Peter Timmer on Fstoppers

Although I didn’t necessarily wanted to become a photographer, I started a study in 2009. Photography skills, I thought, will benefit me somehow the rest of my life. Besides that I thought it would be a good way to spark my curiosity. As a child I was always interested in everything around me and how stuff works.

The expected charme of photography didn’t quite catch me. The 2nd year of my study, I was confronted with a disappointing internship. And when I heard I had to repeat a year, the doubt really hit me: should I continue or stop? I continued. I wanted to finish this study and prove to myself I could do it.

Photography is about more than nice pictures, I discovered in my 3rd year during my internship. The most important thing I learned is that a picture should tell a story. By that time my appreciation and respect for the profession grew.

I put to the test what I had learned from my study, during my dissertation subject 'heroes’ in 2013. While I was trying to figure out the meaning of a hero, I discovered that anyone could be a hero. A musician, a graffiti artist and a bartender. I photographed these three people in a heroic way in their natural environment. Without showing their face. It wasn’t about them, but about what they mean to other people.

With Peter Timmer Fotografie i research and approach my subject with respect and patience. A photo becomes a nice picture when it tells you as the viewer a story or/and gives you the right feeling.