Hi, I am Sanne.
Born in Brussels, Belgium - to Dutch parents, now a long way from home. Whenever I see someone pause and crease their eyebrows when they are looking to call up the next person in the waiting room, I know they are about to try and say my name. Don’t worry, I have heard it all and I don’t take offence. A lot of Aussies tend to call me “Summer”. I have embraced it - it’s close enough!
How it started.
I suppose I have always had an interest in photography, but it wasn’t until my husband gifted me my first “real” camera for Christmas in 2014 - that I got a little… obsessed. I had just emigrated from the Netherlands to Australia, and it allowed me to explore my new homeland in such a fun and creative way.
I lived in Sydney at the time, and remember thinking that suddenly everything became a potential subject. Those deserted barbecues on the side of suburban roads? Check. Those tacky Christmas lights strung on the smallest of city-balconies in the height of summer? Check. But also: endless coastlines, rugged mountains, those weirdly spiky flowers you find here. Every weekend we would leave the city and our busy corporate lives behind and go somewhere new. Driving back from our adventures on Sunday’s, right before dusk, It struck me how the light simply shines differently here. Warm. Nostalgic even. Forever transforming the mundane into pure magic.
We have since moved to the Northern Rivers of NSW and as time went on I started teaching myself how to do better, so that I could translate my experience of a moment, into an actual image. Through online courses, youtube videos and ongoing support from friends and fellow photographers - I acquired more skills and confidence to start photographing the most interesting subjects of all: people.
My work today.
It wasn’t until I became a mother myself in 2018, that I started to understand that what I really felt passionate about was capturing true connection between people. Creating Images that make you… feel something? Maybe because some of the most complex emotions seem to come with motherhood. The vulnerabilty. That intricate bond. And that fierce fierce love.
Human relationships intrigue me. Scare me. Wow me. But ultimately - MOVE me. More than anything. Documenting the beauty of the day to day makes me come alive. To me preserving a story, your story, is truly important. Not just for yourself… but also for the generations to come. That’s why I do what I do.
I finally took the leap and launched my business in February 2019. Being able to provide other people with tangeable memories of moments that race us by, has been the biggest priviledge. I honestly can’t wait to tell your story next.
With love, x Sanne