesting way.

The Hidden Harmony

One of the essential elements of the photographer is his ability to document and so the questions: What is Hidden Harmony? And can photography demonstrate its existence?

Hans Leeuwenburgh on Street Photography

I think street photography, for me, is about stealing from reality to create a new - and hopefully interesting - reality.

Familiar Streets with a Singular Prism

Jean-Philippe's view of urban beauty will have you taking a second look at your own town. Read on to learn about how to combine and compose light, architecture and human beings.

Street Shooters of May 2018

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