Photographer Harmen Meinsma is based in a city that is very inspiring to him: the tumultuous Rotterdam. The city is home to its diverse inhabitants while experimental architecture can be discovered on every street corner. This makes Rotterdam an exhilarating place to live for young creatives like Harmen. Since the photographer graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy in 2017, he has been working on colourful projects which can be either personal or commercial.

Harmen started his photographic career in a small town called Balk in the north of Holland. In his teenage years, he spent his time building decors in his bedroom and taking photographs of himself and his friends. Being gay in a small town was very isolating for Harmen during this period. As a result, his photography became a positive escape. Over the years Harmen’s work further developed towards the photographic career he has today. However, his practice has moved from self-portraits towards a fascination for the eccentric and the free spirits of this world. Harmen’s main focus currently lies upon the unconventional subjects in our society of whom he thinks deserve the spotlight.

Harmen is not interested in capturing reality but gets inspired by what he discovers in real life. He likes to form this reality towards his own imagination with his subjects as the main characters. The framework of fashion allows him to create a fantasy world filled with colour and costumes. The photographer’s drive to make images comes from a sense of empowerment and a celebration of being different. Harmen treats his subjects with tremendous love and respect: an aspect that is visible in every image he produced.

Harmen his work is published in Vogue NL, AndC, i-D, Adformatie, AD, NRC and Trouw.