Category: People

Another selection of photos of my wanderings with Wolfgang last fall

Traditionally, the children of the Netherlands get their presents on the eve of december 5th. Already weeks before, Santa Claus – in the Netherlands called Sinta Klaas – roams through the shopping zones and his helpers, called black pete – zwarte piet in dutch – hand out sweets to the little kids. However, since some years, black pete is seen as a symbol of racism and this type of celebration not only is controversial, but has led to riots between followers of tradition and opponents of colonialism. The appearance of a zwarte piet brass band now is seen as a provocation.

Another country where fish markets are a great location for pictures is Oman. The markets here are either open air or in open market halls. Therefore there is always plenty of light. Here is a series of pictures from the market in the town of Mutrah, a part of the capital. The number, variety and size of the fish is astonishing and unknown in European markets. Unfortunately much of the valuable resource is wasted. We saw merchants who threw whole containers of unsold fish back into the see. It is not surprising that the harbor of Mutrah itself is chocked by fish which devour their unlucky dead mates.

Some more pictures of the life around Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia: different ways of fishing

The Hague likes to see itself as an international community. This refers mainly to the many international organizations which settle here. However, the majority of immigrants are not the prosperous members of this expat community, but those who came from poor countries, mainly from North Africa, in search of a better, safer, more well to do life. They settle segregated in some neighborhoods of the city and have changed the appearance of the shops in the streets

I have got a photo book of the Canadian-German photographer Fred Herzog (1930-2019). A lot of his works concern street photographs in his home town Vancouver. Views through or reflections in windows are part of tricks. I tried to use his photos as inspiration.

Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam each have a photo museum. I saw “the world according to Roger Ballen” in the one in The Hague. Roger Ballen is an American photographic artist based in South Africa. His photos are surreal artwork, but he also combines them with sculptures, paintings and videos. This photo has nothing in common with what he does….. but it was taken in the cafe of the museum

Sometimes I ask myself how advertising works. Is somebody really tempted to buy a product exposed by such a rude, unsympathetic, insensible and brutal advertisement? What does such a campaign say about the mental attitude of the client who ordered it? And about the client who is motivated to buy the product?