Three questions with Leo Schindzielorz
All about his passion for photography
Image creator Sjoerd van der Wal
Image creator Sjoerd van der Wal can take a fantastic photo of almost any subject imaginable. Sjoerd loves taking pictures. He does it often and he takes A LOT, sharing his work with anyone who's interested. This week, we sat down for a cup of coffee with him and he told us his story.
Starting as a hobby
Sjoerd started his hobby back in 'the analogue days', as he refers to them. But it was when the digital camera came on the scene that his hobby really gained momentum. "I started being able to make photography my job." Sjoerd's advantage is that he hasn't specialised in a particular topic. "Yep," he starts, taking a swig of his coffee, "I like getting involved with anything that drives, flies or sails and I love strolling around in nature, taking photos of beautiful landscapes."
"Conveying a certain atmosphere"
Sjoerd thinks it's nonsense that photography is supposed to represent reality. According to him, it's actually about conveying a certain atmosphere. "See it as a kind of interpretation of what you see before you as a photographer," he explains. "One of my favourite photos is a photo of the northern lights above a snowy landscape. The photo creates the sense of being out in an inhospitable wilderness and witnessing a natural phenomenon. But in reality, I was standing with my camera against the guardrail of a busy road and there was light pollution from passing cars and lorries. The photo exudes peace and stillness, but that wasn't the case in reality."
"I really love taking photos"
Sjoerd also likes going to events, such as classic car shows or classic sailboat races. "The cherry on top of the cake is that each year I get a couple of special assignments, such as taking aerial photos of a company or photographing a flying hot air balloon from above on a paramotor. I really love taking photos and creating beautiful images. It's even better when other people like my photos. But I think it's especially cool when people like my photos so much that they want to hang them on their walls. In my opinion, that's the best compliment you can receive as an image creator.
Curious about all the artworks? View all works by Sjoerd van der Wal here!
