Picturing the Streets of Amsterdam

Cycling through all the different neighborhoods of Amsterdam, you can easily feel the vibrancy and diversity of all the different people living in them. If you browse through our newest MENDO-made book you will learn that there are still parts of Amsterdam that are yet to be discovered and captured.

Streets of Amsterdam features over 40 photographers, both native and international, who all share their love for our home base. MENDO’s Joost Bastmeijer, Roy Rietstap and Joeri Worm spent a ton of hours, trying to find the final 43 photographers with a distinctive look on the city they know so well. In this blogpost, we’d like to introduce you to four of them.

Seth Carnill
From all over The Netherlands and the rest of the world alike, creatives are drawn to the open minded, direct and yet charming city of Amsterdam – it’s no coincidence that the Dutch capital is the home of MENDO. One of the photographers who came to the Dutch capital, is British photographer Seth Carnill. In the book, he explains that it’s not hard to find motivation to shoot his hometown: “I will always take photos. The constantly changing light of Amsterdam, and the slower moving seasons, coupled with my daily movements round the city are all the motivation I need.”

The constant movements of the city is what keeps Seth attracted to Amsterdam: “I often feel a bit like a tourist, as I’m always discovering new things about the city,” he says. “In a way Amsterdam still feels a bit new and unknown to me. When I’m looking through my lens, I’m just looking at the unique situation in front of me. I try to look for atmosphere and feeling.”

Margot van der Krogt
Where Seth swapped the music industry of London for Amsterdam, Dutch photographer Margot van der Krogt did just the opposite as she now lives in London. Born Dutch, but child to two expat parents, Margot wouldn’t settle in Amsterdam until she was 22 years old. “It wasn’t until then that I really felt like I could make it my home,” she says.

“I love how innovation and internationalism weave together almost seamlessly with the city’s history,” Margot continues. “I really like how despite its small size, there’s always something happening, a new neighborhood to explore, a new cafe or restaurant to try. And there are enough opportunities to escape from the crowds, if you know where to go.”

Tim Buiting
The city’s diversity is one of the things that eventually brought photographer Tim Buiting to the Dutch capital as well. Before then, he bit by bit captured the city through his lens, during several photo gigs. When Tim walks the Amsterdam streets, he keeps on seeing new images. “I always explain it as a train window: that is your frame,” he says. “All the time, images keep on popping up, moving by. Photos you take in your head, but others can’t see. Photography enables me to share these images with others.”

Owen Schumacher
Where both Tim, Seth and Margot moved to Amsterdam on a later stage in their life, photographer Owen Schumacher has lived in the Dutch capital for most of his life. For thirteen years, he made a satirical TV series in which he tried to capture the current zeitgeist by imitating certain characters.

“Still, when I walk the streets of Amsterdam, I am looking for characters I’d like to play,” Owen explains in the book that features his street photography. “Through my work, I want to show people: ‘there you go – you didn’t think these people actually existed, but they do!’ I’m constantly looking for situations that look like the opening shot of a scene.”