Jan Stel Dutch, b. 1970

Works
About

Just before sunrise and sunset, the light is at its most beautiful. There is
something magical about this short period of time. The cinematic feeling of
industrial locations is what I capture. Their natural surroundings is where my
eyes focus on. Photography for me is about capturing the magic moments of light, shadow and emotions.

Jan Stel (Purmerend, The Netherlands, 1970) started illustrating and drawing in a realistic style at a young age. He also experimented with traditional calligraphy. Stel pioneered with full color and realistic graffiti murals, ahead of his time, by using no outlines and allowing the colors to blend into each other in an airbrush-like way. He also made oil-paintings inspired by the old masters.

 

These are the roots of his current photography: the expression of realism transformed into his unique photography style. Stel is always committed to creative processes and has worked with many different art materials.

 

Stel is known for having a sharp eye in identifying subtleties in composition, detail and tone, the use of sight lines, vanishing points and perspective. He pays close attention to the right moment to capture the magical play of light and shadow. He believes that the integrity of his shots can be found in the pure and intriguing richness of natural light.