Biography

Discussion

Hans Staal was known in Hengelo as a mild-mannered, modest man. He was musical, just like his father, and played piano and sang enthusiastically. He also loved painting. When it came to photography, Staal was drawn to its artistic possibilities. Landscape photography was his favourite. With fine printing (‘edeldruk’) processes such as the bromoil print and the bromoil print transfer, he managed to achieve results that were artistically romantic.

Not only was his photographic work lauded and awarded, Staal was also known and admired for his numerous articles published in photography magazines, both in the Netherlands and abroad.

Staal first came into contact with photography through his brother Rein Staal, who owned a pharmacy, optician, and photography business in Assen. It was there that Hans learned the principles of photography. Without having any formal photography education, Hans was obliged to master his photographic technique through practical exercises and self-study. Staal had grown to become a skilled photographer. Upon becoming a member of the HAFV (Hengelosche Amateur Fotografen Vereniging, ‘Hengelo Amateur Photographers Association’) in 1922, he began advising his fellow amateur co-members almost immediately. Nothing is known of Staal’s photographic activity prior to 1922. Certain, however, is that by this time he had already been active as an amateur photographer for several years.

In 1922, Staal was one of the co-founders of the HAFV. He would become a very active member, serving as the secretary, teaching classes in photography, giving lectures, and organising exhibitions.

The fact that Staal was offered an honorary membership in the HAFV in 1925—when having plans to leave Hengelo—affirmed that he had become a much loved member of the association within a short period of time.

In those years, the HAFV played a prominent role in amateur photography circles in the Netherlands. Besides Staal, there were also several other successful photographers originating from the HAFV, with the names K.G. Bijlstra, Henk Mersel, and GJ. Speekhout regularly mentioned in exhibition records. The romantic landscape photography produced by these photographers became known as ‘The Hengelo School’. Their photos were frequently published in Focus and appeared in the Nederlandsch Jaarboek voor Fotokunst (‘Netherlands Yearbook of Photographic Art’).

Speekhout, who was a board member of the HAFV for a period of time, first came into contact with photography as a personal friend of Staal’s. He was the first editor of the Nederlandsch Jaarboek voor Fotokunst and would later gain notoriety as the chief editor of Kleinbeeld-foto (’35mm Photo’).

J.C. Mol, co-editor of Focus, first became acquainted with Staal’s work when presenting a lecture to the HAFV in late March 1922. He advised Staal to enter competitions. Apparently, it was this meeting that inspired Staal to assume a more public role as a photographer. Staal’s success at the HAFV may also have contributed to his self-confidence. Starting in 1922, Staal’s photos were frequently featured in photography magazines, as well as written contributions on photography.

The readers of the magazine Focus were first introduced to the photographic work of ‘den cameradichter’ (‘the camera poet’) J.G. Staal in 1922. Prior to this time, his work had already been praised for its highly exquisite technique and its painterly qualities: ‘in an exceptionally fortunate way, the desire to create a picture that has the qualities of a painting (was) satisfied through the assistance of photography’. In 1923, Staal was introduced as a photographer in the magazine De Camera. After this, he contributed to both magazines on a regular basis. The articles he wrote were engaging, in which he assumed the role of someone promoting the fine printing processes and landscape photography. He participated in competitions and exhibitions with success. His work was published and earned him awards not just in the Netherlands, but also in Great Britain and Germany. In 1943, Staal published an article on landscape photography in the Nederlandsch Jaarboek voor Fotokunst. In this same period, he wrote an essay on fine printing processes at the request of J.C. Mol, which was disseminated throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. It remains unclear whether this occurred in the form of a printed booklet or a stenciled copy.

In the 1960s, Staal wrote a ‘Korte Handleiding voor Broomverfdruk of Pigmogravure’ (‘Short Manual for the Bromoil Ink Print or Pigmo Engraving’).

In the 1970s, Staal and his wife made attempts to compile a photobook featuring the topographic photography of Hengelo prior to World War II. The book was never published, however, as the financial risks involved proved to be too substantial.

When Staal was fired from his job as an architectural draughtsman in 1925, he decided to turn his hobby into his profession. The magazine Focus announced the opening of ‘De Twentsche Fotohandel’ (‘The Twente Photo Store’) in Hengelo on 27 May: ‘First rate in this industrial city’. It was also the first store specialised in photography in the province of Twente. Prior to this time, photo stores were customarily combined with pharmacy or framing business.

The photography store soon proved to be a success, in part thanks to Staal’s wife, who oversaw all business matters. Even though Staal was solely interested in artistic photography, as a professional photographer he was now also obliged to work on the commissions he received. Among his rapidly expanding clientele were the manufacturers and store-owners of Hengelo. Staal photographed businesses and stores, including festivities at openings and anniversaries. As portrait photography failed to interest him, he left this kind of work preferably to his personnel.

The years of the economic depression led to a decline in business, though the store managed to survive the years of World War II fairly well. Passport photos for identity papers provided one source of income. Staal also took farmers’ photo portraits in exchange for food provisions. By the end of 1945, business had pretty much returned to normal, in part thanks to his German clientele and, after the liberation, English soldiers.

For Hans Staal, photography was an art form. He was convinced that the general values applied to painting were as equally important for photography. He saw himself more as an ordinary artist, rather than a photographer. Although Staal received awards on numerous occasions during his career as a photographer, he still upheld the modest notion that any amateur was capable of achieving what he himself produced. In his view, photo finishing was more important than the choice of subject matter. At the same time, he placed more importance on the emotions that motivated a photographer in his choice as opposed to a perfect technique.

The title of a photo was meant to underscore its significance as a means of expression. With pictorial photography, the titles chosen were usually romantic in nature. Staal also often gave his photos poetic titles. One photo from 1922 was even given an entire stanza from a poem by Guido Gezelle: ‘De avond komt zoo stil, zoo stil zoo traagzaam aangetreden’ (‘The night comes so quietly, enters so quietly so slowly’). Considering his perspective on photography, it comes as no surprise that Staal admired the work of Henri Berssenbrugge, whose free attitude towards photography and his varied approach to the medium greatly appealed to him. Berssenbrugge’s work, as well as that of Franz Ziegler, who also experimented with photographic design, was discussed extensively on numerous occasions at the meetings of the HAVF.

In De Camera of 1923, Staal provided an enthusiastic report following a lecture given by Erwin Quedenfeldt at the HAFV concerning the possible applications of gum print technique. Quedenfeldt maintained that photographers were obliged to manipulate an image, because nature showed too much. Just as tones were randomly selected from a ‘keyboard’ in order to form chords, the photographer should be able to pick and choose his tonal values according to his own personal vision.

Staal admired the oeuvres of Berssenbrugge and Ziegler, but also the work of Adriaan Boer, K.G. Bijlstra, and Henk Mersel. Staal’s interest, however, was by no means limited to pictorial photography. He also valued the work of photographers such as Cas Oorthuys. As a photographer of painterly landscapes, Staal found his idols not only in photography, but also in painting. He greatly admired landscape painters such as Meindert Hobbema and Jacob van Ruysdael.

The degree to which Staal experienced landscape photography as a personal means of expression became clear when describing the criteria that he believed photography had to satisfy. In his view, a love of nature formed the foundation of an appealing landscape photo. The choice of subject matter was closely related to character and temperament, and correspondingly to the photographer’s ideas concerning representation. The far-reaching changes that Staal made to the original image are largely to be explained through this personal approach.

As the 1930s progressed, Staal’s work underwent a shift, which he explained as follows: ‘What photographic worker, when allowed to work for a longer period, does not simplify his work, because he learns to see that a single motif in the right place often speaks better than a profusion of particulars?’

Except as a natural development in his work, Staal’s decision in favour of a simpler visual idiom can be seen as a contemporary influence coming from New Photography. This movement—which, in around 1930, was growing in popularity—cherished a preference for the objective representation of topics related to industry. Its aim was to oppose the aestheticising of photography, of which Hans Staal, with his painterly landscapes, was the perfect example. Nevertheless, Staal showed an interest in and experimented with this new visual idiom.

Examples of this are Staal’s photos Brugleuning bij het Twente-kanaal (‘Bridge Railing at the Twente Canal’) and Noodkabeltje (‘Emergency Cable’). His designs were restrained, with unexpected crops and extreme visual perspectives. Staal’s ability to win awards with this work serves to prove that it too was of a meritorious quality.

Considering that Staal continued to apply fine printing techniques in his autonomous work, one might conclude that Staal, as a creative photographer, perhaps felt too limited by the guidelines of modern design.

From the beginning of his membership in the HAFV, Staal was actively involved in teaching his fellow amateurs. Even after his store was opened, he continued to be an adviser to anyone interested in photography. Various long-time residents of Hengelo can still recall how they purchased their first ‘boxje’ (small box camera) for a ‘rijksdaalder’ (a Dfl. 2.50 coin). In addition to receiving photography lessons, his pupils could also learn to develop and make prints.

Staal presented numerous lectures and enjoyed giving his customers advice. For his personnel—including Bert Haanstra, Hille Kleinstra, Jan Bouwhuis, and Gerard Eman—these learning activities were nevertheless limited to the standard photo assignments, the task of finishing photo material, and sales. Staal’s darkroom was forbidden territory for his personnel.

Staal was primarily active as a teacher away from home. In addition to his activities for the HAFV, he was an examiner for the course ‘knowledge of materials’ at the NFVS (Nederlandse Fotovakschool, ‘Netherlands Vocational School of Photography’) in The Hague for twenty-five years. The NFVS was set up at the request and with the help of the established photographers and photo dealers in order to raise the level of professionalism and to avoid undesired competition. By far the majority of the lessons given there were written.

Even at an early stage, Staal was interested in 8 mm film. Around 1927, he recorded the photography club’s outings. It was Staal’s hope to create a source of income from this hobby as well. To this end, he established the ‘Filmgroep Staal’ (‘Staal Film Group’) in 1932. The group comprised Staal as the producer, a filmmaker, Hille Kleinstra, and a fourth person to do acquisition. Its aim was to make commercial films and to rent out 8 mm film and equipment. Staal’s undertaking led to the making of several public information films commissioned by the Ministerie van Landbouw en Veeteelt (‘Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Breeding).

In 1932, Staal made the film documentary Veilig Verkeer (‘Traffic Safety’), which was commissioned by the Verbond voor Veilig Verkeer (‘Alliance for Traffic Safety’) and co-directed by Hille Kleinstra. The same client commissioned another film that was made somewhat later by Bert Haanstra, working as an employee of the Filmgroep Staal. By about 1956, however, it had become apparent that there was too little interest to justify the company’s continuation. Filmgroep Staal was subsequently dissolved.

Staal’s interest in photography was broad. Throughout his life, he gave numerous lectures on landscape photography and fine printing (‘edeldruk’) processes, but also on making glass lantern slide plates, colour photography, and film. When photographing, Staal always worked with extreme patience. Whenever the light was not right, or a clouded sky was not to his liking, he was willing to bike back and forth ten to twenty times to reach an isolated farm—only to return home again with empty hands—until he had the shot he wanted. He held a high regard for perfect technique. Staal worked primarily with the bromoil print. Such prints are made by bleaching an enlarged bromide print, causing the gelatin to harden. Next, the paper is dabbed with thick paint. As a result, an image emerges with painterly qualities. With a bromoil print, one can choose for either a fixed or unfixed print. Staal used the developed photo as his starting point. As such, his working procedure was the same as the ‘indirect method’, as Idzerda described it. From the wet bromoil print, one can then make another print on absorbent paper using an etching press. This technique is called a bromoil transfer print. Staal referred to it as a ‘pigmogravure’. Next came the final finishing. Staal removed not only the blemishes made in the darkroom through retouching, but also any elements that detracted from the composition, e.g. electric cables and fencing. One example of this approach to working is the photo Winterzon (‘Winter Sun’). Staal must have felt that the picturesque effect of the image benefited more from a female figure. Accordingly, he added a hat and a dress to the male figure found on the original negative.

A longer exposure time was used to create deeper blacks. Parts of a photo were exposed somewhat longer in order to intensify certain areas. One example of this working method is the photo Doesburg, achter de kerk (‘Doesburg, Behind the Church’), in which the contours of the buildings have been burned.

By tempering the exposure with a screen, one could achieve a degree of blur or even haziness in an image. Another way to rework the image was to use multiple negatives when making a single bromoil print. By doing so, Staal was able to add picturesque clouds to a cloudless sky, such as with the photo Stormachtige lucht, Kuinre (‘Stormy Sky, Kuinre’).

Staal felt free enough to change anything that detracted from a balanced romantic image, on the condition that its photographic character was preserved. ‘It is not the instant but its condition that determines the mood’, as he put it. Like other photographers in the 1920s, Staal ventured out to the countryside, equipped with a heavy plate camera, in search of beautiful landscapes.

Because of the equipment’s unwieldiness and the high cost of materials, one had to photograph in consultation. Quite frequently, a photographer returned home with only two or three plates. Staal exposed glass plates of various formats by means of colour filters. He used these filters almost always for his landscape photos.

With the arrival of the more manageable roll film and 35 mm cameras, photographers gained more freedom. The equipment was less heavy and the glass plates were replaced by roll film. Notwithstanding, Staal still almost always continued to use a high tripod and a cable shutter release for his landscape photos. In 1934, he worked with a 6×9 folding camera, a retractable roll film camera using Kodak Verichrome roll film. Here too he used colour filters and a diffusion filter.

Although Staal owned a Leica, an Exacta, and a Rolleiflex camera in 1942, he still preferred to photograph (certainly up until 1947) using a simple folding camera.

The lens of his camera was an unsealed double anastigmat, which produced a finely dispersed flare of light caused by the reflection between the freestanding lens planes. This was particularly important for shots with a high contrast, as the lens gave a soft, clearly visible image.

Hans Staal’s significance as a photographer stems in part from his efforts to promote photography. Besides the fact that he was a lauded and award-winning photographer in his day, through his written publications he managed to advance the causes of landscape photography and the application of fine printing processes.

Staal was one of the driving forces of the ‘Hengelo School’ and the HAFV, which both played a critical role in the world of amateur photography in the 1930s based on the high quality of the work these groups produced over a substantial period of time. Moreover, in the world of the amateur photographers, Staal stood as a teacher and inspiration. For twenty-five years, he was the examiner for both the Bond van Nederlandse Fotohandelaren (‘Federation of Dutch Photography Dealers’) and the NFVS.

Although a professional photographer, Staal’s attained notoriety based on work he did for non-commercial purposes. He felt the greatest affinity with amateur photography and found an enthusiastic audience in these circles. It was this which led to Staal’s being honoured on his sixtieth birthday in 1950—at a point when his heydays had come to an end—by the magazine Foto as one of the ‘few truly important Dutch landscape photographers (who) boosted and upheld photography in our country’.

The post-war generation of professional photographers emphasised photography’s communicative value. They preferred to see their work reproduced in a book or a magazine rather than on the wall at an exhibition. Staal continued to create landscapes by means of bromoil printing. The demise of people’s interest in pictorial photography following the war ultimately signalled the end of Staal’s photographic success.

Although Staal succeeded in making a profession of his hobby, photography remained his big passion throughout his life.

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