HANS VAN DEN BERG I was born in my beloved city of Tilburg and am 65 years young. Until recently I worked as a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, but I am now retired. In the past I have worked in addiction care and outreach care, and I also photographed for De Straatkrant in Leiden. Photography caught my interest at an early age. Through courses, workshops, membership of a photography club and by looking at photographs, I have developed my skills, but above all it is by gaining many “flight hours” that I truly mastered photography. The street is my favorite place, especially in a city like New York. Meeting people and making contact is what I enjoy most. Engaging in conversations with people on the margins of society teaches me to see the relativity of things and makes me aware of how privileged I am. My aim is not only to create beautiful or appealing images, but photographs that tell a story and have depth. In the words of Ted Grant: “When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But… in black & white you photograph their souls.” The genre I mainly focus on is documentary and portrait photography, with inspirations such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Stephan Vanfleteren and, of course, Anton Corbijn. In addition, I enjoy working with printing using old printing techniques. I work with Nikon cameras—formerly analog, now digital, and recently a mirrorless system camera. My favorite lens is the 85mm f/1.8. What matters most is knowing your equipment well, and above all your photographer’s eye. I try to keep Photoshop use to a minimum. One fond memory I have is of a homeless man to whom I wanted to give money for posing. He refused and said, “I have something for you,” and gave me a beautiful ND filter in a case. He had found it on the street and kept it. Instagram: hans.berg01