All my life. Though my brother, who I shared a room with as a kid, is a fanatic Feyenoord fan.
Yes. Well, no, because back in the day, early 70s, Ajax and Feyenoord were the two teams in Holland. So each year it was either Ajax or Feyenoord who won the league. And if Ajax won the league, Feyenoord won the European Cup and vice versa. But yes, I’m an Ajax fan to this day. Which makes things difficult sometimes.
I’m talking Tottenham Hotspur v Ajax. I don’t need to explain any more.
I did but they squeezed me into an ‘overs’ group rather than an age-specific group, so at the age of 14 I was two heads smaller than everyone else. But that doesn’t mean that I would have made it otherwise, because if you are talented enough then you will make it sooner or later.
By the age of 29, I was a sales rep. One day a friend said, “Come with me, I’m a photographer at Ajax.” I didn’t believe him until he showed me his press credentials. He said he’d get some for me too, just for one game. I said, “I don’t have any idea and I don’t have any equipment.” He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll just give you my second camera.” It was 5 May 1991, a league game against Roda JC. From that moment on I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
I had to start from the beginning. It’s the same in any serious profession: you can’t just come in and say, “Hello, I’m a photographer!” Which, by the way, a lot of people do nowadays, much to my irritation.
I can tell you this now, 30 years on. I asked my friend, “How do I get a press card?” He said, “Get me a passport photo, I’ll make one for you.” It looked pretty good as well. He said, “One thing you have to remember…” and he described an elderly woman, the grumpy type. He said, “If you ever see a woman fitting that description, you have to walk away immediately. She’s the head of press accreditation.”
The Dutch national team played a friendly about a year later and I saw a grumpy-looking elderly woman walking around the pitch. I was ready to run away and never come back. But I was lucky in that the game was about to begin and I was standing between the players in the tunnel. So because of the stress of that moment she said, “OK, OK, go on the pitch but on Monday, you come to my office.”
I was there on Monday morning, 9am sharp. I said, “Hey, remember me?” She said – well, she shouted – “Of course I remember you! You’re the guy who wasn’t supposed to be there!” But I got my press pass. And I was like, “Wow, that was easy.” I think I’d been on the scene long enough that she had to accept me.
I’m like a player/manager, but probably more manager than player nowadays.
Always. Not always: most of the time. It’s exciting because I’m a fan, so it’s the same feeling that I would have if I was in the stands.
The crucial moments. So much happens in the course of a game. No offence, but it’s not the same if you’re watching tennis for five hours. I covered a tennis match once and thought, “What the hell am I doing here?”
It’s 50 per cent luck and 50 per cent ability.
The best moment – actually the worst but, from a personal point of view, the best – was when Patrick Kluivert scored against Milan in the 1995 final. I’m not sure if I should tell you this but I said to myself, “Take a deep breath and enjoy this, because it will probably be the only time your team will take the lead in a Champions League final.” So I completely missed shooting the goal-scoring moment – even though it was right in front of me – because I was sort of paralysed. I was still a bit more fan than professional.
We had these film rolls with 36 frames on a roll, and for an average Champions League game we’d probably shoot ten rolls – 360 images. That’s the number you shoot now for the warm-up. I end up with about 2,200 pictures for a normal game. But I have colleagues who shoot 6,000, which is crazy. It doesn’t make them better photographers either.
My number one is no longer there: the old Wembley. It was the most beautiful stadium in the world, ever. If only they had kept the towers.
The one player who would always give me chills when I watched him was Arjen Robben.
I don’t have friends in the football world. Though if I was to come across them in town they would say hello because, one way or another, we are in the same business – them as players, me the guy following them around all the time. Zlatan Ibrahimović used to live just down the street.
Not in the early days – they were much more alike back then. We all confused them sometimes. They’re two of the nicest people in football though – different characters but both of them very nice.
He was one of those players who you knew would be really big. He would always use the train station near me to get back to his parents’ house after training, and that was the first time I saw him as a young man. He’s an absolute gentleman. I went to a Champions League game in northern France in 2002, Lens against Milan. I was shooting the players lined up for the anthem and then I made a 180 towards the dugout. Seedorf was looking right at me and said, “What the hell are you doing here?” I said, “I’m here for you, to get some pictures of you in your new outfit.” We were making chit-chat and I remember the faces of the other Milan players – they were like, “Why are you talking to this guy?”
We had a magnificent season last year and I did the whole campaign. But that away game against Madrid – because of the club, because of the stadium, because of the way Ajax played that night. Absolutely outstanding.
Last season’s team was more fun to watch, but the 1995 team was a slightly better side.
Deep breath. I had been imagining how it was going to be to watch Ajax in a final again after 24 years. But it was so crazy, this game. I saw it coming, I saw it happening and I was thinking, “How on earth is Erik ten Hag not seeing what’s happening?” The best player, Lucas Moura, who was scoring all the goals for Spurs, had no apparent resistance. I was so desperate. Sorry, none of this has anything to do with photography.
It’s Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island. It’s never opened to tourists unless there is a special group coming in – on this occasion it was opened for the Ajax team, who were in South Africa for a mid-season winter break. When all the players had seen it and left, Henk stayed there, looking around. It only lasted 30 seconds but to share that moment with the Ajax manager in an iconic place, that was very special.
Oh, absolutely. I’ve done most of them the past 15 years and it always amazes me how I enjoy each and every one as if it was my first. I never approach it as a routine thing.
No, not really. Maybe in 24 years.
All my life. Though my brother, who I shared a room with as a kid, is a fanatic Feyenoord fan.
Yes. Well, no, because back in the day, early 70s, Ajax and Feyenoord were the two teams in Holland. So each year it was either Ajax or Feyenoord who won the league. And if Ajax won the league, Feyenoord won the European Cup and vice versa. But yes, I’m an Ajax fan to this day. Which makes things difficult sometimes.
I’m talking Tottenham Hotspur v Ajax. I don’t need to explain any more.
I did but they squeezed me into an ‘overs’ group rather than an age-specific group, so at the age of 14 I was two heads smaller than everyone else. But that doesn’t mean that I would have made it otherwise, because if you are talented enough then you will make it sooner or later.
By the age of 29, I was a sales rep. One day a friend said, “Come with me, I’m a photographer at Ajax.” I didn’t believe him until he showed me his press credentials. He said he’d get some for me too, just for one game. I said, “I don’t have any idea and I don’t have any equipment.” He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll just give you my second camera.” It was 5 May 1991, a league game against Roda JC. From that moment on I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
I had to start from the beginning. It’s the same in any serious profession: you can’t just come in and say, “Hello, I’m a photographer!” Which, by the way, a lot of people do nowadays, much to my irritation.
I can tell you this now, 30 years on. I asked my friend, “How do I get a press card?” He said, “Get me a passport photo, I’ll make one for you.” It looked pretty good as well. He said, “One thing you have to remember…” and he described an elderly woman, the grumpy type. He said, “If you ever see a woman fitting that description, you have to walk away immediately. She’s the head of press accreditation.”
The Dutch national team played a friendly about a year later and I saw a grumpy-looking elderly woman walking around the pitch. I was ready to run away and never come back. But I was lucky in that the game was about to begin and I was standing between the players in the tunnel. So because of the stress of that moment she said, “OK, OK, go on the pitch but on Monday, you come to my office.”
I was there on Monday morning, 9am sharp. I said, “Hey, remember me?” She said – well, she shouted – “Of course I remember you! You’re the guy who wasn’t supposed to be there!” But I got my press pass. And I was like, “Wow, that was easy.” I think I’d been on the scene long enough that she had to accept me.
I’m like a player/manager, but probably more manager than player nowadays.
Always. Not always: most of the time. It’s exciting because I’m a fan, so it’s the same feeling that I would have if I was in the stands.
The crucial moments. So much happens in the course of a game. No offence, but it’s not the same if you’re watching tennis for five hours. I covered a tennis match once and thought, “What the hell am I doing here?”
It’s 50 per cent luck and 50 per cent ability.
The best moment – actually the worst but, from a personal point of view, the best – was when Patrick Kluivert scored against Milan in the 1995 final. I’m not sure if I should tell you this but I said to myself, “Take a deep breath and enjoy this, because it will probably be the only time your team will take the lead in a Champions League final.” So I completely missed shooting the goal-scoring moment – even though it was right in front of me – because I was sort of paralysed. I was still a bit more fan than professional.
We had these film rolls with 36 frames on a roll, and for an average Champions League game we’d probably shoot ten rolls – 360 images. That’s the number you shoot now for the warm-up. I end up with about 2,200 pictures for a normal game. But I have colleagues who shoot 6,000, which is crazy. It doesn’t make them better photographers either.
My number one is no longer there: the old Wembley. It was the most beautiful stadium in the world, ever. If only they had kept the towers.
The one player who would always give me chills when I watched him was Arjen Robben.
I don’t have friends in the football world. Though if I was to come across them in town they would say hello because, one way or another, we are in the same business – them as players, me the guy following them around all the time. Zlatan Ibrahimović used to live just down the street.
Not in the early days – they were much more alike back then. We all confused them sometimes. They’re two of the nicest people in football though – different characters but both of them very nice.
He was one of those players who you knew would be really big. He would always use the train station near me to get back to his parents’ house after training, and that was the first time I saw him as a young man. He’s an absolute gentleman. I went to a Champions League game in northern France in 2002, Lens against Milan. I was shooting the players lined up for the anthem and then I made a 180 towards the dugout. Seedorf was looking right at me and said, “What the hell are you doing here?” I said, “I’m here for you, to get some pictures of you in your new outfit.” We were making chit-chat and I remember the faces of the other Milan players – they were like, “Why are you talking to this guy?”
We had a magnificent season last year and I did the whole campaign. But that away game against Madrid – because of the club, because of the stadium, because of the way Ajax played that night. Absolutely outstanding.
Last season’s team was more fun to watch, but the 1995 team was a slightly better side.
Deep breath. I had been imagining how it was going to be to watch Ajax in a final again after 24 years. But it was so crazy, this game. I saw it coming, I saw it happening and I was thinking, “How on earth is Erik ten Hag not seeing what’s happening?” The best player, Lucas Moura, who was scoring all the goals for Spurs, had no apparent resistance. I was so desperate. Sorry, none of this has anything to do with photography.
It’s Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island. It’s never opened to tourists unless there is a special group coming in – on this occasion it was opened for the Ajax team, who were in South Africa for a mid-season winter break. When all the players had seen it and left, Henk stayed there, looking around. It only lasted 30 seconds but to share that moment with the Ajax manager in an iconic place, that was very special.
Oh, absolutely. I’ve done most of them the past 15 years and it always amazes me how I enjoy each and every one as if it was my first. I never approach it as a routine thing.
No, not really. Maybe in 24 years.
All my life. Though my brother, who I shared a room with as a kid, is a fanatic Feyenoord fan.
Yes. Well, no, because back in the day, early 70s, Ajax and Feyenoord were the two teams in Holland. So each year it was either Ajax or Feyenoord who won the league. And if Ajax won the league, Feyenoord won the European Cup and vice versa. But yes, I’m an Ajax fan to this day. Which makes things difficult sometimes.
I’m talking Tottenham Hotspur v Ajax. I don’t need to explain any more.
I did but they squeezed me into an ‘overs’ group rather than an age-specific group, so at the age of 14 I was two heads smaller than everyone else. But that doesn’t mean that I would have made it otherwise, because if you are talented enough then you will make it sooner or later.
By the age of 29, I was a sales rep. One day a friend said, “Come with me, I’m a photographer at Ajax.” I didn’t believe him until he showed me his press credentials. He said he’d get some for me too, just for one game. I said, “I don’t have any idea and I don’t have any equipment.” He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll just give you my second camera.” It was 5 May 1991, a league game against Roda JC. From that moment on I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
I had to start from the beginning. It’s the same in any serious profession: you can’t just come in and say, “Hello, I’m a photographer!” Which, by the way, a lot of people do nowadays, much to my irritation.
I can tell you this now, 30 years on. I asked my friend, “How do I get a press card?” He said, “Get me a passport photo, I’ll make one for you.” It looked pretty good as well. He said, “One thing you have to remember…” and he described an elderly woman, the grumpy type. He said, “If you ever see a woman fitting that description, you have to walk away immediately. She’s the head of press accreditation.”
The Dutch national team played a friendly about a year later and I saw a grumpy-looking elderly woman walking around the pitch. I was ready to run away and never come back. But I was lucky in that the game was about to begin and I was standing between the players in the tunnel. So because of the stress of that moment she said, “OK, OK, go on the pitch but on Monday, you come to my office.”
I was there on Monday morning, 9am sharp. I said, “Hey, remember me?” She said – well, she shouted – “Of course I remember you! You’re the guy who wasn’t supposed to be there!” But I got my press pass. And I was like, “Wow, that was easy.” I think I’d been on the scene long enough that she had to accept me.
I’m like a player/manager, but probably more manager than player nowadays.
Always. Not always: most of the time. It’s exciting because I’m a fan, so it’s the same feeling that I would have if I was in the stands.
The crucial moments. So much happens in the course of a game. No offence, but it’s not the same if you’re watching tennis for five hours. I covered a tennis match once and thought, “What the hell am I doing here?”
It’s 50 per cent luck and 50 per cent ability.
The best moment – actually the worst but, from a personal point of view, the best – was when Patrick Kluivert scored against Milan in the 1995 final. I’m not sure if I should tell you this but I said to myself, “Take a deep breath and enjoy this, because it will probably be the only time your team will take the lead in a Champions League final.” So I completely missed shooting the goal-scoring moment – even though it was right in front of me – because I was sort of paralysed. I was still a bit more fan than professional.
We had these film rolls with 36 frames on a roll, and for an average Champions League game we’d probably shoot ten rolls – 360 images. That’s the number you shoot now for the warm-up. I end up with about 2,200 pictures for a normal game. But I have colleagues who shoot 6,000, which is crazy. It doesn’t make them better photographers either.
My number one is no longer there: the old Wembley. It was the most beautiful stadium in the world, ever. If only they had kept the towers.
The one player who would always give me chills when I watched him was Arjen Robben.
I don’t have friends in the football world. Though if I was to come across them in town they would say hello because, one way or another, we are in the same business – them as players, me the guy following them around all the time. Zlatan Ibrahimović used to live just down the street.
Not in the early days – they were much more alike back then. We all confused them sometimes. They’re two of the nicest people in football though – different characters but both of them very nice.
He was one of those players who you knew would be really big. He would always use the train station near me to get back to his parents’ house after training, and that was the first time I saw him as a young man. He’s an absolute gentleman. I went to a Champions League game in northern France in 2002, Lens against Milan. I was shooting the players lined up for the anthem and then I made a 180 towards the dugout. Seedorf was looking right at me and said, “What the hell are you doing here?” I said, “I’m here for you, to get some pictures of you in your new outfit.” We were making chit-chat and I remember the faces of the other Milan players – they were like, “Why are you talking to this guy?”
We had a magnificent season last year and I did the whole campaign. But that away game against Madrid – because of the club, because of the stadium, because of the way Ajax played that night. Absolutely outstanding.
Last season’s team was more fun to watch, but the 1995 team was a slightly better side.
Deep breath. I had been imagining how it was going to be to watch Ajax in a final again after 24 years. But it was so crazy, this game. I saw it coming, I saw it happening and I was thinking, “How on earth is Erik ten Hag not seeing what’s happening?” The best player, Lucas Moura, who was scoring all the goals for Spurs, had no apparent resistance. I was so desperate. Sorry, none of this has anything to do with photography.
It’s Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island. It’s never opened to tourists unless there is a special group coming in – on this occasion it was opened for the Ajax team, who were in South Africa for a mid-season winter break. When all the players had seen it and left, Henk stayed there, looking around. It only lasted 30 seconds but to share that moment with the Ajax manager in an iconic place, that was very special.
Oh, absolutely. I’ve done most of them the past 15 years and it always amazes me how I enjoy each and every one as if it was my first. I never approach it as a routine thing.
No, not really. Maybe in 24 years.
