Frans Lemmens

Frans Lemmens Photography – Travel and Nature Photography

Frans Lemmens Photography is the photography duo of Frans Lemmens and Marjolijn van Steeden. Since meeting in Bolivia in 1989, they have lived and worked together, with the world as their studio.

- Early Steps -
During his studies at Nyenrode Business University (1971–1974), Frans discovered his passion for photography. He took a correspondence course in documentary photography at the Fotovakschool and later went to work as a development worker on the savannah of Ivory Coast. The work was intense and left little room for photography, but he occasionally captured black-and-white images that were well received.
Back in Europe, Frans worked as a travel guide in Morocco, the Sahara, Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo), and India. He also transported goods and tourists by truck across the Sahara to West Africa. Photography gradually became more important, but it was only after a period of fifteen months as a food aid controller in Gao (Northern Mali) that he decided to dedicate himself fully to the craft. The demanding and dangerous aid program saved thousands of lives but also claimed many victims among his colleagues. For Frans, this was the turning point: no more tourism, no more aid work - only photography.

- Professional Journey -
In Gao, Frans came into contact with the international press. However, he chose not to document misery but to focus on the beauty and positive aspects of the world. His experience in desert and jungle regions initially brought him numerous black-and-white assignments for aid organizations, the EU, and the WFP. Soon, however, he realized that this work offered little creative freedom.
He began creating color slides primarily as personal projects, especially in the Algerian Sahara. In 1988, he joined a traditional salt caravan (40 Tuaregs and 300 camels): a 600 km journey through the Ténéré Desert from Agadez to the Fachi oasis in Niger. A year later, his first photo book, ‘Algerian Sahara’, was published by Focus. Shortly afterward, he met Marjolijn in Bolivia. Together, they decided to focus on travel and nature photography in color - a choice that has remained their signature to this day.

- Working Worldwide -
For many years, the world was their studio. They flew around the globe in a Catalina PBY-5A flying boat, sailed to Antarctica with the Chilean navy, and spent months in remote regions like Myanmar and Bolivia. Their work appeared in French magazines such as Gala, Figaro, Point de Vue, and Grands Reportages. They also contributed themed editions for the educational children’s magazine Sam-Sam.

- The Netherlands as Inspiration -
In the mid-1990s, Frans and Marjolijn increasingly focused on the Netherlands. The swans behind their home in ’s-Graveland inspired their early work. Their images appeared on cards, calendars, and in magazines, eventually inspiring the iconic KLM campaign featuring a flying swan.
In 1997, their successful book ‘Visions of the Netherlands’ was published, selling 80,000 copies.

- Return to the Desert & International Assignments -
Between 2001 and 2004, they undertook nine expeditions to Algeria, Niger, Mali, Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. With support from the oil company Sonatrach, the book ‘Sahara, Land Beyond Imagination’ was published.
In 2005, they received a prestigious assignment: the 75th-anniversary book for Unilever. Over two years, Frans and Marjolijn photographed the company’s activities in 14 countries.
Afterward, they returned to travel reportage for publications including National Geographic Traveler, providing extensive imagery to agencies such as Getty Images, Corbis, Alamy, and ANP.

- Focus on the Netherlands -
From 2012 onwards, the duo also focused on the Netherlands, which still offered boundless inspiration. Increasing insecurity in the Sahara made further travel there impractical. Since then, they have published various photo books on the Netherlands, mostly in collaboration with National Geographic.
Two titles were launched alongside films by EMS Films: ‘Holland – The Living Delta’ and ‘Amsterdam – Urban Jungle’. Their magnum opus, ‘NL-365 – A Year in the Netherlands’, published in 2022, brings together traditional icons and modern themes in a cohesive coffee-table book.

- Style & Vision -
Frans Lemmens Photography stands for aesthetic documentary photography: images that can stand alone, are decorative, and work equally well in advertising or on walls. Their focus is always on the beauty and positive aspects of humans and nature.
Image manipulation is avoided in documentary projects; only corrections are allowed. For artistic prints, Frans and Marjolijn accept some editing, but always in moderation.

- Books -
- The Algerian Sahara – Le Sahara Algérien (Focus, 1989)
- Visons of the Netherlands (The Ad Agency, 1997)
- Le Désert, l’autre Océan (RSM, Algiers, 1998
- Sahara - Land beyond Imagination (The Ad Agency, 2004)
- Unilever Matters (Unilever / The Ad Agency, 2006)
- Icons of the Netherlands (National Geographic / DMU, 2012)
- The Netherlands from the air (National Geographic / DMU, 2013)
- The Netherlands at its best (National Geographic / Fontaine, 2014)
- Holland – The Living Delta (EMS Films, 2015)
- This is Holland (This is Holland / EMS Films 2017)
- Amsterdam - Urban Jungle (Bas Lubberhuizen / EMS Films 2017)
- Still Holland (National Geographic / Fontaine, 2017)
- Holland, Winter Wonderland (Fontaine, 2018)
- Amsterdam, an inspiring photographic Journey (Fontaine, 2019)
- The Netherlands at its Best – Throughout the Year’ (Fontaine, 2020)
- NL-365 | A year in the Netherlands (2022)