Featured Photographer (#09) - Sandra Jonkers

Featured Photographer, interview with Sandra Jonkers, Rotterdam, Netherlands

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EDITORIAL

Dear Friends and Readers!


Our ninth issue of Featured Photographer interview, took us to Rotterdam, where Sandra Jonkers explores her world of street photography.

She sketches a mirror image of her contemporary urban environment, with greatest empathy towards her subjects,

Please join us on this fantastic visual expedition.

Enjoy reading!

Yours
Stefan Cimer 

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Sandra, I shall begin by saying thank you very much, for taking your precious time to giving us the opportunity for this interview.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself to begin with.

I'm a street photographer. I shoot the streets as often as I can. I'm disabled so me and my camera are hitting the streets on a scooter. Some people are calling me 'the pirate of the asphalt' and in a way I am. I'm hunting for street treasures. I have to shoot from my lap, because I cannot hold the camera in front of my eyes. That's the reason why my shots are always from a lower angle, it is in a way my signature.
The scooter nor the lower angle never felt as an obstacle to take shots. I just go for it, no matter what.
I want to shoot, so that is what I do.

What is photography for you, or being more precisely, what is Street Photography for you?

Street Photography has pushed me to see the world around me, to really see the world around me. As an observer on the streets I see little ordinary things happen and those things became not so little or ordinary anymore to me. That is really the best gift street photography has given me. To me, that is what street photography is all about, life as it is.
It’s just two years ago I started taking shots on the streets and instantly fell in love with it. I have an urgent feeling to go out and shoot the streets and the people in it. Life is happening in front of me and I love that. The 'ordinary' life became suddenly very special to me. I'm feeling lucky that I have the opportunity to steel some of those precious slices of life to put them in a frame. Pretty awesome I think!

Could you share with us how you first became interested in photography in general?

I have an artistic background, so I love art. Photography is art, street photography is art. As a child I was already interested and wanted to make my own ‚art‘. Later in life I’ve painted and drew a lot. I never lost the feeling of wanting to be creative. Nowadays I put all my creativity in my shots.

What equipment are you using now and with what did you get started? What is your favorite lens for photography?

A few years ago I bought a nice compact camera. Just for fun purposes. I took a few shitty shots. But that was the moment I felt that something was happening with me. Taking photo‘s made me happy, I wanted more. After a few weeks I sold the compact camera and bought my first DSLR with some lenses and took a course. I also started reading a lot about the camera and photography. Nowadays I shoot with a Canon 70D, not a comfortable camera for on the streets maybe, but for me it is. I have a few lenses, but my favorite ones are the 17-55mm and the 24-70mm. I‘m still going as close as possible towards my subject or scene (that can be really funny on a scooter). To me it really doesn't matter with what gear you shoot as long you are feeling one with it. Don't get me wrong, having good gear is nice but it is your brain that has to do the work.

Seeing your remarkable work, I am curious where your creativity comes from?

Ha, that‘s a question I really can‘t answer! When I‘m out on the streets I just go with the flow. I‘m feeling exited, but also very calm. I feel a rush, but I‘m never hasty. I‘m really letting my brain do all the work and while I‘m doing that I feel free and comfortable. I‘m kind of creating my own little world in the world around me. What you see, is what I am. Nothing more, nothing less. That‘s maybe in a way where my creativity comes from?

What would you say characterizes your work, comparing to other street photographers?

I really don‘t like to compare my work with other street photographers, I‘m just doing my own thing. Impossible to compare my own creativity with the creativity from someone else.
The work of my husband and also street photographer Willem Jonkers is a nice example. We shoot a lot together in the same area, but we come home with totally different shots. That‘s how nice the brain works, we all see the world in a different way.

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Do you often interact with your subject?

No not often, but sometimes. And when that happens, the interaction is most of the time a nice one. Sometimes it’s such a nice moment, it can be stuck in my head for days.

Can you tell us about your work flow from the point you first step onto the scene until you showcase the developed picture?

Hmm, my work flow. I don't think it’s very special. As I’ve explained before, on the streets I just go with the flow. When I come home after a day of shooting I leave the shots on my camera for at least a week or so. I don't watch them. I don't feel the need to watch them.
After a week I'm getting curious and import the photo's in Lightroom and start to develop them.
There is not much I do in Lightroom, just make it black and white, put in a little bit of contrast or bring down the highlights a bit, because the sun was very bright that day. That's about it.


Has your style of shooting changed since you first started?

Of course it did. When I look back at my first street shots ever, it is pretty hilarious. Shooting people from a huge distance or from the back belongs to the past. But you got to start somewhere, don‘t you? ;-)
Luckily that didn't took long because I never felt the fear to approach people. Looking back at the first pictures ever I‘m pretty amazed how much I’ve learned in such a short period of time. Nowadays I want to go as close as possible. I want to give the viewer the feeling that they are smelling the streets or that they can almost touch the soul of the person in the picture. You don‘t only watch a picture, you need to feel it too. That is one of the things I‘m trying to achieve when taking a shot.

What would you tell a beginner or newcomer who asks for your advice on how to start?

Read a lot on the internet about street photography. Everything you need to know is out there. Make sure you feel one with your camera. The best learning school is the street itself, so go out and shoot as often as you can. And most of all: have fun. When you are having fun doing it, it will show in your results. Also never stop learning.

Sandra, thank you very much for taking your time and let us have your thoughts and views about your work and street photography in general!

Please visit Sandra Jonkers on:
www.sandrajonkers.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/sandra.jonkers.14

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