Pim Meijer

Once you start
looking

What started as a hobby about four years ago has slowly become one of the biggest parts of my life. Back then I picked up my first camera for a trip to Jordan. Now the camera comes with me almost every time I walk out the door. Wandering through the city, a festival in the summer, visiting family and friends. That habit changed everything. Once you start looking, it’s hard to stop.

These days I try to shoot more and more for other people: events, celebrations and weddings. I like working quietly. I’m not the photographer shouting “everyone look here.” I’d rather stay out of the way, and catch the things that would have happened anyway. The half-second before the speech lands. The friend laughing in the background. The light through a window, the last hour of the evening when everyone has forgotten there’s a camera at all.

My background is in design, mainly 3D animation, and that shaped how I see a frame. In 3D nothing is given to you: every lamp, every shadow, every angle is a decision you have to make yourself. Years of building light from scratch taught me to walk into a real room and immediately understand what it’s doing, where it’s soft, where it’s harsh, and where to stand. That’s exactly why photography got under my skin. Same instincts, but the world moves on its own and you get one shot at it.

If you have a day coming up that’s worth remembering properly, I’d love to hear about it.