Too much inspiration? Impossible.

On YouTube, photography trends often become painfully clear. Suddenly all the photographers you follow are talking about the same thing. That might be a new lens, or new ways of setting prices.

No idea whether it is seasonal, but over the past few weeks a surprising number of street photographers were suddenly talking about a ‘photographic rut’. That doubt, when you no longer quite know why you photograph, is familiar to every kind of photographer as far as I can tell. In all honesty: I have not experienced it yet. I am curious how it feels.

After twenty years behind a computer, photography feels liberating to me. Refreshing. I draw my inspiration from various things. And I think every day I come up with something, meet someone or do something that sets me thinking, that makes me consider with enthusiasm what lies around the next bend in my photographic road trip.

I take my inspiration from books, for instance. Beauty in the photographs of Vincent Peters, the light in the paintings of Edward Hopper, the storytelling of Sean Tucker (an audiobook). I love leafing through hundreds of photographs and seeing in two or three of them something I want to recreate, or something I want to see and record for myself one day.

I can lose myself in YouTube videos, and not the ones that are only about new lenses or cameras, such as Jason Vong’s or Kai W’s. I mean the musings of Pierre T. Lambert or Faizal Westcott. People who think about the craft, who discuss their obstacles and possible solutions. Directions of thought. Which set me thinking.

What really makes me enthusiastic is other photographers. And I do not mind whether you photograph landscapes like Dave Zuuring or make tintype portraits like Lawrence Mooij. The good thing about street photography is that you can draw inspiration from conversations with other photographers. They motivate, they run into the same challenges as you and they get enthusiastic about the same things as you. Do DM me on Instagram, I am always up for a coffee.

Finally, and perhaps this is the most obvious of all, I take my inspiration from travel. Short or long. Nearby or far away. A change of surroundings is the most inspiring factor in my photography. Utrecht, Antwerp or Eindhoven make me very happy. Big, new cities filter things. You take different photos in an unfamiliar city. Seeing new things, new people, other types. It is wonderful to get lost and find your way back, looking over your camera.

I was lucky enough to spend part of my summer holiday in New York. A mecca for photographers, and I do not think it matters much what kind of photography you do. The light there is different, indirect, coming off skyscrapers. You are small, inconspicuous. The familiar click of the camera confirms the photo you made. It is an event, an experience you have to let happen and are allowed to let happen. A wave of inspiration that carries you from Coney Island, Brooklyn to deep inside Central Park, Manhattan. Me, at any rate.

In New York I bought a photo book by Callie Shell, who made a portrait of the Obamas, I met local photographer Richard Koek for a long and very enjoyable conversation, and I watched endless interview videos by Paulie B. on YouTube. I was on holiday and immersed myself in the city, with my family and my trusty camera. My bucket of inspiration slowly filled, but never overflowed. Tired? Not for a moment. Too much inspiration? I do not think it is possible, I really do not. Let it all happen and you are over that dip in no time. You may not even notice you were in it.

Enjoy your photography.

This article first appeared in Focus Magazine (the best photography magazine in the Netherlands), for which I wrote a column in every issue in 2023 and 2024.