Well, it’s been a while since my last blog post. Almost a year! I recently graduated with my thesis on the use of crowdfunding for photojournalism. You can read the on-line version of my published article over here (Dutch).

Starting with this post, I will be using my blog for topics other than photography as well. My new photoblog will be dedicated to my photography. I might still use this blog for background information on series et cetera.

Anyway, about this post. I bought a Loomi light (left) on Kickstarter last year. It’s made out of 30 paper sheets, cut in a somewhat peculiar shape. It’s easy to assemble (check out the instructions on the Loomi website if you’re interested) and it looks great.

I got so intrigued that I started thinking about the other possible materials the light could be made of. So this is what I came up with.
It’s made out of 30 hand-cut real x-ray photographs, formerly used for medical diagnoses in hospitals. It shows several different body parts, including hands, fingers, feet and even some spines and skulls. Some of the sheets are still recognizable as such, but others have become more abstract shapes (particularly the forearms and collarbones). The X-ray Loomi is about 70 percent the size of the original one, to adapt to the various sizes of x-ray sheets.

I really like that it seems like a solid black shape when switched off and shows some intriguing (and, admitted, a bit eerie) shapes when switched on.

More photo’s down below!
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This entry was written by Jeroen Berkenbosch, posted on May 6, 2012 at 11:05, filed under Crafts, Design, Light and tagged blackwhite, crafts, design, light. Leave a comment over here.

This is a selection of the portraits I made in a local nursing home. I was asked to make sincere, documentary style black and white portraits of their residents. The printed portraits are now located in the corridor of the nursing home. Pretty cool; my first exhibition-ish location.

I’ve heard that the wife of one particular gentleman was actually moved to tears when she saw the photograph of her husband.

Another man passed away only days after the photos were printed, framed and mounted on the wall (I’ve added some photos below). The portrait I made of him was used at his funeral. Although it’s kind of wry, I think it’s an honour that his relatives chose the photograph I made to use on such an emotionally charged day.

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This entry was written by Jeroen Berkenbosch, posted on May 31, 2011 at 13:10, filed under Portrait and tagged 5D Mark II, blackwhite, portrait. Leave a comment over here.

It’s been 66 years now since Holland was liberated of nazi Germany. Less and less people are alive to tell firsthand stories of the horrific war. While we’ve all seen the heroic movies (although they’re rather black-and-white; they always portray German soldiers as the bad guys, while a lot of them were forced to fight), war is still really abstract for a lot of people. Especially kids.

That’s why I like the concept of Bussum Bridgehead, a gathering of WW2 related vehicles, weapons and clothing. Although it’s just as black-and-white as the films (no nazi costumes and vehicles are allowed), it does give a better and more tangible view of the 1940-1945 era.

About the last photograph. Yes, I know it does not really fit in. Or rather; it really does not fit in. But I think it’s too amusing to exclude :p

This entry was written by Jeroen Berkenbosch, posted on May 16, 2011 at 13:41, filed under Photojournalism and tagged 5D Mark II, Bussum, colour, Photojournalism. Leave a comment over here.

I shot this photograph last year on “de Huizerdag”, an annual local fair. It was a surprise to see a booth selling wedding dresses and wedding suits, since the quality of most products for sale is quite… mediocre.

The guy that owned the booth was patiently sitting on his chair, while nobody seemed to give the out of place gowns a second glance. But suddenly, a young (I think mentally disabled) boy appeared alongside his dad. He was fascinated by the dresses, and stood there for a while.

There’s some sort of wry sadness here. The booth-owner wanted to sell and promote his products, but he only attracted the attention of a young kid during the time I stood there. Which, if I make a wild guess, isn’t his target audience. Notable, since the rest of the booths were crowded with people. Although you can’t really see that on this photograph, so you’ll have to believe my pretty blue eyes.

Shot with my trusty Vivitar 35ES on Kodak Tri-X.

This entry was written by Jeroen Berkenbosch, posted on February 28, 2011 at 11:56, filed under Analog, Film, Street and tagged Analog, blackwhite, Film, Street, Vivitar 35ES. Leave a comment over here.