Through His Lens: ERIC PIJNAKEN on Finding Meaning in the Overlooked

The award-winning piece is part of a new series titled The New World Is Around the Corner, a project I have been working on for a long time. The series explores my belief that our solar system and humanity are moving toward a new frequency in the universe, a transition that does not come without challenges.

I follow these developments closely and draw inspiration from various sources and perspectives. While the real battles often take place beyond what we can immediately see, I believe that more and more people are becoming aware of the changes happening around them and are choosing to engage with them. Humor also plays an important role throughout the series, as I see it as a powerful positive force. Receiving a Gold Award has given me encouragement to continue this work.

For me, it is a matter of feeling and empathizing with what another person may find interesting, while also choosing subjects and topics that I am passionate about.

What first made me pick up a camera was curiosity—curiosity about what happens when viewing the world through a lens.

Since my source of inspiration is everyday life, the possibilities are endless. I have explored what some would call still life photography, as well as street photography, portraiture, landscapes, and more. I love the world, and I love creation.

I have tried many camera brands over the years, but Pentax cameras suit me best. To me, they feel as though they were designed by photographers, offering a certain quality and character that I have not found elsewhere.

The same is true of my Leica M cameras. In fact, the photograph you selected was captured using a Leica M11 Monochrom.

I prefer to leave that open to the viewer. Everyone is free to interpret my images in their own way and connect with them through their own thoughts, emotions, and experiences.

The most challenging part was capturing the sense of uncertainty I saw in the woman waiting for the bus. To me, she does not know when it will arrive or what lies ahead for her, and expressing that feeling of sadness and loneliness through a single image was the challenge.

The pilgrimages I undertook along the St. Jacques de Compostelle route and the Ohenro Pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan, have been among my greatest sources of inspiration. Both were extremely beautiful, spiritual, and emotional experiences.

It is a pleasure for me to mention two black-and-white photographers whom I especially admire and respect: the Portuguese photographer Paulo Nozolino and the Slovenian photographer Klavdij Sluban.

Be yourself. Take a good look in the mirror and ask whether you truly know yourself. If you catch a glimpse of who you are, ask yourself whether you want to see the world through a lens—and what you would do with that perspective.

I never consciously asked myself these questions. I simply picked up a camera and did it.

If you decide to begin, remember that there are billions of smartphones in the world, each equipped with one or more lenses. And there you are, standing with your tiny Agfa Clack. Yet that should never stop you from seeing and capturing the world in your own way.

I apply as little editing and post-processing as possible in my workflow.

I believe that today's artificial intelligence is harmful and should not be used. In my view, as humanity moves toward a higher level of consciousness, new and more positive technologies will emerge, while older technologies will gradually disappear.