What an adventure: a guest on Het Perfecte Plaatje op Reis

Over the past few years I have very deliberately chosen my own path. No big exhibitions, no competitions, no hurry. Instead: helping people to look better. With books, workshops, talks, a podcast.

And then the phone rings: would you take part as an expert on Het Perfecte Plaatje op Reis, the Dutch television photography programme. Would I give a few tips about street photography, for an episode set in Naples. It was ITV Studios and RTL 4. My friend Evely had tipped the production team off about me.

On Valentine’s Day this year I got a message:
“Erm, they were looking for a street photographer for Het Perfecte Plaatje. I put your name forward.” From Evely. Evely had taken part herself back in 2019. Shortly afterwards Aimée from ITV Studios called. I was immediately enthusiastic, of course.

From Hilversum to Naples

My contribution was recorded in advance at the ITV Studios in Hilversum. So in the episode itself you do not see me on the street in Italy, but my head, my voice, my view and my enthusiasm are certainly in it. On the iPad. As my wife said: “You used to watch Irene Moors; now Irene Moors is watching you.” Quite unreal.

The assignment for the contestants: make a spontaneous, unposed street photograph that captures Italian coffee culture. An assignment that made me very happy. Because however much of a cliché it sounds: that is exactly what street photography is about for me. Real life. Unfiltered. Without bending it to your will.

During the studio recordings I was able to record an explanation for the photographers about how you go about that: street photography in an unfamiliar city, full of stimuli, people and possibilities. With a camera crew in your wake. Nice and inconspicuous.

What do you watch for? How do you see the remarkable in the ordinary? And how do you catch that in a single image, without it feeling staged? Questions I work with every day, and which I keep coming back to in my workshops and books.

A crowning touch on years of grafting

Being asked for this feels like a fine crowning touch on the brand and the work I have built up with a lot of care over the past years.

I have shown my face in various places already, with The Observer, De Wet van de Straat (in Dutch), the Straatfotobijbel (in Dutch) and of course 30 Minuten Sluitertijd. If you want something in photography, I think you have to get in front of the camera yourself as well.

I believe that what I do has value, precisely because it is about attention, about seeing what is already there, about slowing down and going deeper. And it is remarkable to find that this approach apparently stands out. Including in places where you would not necessarily expect it.

Working with the Het Perfecte Plaatje team was also thoroughly enjoyable. Everyone is involved, enthusiastic and professional. The programme is made with so much love, and I experienced that at close quarters. Which made taking part all the more fun.

Thank you, Aimée and Pien from ITV Studios, and William Rutten, for that kind message after the recording day. I appreciate it enormously.

Photography beyond the camera

What I find special about this moment is that it brings so much together. My love of street photography. My conviction that anyone can learn to look. My need to share knowledge. Not only with a camera, but through words as well.

That was already coming together in the podcast I make with Niels. 30 Minuten Sluitertijd is a place for conversations about photography that go beyond settings, gear and pixels. It is about making choices. About doubt. About developing yourself. And yes, sometimes about street photography too.

The good thing is that this RTL adventure does not feel like something separate to me. It fits seamlessly into the line I am following. It is not a distraction but a widening. A great gift. A way of reaching even more people who may also be thinking: “I would like to do that too, just make photos in the street, but I do not quite dare.” For all those people, this is hopefully a small nudge.

It is also a stopping point along the way. I am thinking about adventures still to be dreamed up after the summer. New high points, or finally getting that longer project off the ground. But first, enjoying this high point, one hundred per cent.

Look, wait, click

What I also said to the contestants, and really always say, is simple: street photography does not have to be complicated. You do not have to force anything. Use simple settings. You do not have to wait for the perfect light or the ideal scene. Go outside. Look. Wait. Click. Sometimes it is a second, sometimes an hour. But it always starts with looking. Looking honestly. Looking with curiosity.

And sometimes, very occasionally, you look around you and realise that you are being seen too. That others are also looking at what you do, and appreciate it. That is what this broadcast gave me. And I am grateful for it.

Want to see it?

Het Perfecte Plaatje op Reis was broadcast on Wednesday evening 18 June at 20:30 on RTL 4. You can watch the episode back on Videoland.

And who knows, you may see something in it that inspires you to go outside with your camera again.

If that happens, my mission has succeeded.