Hans van der Kamp

At age sixteen I figured that the best way to become a professional photographer was to make pictures of dramatic events, like a house on fire. When I was finally there to make this picture, I just knew I had it made until the editor of the local newspaper informed me that abandoned buildings were of no interest to him.

In the late Seventies I decided to become a product photographer, because I really enjoyed working in the studio. Product photography was all about perfectionism and that was my second nature, at least that is what I told myself. To make this picture I obviously went through a lot of trouble getting the flame going without somebody pressing the button on the lighter, but when I finally had it all set up, I did not notice there was a slight draft in the studio, making the flame lean just a tiny bit towards the left. It was the end of a promising career.

This picture was taken at a Rolling Stones concert in Rotterdam late 1970s. Some Hell’s Angels were mocking the police; there were some fists fights between visitors and Hell’s Angels. Instead of focusing on the action I was too scared to even turn around, so I concentrated on the couple in front of me.

With that same Russian Lubitel as used in the previous picture, I started to experiment with light and shutter speed. In this particular case it was a flash light in a very dark room. I badly wanted a dark if not completely black background so that nothing would distract from the facial expression. In a way that is still my approach to a portrait, although my lighting may have become a little more sophisticated. (1976)