Member spotlight: Bart-Jan Verhoef
Hi Bart-Jan! Could you introduce yourself in 1 or 2 paragraphs?
Hi TPC! I am Bart-Jan, a photographer, designer and allround curious person living in The Hague, the Netherlands with my family. I’ve moved here over 20 years ago from Apeldoorn, where I grew up. I slowly but surely fell in love with The Hague and it’s absolutely home to me. I like to travel and explore new places, but I’m also someone who never gets bored around home — there’s always a new perspective, different light, seasons, and so on.
Photography is without a doubt my biggest passion. Aside from my own photography, I really enjoy sharing this passion with other people. It’s why I started organizing photowalks a few years ago and founded The Hague Photowalks in 2023, which led to what is now The Photographers Club.
“I love capturing what I call ‘everyday magic’: the quiet beauty of ordinary moments. I find them everywhere around me, in a beautiful quiet sunrise in the dunes, on a sunny day in the city and in the people I meet on my adventures”
How long have you been into photography and how did you get into it?
I remember buying my first digital camera, Canon Powershot G2, around 2001. So that would be 24 years ago. For a long time though, I wasn’t really doing much actual photography. Initially, I got the camera just to capture images that I could use in the digital artwork I was making at the time.
Throughout the years, I slowly started to embrace photography as a medium of its own. It became a way for me to see the world around me and to capture whatever caught my attention.
When did you join The Photographers Club and do you remember your first time joining a photowalk?
Having founded The Hague Photowalks, the local The Hague photowalk community that TPC emerged from, I was the first to ‘join’, I guess :). It’s hard to pinpoint what my first photowalk was as I’ve been doing them for years, from casual Instagram meetups to all kinds of events through our community platforms since 2023. I do remember some of those early walks in The Hague fondly. I also met Francine early on during those photowalks, who soon after joined me in hosting The Hague Photowalks and later co-founding The Photographers Club.
Can you tell us a bit about your own photography, what do you like to photograph and why?
My own photography has evolved quite a bit throughout the years. For the longest time, I focussed on nature photography only — landscapes, flora, a bit of wildlife, etc. It was a way to get out, be by myself, enjoy nature and slow down.
Much later, I got interested in other genres as well. I started trying different things that I was interested in: urban landscapes, street photography, portraiture and so on. At the moment, my photography is somewhat of a blend of all of these genres. I love capturing what I call ‘everyday magic’: the quiet beauty of ordinary moments. I find them everywhere around me, in a beautiful quiet sunrise in the dunes, on a sunny day in the city and in the people I meet on my adventures.
Please share 3 photos you made that you like and tell us a bit about them
This is hard! I photograph a lot, and honestly, I don’t really have favorites or photos that I think are ‘my best’. I’ll just share 3 that randomly come to mind right now:
January sunrise over Scheveningen
Winters in the Netherlands aren’t the best time of year for photography, at least not if you’re into colorful scenes like I often am. Sometimes you do get lucky and run into some beautiful sunrises and sunsets, like I did on an early January morning in Scheveningen when I took my drone out for a flight along the Pier in Scheveningen.
Seasonal details at nature reserve Solleveld
I like to zoom in on details when I go out in nature. There’s so much variety throughout the seasons, and sometimes the best way to show it is up close, rather than through a landscape. This photo is one that makes me want to reach my arm into and touch those grasses and flowers.
A summer evening in the Westduinpark
This photo, from late June 2024, is a personal favorite, even though it didn’t do much on social media :). Looking at it makes me feel the vibe of summer evenings in the dunes, going home from the beach after sunset, happy and relaxed.
What’s something you really like about being part of a photography community?
There are many things I love about being part of a photography community, but I will say that the most important one is the sense of connection: getting to know all these friendly, likeminded people who share similar interests, to go on small adventures together and just have a good time. It is very much an antidote to how seperated people seemingly in this current age.
Thanks for joining Bart-Jan! If there’s anything else you’d like to share with our readers, drop it here! :)
Let me just say to whoever reads this, and hasn’t yet joined one of our photowalks or other events, please just give it a try! Even it seems scary, not for you, or whatever else is holding you back. Just between you and me: the first few photowalks had me in semi-panic state because of meeting new people, their expectations and so on :). I am super glad I did go though, because it turned out these people are just like you and me, wanting to enjoy their hobby and meet likeminded people.
So, hope to see you soon on one of our photowalks somewhere!
