Introduction
"I am obsessed with getting the perfect shot"
Albert’s work can be described as vibrant, colourful and sometimes even with a bit of a fairytale style. People often say his landscapes remind them of Lord of the Rings while his cityscapes are crystal clear and sharp. He believes that different genres require different approaches.
His work purely represents his own vision and standards. That means he often does not work for a client directly. As a perfectionist he always tries to capture a certain moment or scene in the best possible way spending great amounts of dedication and time to get the shot he wants. He calls himself a ‘modern’ photographer meaning he completely loves new technology and always tries to keep up with innovations. That’s where he says Sony is a complete fit to his personality.
He has been featured on many big media outlets like Time, National Geographic and the Huffington Post.
His projects range from pure landscape work to artistic abstract approaches in which he is trying different things with photography. He always finds it important to have no boundaries in expressing an artistic vision.
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About / Biography
Albert is a self-taught photographer who is not someone who was born with pure photography. In fact, he only started to get serious with photography since 2012. However, he has always worked in the creative sector so the switch to photography came very natural. He has always worked in the television and film industry doing graphic and animation design for big game shows and sports.
Being from the Netherlands, Albert has a Master Degree in ‘Multimedia & Entertainment Technology’ which he did in Hong Kong. Spending two years in Hong Kong had such high impact at Albert’s creative ideas that he constantly brought his camera with him. Capturing impressive skyscrapers, amazing nature around the city and the street photography around his house he soon spent whole days taking photos.
After his life in Hong Kong he continued his passion that soon became an obsession. Albert often envisions shots in his head that he tries to execute in the best possible way often creating impressive results.
Over the years Albert made a name for himself with numerous spectacular images, photo stories and articles. He is currently a well established landscape photographer always traveling to different places to chase the perfect shot.
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Interview
Describe the moment you knew photography changed your life
This all started back when I was living in Hong Kong in 2012. I have been in the media industry for all my life. Having had my own video company and being a freelancer for television doing design, graphics, film and special effects, it was only natural for photography to cross my path. I was always interested in photography but living in Hong Kong really pushed me to capture everything around me. The incredible city offers so much photographic possibilities. The amazing skyline, the skyscrapers but also the life on the streets, the interesting people and the -not to underestimate- beautiful nature around the city itself just makes you bring your camera everywhere.
If you could sum up your work in one word or one sentence, what would that be?
A very vibrant and colourful - sometimes even fairytale like - style with the goal of capturing a moment or scene in the most beautiful way.
What is the most remarkable person, place or thing you have ever photographed and why?
That is without the doubt the International Space Station. I captured a fly by by accident in 2015 when I was photographing the Milky Way in 2015. I didn’t know what the weird ‘stripe’ in my photo was at first. As I am familiar with satellites and planes, this one looked different. When I later found out it was the International Space Station I was overwhelmed that we could actually see it and that it was flying so incredibly fast. And the most fascinating thing is that it has humans inside of it. There may be a whole universe out there to photograph for us in the future, besides earth!
Talk to us about your bucket list... what is on the top of that list of things to photograph?
I’d like to say that a landscape photographer’s bucket list never ends. There are so many places that are still on my list to photograph. But my bucket lists doesn’t really consists of places. It’s a combination of certain elements that have to come together for the perfect shot. I always envision particular shots in my head. It’s a combination of an interesting place combined with very rare circumstances. Some examples
- Shoot from the very top of Burj Khalifa in Dubai (not just the viewing platform, but the very top of the needle). Straight down from morning blue hour to sunrise, with mist so that we can see some tops of the buildings below through the fog.
- Capturing a perfect double rainbow with sunset at a tulip field in the Netherlands. Preferably red tulips to match the sky colours
- Photographing the Ice Lake in Iceland with a KP7+ aurora corona exploding in the sky AND milky way reflecting in the water
- Capturing the earth from space
Now I realise that most of these shots would probably not even be possible in an entire lifetime. For me it’s important to have goals that are almost impossible to reach so that you can keep the drive going and the satisfaction if you eventually can get a shot from your list will be extremely high.
If you had not become a photographer, what might you be today?
I’d probably work in an animation- or film studio.
Give us your thoughts about the Global Imaging Ambassadors programme?
The Sony Global Imaging Ambassador is very inspiring as it consists of photographers who are not only greatly skilled, but also have a wide variety in the field of photography. I feel that the whole team of photographers together represents endless storytelling through images. That’s what the Ambassador programme is about in the end: telling stories through images. And I love how everyone finds their own way in doing that.
What is your favourite Sony camera of the moment (explain why)?
Hands down the Sony A7RIII. It’s the complete package that I always wish I had! I can’t believe there is so much high end technology in such a tiny body. It’s perfect for travelling and offers unrivalled image quality for its size. Being a landscape- and travel photographer the factors weight/size and image quality are most important for me. That’s where Sony beats everyone!
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Kit
Sony α7RIII
Sony α7RII
Sony α7II
Sony 12-24 f4 G
Sony 16-35 f4 *Tessar
Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8
Sony 100-400 GM
Samyang 14mm
Samyang 12mm f2.8 Fisheye
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