© Wim de Schamphelaere
Portfolio Exchanging Looks: African Village Portraits
Fascinated by the people, Schamphelaere worked mainly on the African continent for the last eight years, being focused on the same remote villages. Gradually, trust and mutual respect were established. Eventually the villagers admitted him into their daily life, and they allowed themselves to be photographed the way he wanted to depict them. Working in this manner, whole villages were proud to participate in the creation of these stunning images. He made hundreds of single images resulting in very detailed large scale pictures two by five meters. These large scale photographs are not just documents. Wim says “I am using the photographic techniques of today not to change the image of the current reality, but just to reproduce a true image of this reality in a way that was impossible in the past.”
© Wim de Schamphelaere
Wim de Schamphelaere, born 1963, lives in Kontich, Belgium. He has exhibited his photographs internationally: Switzerland, Autralia, Belgium, Latvia Brazil, and Denmark . www.schamf.com