Photo Poem ~ Love & Light by © Eyespiration.com  

Infra-RED

InfraRED.

How infrared light changes a natural redhead's skin, face, hair, wreckles. Photo experiment in 2009/2010 - I've been taking photographs of gingers since 2007, when I was the first photographer on the Breda redheadday to shoot 100+ portraits of redheads on the day itself. 

In the book both colour and B&W (infrared) portraits, but you need to turn the book upside down to see the second half. (the book has two fronts so to speak) We love ginger!!

Your SPIRITUS portrait

SPIRITUS Portrait

SPIRITUS portrait - would you like one yourself? Melanie is in SF often and can be booked by appointment to create your own SPIRITUS memory portrait. Bookings/inquiries: info@artstudio23.com

'Half'

'Half'

Portraits of natural redheads - showing back and front in one photo. I just love the red hair!!! Ginger Power for sure!! Check out all portraits I took during the Redhead Days 2 September 2012 in Breda.

More of my work Facebook.com/Artstudio23

Foto wandeling tijdens Bredaphoto

Bredaphoto, 13 September - 21 October 2012.

Instawalk [foto wandeling] met MeRy. Instawalks zijn stadswandelingen, waarbij het met name gaat om het (leren) zien, compositie en bijzondere momenten vastleggen. Het is vooral gezellig, er is geen verreist minimum fotografie niveau. Alle type camera's zijn welkom, je kunt al meedoen met je iPhone! 

In New York ontstaan, samen met een fotograaf op pad en je Instagram en andere apps uitproberen terwijl je leuke cityscapes [stads'land'schappen] vastlegt.

10,- p.p. voor een leuke middag, doe je mee?? Meld je aan via Facebook.

Flowers and History - special photo art for sale

Check out my special and creative artwork: Flowers and History, available in all sizes and with local history. Feel free to ask me for a quote, info@Artstudio23.com

Rabobank Bergen op Zoom

Mauritsstaete Breda

Wedding Album

Bride with backlight

Just realised that Lenny & Dirk were celebrating their 5 year anniversary 3 August! Congratulations!!!

 Have a look at their printed photo album, shot with Nikon D2Hs, Nijmegen area, the Netherlands. 

Bredaphoto

Bredaphoto 2012

We're organising an Instawalk 21 October, visiting all outdoor photo art of Bredaphoto festival. 2-4 PM. Sign up HERE. - Artstudio23 organiseert een stadswandeling langs alle fotokunst in het Chassépark op 21 oktober a.s. 14.00-16.00 uur. Neem je camera mee! Startplaats: Stadsgalerij Breda, Oude Vest 34.

Redhead days Breda 2012 - first results

Facebook album with the first results of my 'back and front' photo experiment,

don't you just love gingers!!

Red hair is beautiful! - Roodharigendag 2012 Breda

Redhead Days Breda 2012

The redhead days 2012 are exactly on the same date as in 2007, when I made my famous series Red-On-Red. Coincidence or not, this year's theme is 'by nature' and the dress code = green. Same colour as the very first roodharigendag (redhead day) in Asten, NB, the Netherlands in 2005.
Since 2007 it's been an annual event in my city Breda.

Spring 2007: I shot my first set of Red-On-Red, as I was involved in creating promo and marketing photos to support the 1st redheadday in Breda. My Red-On-Red try out in Rotterdam was successful :))) yes, it works!! Red clothing, red background and...gordeous natural red hair!
So 2 September 2007 I photographed over a 100 redheads @ Electron in Breda. The results were published in my very first Blurb book.

2 September 2007 - Roodharigendag Electron Breda

In the years following I was asked to help and so Hans van Nunen and I did Medusa in 2008. In 2009 we were very busy with out own group event, 99+ brides Trash The Dress in Scheveningen. Can't remember if I made any portraits but at least I took some 'snap shots' in the Valkenberg park. To avoid the big crowd I organised another RED! shoot in our new photostudio in Breda, Artstudio23.com at the end of the year.

Models are pleased not to have to wait to get their portrait taken, and TFCD is exactly what they want: for posing they'll receive all files HR on cd, and I am given written permission by the model, to be able to use all portraits online etc.

Roelie in 2010 - infraRED

infraRED was my 3rd book. Using post-production to create infrared photos of natural (ginger) redheads. The analog film sort of showed 'beneith skin' layers, as infrared light has a different point of focus then when using normal light. It goes into the skin, deeper. I asked myself: what if infrared light is used on red hair??

Jose en Roelie in 2007 - Red-On-Red

This is what I do. Trying out new ways, things that aren't supposed to be 'done that way' (e.g. never wear red when you are a ginger). Most red hair models are made to pose against nature (green) background, to get the biggest colour contrast, so...I was wondering: why not use only red, and dress them red and make them pose against a red background. Red-On-Red(-On-Red!) :)

Medusa was created to use the (long) hair of the models, to shape it show it pose it! We made the models lay down so we could create new shapes with their beautiful red hair. infraRED was a try to get under the skin of (wreckled) redheads. What happens when all (red) colour's dissapeared?

In 2011 I cooperated with Expo, and held a triple shoot. I am experimenting with analog photography still, and after discovering my Polaroid camera in the attic again, I am also using instant film. The 2011 book is simply RED. 3 photos; 1 digital, 1 analog (cross processed) 1 instant.

For 2012 I've again received a lot of requests, 'aren't you doing something this year????' ...ok...as it's my first lustrum in taking photos of natural redheads, this year is the VERY LAST opportunity to get a MeRy photo as natural red hair model. Walk in 2 September 2012, Huis voor Beeldcultuur, Reigerstraat 16, Breda. 14.00-16.00 h (2-4PM) Dress code: white top/shirt, and optional: red top/shirt.

To all mothers and mothers-to-be: all of your portraits will also be used to help out One minute to stop maternal mortality to support UN's 5th Millenium Development Goal.

Medusa, 2008

© Fotograaf Hans van Nunen

Red 2011 - redhead days Breda

Red by MeRy/Melanie Rijkers wwwArtstudio23.com | Blurb

3 sets of beautiful redheads! Photos made during the redhead days in Breda 2011.

Also available as e-book, 4,99 € only!

3 sets of gordeous redheads, posing for me dressed in black during the redhead days in 2011. 1st set: digital camera (Nikon D700) with studio lights, 2nd set: Kodachrome Elite cross-processed film with Nikon F100 camera, 3rd set: instant photography using Polaroid and Impossible Project film.

I See

'Professional photographer, 1900'


After my last bit of recent study I now know:
The Photographer Is Dead.

Everyone can take a photo,
but...not everyone sees the image. I see, so I exist - as a former photographer. "TAFKAP" - that's me - The Artist Formerly Known As Photographer. We are now Image Maker. Image Seeker. Image Finder. Image Hunter?

Searching & finding images is the new photography. Though I've always been an Image Finder, for over 15 years now. As it's the first thing a former photographer needs: a talent to see, to spot things and capture them.

I Am A Viewer.

I am different to all others using a camera because I see, I see, what you can't (see).
"Ik zie, ik zie, wat jij niet ziet" Dutch saying, children's game.

Former professional photographers are Image Finders now. We must show the world what we do best: SEE.

WorldPressPhoto > WorldImageFinders?! WorldImageHunting...
Image Hunter = former photojournalist.

Image Seekers versus Image Finders.
Everyone with a camera is an image seeker, but not everyone is a image finder.
'Iedereen Fotografeert' [everyone's a photographer]

NOS Headlines - mass Trash The Dress 2009

the very best reportage of the mass Trash The Dress event we held 09.09.09 Over 99 brides trashed their dress in the Northsea, Scheveningen, the Netherlands. Thanx NOS!

STOP Maternal mortality

STOP Maternal mortality by MeRy.com |

UN website: With only five years left untill the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to attend a summit in New York on 20-22 September 2010 to accelerate progress towards the MDGs.

We, people of the city of Breda, the Netherlands, organised a big gathering 4 September 2010 to support MDG no. 5: to reduce Maternal Mortality. Over 100 pregnant women came to help public health organisation Simavi kick off the Worldmothers Estafette.

Fine art photographer MeRy (Melanie Rijkers) created the record of biggest group 'bolle buiken' (big bellies) in one photo, and the Estafette to get people to sign a petition was launched successfully.
www.MeRy.com for more of MeRy's photo & art work

I love Poladroid

my best friends and me in a mobile phone image now turned into an oldfashioned Polaroid picture by using Poladroid

-shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid pciture!-

Photo auction for Haiti

MeRy's PUUR. Amiso & Jermaine gaan mee in de fotoveiling van Photoq met de opbrengst voor Haïti!

Hier kunt u bieden op deze foto en op nog veel meer mooie en bijzondere foto's: Fotoveiling PhotoQ.nl

Please buy our artwork for Haïti. Dutch photographers have donated their most beautiful en precious work for Haïte here: Art Photo Auction PhotoQ.nl The above work is Amiso (17) and her son Jermaine, from my series PURE. Proud teenmothers.

More PURE. photo artwork available via MeRy.exto.org

And more snow... :)

last week we even had more snow...view from our bedroom window




2 January 2010: our street is white again



just love the sun shining on winter's days...

me in the park with our son Pim in the back