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We meet Harald Berkhout in one of his two studio’s.
It does not take long to get Harald talking about Broncolor flashlight - he could talk about the finer details of each accessory all day - if he was not occupied with photography & coordinating. Seeing over his CV we detect a certain blue line in his career that spans a mere thirty years: assisting Hans Kroeskamp where he was introduced to the Broncolor 606, shooting fashion & hotelinteriors with Robbert Roos and Balcar equipment, two periods as a photojournalist with a studio interval at the Wim Sonius Studio with Strobe and Beam equipment, finally leading to his then Almere based studio in 1991 with Bowens and a secondhand Bron 404, soon after expanded with the former studio of Pieter Tjepkema with more Broncolor to build up his intensive relationship with the Swiss brand.
Peeking into the main studio several impressive set-ups of rather diverse flash-equipment meet the - astonished - eyes, resulting in a display of Broncolor materials that could double most showrooms or tradestands of flashlight at Photography fairs!! Para reflectors in various sizes en set-ups, Hazy Lights, Satellite, Picolites and Ringflash units are fed by numerous Grafit generators and that is only one of his studio’s. But an average of 200 shots in a day with peaks up to 450 (excluding proofs), on the high level of the Berkhout Studio of course requires adequate tools - as well as staff.
Between mentioning the fine qualities of the Scoro unit Harald explains why he is using only one of them, where his fourteen Grafits RFS provide the main powers for his studio’s, joined by one Verso, two Topaz units and of course a special place for a well respected old love, a 404. It is not the impressive fact facing only one failing Grafit unit in eight years that stops him renewing his flashpower with Scoro’s but the fact that these new high tech units meet all his requirements except for one issue: analogue flash heads like his favorite highpower Pulso Twin heads cannot be handled by the new digital techniques. And where most studio’s will agree that the days for high power lighting units are done with, the output demands of the fourshot systems that Harald absolutely favors are still on that high ‘analogue’ level.
Haralds’s favorite lighting accessory is the Para 220 which can hardly be overseen in the studio’s because Harald uses the unbelieveable amount of eleven of those huge reflectors that give him all the flexibility he is constantly searching for. Fine positioning of even a ringflash or twin heads inside a Para, he tends to be constantly tuning his light, sometimes in combinations that developers of Bron had not even been dreaming of.
He gives an example through a story on a problem which he met using a Para 330 on location, where winds were straining the construction of that giant studio-reflector so powerfull that some of the spokes of the frame were damaged. The solution for a strong enough material for these uncommon circumstances was found after close coordinating of Bron’s technical staff and Harald. It is that extra effort of the people of Bron that brings us on a major topic when talking about choosing light equipment: support.
Another example of that support that Harald met in his unusual demands for special effects in flashlight was a special matte Dome which in his opinion was necessairy for a combination to be used but simply did not exist. Through a specific order for the factory that option was tailormade in a special batch for Harald, perfectly demonstrating the short lines with the Bron personnel for their clients.
As a man of constant innovation both in techniques and presentation he is on top of every detail - a new development in digital backs may require the latest graphic support for his Macs - and immediate action is taken.
At the time of the interview he is anew investigating the possibilities and limits of the latest digital backs, because his demanding clients - like Dutch topspecialists in jewelry Steltman and Gassan Diamonds - are as focused on detail as he is. And where other photographers rave on about the ultimate resolution and high amount of pixels their camerabacks can deliver, Harald Berkhout is in a more serious queste for the supreme combinations in his workflow - where the technique of the digital back as well as the specialized lenses are able to reproduce even the smallest detail which only his specialized lighting tools are revealing. In that way the finer details revealed by the Broncolor tools define the standards for choosing lenses and digital backs.
Innovation in photography is not only forced by developers but also by photographers, in the opinion of Harald Berkhout. Among his clients we see Tommy Hilfiger, Scotch and Soda and Gaastra and several leading magazines. The photography of fashion collections and a growing production of video’s are responsible for a firm share of work in the Berkhout studio’s. For his video productions he welcomes the unique qualities of the HMI lights of Broncolor/Kobold as one of the rare products that meet up with his high standards through their superieur tuning possibilities and of course competibility with his extensive sets of accessories for Broncolor flashlight.
In the near future though Harald is very keen on the development of new light sources for both video and high-end digital photography, exploring LED- and Plasma options on which he expects Bron to be alert too - as he states: “The gaps between video and photography are closing rapidly - and even specialists in light like Bron will have to deal with rapid new developments in demands and technique.
Harald Berkhout
Studio Berkhout BV
Asterweg 17-A25
Amsterdam 1031 HL
Netherlands
Phone 020 4945335
info@studioberkhout.nl
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