What if the inspiration doesn't stick | Then off to Paris, why not! 🇫🇷

Hello photographer,

Last Friday I walked around the Hungry Eye Fair. I went for the work of Bette Bijleveld, Ilse Koks, Friso Kooijman and Paulien Huizinga, and it was beautiful. Printed work has and gives so much extra. But something else happened too, and I've been thinking about it for a day now:

It didn't stick

In the cacophony of styles, parts of the exhibition became too much. I could see there was work hanging. It just didn't stick. It didn't spark anything.

I talked about it with Bette. What was missing, I think, was the enthusiasm. The eagerness. The freshness of new photographers. Commercial work, in the sense of “that's just how I always do it”. And to be honest, that scared me a little. Maybe you lose that enthusiasm the moment you no longer have to fight. When you hang your work on the wall without batting an eye for tens of thousands of euros.

Afterwards I talked with Paulien about my street photography and about her fantastic work. And about my conversation with William Rutten off camera for 30 Minuten Sluitertijd, where she of course made a brief appearance too, as a former contestant. About work you make for an interior, and work you make to draw out a story. Both are emotion. Just a different emotion.

I think that's where it lies. Not in the question of whether your work is commercial or free, but in the question of whether you still want something from the photo you make. Whether you're still curious about what happens when you make it. Curious about who finds it fantastic and who doesn't. Once that falls away, apparently, I no longer see it stick on the wall.

Make what you find beautiful. Full stop.

My workshops and masterclasses

Sticking with what you enjoy, that's exactly what my workshops are about. Small groups, five people maximum, plenty of time to look and talk.

Nijmegen, Saturday 19 September. Framing and movement, from 10.30am to 2pm, including lunch and the Straatfotobijbel (in Dutch). Now € 195 instead of € 295, spots are still available.

Paris, 25 and 26 September. Two days through old neighbourhoods, along Canal St. Martin and through the passages, from 10am to 3pm. Now € 595 instead of € 695, be quick and treat yourself to Paris.

After that I'm off to Antwerp, on Saturday 3 October. Conceptual street photography, from 10.30am to 2pm, with tailored assignments. From € 226.

And I'm looking forward to London, on 20 and 21 November. Two days through Barbican, Southbank, Soho and Oxford Street. € 695, only two spots left.

Talks and photo walks at CameraNU

They're coming round again! Talks and photo walks. This autumn and winter you'll find me at CameraNU again.

The photowalk Architectuur in straatfotografie is about how lines and shapes make your photo stronger. The human, though, about looking up. Two hours outside, € 25. Utrecht on 10 October, Rotterdam on 31 October (twice), Antwerp on 7 November and Amsterdam on 14 November.

The talk Van straat naar portret is about how those two are less far apart than you think. Free, just a small administration fee. Ten dates between 28 November and 20 March, spread across Antwerp, Utrecht, Groningen, Eindhoven, Urk, Rotterdam, Apeldoorn and Amsterdam. See you there?

Finally, the street itself, because I'm itching to get out there

My own street photography has been quiet for a while. Busy, other things, a torn ankle ligament, you know how it goes. But last week I walked through Amsterdam with my dusted-off Fujifilm X-E4 and the 27mm, dipped in and out of the metro, and that was really enough. No plan, no assignment, just looking. I immediately felt like walking kilometres again.

Long shutter speed in the bicycle tunnel

I'm curious how that is for you. Are you still photographing with the curiosity you started with, or do you notice routine creeping in? Feel free to reply to this email, I read them all.

Everything at a glance

I'll see you soon, I'm sure. All talks and workshops, including those in 2027, are on my website

Have a good weekend!

Michiel