My Generation – Dutch Photographers

Hans de Kort’s Contemporary Tribute to Analogue Masters

Revisiting the Roots of Photography

With My Generation – Dutch Photographers, Hans de Kort (1963) has created an ambitious and historically significant portrait series. Over the course of the project, he photographed more than one hundred colleagues—photographers who, like himself, began their careers in the era of analogue image-making. By choosing to work with the wet plate collodion process, one of the earliest photographic techniques, De Kort reconnects with the foundations of the medium.
This deliberate return to the origins of photography is both a tribute to their shared past and a celebration of the craft that shaped their careers.

The Wet Plate Collodion Process: Craft, Chemistry, and Precision

De Kort’s longstanding fascination with handmade and instant processes—particularly Polaroid—naturally led him back to the collodion technique. The wet plate process requires the photographer to prepare, expose, and develop each plate while it is still wet, leaving no room for hesitation.
Working with a massive 16”×20” technical camera, De Kort coats metal plates with light-sensitive collodion, exposes them in front of the sitter, and processes them immediately in the darkroom.
Each portrait results in one or two unique plates. As De Kort explains:
“It’s fascinating to have everything under control from beginning to end—from mixing the chemicals to varnishing the plates.”
This full-cycle involvement evokes the era when photography was a slow, tactile, deeply hands-on experience.

The Ritual of Portrait-Making

Every portrait is the result of a carefully orchestrated process. The exceptionally long exposure times require stillness, focus, and collaboration. Both photographer and sitter become fully present in the moment.
Once the exposure is complete, the sitter follows De Kort into the darkroom—an intimate space where the image materializes on the plate. In this dim, chemical-scented environment, memories inevitably surface.
Colleagues recall their early days in photography, their shared struggles with analogue materials, the magic of the darkroom, and the evolution of their craft. These moments of recollection are central to the project. They transform the photographic session into a meeting of generations, experiences, and shared histories.

An Intimate Connection Before and Behind the Camera

What sets this series apart is not only the historical technique but the emotional layer embedded in each image.
The audience can sense the trust between photographer and sitter—two artists who recognize each other’s journey. The slow pace of the process encourages reflection, vulnerability, and calm. In an age of digital speed and instant results, this return to slowness reveals something profound: a portrait is not an image, but a relationship.

Minimalist Composition, Maximum Presence

De Kort’s compositions are deliberately stripped of any distraction. The portraits are framed in a straightforward, timeless manner.
The eyes become the focal point, carrying the emotional weight of each image. Long exposures create subtle shifts in expression—tiny tremors, soft blurs, or deep stillness—which give every plate a remarkable intensity.
The interplay of light and darkness, inherent to the wet plate process, results in a visual language that feels at once historical and contemporary. By letting the technique speak for itself, De Kort produces portraits with a raw, unfiltered honesty.

Unique, Imperfect, and Unrepeatable

One of the defining characteristics of wet plate photography is its unpredictability. Chemical streaks, tiny imperfections, and variations in exposure add individuality to each plate.
De Kort embraces these qualities. He does not retouch or digitally alter any result. Each portrait stands as a one-of-a-kind object—a physical artefact that holds the trace of time, material, and human presence.
In a world dominated by polished digital images, these plates remind us of the beauty of imperfection and the authenticity of handmade work.

A Timeless Document of a Photographic Generation

My Generation – Dutch Photographers is more than a portrait series; it is a historical record. It documents a community of Dutch photographers who helped shape visual culture before the digital era transformed the industry.
By portraying them with the oldest techniques in modern photography, Hans de Kort builds a bridge between past and present—offering a moving tribute to the analogue spirit and the people who lived it.

1st Prize Silver Camera Art, Culture and Entertainment (series) ‘My Generation’ awarded by King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands.

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