At the studio / July & August 2026
Doing less can mean doing better.
Yes. Now you will say, I told you that! And you probably did.
And with that comes another skill I’m trying to practise: the art of saying no.
Including to myself.
Especially to myself.
Those who know me know that I love the adrenaline of a new idea. The kind that appears on Tuesday and somehow has a concept, collaborators and a Google Drive folder by Friday.
I don’t want to lose that part of myself.
But for the next 12 months, I want to give fewer things my full attention.
The focus is becoming very clear: I want to expand my photography work with publishers and graphic designers beyond the Netherlands.
More books crossing my studio table.
More long-term collaborations.
More conversations with the people making them.
And, importantly, more meetings in real life. At my studio and at yours.
So if you know a publisher, graphic designer or cultural organisation somewhere in Europe that could use a dedicated book photographer, feel free to connect us.
I’m ready to help more book makers make their publications visible.
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Speaking of long-term collaborations: in July I launched and closed the first round of The Book Photographer Circle.
The Circle is a prepaid photography programme for publishers, graphic design studios and cultural institutions that publish books regularly.
Instead of arranging photography every time a new publication arrives, members reserve photography in advance and book sessions freely on my calendar when books become ready.
The idea is simple:
One agreement.
One consistent visual language.
And a simplified booking system.
I’m very honoured to welcome five Circle members for the rest of 2026. The next Circle will open during the first week of January and close on 1 February 2027.
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Another thing I’m particularly excited about is the internship programme around Book Making as an Art Form. This time, I’m welcoming two interns.
Birte will join the podcast recordings and support the research behind each guest: biographies, background research and preparing the conversations. She also wants to expand her network within publishing and culture, so if you meet her at one of the recordings: please talk to her.
Julia reminds me a little of myself at that age: curiosity through the roof and enough energy to want to learn everything at once. I’ll introduce her to the less visible side of producing an independent cultural project: planning, communication, production and everything that happens before anyone presses RECORD. She’ll also take over the podcast Instagram account.
I’m curious to see what they both make of the experience.
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And speaking of the podcast… The next public recording takes place on 5 September at the Stedelijk Museum Library, with Eelco van Welie, director and publisher of nai010 publishers.
We’ll talk about publishing as an ecosystem: how books are selected, produced, distributed and connected to exhibitions, institutions and wider cultural networks.
Meanwhile, Season 3 is very much in the making. Fundraising is about to begin.
This year I won’t organise another crowdfunding campaign, but the podcast remains an independently produced project. If you value these conversations and believe it matters to document the knowledge, people and infrastructure behind contemporary art books, you can support its continuation directly.
Every episode takes around 40 hours to produce, before counting fundraising, grant applications and the organisational work around the public recordings.
Outside the studio
The summer break was, unfortunately, much too short.
But it included a wonderful road trip (Croatia-Bosnia&Hercegovina-Montenegro-Albania) with my dear friend Claudia, who is also an entrepreneur and co-founder of Claudia Solutions.
I’m now experimenting with their technology and exploring how an AI agent could become my virtual production assistant for the podcast. With around 40 hours of work behind each episode, I am very interested in finding out which repetitive tasks technology can take over, so I can keep my attention on the parts that actually need a human.
3-4 September, I’m heading to Brussels for the website launch of one of my favourite art directors and graphic designers, Silvia Robertelli / RSMR Studio.
Then, from 9-15 September, Vilnius. And this one is going to be a marathon. Literally.
On 13 September, I’ll run my first marathon.
Months of training, many injuries, starting again, very long Sunday runs and lots of carbs.
I’m dedicating this run to all the shy, insecure girls who have ever thought they were somehow “too small” to do scary things. If you still have one of those girls somewhere inside you: I’m running a little bit of it for her too.
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These two months taught me that growth doesn’t always need adding another project. Sometimes it means choosing what deserves your energy and having the discipline to leave the rest for later.
For now, fewer things.
Let’s see how it feels.
With bookish regards,
Justina
