Today I came across the remains of at least two British soldiers of the great war while photographing some bunkers in a small forest near Zillebeke, Belgium. I warned the authorities,then went on photographing in a totally different mood. Hopefully these soldiers will soon be laid to rest in a real cemetary, after all they went trough and did for us,they truly deserve this!

Tomorrow the demolition of an old abandoned Belgian Tannery named Schotte begins. Looking at it like an outsider it's just another old factory going down, but looking at it like a photographer it's a small paradise dissapearing. For over 5 years I made regular visits to this place, sometimes with models,sometimes alone. But every single time again I was amazed by the playing of the light in the decaying buildings and by the variety and history of the place,where one of Belgian's most famous books named "kapellekensbaan" was situated. In the later years more and more graffiti art started to appear on its walls,making the place even more beautiful. But now,time has come and my beloved Schotte has to dissapear. It was only a building,but it deserved this last salute!

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Fuck! Hoped I never had to write a message like this,let alone 2 in a couple of weeks! Once more,the life of a young artist ended way to soon. The world is crazy,traffic is crazy. Please be aware everytime you start your car,that you start a possible murdering machine,as well for yourself as for the ones you encounter on the open road. Your life and the life of others is not worth those few extra minutes,if you're late or something,just accept it and don't try to make up the lost time on the road at all costs. It's way better to arrive too late then never arriving anymore. Please,please be aware everybody,every single time you're on the road. You're not alone out there and there are more important things in life then arriving on time!

Today I learned the horrible news that Veerle Claes,one of the models I worked togheter with for my project "ruin nudes" died way to soon,only 20 years old. It happened already a month ago,but I heard the news just today. I never got to know Veerle very well cause I did only two shoots with her,but during those shoots I met a very friendly,smart and nice person,it was a joy working togheter with her. The pictures I made from her for the project suddently appear so unreal. I see a smiling, beautiful young women with her whole life still before her,but unfortunately things turned out terribly different. My thoughts go to Veerle's girlfriend,her family and her friends. Veerle,you will be missed.

After much delay because of fine tuning and some unexpected problems,my very first book "RUIN NUDES" is now a reality and available for the world to see! The book shows a selection of my "nudes in ruins" project (see gallery) of which some pictures are here on DA,others are not. I am really proud to finally have a publication on my own.

Some specifications:

"RUIN NUDES"
ISBN/EAN: 978-90-9022772-6
HARDCOVER
96 PAGES
ONLY BLACK AND WHITE PICTURES OF THE PROJECT
€65

time between ordering and delivery is approcimately 3 or 4 weeks,because I use printing on demand because of environmental reasons,so I only let a book get printed when I receive an order.

member of:

for orders or if you want any more information: stevmatth@hotmail.com