About the author
Here at Overdose we had quite an interesting run-in with amateur photographer Jeroen de Jongh. As luck might have it, Jeroen is based in Amsterdam and trying to create a personal style in his work. So we thought, why not place him in the spotlight a bit and show you guys what kind of skills we run into randomly every now and again.
Since most of our readers probably haven’t heard of you yet, can you give us a quick low-down on your photographic history?
“I once started out with a simple 2MP camera. As a member of a few internet forums and message boards, I started to attend regular meet-ups. After a couple of compact cameras, I bought my first D-SLR in 2008. I started taking my photography more seriously, joined Flickr and I started reading magazines such as zoom.nl. But mostly I was just outside, experimenting as much as I could.”
In my daily life I’m a stock controller at a car company.
How serious do you take your hobby, do you see yourself becoming a professional photographer someday?
“In my daily life I’m a stock controller at a car company. I would like to make a job out of my hobby, but I’m not rushing anything. As I don’t like to be dependable on the tax money of my fellow hard working countrymen, I’ll just keep my day job until I’m at least reaching the point that I could live off my photography. And even then it’s going to depend on the elements whether I’m going to make that move or not.”
Do you have any specific goals you’d like to accomplish through your photography?
“Regarding my goals, I am a pretty straightforward and uncomplicated guy. Having fun in whatever it is that I’m doing is what I want to show in my pictures. If my hobby starts to feel like work and I don’t know why I’m spending all of this time and effort on things, it’s time to start doing something else.”
It took about half an hour to finally catch someone with a suitcase alone in the frame.
What about an artistic vision of some sort; do you feel you have a certain way of expressing things through your photos?
“My artistic vision can be classified in three major categories:
1. Sometimes there’s a certain idea in my head that I can’t put to rest until it’s executed. My shot Station for example; I needed to do this in the evening, as that’s the only part of the day when the ‘STATION’ sign is properly lit by the sun. It also took about half an hour to finally catch someone with a suitcase alone in the frame.
2. I have a fairly opinionated mind on a fair amount of topics. If I cannot say it with words, then I’ll try to say it with photos. Hence my love for protests from a photo-journalistic point of view, for example with my Occupy shot.
3. Something that I’m trying to make my trademark more and more is my tendency to do things slightly different than others. Before I went to Glow in Eindhoven in 2011, I had seen dozens of photos of the Tunnel of Love already. So I chose to bring a bicycle light with me, with which I drew a heart. Another example is the many shots of the Halfweg Sugar City silos. To create my own personal twist, I felt like playing a little with the levers of a rail road crossing.”
Should we keep our eyes out for you in the future?
“Honestly, I haven’t got a clue where I see myself in the future. If things had gone for me the way I had once planned them, I would’ve been in IT or HR by now. I learned not to plan too much in life and to embrace opportunities as they come. All that remains, cliche as it may be, is to pursue your happiness, and to keep it. For now and in the near future, I’ll just keep on doing what I do best by doing what I like most in order for me to pursue my happiness. Then who knows where that will lead me.”
Photos courtesy of Jeroen de Jongh.
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