In 2009, Dutch photojournalist Jeroen Swolfs set out to visit and photograph street life in every country in the world. Streets of the World is the result of this impressive journey.

Whith an eye on the horizon for a more positive perspective

It is a photography project that does not only impress by its scale, but also by the photographers’ intriguing outlook and his eye for people. With his 195 street photos taken in as many countries, Swolfs wants to show a positive image of the world we live in. One that is completely different from the harsh images the media show us, but just as real.

"When I started ‘Streets of the World’ in 2006, in Chisinau, Moldova, I had already decided on the technique that I wanted to use throughout the project. Because Streets of the World is about unity and the connection between people around the world, I wanted to use a technique which conveyed that feeling of unity with the photos as well. So, I chose to always use the same angle, 16 mm, and the same point of view, standing in the street looking straight ahead with a straight horizon, and to always use an aperture value between 8 and 13, depending on the light, to achieve a high depth of field in all photos. I tried to maintain the same ISO as much as I could, around 200. This approach connects the horizon in all the photos. That same style reappears in the Streets of the World logo, which has the horizon in the middle as do the photos, but also symbolizes a street."

Streets of the World Tour

After seven years of traveling, it is now time for seven years of sharing. ‘Streets on Tour’ started with a big exhibition in the Carlsberg factory in Denmark. Currently we exhibit in our photo museum in Zaandam and continue on our journey as a traveling exhibition to all corners of the world to share both the pictures and their message. From city to city, country to country and continent to continent. Jeroen Swolfs wants his work to inspire people to look at each other differently – not focussing on what divides us, but on what brings us together.

Read more about Streets on tour on our global website. 

Tags Photography Inspiration, Travel Inspiration, Adventure, Jeroen Swolfs