The patient photographer

Photographs by Reindert Lehmann are
on display in Monflanquin through May 26.

Reindert Lehmann is a patient man. His patience is one of the virtues that makes his photography stand out. 

He will see a subject he wants to photograph and then wait —sometimes for hours — for the right position, light and expression. The result can be seen in his collection of stunning photographs of people and scenes that are on display at Salle Aquitaine on Place des Arcades in Monflanquin (47).

Lehmann, 70, has been taking photographs on and off since he was a child in the Netherlands. He names Henri Cartier-Bresson and Jeanloup Sieff as two of the photographers who inspired him.

He says that when he was first taking photographs, he asked himself: “What makes a good photograph? Is it the subject, its composition, the light, the lines, the moment?” His father also influenced Lehmann.

“My father, a Prussian, never gave me compliments,” Lehmann says. “He taught me to be self-critical … to anticipate what is going to happen and to be ready.”

“When I was a student at the University of Nijmegen (now Raboud University), I originally studied mathematics,” Lehman says. “I loved beer but I had to work, so I photographed teachers, friends and parties and such for a little money. Eventually I received a scholarship and studied law.”

Lehmann remained at Nijmegen as a lawyer for his entire career until he retired when in his 50s. He and his wife, Yucca, spent some years travelling by caravan and eventually settled in Laperche in 2010.

“This exhibition showcases the type of photography I like to do,” he says.

Photographs by Reindert Lehmann are on display in Monflanquin through May 26.

Some of the photographs were taken in the Netherlands, others locally in Bergerac and Marmande. Lehmann says he frames his photos when he takes them and uses very little editing. This exhibition is Lehmann’s second: Photographs from his first exhibit, “Automne,” are collected in a book by the same name.

“I took all the photos in the ‘Automne’ exhibit in the span of an hour-and-a-half,” Lehmann says. “The light changed every quarter hour resulting in a very different lights and moods.”

“Le monde intime de Reindert Lehmann” will be on exhibit in Monflanquin through May 26. The artist will be at the gallery every day (except May 22) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Salle Aquitaine on Place des Arcades in Monflanquin