
Three questions with Leo Schindzielorz
All about his passion for photography
Now that the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer, most of us are retreating indoors. It's always better to be nice and warm inside than out in the cold. However, for Merijn van der Vliet, the artist behind Donker Utrecht, as soon as the sun goes down it's time to grab your camera and head out.
Merijn was born and raised in Utrecht and his love for this city, along with his love for the camera, gave him the brilliant idea to combine his two passions under the name Donker Utrecht. "Donker is the Dutch word for darkness and it refers to twilight, a time I love," begins Merijn. "At twilight, places transition from beautiful to fantastically beautiful and that's what I want to show in my work."
His eyes light up as he starts telling us about Utrecht. Merijn jumps in with conviction: "Utrecht is just a fantastic city. It has a distinctively old centre with magnificent canals and the Dom Tower as the focal point and symbol of the city. But also, when you go further out, you'll find magnificent old architecture, for example in the form of water towers and windmills. What's more, Utrecht is developing at a rapid rate. Within just a few years, an entire new district has emerged with iconic places, like the new station, the City Council Offices and the TivoliVredenburg.
He doesn’t have much time to take photos because blue hour only lasts fifteen minutes. The moment when it all comes together and looks almost perfect is over in a flash. And Merijn likes the challenge of this. "That transience just makes the photos that bit more special." That's why he sets off well prepared with two potential dream locations for the perfect picture. "These locations are always close to each other, usually I have a favourite, but my preferred place might fall through because they've just put scaffolding on a building for example, or an ugly delivery van is in the way. Then I'll go for option two."
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