Gallery

Frans van Hoogstraten
Netherlands

1st Place - Outstanding Achievement

Nominee

"Chinese Ink Drawing"
The Huangshan Pine is a frequent subject of traditional Chinese paintings and literature

Biography: Our world is turbulent, noisy and full of distraction. In my profession as a GP, I notice how feelings of anxiety affect people’s daily lives. A lot of patients find it hard to control their worries, while stillness seems to be a basic human need. For me, nature and scenic beauty provide an important part of that want. As a passionated landscape photographer I find quietness by the wonder I experience there, along the paths, uphill, down by the sea. As a continuation I try to create some silence, comfortable places of rest, by extending this sense into my images. “When I settle back, unusual things seem to happen. Now and then it even looks as if the landscape is trying to reveal a hidden mystery. These occasions give rise to a never-ending fascination and craving for being there”. Recently I started doing more model photography. In this category again wonder and a bit of surrealism are recurring motives.