Strolling through the streets of Rotterdam, the camera always at hand. Having been working at „galerij voor fotografie de fabriek“ as a student, I had high hopes and aspirations. Cartier-Bresson, Eggleston, Parr, Frank. My Professor at Fachhochschule Bielefeld (now HSBI) Jürgen Heinemann, being a renowned documentary photographer himself, had encouraged me to go abroad, and abroad I went. Plus my brother had inspired me with Wolfgang Koeppen’s short novel „Zum ersten Mal in Rotterdam“, a wonderful, dense piece of German travel literature from the thirtees.
Rotterdam was different from all the cities I had known thus far. It had nothing in common with pittoresque Amsterdam, nor with my lovely hometon Münster/Westfalia. Unlike Münster, which had been meticulously reconstructed after devastating allied bombardments in WWII, Rotterdam had chosen quite the opposite path. After having been destroyed by German bombers, Rotterdam chose to build the „Nieuwe Stad“, from ground up. Even remaining ruins and sewerage were removed, in order to give architects and planners their ground zero. Up until today Rotterdam is experimental, fast, stunning, ever changing.
For about half a year in 1993 I collected street scenes, situations, constellations, peculiar and not so peculiar moments in time. Although I was a documentary photographer (and as such was obliged to work in black and white) I deliberately went by color: Kodak Ektacolor, Mamiya 6×6. The dutch „national“ color Oranje, the national flag were far too strong to being ignored. Everyone seemed to be proud to wear these colors, to me it seemed as a uniting factor, just as the language. I communicated with Creoles, Latin Americans, British, Americans, Brasilians and dutch people … in Dutch. I was overwhelmed by this melting pot feeling, that I never had experienced anywhere before. Rotterdam felt straight, honest, rough, and open.
When I take a look at my pictures today, I still feel this melange, altough society has shifted far in the meantime, and continues to do so. 30 years later I revisited my beloved city, trying to find the places where I took the pictures … but that’s another story to be told. I’ll be back soon.
Inspired by the upcoming opening of Nederlands Fotomuseum in February 2026 I browsed through my diploma work of 1994, a hand made book consisting of 35 C-prints 24×30:
