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Rome is a birthplace of classical culture. As a kid, I went on one of those school trips in my senior year of high school that are popular in Belgium. I remember being overwhelmed by all those great monuments in Rome. I also remember I had gone through al lot of my film stock before we got to Rome and did not make too many photos. Since then I’ve returned to Rome a few times on business and never had time to make pictures.
Going back there to see Springsteen a few weeks back, was the perfect opportunity to get pictures from those famous places I did not make as a young man. And honestly, I am happy I did not take any of those shots back than since my photo skills were zero in those days.
When we think about Rome, we usually think of ancient Rome, back in the days when Julius Caesar ruled the Roman Empire. Days when the Romans build the famous Forum Romanum, the Coloseum and many triumphal arches.
But even in more recent times, man has build marvelous monuments in Rome. The St. Peter’s Basilica of which construction began in 1506 and the Altare della Patria–constructed between 1885 and 1925) are must-see monuments when you get to Rome.
Deeze Beeze and I have been following each other on social media for many years, occasionally liking each other’s work. Until this spring when a behind-the-scenes photo I posted on Instagram, triggered a conversation between the 2 of us. That in turn resulted in a collaboration between the both of us. There is a beautiful green/blue translucent glass wall at Kavka in Antwerp where we both wanted to shoot and I had just the right latex dress from HMS Latex for that scene. It was great to work with her and I hope we can work together again sometime.
I became a Springsteen fan at the age of 14 with the release of the Born in the U.S.A. album back in 1984. So I’ve been a fan for 32 years now.
I attended my 1st Springsteen concert on April 23, 1993. I was too young to go to one of the Born in the U.S.A. shows. And I have always regretted not seeing any of the Tunnel of Love concerts in 1988.
Since that 1st concert in 1993, I’ve attended 41 more concerts in 22 cities and 10 countries including the US. I’ve heard Bruce perform 211 different songs. And since Springsteen almost always plays Born To Run, that is the song I’ve heard the most; 31 times in total. I have heard 49 of his 50 most played songs all-time.
I’ve seen Bruce perform with many guest artists, including Elliott Murphy, Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem, R.E.M., John Fogerty and Paul McCartney at the infamous Hard Rock Calling 2012 show.
I have heard all songs on the albums Born In The U.S.A., Born To Run, In Concert MTV Plugged and Devils & Dust. But I still have not heard all songs on Tunnel Of Love and The Rising–my 2 favorite albums–live so I have to go to a few more shows I guess.
On the 2016 The River Tour, I saw 4 concerts and 61 different songs: Madrid, The Hague, Copenhagen and Rome. And much to my surprise on those 4 shows I heard 8 songs for the 1st time ever: Jersey Girl in The Hague and New York City Serenade in Rome are my most memorable moments on this tour.
(statistics courtesy of bosstime.nl)
It get dark surprisingly fast in Rome. Although I’m sure dusk lasts 45 minutes or so, it seems like the sun sets in a matter of minutes. I had planned to shoot a couple of momunents at dusk, but with the sun setting rather quickly I could do only 1 per evening.
On the 1st night, I found out that the Coloseum was not lit as I had hoped.
On the 2nd night I had set up on the hill overlooking the Forum Romanum. Around sunset, I was getting kinda desperate and frustrated as the lights were not turned. And just as I was ready to give up, on came the lights. Just in time to save the photo.
So far, we’ve not been blessed with nice weather at our 2016 air shows: it was a dull grey day at the KLu Open Dagen in Leeuwarden and we had to hide from the rain at the 2016 Belgain Air Force Days at Florennes Airbase the other weekend. These photos were all shot before the rain rolled in.
I always use a Bruce Springsteen concert as a good excuse to travel. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate holiday. And I don’t follow him around on his tour. Just a couple of days off to go see a Springsteen concert and explore the city he’s playing, is all it takes to get me excited.
Last week, Springsteen rocked the roof of of the Telia Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. So me and a couple of friends bunched up in the car, drove to Denmark, saw Springsteen and wondered around the city with our camera. And I came home with good memories and these cityscape photos.
This year’s airshow of the Dutch Air Force at Leeuwarden Airbase was christened Operatie Luchtsteun. And it has been a long standing tradition that we deploy our little FOB at the airbase and try to get a couple of good photos.
This year, we had the misfortune of having to face dull grey overcast skies. Not the best conditions for a photographer. Too bad, I can’t control the weather. I managed to pull of a few good photos though.
I very rarely work on photos from past shoots. Occasionally I might touch up an older photo that needs a little work to keep it in my portfolio. But rarely I will revisit a shoot to retouch an photo that I have not already processed before.
Last week Sarah sent me a little message saying: “Do you remember this photo from last year’s city shoot? I like it so much. Can you please retouch it and send it to me?” Then she showed me a snapshot she to from the back of my camera. I thought to myself: “How can I say no to such a doll?” So I went ahead and retocuhed the photo. And you know what? Sarah was right: it is a cool photo.
I spent a weekend in Madrid: seeing Springsteen in concert and shoot some photos around town. And a beautiful town it is! The city is full of monuments and beautiful architecture. Way too many to photograph in just 4 short days, so I picked these 3:
I’ve been working mostly in the studio the last couple of years. And I’ve always liked to work on location. It adds another dimension to photos, I think. So I’m planning to take my latex shoots to location as much as I can this summer.
And it seemed only logical and fair that I would take my favorite model out to the 1st location. Shannety and I carefully planned the shoot: we would shoot 1 outfit in a location in Antwerp. It was kind of cold that day, but the stunning beauty of Shannety shined like a bright evening sun.
Shannety was dressed in a matte latex dress by Pandora Deluxe, top by Meat, a belt by Simon O. and ballet heels by Kassiopeya. It was so awesome to see her stand up on those ballet heels. That is a very hard thing to do. And I am very proud of her for doing so. And grateful to be calling her a friend, as always.
