About
Started taking photographs when I was about 15 years old with a gift camera, an Agfa Click. A few years later I began with developing films in our basement. Bought an old 6x9 folding camera and an even older 9x12 cm camera with glass plates. An Opemus enlarger was added, soon followed by an LPL 6x6 color enlarger in a real darkroom. Developing in the strangest soups and enlarging everything in black and white.
The number of subsequently "worn out" cameras can no longer be determined exactly, but it is considerable, even for a camera freak, from half-35 mm to 6x9!
I took photographs privately, but also for my work as a journalist, editor/editor-in-chief of trade magazines, often traveling in the Netherlands and abroad.
When the first digital cameras came onto the consumer market in 1998 I bought a Kodak DC 260 with 1.5 Mp sensor! See some technically amazing photos that came out of this camera! Click on the picture below.
In 2000 with Kodak DC260, 1,5 Mp!
BACK-TO-BASICS!
In 2005, during the years that I lived and worked in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, I stopped carrying around heavy camera gear. Bought my first compact Panasonic superzoom which I liked so much that I always used a superzoom in addition to other cameras until 2024.
Then, by age in The Netherlands, I choose to go (a bit) back-to-basics by using the very small, but very good Nikon J5 cameras with some lenses from the (unfortunately in 2018 discontinued) Nikon 1 series. Also, more and more, I use my mobile phone!
Photo scan tip
Many of us want/need to scan old photos occasionally and you want to do so with good quality. I have been using the universal scanning program Vuescan for almost 20 years on my Mac's!
Of course I changed scanners several times during that period, but I was always able to continue using a version of Vuescan, even on all-in-one printers.
It's hard to believe, but this program Vuescan for Mac, Windows and Linux now supports more than 7,000 scanners of 42 brands, according to the Vuescan people. You can make quality scans of documents, photos, negatives and slides with it, depending on the technical capabilities of your scanner. In various resolutions, with corrections, etc.
You can try the program for free with your own scanner or scanner/printer. Nearly a million users preceded you, including well-known large companies and government agencies, according to the developers of Vuescan.
Contact
In case you would like to give comments or receive information or maybe a digital copy of an original photograph, please email us and we will be happy to react. Photos of guests are excluded.
A site that has been around for many years with lots of serious tests and information about cameras and lenses.
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Also a site with many (good) tests of cameras and lenses and - very special - a Comparometer, where you can compare cameras at a detailed level via standard test photos. Highly recommended!
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We already reported so on the homepage. This is the site for anyone who is looking for photos for free to use in his or her work or simply to make a poster for on the wall at home. But also a site where every photographer, if he/she wants to make photos available, can easily upload photos after its quality has been assessed.
Something about camera sensors
Here you will find an image showing the relative difference between some sensor sizes in cameras which is admittedly a bit outdated, but is still correct for the smaller formats.
Picture is not to real scale, but just to compare!
Since the mobile phone is being used more and more for photography, it is good to report here about the site Gsmarena.com. A useful site on which you cannot only compare phones as a telephone, but also on the basis of detailed photos and reviews.
In addition, this site also offers extensive reviews.
Create an (auto)biographical (photo)book!
Many years ago I was asked to assist in the creation of a life story and ultimately produce it as a book. That was such a fascinating experience that it later led me to write such books myself for my children, grandchildren, family and friends.
Why wouldn't you, as an photographer, do something similar and write a real autobiography based on your own photos? Can you imagine a more sensible way to spend it? Even better if you have the book printed in hard cover with a great German printer who also uses very attractive prices. Learn more? Use the contact form above!
Photo editing tips
In case you want to do a little more than taking snapshots, you will also like to easily be able to adjust the photos you have taken.
There are many programs out there that you can use to do that. Just to name a few for Mac and Windows:
- ACDSee (incl. image-management)
- Adobe with several programs like Lightroom, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements & Bridge (image-management)
- Affinity Photo
- Apple Photos (incl. image-management)
- Luminar Neo (incl. image-management)
- NX Studio (free for everyone on Nikon site) incl. image management
- Photomator, werkt samen met Apple Photos
- Pixelmator Pro
- XnView MP (incl. image-management), freeware for private users.
Personal choice!
The choice of a photo editor is personal. While one can work fine with a certain program, another one could hate it. It depends on what you want to achieve and with what effort.
For real Apple fans there is a combination possible: Apple Photos with Photomator, now - together with Pixelmator Pro - owned by Apple.
Personally I do not use Apple Photos for my photo library, because in this program I consider it is not easy to find out where your photo files are physically stored and to handle them for backup etc. in your own way.
My choice: simplicity, speed and … quality!
On my iMacs I prefer a normal, own folder structure from which you can directly manage and adjust and save photos with a photo editor.
Having worked for decades with various photo editing programs with photo management included I now enjoy working with XnViewMP for photo-management in combination with Pixelmator Pro for photo editing.
The latter program fulfils 95% of my photo editing needs. It still works quickly on an older computer and offers a clean interface, excellent removing tools, local sharpening with a "brush" and simple export of pictures ready for the web.
© 2010-2025 Ben Berwers