Bjorn Ivar van Sinttruije's photostream  

More of me:
Twitter
Facebook

About me:
Hi, I’m Bjorn. I am a street photographer. I pretty much always carry a camera with me, waiting for those decisive moments. I love travelling to complement my photography, but since I don’t have too much time nor funds as a student, I often just take my camera to university and snap some shots there. In case you’re interested (well, you’re reading this, so…): I study International Business Administration at the Rotterdam School of Management.



My history in photography:
First used a camera when I was 13, on a school trip to the UK. Slowly, photography turned into a hobby, then a passion. I can’t imagine life without photography, or, as a friend once told me, “I can’t picture it”. As any gadget-loving photo-enthusiast, I’ve been through my share of gear over the years. Three different compacts for the first 4 school trips, then I bought a DSLR (Sony A700) and grew a little lens collection over time. Quickly learned primes were just my cup of tea so I’ve been using them exclusively.
Does that mean I’m settled? Nope. Even with a student’s limited funds, I’ve decided to save up for a Leica M9. Hope to have one by Christmas, but we’ll see how that turns out. I know it’s the perfect camera for me, shooting with it a couple of times at London’s Leica boutique made that abundantly clear, but certainly, the money will take a while to collect. I’ll be buying a 50mm Summilux with it. I know… a Summicron is a lot more affordable, but I often find myself needing the speed of an f/1.4 lens, plus, I might as well get the lens I really want from the start.

Some other things:
- I love grain in my photos, so, if it’s there, I won’t remove it.
- I’m a purist when it comes to processing pictures. Only do the developing-kinda stuff in ACR, and I frame the picture in PS. Cloning and such things are out of the question.
- I don’t like posed photographs.
- I absolute hate flash.
- I agree with Cartier-Bresson’s quote: “Sharpness is a bourgeois concept.”
- I’m more of an environmental street photographer, portraying people in spaces, cityscapes. You won’t ever see me slap a camera in someone’s face like Bruce Gilden, I’m a lot more subtle.

About my gear:
So yeah, I’m saving up for a Leica M9. Until I have that though, I do most of my shooting with their D-Lux 5. I was lucky enough to win one in Leica’s Berlinspiration contest. It took some getting used to coming from a DSLR, but I love it now, and I prefer the results over those from the Sony A700 (I have a 1.4/35, 1.4/50 and Zeiss 1.4/85 to go with it).

Dreams:
If I could ever be a member of Magnum Photos, then my goal in life would be fulfilled. If it doesn’t happen, and chances are indeed very low, I just want to enjoy shooting photos in the style of classic photographers like HCB and, another personal favorite, Elliott Erwitt. Keep my personal style, but look at their work for inspiration.
Also, and this is slightly less ambitious, I would love to publish some photo books. Working on one already, which is supposed to be done sometime in 2012/2013.

Wish list: (not ordered by preference)
- Leica M9 (black) >> saving up for that
- Leica 35mm Summilux
- Leica 50mm Summilux >> saving up for that
- Leica 90mm Summicron

And eventually:
- Leica 28mm Summicron
- Leica 50mm Noctilux
- Leica 75mm Summicron (if I feel I need one)


(since August 25th, 2009)