Yesterday I was in Leiden, a small historic town in the Netherlands. I wanted to make a photo-reportage about the International Photo Festival in Leiden – which I did – but then happened to walk into a totally different event.
On one of the church squares where the displays with photo’s were set up, a large crowd of people had gathered before the entrance of the church. I wondered what was going on, saw a lady with a camera who was obviously a press photographer or reporter, and asked her whether she could tell me more. She told me that in half an hour, the official opening would take place of a two- day info market, in which vocational training schools would present themselves to young potential students, who will soon have to make their choice for a vocational training next year. That sounded quite interesting to me, so I decided to stay around and make a photo-reportage about this event as well.
The total story and a selection of the photo’s I made on the vocational training info-market you can find here on Demotix. I really loved to see how young people who are already in vocational training were eager to demonstrate their skills, and share about it with others.
There were a few more images that just didn’t make it into my Demotix story any more, but I like to show them here:
ROC student kneading doughBuilding on a wooden constructionGroup of boys show interest in metal instrument partsParamedics training: first aid can save lives…
Previous weekend, I had a really busy photojournalistic weekend. On Saturday, I was photographing on the “Day of 1000 cultures”, the opening of the new cultural season In Amsterdam SouthEast: a colourful festival where all kinds of cultural and sprts organisations presented their programs.
And on Sunday, not only did I make use for the first time of my newly earned press card from DEMOTIX, to make a photo story about the Amsterdam City Swim 2014… I also spend a few hours making a reportage of a demonstration against the horrific actions by ISIS, the terrorist group that is very active in Irak and Syrië
It has taken me some time to sort out and edit all those photo’s, but now at least a few of the reportages are uploaded at DEMOTIX , the worldwide network for free lance and amateur photo journalists.
The Amsterdam Cityswim was organized this year for the third time, as a fundraising for the ALS foundation in the Netherlands. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is one of the most serious, invalidating and deadly diseases of the nerves system. The Netherlands counts about 1500 patients. Every year, about 500 of them die, and 500 new patients are diagnosed with the disease. While there is investigation done all over the world, the cause of the disease is still unknown, and no cure is found. For those 1500 patients, with a life expectancy of 3 to 5 years after diagnosis, there is still no hope for a future…
The 2000 participants to the City Swim, together with the 200 kids that participated in the Cityswim for Kids, raised together an amount of over 2 million €, by finding sponsors for their swimming effort. This money will be used for further investigation and support to people with ALS.
Participants of the Amsterdam Cityswim for Kids and lifeguards swimming under the bridge towards the Keizersgracht channel. Public on the bridge is cheering them on.Celeste (14) and Lianne (11), two of the 200 young swimmers who participated in the Amsterdam Cityswim for Kids.Eva & Mathijs, twins (10) proudly show their medals, earned in the Cityswim for Kids. Well done!.Quinten Helmstrijd (3d place), Sam Boorsma (2nd place) Carolien Beckers (1st place) – winners of the Cityswim for Kids.
First group of swimmers ready to dive in.With a big splash, the first swimmers hit the waterFirst group of athletes in the water – all along the route, life guards are standby to keep an eye on the swimmers’ safety.
View on the finish and the Keizersgracht where crowds of supporters are looking as groups of swimmers finally reach the finish after a swim of 2014m through Amsterdam’s channels.Participants carrying orange balloons arrive at the last strecht of the Keizersgracht Channel, in view of the finish of Amsterdam City Swim 2014. A life guard is standby, keeping an eye on the swimmers’ safety.Exhausted but satisfied, one of the swimmers comes out of the water, a black and white football on his backTwo women friends have now time to recuperate and relax, after the long swim of 2014 m.
Day before yesterday, ‘Playful’ was chosen to be featured at the RedBubble homepage. That’s a great honour, and I was so delighted about it, that I decided to make it my second pic to upload to this photo blog.
This photo of this playful group of children is one of a series photographs that is somehow precious to me. I made them long ago, 1992, when we travelled to Ethiopia for a meeting. It was only a few years after the war, the poverty was appalling… And these kids… they just allowed me photographing them, with a spontaneity that touched my heart. Even now, so many years later, I still bow for them, in reverence.
Yes, indeed, it was an incredible experience… one never to forget. And that’s exactly what makes these pics so precious…: the images help me to remember, more lively than my memory ever could…
Discovering Beauty 