By the marketing team of Kinderdijk (UNESCO), I was asked to come up with a lighthearted and somewhat humorous series about life as a miller in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The photos were intended for an exhibition across the entire site, as well as for tourist merchandise. A perfect job for me! Creating stories with humor is one of my favorite things to do.
This shoot for Kinderdijk in the Netherlands is an example of when everything went wrong. After a lot of preparation, brainstorming, and sketching out ideas, you think everything should be going smoothly. This is, after all, the most challenging part of a shoot. However, the production underestimated the whole job, which turned out to be more difficult than anticipated.
Arriving with my two assistants, Zenith Schmitz and Rick van der Vlies, we visited all the locations. But because the production was in charge, the location holders were not informed. Moreover, it turned out that there were no children available for the photos—something I wasn’t told, even though children were an essential part of my series. I started to lose confidence, and if I hadn’t had Zenith by my side, I might have lost all motivation right there. But after a pep talk from him, I managed to retake myself. We used all our skills and imagination to still create a great series with the models, props, and locations that were available.
This job is a perfect example of the importance of experience and creativity! Experience in technical aspects to be able to adapt quickly, but also the ability to come up with new stories on the spot.
This photo inside the mill was a joy to take. It was a difficult location, but the aura created by the big cogwheel was stunning. I only had to fill in the shadows.
Thanks Rick van der Vlies for these great BHTS pictures shot on nice Kodak
Me and Zenith in a small old boat.....
