Archief

From Afar (Vanuit de Verte) is the personal blog of Hans van der Kamp, a Dutch photographer, author of Nette Mensen in een Nieuwe Tijd, and independent magazine publisher.
This website presents long-form visual essays, photography projects, and reflections on image, identity, and contemporary culture. This category of posts, both in English and Dutch, are for archival use only.

Hotel Chelsea

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When I was young, my biggest dream was to go to New York. I had read so much literature and had seen so many movies about New York, that I just had to go there, and finally I went at age 25 thanks to an assignment for a Dutch magazine to interview and photograph the legendary photographer Art Kane.

I also knew where I was going to stay: the Hotel Chelsea. Not because of the Sex Pistols staying there occasionally, not because of the Grateful Dead, Charles Bukowski or William S. Burroughs. No, just because of one Leonard Cohen song entitled Chelsea Hotel:

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel / you were talking so brave and so sweet / giving me head on the unmade bed /while the limousines wait in the street

That was the life to live, at least in the perception of a 25-year-old photographer. I never got to see the limousines in the street. 23rd Street at that time was not a very classy place to be, but I did enjoy my stay there tremendously.

Aged to Perfection – N.

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One of my favorite series is the one called Aged to Perfection. Why? Well, I get to photograph women of my own age and that is fascinating on many levels. First of all; with a lot of years of experience behind me, I find it almost too easy to photograph younger women and men, because they often look so perfect and in shape that they are works of art themselves.

What is interesting is that I receive a lot of praise in the media for my photographs of ‘older’ women, yet I have never sold one single photograph in that series. No, that is not true, I sold one in 2006. And it is not just praise I receive either. In 2004 somebody threw a brick through a gallery window in an attempt to destroy one of my photographs of an older woman. The person who threw the brick was a young female, who later claimed that her action was justified because ‘older women should keep their clothes on’.

On another occasion, Facebook deleted my whole profile because of two photographs in this same series. They don’t do that if you simply post two nude pictures. That is called ‘obscenity’ by Facebook clerks. I was ‘charged’ with ‘harassment’ instead – which is a reason good enough for them to delete the whole profile instead of just the two pictures.

Vier letters

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Jaren geleden was ik met de bovenburen meegegaan naar de Showboat, niet naar het fatsoenlijke maandelijkse feest van Meesteres Manita, maar naar een zondagmiddag voor swingers. Voor mij was het niets en het leek alsof het voor de meeste aanwezige mannen ook niets was. Officieel was het feestje alleen voor paren, maar nadat we allemaal … Read more

Bill Haley – 1979

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I am often asked if I have more photographs of the photo session with Bill Haley from 1979 and if there are any real vintage silver prints available. As for the latter, unfortunately not. I know there must be some afloat at magazines who never returned them, but I only have the negatives and one or two silver prints I would like to keep to myself.

Of all my negatives only about 10% has been scanned for digital printing. But apart from the square portrait of Bill Haley showcased on this site, I do have this other one posted below and I have set the limited edition to 50.

I like it a lot. He is relaxed. The security people were sent to wait outside. He is wearing his off-stage glasses, rarely seen on publicity pictures.

Trance

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Daar stond ik dan dronken te zijn ergens in een buitenwijk van Dortmund in een kelder waar niemand ooit van gehoord had en dat is maar goed ook. De sfeer was broeierig. Iedereen wilde wat, maar niemand durfde in actie te komen. Misschien waren ze bang om hun door fetisj couturiers van naam vervaardigde outfitjes … Read more

Vintage Photograph – 1976

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I regularly post photographs on Facebook, and I am not too worried about their Terms of Service, although I must admit I do not like to see one of my photographs on a commercial medium with the credit line: © Facebook. Still, this has to do a lot more with the mentality of the editors involved than Facebook’s TOS. It is not hard to properly credit a photograph, if you know where you downloaded it. And if I don’t want people to use my photographs, I should not have posted them online in the first place.

I do post photographs online, because I don’t want them to sit in my archives without being seen. I am not that kind of collector. I want my photographs to be seen and enjoyed. I’d rather have 40.000 views a day on a high traffic site than shipping my works to a gallery on the other side of the world to be seen by a much smaller audience.

The insights delivered by Internet statistics tell me a lot more about my work than a well-written article praising me for photographs that I know are enjoyed by a very small audience consisting of people who would never have the courage to put one of my pictures on display in their own living room.

I noticed that the vintage prints are doing very well on large platforms, so I will occasionally put one up for sale in a limited edition, hoping you are willing to support my photography — like this particular photograph showing a transvestite bathing in a very Seventies bathroom.

Print WAM sequence

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This is the largest print available of one of my photographs. Actual image size: width 95,5 cm height 49,8 cm or 37.4″ x 19.3″. The color in the snapshot of this print is a bit off. Original photograph is currently at the front page of hansvanderkamp.com.

There are currently two prints. One is reserved and the other print is for sale.

Original photograph, print colors match.

Dollification

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I was a boy of about twelve years of age when the school teacher handed out test forms. Most of the questions on the form were of a simple mathematic nature, and there were some questions that seemed to have some psychological relevance too.

One question in particular I remember very well: ‘Who would you like to be?’

I had to reread the question twice because I had anticipated something like: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’

Biting on my pencil I paused for a while and then I jotted down: “Me, but somewhere else, away from here.”

They sent me to a school psychologist for that answer and there I learned that most kids had filled in the name of their rock or pop idol. At least half of them wanted to be John Lennon.

None of these kids became a legend like John Lennon. Neither did I, but I ended up away from there, just as I had hoped.

Not being who you are or what you are has always fascinated me and this may very well explain why I have photographed so many transvestites, transgenders and transsexuals. And last but not the least, people who are into dollification. For the last decade dollification has been my most important photographic subject and checking my now finished site I realize I forgot to add a gallery with dolls.

WAM

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The current front page of this site is dedicated to WAM – Wet and Messy. The fluid can be yogurt, milk, honey, fluid rubber, anything goes. Yes, it is a fetish, and I had never heard of it until Selma walked into the studio and asked for yogurt.

The picture posted here is a variation on the one featured on the front page, showing three different poses.

Ralph Gibson

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While working on this site, I go through my archives a lot. There are quite a few pictures archived. I have been photographing for four decades now. Sometimes I am lucky, and I find a photograph that I thought was lost, like this portrait of one of the best photographers of our time: Ralph Gibson. I am really not sure when it was taken, but I believe it was 1981.
Location: His Soho loft where Lustrum Press resided.

[ Photographer Ralph Gibson on Wikipedia ] – [ His website ]