At 19, PIJNAKEN ERIC won second prize in an international photography competition with diapositives of the Metro under construction in his birthplace, Rotterdam. This achievement led to a career as a modern art journalist and socio-economic editor. He eventually settled in the South French Cevennes mountains, where he has lived for over 30 years.
As a boy of fourteen, I took photos of cows in the meadows with my Agfa Clack. However, I didn't like the pictures because I felt the cows were missing life. In the following years, I tried hard to capture life in my photos.
At 19, I won second prize in an international photography competition with diapositives of the Metro under construction in Rotterdam, my birthplace. This led to a career as a modern art journalist and socio-economic editor. I eventually settled in the South French Cevennes mountains, where I have now lived for more than 30 years.
Well, I tested practically all photo gear brands and ended up with Pentax and Leica cameras, and for snapshots, I use a Sony RX100 VI. The reason for this selection is that I sought equipment capable of rendering sensitivity, human feeling, and the expression of life. Most cameras are too synthetic and only razor-sharp.
I use the whole range of Pentax reflex cameras, from wide-angle to macro, and also medium format. For Leica, I have one Leica M9 for color, and two Monochrom models, the M9 and M11.
We live in an era of individual freedom where people focus on images. Every year are published worldwide billions of photos, without concern for quality.
So one has to ask himself/herself what he/she can add to this plethora, or what you as new photographer have to witness. Otherwise as you see it simple as a job, you can shape your career in the target of your choice.
At 19, PIJNAKEN ERIC won second prize in an international photography competition with diapositives of the Metro under construction in his birthplace, Rotterdam. This achievement led to a career as a modern art journalist and socio-economic editor. He eventually settled in the South French Cevennes mountains, where he has lived for over 30 years.
Read more about this interview with Chih Hsuan Hung, the Category Winner of the Year in the 2024 MUSE Photography Awards.