EP 009 The duality of storytelling: Balancing journalism and nuance, with photographer Jeroen Toirkens

Jeroen Toirkens is a documentary photographer based out of The Hague in The Netherlands. He mainly works on long-term projects that can take years to complete. His most recent project, Borealis, took six years to complete. It’s a book that documents the Boreal Forest and the people who live in it. To accurately tell the story of the Boreal Forest—which is the largest land-based vegetation zone and makes up around 29 percent of the total forested area on earth—He and co-author Jelle Brandt Corstius immersed themselves in the culture and in the environment. 

In pursuing a project, Jeroen feels that it’s his responsibility to tell a story in the most accurate way he can. This involves patience and experience and letting the story tell itself, rather than molding it to a narrative of your own.