A work from the series The Hague Coast, ‘Surfer School’, has been included in the collection of Fotomuseum Den Haag. For the museum this is of great value. Although the work was not part of my solo exhibition ‘Eiland’ (2021) at the Fotomuseum, it forms a lasting reminder of this project.

The fact that the photograph was made in Scheveningen, at such a significant location for the city of The Hague, makes it especially meaningful. The museum holds an extensive collection of works by artists of the Hague School, and within that context, this photograph serves as a contemporary reference to the many seascapes within that part of the collection.

For my series The Hague Coast, I photographed a triptych of the Surfing Santas in December last year. This series will eventually be exhibited at Museum Panorama Mesdag, where my work will enter into dialogue with paintings by artists of the Hague School.

The phenomenon of Surfin’ Santas originates from the United States and Australia. At Cocoa Beach in Florida and Bondi Beach in Australia, this annual event has existed for much longer, often under very different temperature conditions than those in the Netherlands. In The Hague, on the beach of Scheveningen, several hundred Santas once again entered the sea at the same time, each with a surfboard. Surfers dressed as Santa Claus all head into the cold waves together. It is somewhat reminiscent of the New Year’s Dive, but with a very different character. It is not about perfect surf conditions, but about tradition.

A new year. A year filled with photography, new journeys, and multiple projects running alongside each other. Since my skiing accident last year in the Austrian Alps, I have actually been photographing more than ever. My recovery is going well.

For my long-term project Remnants, I have returned to the Swiss Alps at the beginning of 2026. Many of the locations I had photographed before were now covered by a first layer of snow. As mentioned in my previous newsletter, returning to the same place is essential to this project. The seasons, weather conditions, and light transform the same landscape into something entirely different each time.

At the same time, new landscapes appeared spontaneously. Toward the end of the trip, we passed through an area near St. Gallen where sixty centimeters of snow had fallen in a single night. In the middle of a meadow stood two beautifully snow-covered trees, completely filled with mistletoe. I am very curious to see what this location will look like in autumn.

Returning to the same location is a key element of Remnants. It reminds me of the annual trips to the Alps from my childhood. The diptych I am making in the valley of Pontresina forms a central thread throughout the series. Using a long ladder and a high tripod, I photograph from exactly the same position several times over the course of one year. After a long wait, this location was finally covered in snow. There could not be too much snow, in order to keep the surface recognizable. Over the course of one week, during several snowfalls, I repeatedly photographed the same spot. On my website, the autumn and winter images can now be seen side by side. I am already looking forward to capturing this location again in spring. 

I also returned to the valley of the Bernina Pass to photograph it in winter. Without the mist of autumn, in my previous encounter, much more of the surrounding landscape becomes visible. These images can also be seen on my website. The only downside during my last visit to Switzerland was the temperature. Minus fifteen degrees, combined with a cold wind, demands a lot of energy. For skating enthusiasts, I can highly recommend Lake Sils near St. Moritz. The fairytale-like scenery and skating between the mountains make it a completely different experience from skating in the flat landscapes of the Netherlands.