Flip Franssen, Wijchen 1956
I have been working in editorial and reportage photography since the late 1970s.
My first assignments, starting in
1979, were for the Municipality of Nijmegen, among others. This
involved presentations of policy plans in the municipal information
center via photos, and creating images for tape slide shows, also for
other municipalities.
I made my first social reportage in
the working-class neighborhood where I lived for a few years in the
early 1980s, in the shadow of a slaughterhouse.
From 1983 to 1998, I was a staff photographer for the Nijmegen university newspaper KUnieuws, later VOX.
During this period, there was also a lot of collaboration with journalists.
For instance, I contributed to
numerous reports for the magazine Intermediair, which was highly
regarded in the 1980s and 1990s, and the HBO-journaal.
By working for Radboudumc, I also
supplied images to the healthcare sector for a long time. In 1985, I
joined the new photo agency Hollandse Hoogte.
Through Hollandse Hoogte, which
merged into the ANP in 2020, photos have been published to date by
countless newspapers, magazines, and institutions such as
ministries, semi-governmental
organizations, CBS, VNO/NCW, FNV, NPO, RTL4, Financieel Dagblad,
Volkskrant, Trouw, Vrij Nederland, de Groene,
National Geographic, Geo, book publishers, and many more.
From the late
1980s onwards, contacts with national newspapers and magazines grew,
and I undertook assignments for Trouw, Elsevier, and the NRC.
Volkskrant and Trouw also made extensive use of photos I supplied myself.
In addition,
independent productions find their way to the public. For instance,
many portraits of writers have been used by their publishers on book
covers. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of communism in Eastern
Europe and Russia, the war in former Yugoslavia, and Peru during the
Shining Path guerrilla movement are subjects I have photographed.
After leaving the
university newspaper in 1998 by choice, the NRC, Elsevier magazine, the
daily newspaper De Gelderlander, and RadboudUMC became particularly
important clients.
In 2000, I was
nominated for the Silver Camera for the first time with a photo of oil
pollution on the French coast caused by a sunken tanker.
Five more nominations would follow later, as well as a nomination for the Public Prize in 2018.
There was
increased attention for my own reportages, such as in Spain (oil spill
in Galicia, solar energy, Romeria del Rocio), Calais (migrants),
Srebrenica (Dutchbat and ICMP Tuzla), and Italy (garbage problems in
Naples), all of which were published via photo pages in newspapers or
travel magazines. I also did the photography for Greenpeace at several
campaigns.
In 2006, a new newspaper appeared, NRC/Next. It included a double-page photo spread for the first time.
Until they stopped doing this in early 2017, I filled such a 'In Beeld' center page 13 times.
In 2007, a selection of 30 images from the first year was exhibited at the Naarden Photo Festival.
My image of the
'Jungle' of Calais was included. The series was available for purchase
as a box set and has become a collector's item (ISBN: 9789081183819).
In 2014, I was part of the Dutch contribution to the Photoville New
York photography festival with two photos.
In late 2016, the
photo bookazine *Hollandse Beelden* devoted extensive attention in
issue #2 to the black-and-white series from 1980 depicting a part of
the Waterkwartier, the working-class neighborhood in Nijmegen where I
lived around 1980, and in issue #8 to a publication of restored
vacation slides belonging to my parents from 1955.
From 2019 until the magazine's end in 2023, I was associated with it as a regular contributor.
In 2024, the photo reportage I made of the city in 1988 was exhibited at the Provincial Archives in Salamanca, Spain.
The photos have
been included in their collection. The newspaper *EL PAIS* published a
selection from them. Extensive experience in editorial and journalistic
work has translated into assignments for a wide range of clients,
including national
daily and weekly newspapers, PR agencies, and institutions in the
cultural, healthcare, and educational sectors.
"Photography appeals to me because it offers the opportunity to be part
of a situation or event, to observe it simultaneously as a spectator,
and to share this with others.
It is the
expression of my way of looking, and how I see things in my
environment. Experiencing atmosphere and observing the world around me
were important early in my life.
My work is characterized as illustrative, narrative photography, with a carefully chosen composition.
The images often have an impressionistic, understated character, in which people are often merely extras in their surroundings.
Compositionally balanced, without many technical effects and with attention to aesthetics.
Architecture in a broader sense and short reportages are my preference.
In the black and white images, sometimes also referencing classic photography from the fifties.
I prefer working with existing light, even for portraits.
I move in the area
between autonomous and journalistic photography and focus not only on
current themes but also on contemplative content."
Affiliated with photo agency Hollandse Hoogte since 1985 (merged into ANP in 2020).
Member of professional associations GKf (part of DuPho) and NVF.
Six photo books featuring my own work have been published.
The most recent book, *Panorama Rivierenland*, was published by PicturesPublishers in November 2022.
11 photos from this book are for sale at Sandvoort Gallery.
- Silver Camera nominations in 2000, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2018; in 2018 also nominated for the public prize.
- Winner of the Gelderland news photo award in 2007,
- Winner of the Gelderland news photo journalistic series in 2012
(cherry stalls). - Honorable mention Gelderland news photo in 1987,
1989, and 1995
- In 2018, the series on the 20th anniversary of Srebrenica was a prize winner at the FEP European Photographer of the Year.
- Work included in archives: KDC, Radboud University Nijmegen
Regional Archive Nijmegen
Provincial Archive Salamanca, Spain (Salamanca 1988)
Departmental Archive of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Nancy, France (Longwy 1986)
1000 photos
Expositions:
1981: Nijmegen,
gemeentelijk Open huis (stadsvernieuwing)
1982:
Nijmegen,
Letterenfaculteit universiteit, (Waterkwartier)
1983:
Nijmegen,
Stadsschouwburg (theaterfoto’s)
1984:
Nijmegen,
ST-gallery, (vrij werk kleur).
1985:
België, Antwerpen,
fotogalerie Close-up, (vrij werk z/w).
1986:
Ulft, Galerie
Bij de Boeken (Waterkwartier)
1987:
Amsterdam,
fotogalerie 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 (hoogovens Longwy, Frankrijk)
Nijmegen, Universiteitsbibliotheek (universiteitsblad)
1988:
Amsterdam,
Open studio.(vrij werk)
Den Haag, theater Pepijn (theaterfoto’s)
Nijmegen, Aula universiteit (24
uur universiteit)
1989:
Nijmegen, O’42
(val van de Berlijnse
muur)
Frankrijk, Grigny bij Parijs (circle Amitié)
1990: Nijmegen,
gemeentelijk Open huis (oost-europa na de muur)
Nijmegen, Cinemariënburg, de
Foyer (portretten)
1991 / ‘92: Reizende tentoonstelling Nederlandse
bibliotheken n.a.v.
ouderenboek.
Boxmeer, Maasziekenhuis (portretten)
1992: Rusland,
Pskov
(groepstent.)
Nijmegen, Psychologisch lab
universiteit (Peru)
1993:
Nijmegen, Open
huis + psychologisch lab + plu-fabriek. (Bosnië)
1994:
Nijmegen,
concertgebouw de Vereeniging (Het Gelders Orkest)
1996-2000: Nijmegen, boekhandel Dekker en v/d Vegt
(schrijversportretten)
1996:
Nijmegen,
Cinemariënburg de Foyer ( carnaval Venetië)
Nijmegen, UMCN- Radboud,
(gezondheidszorg in Pskov, Rusland)
1997:
Nijmegen,
Cinemariënburg de Foyer (overzicht ‘89 - ‘96)
1998:
Nijmegen,
Stevenskerk groepstentoonstelling Kerstmis.
2000: Nijmegen,
Cinemariënburg de Foyer (Spanje)
2003:
Leiden, De
Kleine Klup, (van alle tijden)
2005:
Nijmegen,
Galerie Stills, 24 uur Nijmegen (groepstent.)
Wijchen, Museum Kasteel Wijchen (duo met Harrie Gerritz)
2006:
Nijmegen,
GBK, de keuze van Guusje ter Horst.( groepstent.)
2007:
Leiden, de
kleine klup, NRC-Next fotobox 2006. (groepstent.)
Naarden
fotofestival, NRC-Next fotobox 2006. (groepstent.)
Amstelveen, museum Jan van der Togt, 40 jaar SIRE
(groepstent.)
2008:
Arnhem,
provinciehuis, Gelders nieuws 2007 1e prijs (groepstent.)
2009: Nijmegen,
filmhuis LUX, boekhandel Selexyz Deker vd Vegt, (Val van de Muur 1989)
2011/2012: Nijmegen, Huis van de geschiedenis, 100 jaar
woningbouwvereniging (groepstent.).
2012: Nijmegen,
Galerie Zeven Zomers, (uit het boek In het voorbijggaan/Passing by)
2013:
Nijmegen, openbare bibliotheek, (vrij werk)
2014: New
York, Photoville photofestival: ALIVE Dutch Photography Exhibition
2014: Amsterdam,
Persmuseum, 25 jaar Val van de Muur.
2016: Hilversum, museum hilversum, De Zilveren Camera, (reizende expo)
2016:
Nijmegen, Kunstmagazijn, vrij werk
2017:
Nijmegen, openbare bibliotheek. London Calling, deJungle van Calais.
2017: Nijmegen, Stevenskerk, solo-expositie met de Zilveren Camera 2016.
2019: Hilversum, museum Hilversum, de Zilveren Camera (reizende expo)
2019: Rotterdam, deelname aan het Rotterdam Photo fotofestival
2019: DuPho, deelname World Photographic Cup, landenwedstrijd van beroepsverenigingen
2020: Hilversum, museum Hilversum, Care4 Corona. (groepstent.)
2022, Nijmegen, 750 jaar Stevenskerk, groepsexpositie
2023, Nijmegen, Kerk Dukenburg, (groepstent.)
2024, Salamanca, Spanje. Archivo Historica Provincial, reportage uit 1988.