René Heitmüller, photographer
René Heitmüller studied photography at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in the Hague. After travelling the world for several years he settled down in Amsterdam and established himself as an independent professional photographer.
After meeting colleague photographer Felice Derkinderen in 1990 he started creating images with her. Since then they work as a team on commercial and editorial assignments with their company the Beauty and the beast. In addition they make personal, autonomous projects together.
The work of Derkinderen and Heitmüller is characterized by a quest for the essence. Finding the elemental by stripping the superfluous layer by layer, showing larger dimensions through omission. This and the method of melting mise-en-scène and magic of the moment together gives their images a statuesque quality that raises the portrayed persons out of reality, showing a universal truth. Combining classical photographic and modern digital techniques their images are a product of contemporary life but possess timeless apects as well.
Please visit the website of the Beauty and the beast www.thebeautyandthebeast.com for more information and a selection of images.