“I come from a village in Germany with only 900 inhabitants. Moving to Amsterdam has been a big step for me. I came here to study anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. I took a 5 week course of Dutch language over the summer. Even though the books are in English all my classes are in Dutch so it´s very hard to keep up. Currently I am paying 800 euros a month for a 7 square meter room which I am sharing with a friend of mine. We share the rent but it´s still really expensive. Finding a job neither has been a success until now. I guess being independent comes with a price.” #amsterdam

“After a long battle with cancer my first wife died. I remember our last summer as a celebration of life. Almost 12 years later I got remarried with a woman who was a high school friend of my sister. We dated a few times before in the 60´s. She was all into the flower power and I was quite a computer nerd so we weren’t a good match back then. We met again much later on in life. This time it clicked and we got married in 2010. My wife has MS and she is unable to walk anymore. Despite of her health she is very clear and optimistic about the situation. We are not able to travel long distance anymore but I recently managed to adjust our car and trailer to her physical circumstances. We try to make the most out of life.”

“You are lucky today, he normally doesn’t smile in pictures.”

“I once walked from Amsterdam to Leiden for a school assignment. We were very optimistic and we started with a group of 10. Every few kilometers a few people gave up. It was me, one my friends and his dog who made it to Leiden.”
“What have you learned from this experience?”
“That I love to walk. I don’t like run because it’s bad for my knees. When you bike everything around you passes by so fast. When you walk, you actually have time to let everything you see sink in very slowly.”

I photographed Joseph before. Yesterday I ran in to him at the market. 15 years ago he was involved in a terrible accident working as a construction worker. He is not able to work because of his conditions. But Joseph is an optimist. he has been playing music in the market ever since he got back on his feet. Every time I walk by him I’m amazed by his lively energy. No matter the weather circumstances he is there, at the same spot with bright smile on his face. This little conversation we had yesterday made my day.
Me: “Hey, How are you?”
Joseph: “I’m good dear, How are you?”
Me: “I’m good, you remember me?”
Jospeh: “Ahh yes I do, You took my photo a few months ago. You want to take another one today?”
Me: “Sure, why not, Your name is uhm..”
Jospeh: “Joseph! Like in the Bible.”
Me: “Aahh right, what’s new with you Joseph?”
Jospeh: “Things are going great, I just got a new Christmas hat from my friend. It will keep me warm this winter.”
Me: “I saw your photo in the paper the other day..”
Joseph: “Ohh yeah, I am quite famous these days!
Me: You sure are. Well it was nice to see you again Joseph, I’ll see you arround.”
Joseph: “Yes, and don’t forget to be kind to yourself!”