Image Focus

This is Karl - a beautiful person. Just look at his eyes. I can tell a few people have fallen in love with this type of person because they are honest and true. He’s not driving a fast sports car or putting on a mask. This is who he is.

I was in Antwerp on a cold day when I saw Karl standing, drinking a beer. I was curious as to what type of person he was. We started talking and, curiously, he told us he was from Holland, but it was easier for him to be homeless on the streets of Antwerp. He had worked his whole life and had a tough youth. He saw my camera and asked, ‘Do you want to take a picture of me?’. Of course I did, but in any situation like this, I want to know the other person - I don’t want it to be an uncomfortable situation or take advantage. I always talk to them and get to know them, whoever they are, just as I would when taking a studio portrait. ’This is the way of living I have chosen’, Karl revealed, telling me he had turned down housing opportunities in the past.

I always use my Sony Alpha 7C II for street portraits. It’s small and has the viewfinder on the left side, so if I shoot in landscape, I can use it with my right eye, while keeping my left eye focused on the scene. Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, I shoot with the camera set to a Black & White Creative Style. It takes me back to shooting in my youth when I used my father's cameras. He was a photographer and documentary maker who always shot with black and white film. And I shoot like I am using film - I take one photo, I get one shot.  I use the EyeAF as it allows me to be in that moment - I want to have that connection, that's very important.

I always use the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM for documentary street photography and these street portraits. I use a fixed lens as I know my frame - zooming in or out is stepping forward or back. I wanted some depth of field in the shot, so I didn’t shoot this image at f/1.4. Shooting at f/3.2 gave some sharpness to the background. Karl is standing in front of the stairs, as that is the entrance to where he lives. So, it was important for me to show that context and hint of the city.

I am going back to Antwerp in a few weeks. I plan to print the image and find Karl. I want him to see the image and feel pride. Pride that he is a person. The picture feels alive because of that look in his eyes and that eye contact with me. You see who he is.

I'm so grateful that I could take this picture of him.