Eelco Wortman on Capturing the Beauty of Mundane Moments with the Atoll Ultra-Wide 2.8/17 Art Lens

Each of us has our own daily routines, comfort foods, favorite places and so on. Once we learn to pay attention to these often-overlooked everyday pleasures, a new world of beauty opens up right before our eyes.

We chatted with Dutch photographer Eelco Wortman who took the Atoll Ultra-Wide 2.8/17 Art Lens out on a stroll, along with the Lomography Color Negative 800. He shared with us how he discovered his own style in street photography and his fascination with life as it is – real and raw.

Hi Eelco! Could you introduce yourself to our Magazine readers?

My name is Eelco Wortman, I am a self-taught freelance photographer. I started taking photographs on the street from 2015 on, which resulted in creating my signature style. From early on, I took commissions for brands and also do commercial work.

Since 2021, I have been working on longer projects and in photojournalism for newspapers. My first big project that got published and awarded was Life On Hold, a documentary that tells the story of 25 Ukrainian families in The Netherlands – how they settled here after fleeing from their home country due to the war.

Despite the range of work that I partake in, street photography being my learning school and first love, it's something I always return to.

Could you tell us about the locations and stories behind these photographs taken with the Atoll Art Lens?

I didn't use any specific locations or focus on stories. Besides the commissions I do, I guess I just document the life around me. I don't leave my house without a camera and I take photographs of everything I walk into which inspires or attracts me somehow. The images taken with this lens are just from random trips or days through my country The Netherlands, Belgium and Poland.

You usually present a narrower, very intimate view of the subjects you document – bringing the viewer's eye to focus on certain details and gestures. How did you approach shooting with the Atoll's 17 mm focal length?

35 and 50 are my main prime's focal lengths normally, where I get close to the subject to create an intimate and detailed story. I must say that 17 mm is a bit wider than I am used to. I guess I just tried to get closer than I normally do! When I shoot wider, for example 35 mm, I always keep this in the back of my mind. I like to fill the frame, which can be with multiple subjects as in people, leading lines or some abstracts. With the Atoll being super wide, I also took this into consideration.

In the short documentary Geluk you start by saying, “My brain is always on.” Do you think street photography is all about being a good observer?

The documentary is called Geluk which means happiness. I got approached by a very talented young filmmaker who wanted to create this documentary. “My brain is always on” means that I have an overactive brain which is never silent. Street photography somehow puts me in a meditative state where I live in the moment and focus on whatever is happening around me. Where daily it is impossible for me to focus on anything, when taking photographs I can keep my focus for longer than with anything else. Being in the moment is probably why it makes me happy.

I do think being in the moment and being a good observer is essential for street photography. The moments you want to capture happen in a brief moment, which is gone mostly before you can click.

Any future plans you'd like to share with us?

I just keep doing what I do. I always think, “beauty is around you,” which is why I like to capture the daily life around me. This is something I will always do. I will try to travel as much as possible, see the world, work on commissions and I am thinking of doing a long-term project again. I really want to focus more on documentary and photojournalism work.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Eelco! If you'd like to keep up with his work, you can find him on Instagram or his website.

written by kylavillena on 2024-04-04 #gear #people #videos #street-photography #atoll #cn800 #color-negative-800 #atoll-art-lens