Lab 01: An Intro

Going Open Source

2020 is leaning heavily towards the end, silence and cold air taking over the streets and I'm sitting here in my kitchen as we are locked in because of the (hopefully!) first and last Covid infection. The family is feeling fine though, and yes, we are fully vaccinated. And you should definitely be too.

Despite that, winter has always been one of my favorite times, it's a good time to reflect on the past year and make plans for the future.

I'm looking back at a year full of joy, work and new thoughts and directions to go. Most notably we became parents this year, a mind-blowing beautiful experience.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a dad is passing knowledge to your kid, although he's mostly busy taking his first steps, growing tiny teeth in his mouth and pulling mommy’s and daddy’s hair. But I'm sure all the small steps and adventures we undergo are forming his little personality. Particularly I enjoy the fact that life is learning little steps at a time, not rushing, experiencing the tiny things that go unnoticed by adults. He's teaching me to see things again from a kids perspective, which sounds like a dad-cliché but it’s true.

This is my favorite, internet compatible picture of him. Taken by my partner-in-crime and mother extraordinaire, Evelyn Dragan.

This was the inspiration behind starting the Lab.

Lab, as in laboratory, is a promise I made myself to radically open up my photographic and filmmaking process and everything behind the scenes as honestly as possible, while appreciating the tiny steps, the mishaps, the failures and the small wins.

And it is an attempt to relentlessly provide insights, successes and failures i've experienced and am yet to experience as a photographer and filmmaker.

It's about transparency. About sharing knowledge, ideas, experiences.

Exploring new ways through test shoots and personal projects, documenting the thought process, the technical and organizational aspects of the shoots and scenes. Ultimately documenting the life long pursuit to keep the joy and curiosity in the work that I'm doing and hopefully provide you with some value for your own work.

This is a blog of some sorts, an occasional newsletter, a hub for further projects and a glimpse behind the scenes. And it’s a way to open up a form of two way communication again.

So don’t hesitate to write me, provide feedback, ask questions, say Hi!