1. What’s your favourite Amsterdam neighbourhood to shoot?
Although it might seem done to death, I walk in the city center around Dam square, I sometimes even photograph the pigeons..…I don’t live in Amsterdam anymore, so I usually arrive by train or ferry. I have a sort of regular route, going from Amsterdam CS to Dam square, Waterlooplein and after that I wander back to Amsterdam CS. This route never disappoints, with interesting people and scenes or little stories. In the end location does not really matter to me because I am interested in the people. And there is just so many of them going through Amsterdam City Center every day. I don’t need to go anywhere else.
2. Which secret spot would you recommend (now not secret anymore)?
I have different favorite spots that differ through the day because of the changing sunlight. But one of my favorite spots, at the moment, is in front of the DIOR shop at Dam Square. It serves as a perfect and ever changing, often colorful backdrop for scenes that might occur in front of it. In the morning it catches the light as well.
3. What’s your most memorable streetphotography experience from the past year?
I have 2 moments I have to mention. The first one is the two-day workshop I attended, hosted by Matt Stuart. I learned so much from this experience, hearing and seeing how he does things is such a great thing. Especially his brutal (but fair) photo critiquing on the second day really pushed me to do better. On top of that he is a really nice guy. And I met some really nice photographers as well! The second moment I have to mention is winning the last UPR in Eindhoven. It is just such a confidence booster to be acknowledge by your peers. And I know that competitions are completely unpredictable and highly depend on the preferences of the jury. I got lucky this time…apart from winning it is always nice to see so many people enjoying doing streetphotography.
4. Which type of images are you currently shooting?
I shoot with a 28mm full frame and I want to get really close to people. I always look for the absurd or little scenes that happen there and then and will be gone forever. I shoot mostly color and if I feel really brave and confident I use a flash. Lately I also try to shoot photos with different layers: background, middleground and foreground. This is something Matt Stuart explained during the workshop. It can be difficult on the street to build an image in that way. But if it works, it is great!
5. Which (street)photographer inspires you?
So many…at the moment my favorites are Alex Webb and certainly Todd Hido (shoot like a photographer, print like a painter), because they do something particular and unique with their streetphotography. They inspire me to look beyond the obvious.
Peter is featured in the 4th edition of State of Amsterdam
Copyright of each photo featured belongs to Peter De Witte
