AC_spotter's VirtualTourist Home Page

Aircraft flying low through the Welsh mountains!

Check Mach Loop for the report.

Send Photo to a Friend

René wannabe landscape photographer

My life in short

Hello,

Hi, I'm Rene from a subburb of the Duch town of Hengelo, in the eastern part of the country. I'm 19 years of age, single (and streight ;)), into alternative music, fascinated by aviation and hitched on photography. I'm currently following a photographical study at the "Fotovakschool" (phototradeschool) in Apeldoorn to learn more about photography and what to do as a professional photographer. My plan is to become a professional freelance reporting photographer within the next year or so and eventually work at the Royal Netherlands Airforce (RNLAF) at a photodepartment.

Send Photo to a Friend

Yet I don't believe in God

No religion but yes a faith: my basis

My descision not to believe in a or several gods is a very rational one. I believe in what I think is the most logical. And being interested in science I think a form of evolutionary process is more logical then a God or several Gods who created everything in wich we live in including ourselfs. This however does not mean that I discard the bible and its teachings. Everyone interprets the bible diffrently, some quite litteraly and some more figuratively. I interpret many bible texts for it's morale value.
I don't nessasaraly believe in good or bad but in what is sensible or non sensible. I think this is the way that stands closest to nature and is the most respectfull, it also applies all the teachings of doing good that the bible dictates.
I try to approach things with an open mind because prejudice, or preconcieved ideas are (for a great deal) based upon emotions. This usually ends up to have a harmfull outcome.
I believe everything around us has evolved over time and I apply this by how I percieve it's outcome. It always boiles down to optimising: making unintended mistakes makes you learn from it, so you woun't make them again. Searching for new ways to improve working makes life more optimised. In nature this goes without rational thought, it is a logical step to chainge if this inproves life. Nature is all about balance aswell, the balance between life and death. As species get more complicated more balances nead to made and Modern Man has the most balances to make.

Send Photo to a Friend

F-16 from my home base

and more detailed: origine of main interests

I have a fascination for life in general, that's why I like reporting photography a lot. I want to be as wide as possible as to my subjects. A subject in wich I specialise tough is aircraft. My fascination comes from the fact that I live close by Twente airbase where the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) operates F-16 jet fichter aircraft. In 1992 a F-16 crashes neaby in our home and in that, for my sixth birthday, I didn't just want a model aircraft but it had to be an F-16. From 1999 I started making trips to the airbase and I took my mothers camera (Canon A1 with a 70-210mm telelens) with me. The first pictures were bad, out of focus and badly composed. I wanted to improve myself and with that im my mind it all got out of hand. I now have a large collection of thousands of pictures of mostly military aircraft and loads of PR material like stickers, badges/patches, posters, key chains and such aswell.

Send Photo to a Friend

Some day I'm goint to get this lens...

Discovering Photography

During my 3rd year of highschool I got the oppertunety to go to a photocource. Here I learned a lot about techniques, especially in the dark room since I made all my pictures on film. I also got to meet other subjects besides aircraft. I made a photoshoot with models, did experiments on appature and studio lighting, went out for shooting the town and such.

On a technical orientation day at a hangar on the airbase Twente I went to the nearby photo service of the base. I met the Photographer and he reccomended me to do the photo education at the ROC in Almelo. I went to the open day and was sold emediatly.
After my highschool I did the full two year cource with inturnship at a commercial photo studio. I learned a lot more in techniques here, and especially how to use Photoshop and the real working atmosphere during the inturnship. During the school projects I was assigned with some other projects, like taking the pictures for a book of the furnature graduates of thair peaces, and a theme photo of stacked wood for a exposition poster and the book cover. I also helped with two open day's helping possible future students decide and inform aswell as demonstrating studio and darkroom settings. During the inturnship, the last four months I learned a lot more about Photoshop and got a taste of the working atmosphere.

During this time me, my father and occasionally my mother went out to VT meetings. It was here I got a great decor for my photography in wich I experimented a lot.

Send Photo to a Friend

streigh from the walken path

Road to independance

After I graduated and was turned down for the art academy because I didn't understand how to conceptualise, I didn't know what to do so I descided to work for a year and orientate myself better. I got more involved in the local alternative and underground scene and had a dark period in my life. I worked as a parttimer and had many diffrent jobs now and then.
In the spring of that year I got out of the dark and depressive period. I began to see everything positive again and I suddenly knew more then ever what I wanted to do. I started to orientate myself for a new school, it had to something with photography but I didn't know exactly what. I visited several artacademies but found out it was nothing for me. So I set my sights on the photoschools, the photoacademy in Amsterdam wasn't my thing, to posh and very commercial. Some others where interesting, but as much as the Fotovakschool in Apeldoorn. I really liked the way they handled things; all very neutral and telling it as it is. Also the prospect of being in contact with professional pfotographers who are the teachers and getting a social network of them clinched it. So I sighned up after I checked the school out on a normal day. I finally descided what I wanted to do, I realised I'm quite into the reality of wich we all live in in stead of a fantasy world of wich I searched for wile wanting to go to a artacademy. I like the world around me, and the idea of traveling the world and the dream of working for the National Geographic Society came to me. It maybe a long shot, at least for now but that is my ultimate dream job. I'm now accepted to the Fotovakschool and doing the two year, part time cource of "Fotografische vormgeving" (Photographical styling). I learned a lot the past couple of months, especially about conceptionalising and fotographing beyond registration.
So in the future I will be a photo-pro!

Send Photo to a Friend

Reaching for the stars, Hasselblad went into space

To do list

There are several things I want to accomplish and experiance in my life:
1. To become a freelance reporting and aviation photographer
2. To travel the world and explore other places and societies
3. To photograph things I see during the world trip
4. To photograph extrordanary aviation over the world
5. To learn martial arts
6. To learn to play guitar
7. To get a drivers licence and to get a car
8. To do extreme sports like bungee jumping, parachuting and base jumping.