Picturing the Streets of Amsterdam
Meet the photographers of 'Streets of Amsterdam’
Royal Palace, City Center
‘Streets of Amsterdam’ editor Joost Bastmeijer introduces four of the book’s contributing photographers.
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
Left: Jacob Marisplein, Hoofddorppleinbuurt
Right: Amstel
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
Left: Elandsstraat, Jordaan
Right: Willemsparkweg, Willemspark
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
Left: In front of Eye Film Museum, Amsterdam Noord
Right: City Center
Tim Buiting
Olympic Stadium, Stadionbuurt
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
Owen Schumacher
Left: Gemeentebadhuis, Spaarndammerbuurt
Right: Museum het Schip, Spaarndammerbuurt
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.”
‘there you go – you didn’t think these people actually existed, but they do!’
‘there you go – you didn’t think these people actually existed, but they do!’
By browsing through Streets of Amsterdam, you can feel the continuous vibrancy of Amsterdam – its streets, its inhabitants and its multicultural allure – by looking through the lens of the talented and contemporary artists who are featured in this book, you’ll get to know the city they all love so much.
![]([{"width":60,"height":78,"src":"https:\/\/www.mendo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mendo-book-streets-of-amsterdam-teneues-cover-60x0-c-default.jpg"},{"width":100,"height":130,"src":"https:\/\/www.mendo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mendo-book-streets-of-amsterdam-teneues-cover-100x0-c-default.jpg"},{"width":200,"height":261,"src":"https:\/\/www.mendo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mendo-book-streets-of-amsterdam-teneues-cover-200x0-c-default.jpg"},{"width":350,"height":456,"src":"https:\/\/www.mendo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mendo-book-streets-of-amsterdam-teneues-cover-350x0-c-default.jpg"},{"width":500,"height":652,"src":"https:\/\/www.mendo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mendo-book-streets-of-amsterdam-teneues-cover-500x0-c-default.jpg"}])
Continue reading
Some favorite contributions
For our newest book MOAM and MENDO asked 100 Dutch creatives to show and tell us what fashion in Amsterdam is.
Introducing “Miss Avocado”: Colette Dike
Interview
We had a moment to talk with Colette, the mastermind behind most of the recipes you’ll find in The Avocado Show book.
Work in progress: the Pontsteiger book
A first glimpse at a new book project with local significance
An eye-catching new building rises along the banks of the IJ-river. MENDO is very proud to design and publish a book about it.
A brief history about (the streets of) Amsterdam
How our home base came to be
The streets of Amsterdam are full of history, that even hardcore Amsterdammers might not know about. Let us tell you a small tale about the past of our beloved home…
Shelf Sessions: Emilia van Lynden
Unseen Amsterdam
In our series Shelf Sessions we climb the shelves of MENDO’s friends. In this episode: Emilia van Lynden, (ex) Artistic Director of Unseen Amsterdam.
MENDO and Union present Frame/Work
New book
The first MENDO publication of 2019 is a fact: Frame/Work, created in collaboration with Union, is a book that inspires every young metropolitan citizen.
A tough lesson in human compassion
Interview with Jermain Cikic
Interview with Jermain Cikic, former MENDO employee, who created a personal and evocative documentation of a homeless shelter in Amsterdam, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
A-list of Amsterdam hotspots, and many are struggling to survive
Interview
This month, MENDO and gloobles launch a rather delightful city guide, packed with hotspots, most of which you currently cannot visit. We had a chat with gloobles' founder Stephanie van…
Interview
To celebrate our upcoming book with The Avocado Show, MENDO had a lunch date with its founder Ron Simpson to “peel” the success of the Avocado Show.
London: a street photographer’s idea of paradise
A sneak preview on our next book in the Streets Of... series
We're currently finalizing Streets of London, the second publication in our Streets of... series. Editor Mikel van den Boogaard learned that London can be considered as a street photographer's idea…
The silence before the silence
Quiet Amsterdam
The scenes below truly embody the times we're living in: normally-bustling places, abandoned and empty. But would you guess that all these pictures were taken in 2019, before the currently…
#SENDNUDES–An uncensored celebration
Location: Extreme Wow Suite of W Hotel Amsterdam
On Monday night, our latest publication #SENDNUDES got the celebration it deserved: a playful and sexy evening in the Extreme Wow Suite at W Hotel Amsterdam.
Foam Magazine
In our series Shelf Sessions we climb the shelves of MENDO’s friends. In this episode: Elisa Medde, Managing Editor at Foam Magazine.
Easter egg hunt 2020: it’s a wrap
Thank you for joining
The Easter egg hunt has come to an end. Out of hundreds (!) of contestants, 41 were lucky to receive giftcards up to € 250. Will you join us again…
MENDO’s favorites of the year
As the famous American poet Jon Bon Jovi once said: “we’re halfway there.” We’re already closer to the next year than the previous one, so time to make up the…
Meet the maker: Ed van der Elsken
Arguably the most notorious Dutch photographer ever
With an expo in Amsterdam, his name is on the tip of everyone’s tongue again.
Six Sportret stories worth sharing
Favorite anecdotes from SPORTRET
Sportret is not only a wonderful photographic document; it is good fun to read too. Here are some of our favorite anecdotes from Sportret.
How Chanel became a lasting name in fashion
Inside fashion houses
With the greatest names in fashion all under one roof, you could consider MENDO the house of all houses. In every episode we highlight one of the biggest names in…
The best images from books at MENDO
The books at MENDO offer a treasure trove of visually inspiring images. MENDO will dive into the imagery regularly and dig up some of the best images around. Enjoy Visual…
Where he found himself – photography legend Joel Meyerowitz
Why you should know about one of the best American street photographers
With his 80 years of age, one could call Joel Meyerowitz a true veteran. Hence, it’s quite surprising that it took so long before Meyerowitz made a retrospective of his…