Frans Lemmens (1953, Schimmert, the Netherlands) is  a true globetrotter. After completing his studies at the Netherlands School of Business Nijenrode, the world became his home. He worked for years in Africa as a development-aid worker and travelled as a tour guide through all the continents, including the Sahara.

Photography had always been his passion. In 1986 he decided to become a documentary photographer, concentrating on travel and nature. In this capacity he undertook a number of unique expeditions. He crossed the Sahara on foot with a traditional Tuareg salt caravan, accompanied the Chilean navy to Antarctica and flew around the world in a Catalina flying boat.

 

 

 

 

His early desert photography resulted in an inter-national breakthrough with worldwide publications and his first book, The Algerian Sahara (1990). On expedition in Bolivia (1989) he met his partner Marjolijn van Steeden. Since that time, they have travelled and worked together.

Assignments all over the world followed each other in succession, but his homeland was not forgotten. From 1993 the Netherlands became an important theme in Lemmens' oeuvre. His highly aesthetic Holland photographs resulted in his magnificent book 'Visions of the Netherlands' (1997).

In 2000, after a short assignment to Djanet (Algerian Sahara) an 'old love' was reborn. Not only Frans but also his partner Marjolijn was touched by the beauty of the desert. They decided to start a new Sahara project. Expeditions to the major areas of the Sahara were undertaken, resulting in the book 'Sahara, Land beyond Imagination' (2005), the undisputed crown on this element of his work.

The book attracted soon the attention of the global company UNILEVER. An assignment for a similar book to mark UNILEVER's 75th anniversary followed. 'Unilever Matters' (2007) covers Unilever's activities in fourteen countries. It provides insight in the operations of a global company interacting with widely differing local societies.




The image on the left hand:
31 st of January 2005: the couple shows the book on top of the Hoggar Mountains in Algeria, their favourite spot to celebrate the successful end of the Sahara project.