2012: New office @ House for Image Culture:

HAPPY 2012! New office address per 1.1.12: MeRy/Artstudio23 • Huis voor Beeldcultuur • Reigerstraat 16 • 4811 XB Breda, the Netherlands --> feel free to send me mail! :)

Wishing you love, happiness & health in 2012, (hope you) LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE.

My office December 2011, 1st floor, left window (w. the lights on) @ Huis voor Beelcultuur (House for Image Culture).
Left: Tapperijke (famous Breda pub)









1870-1875, the pub was a normal house still, Huis voor Beeldcultuur is de 4th building from the right, with tympanum.









1960's, 3rd building from the right












1979 -

Photographer wanted?

I am looking for jobs in UK, US, Canada & Australia write to info@mery.nl and let me find THE BEST IMAGEs for you. With 15+ years of experience, I am now looking for freelance jobs in London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne to expand my horizon.

MeRy.com will show you more of my work, as does Flickr and my Facebook page.

Pay: negotiable.

Are you looking for European style photography, new way of styling or graphic design? Specialty: portraits & buildings. Better said: Portraits of architecture, not the cold, advertising photos but warm photos of buildings were people work, live, love.
My people's portraits are with next to no Photoshop, as I am educated to bring out the best in people without using fake looking techniques.
PURE. Amiso & Jermaine - 0% Photoshop:
Nominee Colorawards 2011 "Traces Of Silence" - shot with analog cross processed E6 film:


Ofcourse you can also book me for weddings, events, fashion, business profile pictures and portfolio shoots! My photos CAN and WILL make a difference.

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]

11.11.11 Trash The Dress photobook out now!

11.11.11 Trash The Dress! by Melanie Rijkers/Artstudio23.com | Blurb

Order your copy now and have it delivered 20-22 December! Perfect Christmas gift?! E-books only 2,99 euro :)

Trash The Dress photography is a wellknown phenomenon in the US since the late 90's. "Trash the dress" is the art of destruction or deconstruction of a brides wedding dress to create a new artwork that the bride would be proud to display on their wall. [Wikipedia]

'Drown the Gown', 'Running of the Brides' and 'Rock The Frock' are similar names for this fine art photography, mixed with beauty, fashion and glamour photography.

In the Netherlands Artstudio23.com created the first group event in 2008. 09.09.09 was the first event known worldwide, with 99+ women wearing their wedding dress once more. 10.10.10, 11.11.11 + 12.12.12 followed :)

Photos for free

Study of internet + copyrights - I need to do some research. As a professional photographer I am about to become extinct. [as "everyone is a photographer"] For some reason, my idol of the 80s & 90s declared "The Internet Is Dead". So what's up with that Prince tell me!

Once I was one of the fans who would go to his concerts a day early, so we were sure to stand front row. Man, I know all lyrics by heart of the albums untill ...erh...what year, let me Google this... untill de album Come in 1994. (I admit I do like Musicology & 3121 of the later years, but the rest...OMG ;)

Anyway, didn't read that he announced 'The Internet Is Dead' [2010] untill a few weeks ago. But it still makes me curious. Why does he say that? I noticed his official website was shut down some time ago, which surprised me, as he was one of the pioneers to sell his songs online. A few questions pop up:
- weren't his songs selling anymore?
(I think it's rather a case of "he doesn't have to work (for money) anymore" so why should he bother idd ;)
- is Prince getting too old (for this sh*t)?

Especially the last question is intriguing. He looks in his mid 30's still, but Prince was born in 1958...so 50+ years of age now. This article points out the numbers of records sold by Gaga & Prince. [which in Gaga's case are also digital files/downloads] 'Ofcourse Gaga is hot now, but will she be in another 30 years'.

I am still thinking about the internet is dead thing. Is it? I'd love to know. As for us photographers, we suffer from the same. Prince has been fighting the internet for over a decade now, as he doesn't want his stuff, photos nor songs to be put online by anyone else but him. Though @ concerts you're now allowed to bring your camera(phone) in, he keeps telling people 'why bother to record' experiencing the real thing without a camera in front of your eyes should be the real thing when coming to his concerts. [he did so in a recent Belgium concert]

Still, it's easy for him to say!
The music industry (which he dislikes a lot) is all about selling and earning big money still. Maybe he indeed is too old, and shouldn't he be going on about this, but just relax and compose and perform live whenever he feels like it...
on the other hand...in all media business, like newspapers, magazines, photography and video, we [artists] suffer. Photographers suffer from free images, to be used, printed or altered by...anyone, at any time. So it seems.

Original artists suffer the most. Older fellow photographers (age 40 and up) are specialists...but...people aren't hiring specialists anymore. Due to the crisis people hire younger, cheaper, all-round photographers, of generation 'Z'. This generation wants to share. Share, share, share - without giving. They take, and don't want to pay for anything you can find online. "It's there to share" seems to be their thought.

Hm.
Now what can I do with this, being an 'oldie' in the photography business? Ok, am not done yet, not AT ALL, but fellow photographers: it's not like it used to be anymore! At all. We, trained the analog way in the 90's, need to shift our minds to a higher gear.
Haven't found the answer yet, but will share it when I do.

Prince: 'I'm a musician. And I am music' --> I am a photographer. And I am photos'

Global Women's Summit LA 2011 - day one

Paula Fellingham opens the Los Angeles Summit, Entrepreneur Workshop 28 October 2011.

Kelly Breaux teaches us how to hoola hoop :)

Ineke Hurkmans wants us to Jump!

Want to see more photos of the first day of this wonderfull summit? Check out the sets on Flickr or Facebook 1 + Facebook 2. Enjoy!

"Global Women's Summits are part of a powerful global movement to celebrate and educate the women of the world. Our motto for these historic events is "Enlighten Women's Minds and Empower Women's Hearts … for a Better World."

Beginning June 11, 2011, and finishing October 29, 2011, the Women's Information Network will host Global Women's Summits in 12 countries.

At Global Women's Summits superb speakers and entertainers will address the personal, business, family, and community/national issues that are profoundly important to women in each country.

Women will be educated and empowered. They will have the opportunity to receive solutions for their lives, share their ideas, and really connect with one another heart-to-heart.

Global Women's Summits will help women, worldwide, learn how to:

Become strong leaders in their communities and nations
Believe in themselves and in their gifts and talents
Radiate joy and confidence as they build personal power
Set and reach high-achievable goals
Be wise with their finances
Overcome many of the obstacles in their lives
Reach out and help other women

Join the global women's movement as they participate with powerful women's organizations like The Women's Information Network, Women Celebrating Life, Global Women's Summits, and others
Lovely aunt Lena (aka Anne-Louise Sterry :)

MDG5 - my goal

A warm hello to you all,
I am looking for your attention please. My name is Melanie Rijkers and I work as a fine art photographer in Breda. The second half of my career (in total over 15 years now) I’ve been involved in more than one ‘social subject’, by creating portraits and documentaries for all beautiful people in this ugly world.
It started with looking up my old schoolmates from last grade of elementary school.

After 20 years we had our first reunion, and half of them didn’t show up. ‘Why?’ I asked myself. Curious after the absent people I decided to visit them. I made portraits of them too, and they shared their lifestories with me. Fascinating. The picked-on girl turned out to be stronger then I thougt. But another picked-on girl was so affraid she didn’t dare to come to the reunion and face her bullies. And the bullies? They couldn’t even remember her.

This really startled me, what people do, or don’t do. But later the scared picked-on girl wrote me a letter saying she was glad she posed for me. This was also something she was scared of doing, but in the end, aŌer seeing the results, it made her stronger. And this is what I do ever since.

Creating artwork that changes people, their self-image. Photography CAN be therapy.
Red-On-Red was therapy to natural redheads, another group of ‘tourmented’ people.
They are so beautiful! Women who sent me an e-mail saying that after seeing the photo
they were finally “proud of herself and her red hair”.

Red-On-Red by MeRy/Melanie Rijkers www.MeRy.nl/rood | Blurb

PURE. Young mothers, age 16 to 22, in our country -with one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates in the world- are not accepted. In the Netherlands, where all seems to be possible, choosing to have a baby at a young age isn’t accepted. If you’re a mother 24 years old (or younger) people ask if having that baby is a mistake, an accident. Why? Why do we judge people for choosing LIFE.

The exhibition 'PUUR. Trotse tienermoeders' and photobook were a huge succes, proud young mothers, posing nude, pregnant or with their baby. Amazing pictures, as there wasn’t any photo editing at all, all portraits are 100% Photoshop-free. In this day of age, with all Barbie look-alikes in the magazines, these young women showed themselves. Naked. PURE.

Life = pure. Pure = life.

One of my recent projects for LIFE was to get as many pregnant women in one photo
as we could. In a co-operation with the city of Breda and Simavi we gathered 113 ‘bolle buiken’ (big bellies) to kick-off the world mothers estafette for Simavi last September. Goal was to collect as many signatures with our petition for the 5th Millenium Goal: reducing the rate of deaths of pregnant and newborn mothers in the 3rd world.

These signatures were handed over to the minister, who was attending the UN summit in 2010 in New York. United Nations have set more Millenium Development Goals, which should be reached in 2015. STOP Maternal mortality is the 5th goal.

STOP Maternal mortality by MeRy.com | Blurb

The first unique photo event in Breda with all pregnant women was a huge succes. I’d like to continue this in another city or even...country. I know there will be another Simavi estafette this year, but I like to do more. Go to New York City and create a similar photo event there, to draw as much attention as we can, as the 5th Millenium Goal is the one with the worst numbers still. Why is that? Why, in these modern days, women still have to suffer, and in the worst case, die, because of the lack of proper medical equipment or medical knowledge?

Women, mothers, are giving us the future. Children are our future.

Do you support our cause? Please let us know via info@mery.nl If I can find the financial means to travel up there (expenses paid only) we can create another photo event and share our concerns with the world.

Please support this goal - I'd like to do a similar event in New York City, but won't be able to do so without your support:

IBAN: NL41ABNA0607286849 BIC: ABNANL2A - Melanie Rijkers - Artstudio23 Breda

Will be attending the Global Women's Summit in L.A. If you want to meet me, just let me know! Will be there 27 Oct - 1 Nov 2011.