Butcher of Blue in Donegal: Remote, Wild, and Rugged

Every year, I hit the road with my favorite client-friends, denim brand Butcher of Blue, to shoot their collection, discuss the brand and share some unforgettable adventures.  

This year, we explored the rugged beauty of Donegal, Ireland. County Donegal is the wild child of Ireland, home to some of its most ravishingly sublime scenery. It is a county of extremes: at times desolate and battered by brutal weather, yet also a land of unspoiled splendor..

We paid a working visit to the Donegal Yarn Factory, one of Butcher's producers, hiked the Sliabh Liag Pilgrims Path, swam in the icy Atlantic, met amazing locals, and captured it all on camera, fueled by a Guinness or two ; )

"It’s OK to feel."

That’s the mantra artist Myles Smith shares on his Instagram profile, and it resonates deeply in his music. From the moment Luton-born Myles, a guitar player since the age of nine, stepped into my studio, I knew our session would be something special.

Despite his skyrocketing profile and impressive entourage, Myles exuded a warmth and ease that immediately put everyone at ease. As he performed his track ‘Stargazing,’ I captured his personality, resulting in a series of striking portraits and captivating images.

Myles, thank you for your patience, time, and relaxed attitude. It was a pleasure to work with such a talented and down-to-earth artist.

It was such a pleasure to photograph the charming and mega talented Nabil Aoulad Ayad for JFK Magazine in beautiful Amsterdam-Osdorp.

Nabil is not only an great comedian but also actor, TV personality, human beatbox champion and most of all a lovely and great guy.

Thanks for your patience and taking the time for me Nabil!

Just before the summer, my twins, Billie and Finlay, had a sleepover party with their classmates at one of the parents' country houses to celebrate their last day of elementary school.

I decided to photograph all of their tired, happy faces very early in the morning, just after they crawled out of their sleeping bags.

New photography work for Het Financieele Dagblad magazine.

I had the pleasure of photographing the renowned meteorologist, Gerrit Hiemstra, whose career has been synonymous with the Dutch weather landscape since 1998. After departing from his role as the national weather presenter, Gerrit embarked on a new journey founding Oarshûs in 2023—a company dedicated to making sustainable construction accessible.

I traveled to beautiful Friesland, where Gerrit resides and operates and first explored the stunning lake next to the village to scout the perfect locations for our shoot.

Our session unfolded against the backdrop of the magnificent Friese landscape, capturing the essence of Gerrit in moody black and white weather. Despite initial hesitations, Gerrit embraced the process, and we found ourselves strolling through nature, exchanging stories and laughter.

I am super happy with the end result—a series of portraits that reflect not only Gerrit's public persona but also the warmth and authenticity that defines him as an individual.

When The Nomad Company invited me to propose a new visual direction for their upcoming campaign my heart made a jump. As an outdoor lover, hiker photographer and creative director this combined all of my passions.

In the spirit of the founder of this 45 year old heritage brand - and his approach to life and branding, I wanted to bring a visual story that hopefully inspires people to enjoy the outdoors. A real experience.

With a bunch of outdoor enthusiasts, the client and a great team we actually hiked The Fishermen’s Trail in Portugal while I photographed Nomad’s campaign and summer ’23 product line.

We just did the real thing; stayed in hostels, slept in dorm rooms, had packed lunches, cooked together in the evening, were tired and excited and hiked many many miles through the most gorgeous coastline I ever seen.

Hope you like it!

Portrait series with Roelof Hemmen for his interview in Playboy Magazine.

When Roelof opened the gates of his premises, I felt this was going to be a great portrait session. A charming character with beautiful grey hair, well dressed for the occasion, a stunning little farmhouse with a '79 Land Rover in the shed - and that typical grey Dutch weather.

For those who don’t know: Roelof was the news anchor at RTL News and presented news items for BNR Newsradio but most people know him best from his daily appearance on TV as the news sidekick at the popular talk show from Eva Jinek

But he’s also a rally driver, hunter, podcast maker, outdoor enthusiast, presentation coach and just a warm and welcoming lovely human being

Thanks for your patience mister, it was a pleasure to have you in front of the camera.

The Art Of Travel.

In the collaboration "The Art Of Travel" between DPG Media and Citroën for Volkskrant Magazine, I was given complete creative freedom to photograph the new DS7 E-Tense on a weekend road trip.

I decided to return to my birthplace, West-Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, to capture the car amidst the landscape's inspiring emptiness and graphic beauty.

To traditionally celebrate the last days in elementary school my young son went on school camp for a couple of days. The last evening of camp they had an amateur variety show and disco evening in the woods that lasted till very late.

I decided to portrait the kids in his class on the last morning of camp, just after they woke up and crawled out of their tents.

The Silent Magic of Normandy

Inspired by the dazzling coastline, hugged by dramatic white cliffs, touched by the rugged beaches & graphic lines, we embraced the silent magic of Normandy.

For Butcher of Blue’s FW22 collection we travelled to a small hamlet situated on the majestic Alabaster coast of Normandy to mix the dramatic shapes of the landscape with the defined lines of the 2022 Butcher of Blue autumn/winter collection.

Portraits of Najib Amhali for his big interview in Playboy Magazine. Najib is a Moroccan-Dutch stand-up comedian, actor, drummer, addiction counselor, genuine great human being and lovely guy to have in front of my camera.

Thanks Najib for your patience and the great afternoon.

In search of perfection

La semplicità è l’ultima sofisticazione. Or, as we would say, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Keep it simple. Enjoy modest perfection.

You’ll see this back in many aspects of Italian life. The Italians live it, dream it, drink and eat it. It’s in every vessel of their culture.

Butcher of Blue is always looking for simplicity and perfection. That’s why they produce their top quality denims in Northern Italy. And why we travelled to Bassano del Grappa to shoot the new collection with the local craftsmen as our models.

Languedoc-Roussillon

A place of myth and haunting beauty.

One of those areas of France where you feel totally away from the rest of the country, a place where you still can enjoy a slice of authentic French rural life.

A mixture of landscapes, with sleepy and vibrant towns, and a good stretch of coastline offering a totally different experience to more bucolic interiors.

Sometimes a true story can come from coincidence.

As does the story of the Clifden Collection, a part of the Butcher of Blue Essentials.

Exactly 200 years after John D’Arcy founded the city of Clifden in Ireland, they placed their finger on the world map when they needed a new name for their woolly and smart looking jumpers. And as if he magically controlled their finger - John D’Arcy, (a young and smart looking dude in his time) pointed us straight to a little dot on the West Coast of Ireland.

Clifden.

As a tribute to Clifden and its inhabitants we travelled to Ireland with a suitcase full of jumpers to photograph the new collection - with the lovely people of the town, with its 1567 inhabitants and 18 pubs.

We met the red-bearded Domhnall, surfer Noel with his Dutch ancestors, the boys from the local Butcher shop, pub owner John, the banjo players, the whiskey connoisseurs and Guinness drinkers - and dressed them in our new Clifden collection.

GOLD!!!!

It was an honor to have a true Olympic Champion in front of my camera for the Samsung Olympic Games sponsor campaign.

Olympic Gold BMX racing cyclist Niek Kimmann & Vice World Champion BMX Judy Baauw for Samsung Netherlands, commissioned by Cheil Amsterdam

A collaboration with Dutch lifestyle brand Butcher of Blue resulted in a weekend away in the ‘Dutch Mountains’ to shoot their FW20 collection.

During the Covid-19 lock-down, I started to photograph the daily ‘lock-down’ life of my 3 children Hamish, Finlay and Billie.

It was great to spend time with them, see their interactions, their boredom, and look at them through the lens they quickly got used to.

Butcher of Blue is a fairly new Dutch lifestyle brand founded by 2 denim aficionados. They asked me to shoot part of their spring-summer 2020 collection - and gave me the free hand in doing so.

It turned out to be a great collaboration and we’ll continue working together with the upcoming collections.

During a documentary film production for a big Dutch coffee company in the mountains of Honduras, I met coffee farmer Don Domingo who invited us into his life.

An absolutely great character who always seemed to be happy & positive despite the poor economic conditions the coffee farmers generally live in.

Assignment for the global Twitter talent brand campaign / Thaddeus Campbell (RIP) / Senior Engineering Manager /

Assignment for the global Twitter talent brand campaign / Biz Stone / Co-Founder Twitter

Assignment for the global Twitter talent brand campaign / God-is Rivera / Global Director Culture & Community

Waterland, the backyard of Amsterdam, half of which consists of water, is where I live. And where I run.

In between the ditches that reflect the sky. Close to the dikes that - sometimes - keep me out of the wind or with my head towards the Markermeer while the wind blows the tears in my eyes.

Wherever I run, to Katwoude or Uitdam, from Overleek to Purmer, there is always that simple horizon and the calm, dramatic Dutch landscape that always seems to clear my head. Despite any tears.

And because I’m running this is all shot on iPhone11Pro

With its honey-stone villages, its rolling landscape, dramatic coastlines, and its handsome wild-looking woods, the English countryside is just heart-tuggingly beautiful. Love to hike around there and photograph the silence and beauty of the country.

Here a selection of the pictures I took during my country walks in the photogenic East-Sussex and Cotwolds area.

Outdoors beats indoors. Every year I try to spend some time in Normandy, France. Preferably in autumn when the beaches are empty and the tourists are gone. It’s just such beautiful dramatic scenery with its sober palette and the intensity of the pale shades of color.