2023 Calendar

December 19, 2022 in being a photographer

2022 has been another exceptional year, with great light, lovely people, some exciting new equipment, and a huge variety of work – almost more of it than could be fitted into 365 days. I’m still loving every single job all the way from planning to delivery, still learning something new each time, and still improving my craft.

My calendar for the year ahead, featuring the pick of my images from the last 12 months, has been printed and I have started to distribute copies to friends and family. As a thank you to all my clients, as I’ve done in previous years I’m sharing the selected photos publicly here, with brief descriptions and technical details.

Cover

At an exhibition of my neighbourhood street portraits in Schaerbeek. — At an exhibition of my neighbourhood street portraits in Schaerbeek, 24 September 2022. People loved finding faces that they recognised, and sometimes their own.
Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S lens, 1/250 sec at f/2.0, ISO 1600

January

A runner in the Brussels 20 km race, 29 May 2022.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 300 mm f/2.8 lens, 1/750 sec at f/4.0, ISO 1600

February

Studio portrait of a young girl against a white backdrop, Brussels, 11 January 2022.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24 mm f/1.8 lens, 1/250 sec at f/8.0, ISO 64

March

Young Belgian actor, Gianni Guettaf — ‘Noir’-style studio portrait of the young Belgian actor, Gianni Guettaf.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4 lens, 1/1000 sec at f/2.4, ISO 64

April

Percussion workshop for primary schoolchildren, Ixelles, 28 April 2022.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24 mm f/2.4 lens, 1/250 sec at f/2.4, ISO 800

May

Tomato farmer Kris De Weerdt in his greenhouses, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver, 28 October 2021.
Nikon D850, Samyang 14mm f2.4 lens, 1/250 sec at f/4.0, ISO 200

June

Child playing in the grounds of a Community Land Trust Brussels (CLTB) housing complex in Molenbeek, 26 March 2022
Nikon D850, Nikkor 85 mm f/1.8 lens, 1/250 sec at f/6.7, ISO 64

July

Swedish secondary school graduate, Brussels, 22 May 2022.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 85 mm f/1.8 lens, 1/250 sec at f/8.0, ISO 64

August

A young friend and her newborn baby, Brussels, 25 May 2022.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4 lens, 1/180 sec at f/4.8, ISO 400

September

Folk dance participants, Brussels, 30 October 2021.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24 mm f/1.8 lens, 1/250 sec at f/2.0, ISO 6400

October

Community Land Trust Brussels (CLTB) resident, Molenbeek, 26 March 2022.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 85 mm f/1.8 lens, 1/250 sec at f/2.8, ISO 800

November

Bass player at a jazz jam — Bassist Denis Van Der Brempt playing at a jazz jam, Loonbeek, 20 May 2022.
Leica Q2 Monochrom, Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 lens, 1/250 sec at f/1.7, ISO 2500

December

Girls at a demonstration — Girls on a demonstration, Brussels, 20 March 2022.
NIKON D850, Samyang 14mm f2.4 lens, 1/500 sec at f/6.7, ISO 1100

Making street portraits

September 08, 2022 in portrait photography

I’m excited about a series of portraits that I have begun shooting in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels. I’ve been inviting local residents for short mini-sessions in my pop-up studio, so this probably doesn’t qualify as ‘pure’ street photography. But it’s just as interesting and satisfying as my studio portrait work.

Community project

My wife and I will be moving to Schaerbeek early next year, and when I was invited to participate in the community initiative Pogge se parle, I jumped at the opportunity as a way to start getting to know the local community myself.

Over four weekends in August and September, the team is organising free activities for children and adults on the Place de Houffalize. When I’m available, I’m spending the afternoon there with a camera and a portable flash unit to make portraits.

Exhibition

We hope to mount an exhibition later in the year, so it’s been important to gather signed model release forms for each of the subjects, and luckily I’ve been supported by someone who has taken care of the administration while I was working with the model.

Completely spontaneously, people have been keen to take part. I’ve really enjoyed chatting with my subjects, who will soon be my neighbours. I have sent each of them the digital image file as soon as it’s been edited, and if the portrait is exhibited they will also receive the exhibition print.

Photographer at work

I’ve also done family and group shots when people asked for this. Below left you can see me at work and, on the right, the image I was making.

2022 Calendar

December 08, 2021 in being a photographer

As we approach the end of 2021, it’s once more time to look back and reflect on my year as a photographer. It’s been fantastic, despite the Covid restrictions which prevented any corporate work until the autumn. I’ve delivered 150 jobs, 30% of them from returning customers. I’m so grateful to all my clients for their confidence and for their overwhelmingly positive feedback. It really has been a pleasure.

As usual, I’ve sorted through the tens of thousands of images shot during the past 12 months in order to put together my calendar for the year ahead for family and friends. The photos I shot for clients are included with their kind permission.