My name is Merel Schoneveld (1983). I’m from the Netherlands but grew up all over the world since birth. In 2016, I began taking my camera everywhere, becoming a quiet observer of life’s ebb and flow. I photograph moments as they breathe— unposed, and captured in the present. My work isn’t about orchestrating stories but discovering them in the faces, movements, and fleeting connections of everyday life.

To me, (street) photography is a way of listening—a silent, visual dialogue with the world. Each frame is an answer to the question of what it means to be here, now. I look for the poetry in the mundane, the rhythm in chaos, and the raw, imperfect beauty of the human experience.

I hope my photos can offer glimpses of the shared humanity we often overlook.

Contact: info@merelschoneveld.nl

Competitions

Winner Ed van der Elsken competition, Stedelijk Museum - 2017
Winner Street photography International Awards - 2017
Winner Street Shooting Around the World Photo contest, Los Angeles Center of Photography - 2018
Second Prize winner category “News National”, Zilveren Camera - 2019
Winner Care4Corona, Pandemic photography Competition, Museum Hilversum - 2020
First prize winner category “News Regional”, Zilveren Camera 2020

Exhibitions

SPI Street awards Exhibition, the Art Bermondsey Project Space, London - 2018
Street Shooting Around the World, Los Angeles Center of Photography - 2018
Black and White, Blank Wall Gallery, Athens - 2018
Street Sans Frontiéres, Paris - 2018
Women Street Photographers, Artspace PS109, New York - 2019
Haute Photographie, Las Palmas Rotterdam - 2019
Exhibition Zilveren Camera winners, Traveling Exhibition - 2020
Candid Scheveningen, Panorama Mesdag Museum, Den Haag - 2020
Pandemic, Museum Hilversum - 2020
Exhibition Zilveren Camera winners - Traveling Exhibition - 2021
Bieb aan Zee, Centrale Bibliotheek Den Haag - 2021

Publications

Volkskrant magazine, Rubriek Smaak - 2018
NRC, Beelden ter illustratie Artikel “Flaneren moet je leren” van Christiaan Weijts - 2018
Kronkeling.com - 2018
Focus Magazine, Interview and portfolio - 2019
Gup New Dutch Photography Talent -2019
Vice.com - 2019
Shutr Magazine, Interview and portfolio - 2019
Polka Magazine - 2019
De Morgen, Portfolio - 2019
Streetrepeat.org - 2019
Zilveren Camera Jaarboek - 2020
The Street Photography Manual, Book by David Gibson - 2019
Villa Magazine, Interview and portfolio - 2020
Zilveren Camera Jaarboek - 2020
Focus Magazine - Dec 2021

Media

Guest jury for Dutch tv program “Het perfecte plaatje” - 2021
Online masterclass Street photography, Kamera Express - 2022