Traveling: when is it allowed again? In MASTERS Gallery this week, an ode to traveling. Travel photographer William Maanders has been visiting the world 's most diverse, memorable places since childhood. He looks for inspiring stories of people and their connection with nature.Online Editor: Larissa Schaule Jullens
Image: William Maanders
"When I visit the museums here in Amsterdam, I am often amazed by the magnificent skies in the paintings of the Dutch Masters. I fantasize what that particular day must have looked like. Sometimes they seem somewhat dramatic and then I wonder to what extent it approximated reality. With the famous Dutch light in mind, you constantly look for such settings in the landscape. Especially now that I have been photographing a lot in the Netherlands recently , one hopes to capture such a classic once in a while. During the recent week of winter, my wish was answered. I am an early bird and always take a morning walk in the city, but I always check what the weather is doing first. That particular day I got a treat: a dramatic sky, similar to the one in the beautiful, classic paintings. A sun piercing through the clouds above the silhouette of the city. What a way to start the day!"
"That I would not be the only one to photograph the sunrise at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, I knew in advance. Nevertheless, I enthusiastically set the alarm at 4:30 a.m. and made my way to where you could take the best pictures of this vast temple complex. Like the other three hundred photographers and tourists, I took pictures of the sun rising behind the mystical temple towers. Beautiful, of course, but not really distinctive. It was getting lighter and suddenly she was right in front of me. A girl with shaved hair didn't seem to care about me or my camera. And then things got really interesting. She looked right through the lens, turned around and calmly continued eating her piece of bread as if I wasn't there at all. Why exactly she chose my lens is still a mystery to me but how grateful I was to her, it made my image unique."
"In the past year, in the short time that travel was possible, I traveled to Portugal. There I started creating content for a future photo book. It will be a collection of visual stories of people who want to find themselves by connecting with nature. I draw inspiration from my closest surroundings. A friend of mine is considering emigrating to Portugal, the country she has a special connection with. She is half Portuguese and lived there for four years as a child. When things got tough mentally, she decided to visit a friend who lives near the coast. 'Come here,' said her friend, 'the ocean will heal you!' And a beautiful process of healing ensued. The wide views, the smell of the salty sea and the resonating sounds of the waves. I can't imagine a better location to start your inner journey!"
Take here a look at William Maanders' website.
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