PongPongPhotos — Curaçao

Real people. Real moments. Real stories.

Portrait Willemstad 12.06.26
[ PongPong / 01 ]
Portrait of a woman lit by late afternoon sun on a Willemstad balcony, warm shadows across her face.
Second frame from the same session: hands adjusting a collar in doorway light.
Frame 0149
35mm · natural light No. 0148

A visual journal of moments worth remembering — made on an island where the light does half the work and the people do the rest.

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Photography + film Portraits Events Weddings Brands Documentary Booking 2026
[ PongPong / 02 ]

Selected work

2024 — 2026 · 07 frames

Pulled from personal archives and client shoots. Everything here happened once, in one place, and then it was over.

A swimmer standing waist-deep in turquoise water at the salt flats, low sun behind her.
01 / PortraitSint Willibrordus

Salt & Gold

Personal
Dancers caught mid-motion under warm string lights at a Pietermaai street party.
02 / EventWillemstad

Fete at Pietermaai

Client
Pastel colonial facades in Otrobanda softening into blue hour, a lone figure crossing the frame.
03 / PlacesOtrobanda

Blue Hour, Otrobanda

Personal
Close portrait of a young man in a doorway in Scharloo, half his face in shadow.
04 / PortraitScharloo

Ruben, 24

Personal
Wide interior of a Punda coffee bar at opening hour, morning light stretching across the counter.
05 / BrandPunda

Kas di Kòfi — opening campaign

Client
A barber and his customer laughing in a shop doorway on a Sunday afternoon.
06 / LifeMontaña

Sunday Barbers

Personal
A couple walking away from the camera along an empty beach on Klein Curaçao, hands loosely held.
07 / LoveKlein Curaçao

Two Weeks in June

Client
[ PongPong / 03 ]

The frame

One photograph, and everything that had to happen for it
A dancer mid-turn in a doorway, dust catching the last light behind her.
Light Motion Expression Moment
Frame 0231 · 1/250 · f/2.0 · ISO 200

Nine minutes of waiting for the door to open, one turn, one breath. The rest of the roll is out of focus. This is the one that stayed.

[ PongPong / 04 ]

What I photograph

Six ways in
Portrait session in Bándabou.
People
Candid moment at a Pietermaai celebration.
Moments
Coastline near Westpunt at golden hour.
Places
Brand campaign frame shot in Punda.
Brands
Couple photographed on Klein Curaçao.
Love
Everyday street life in Otrobanda.
Life
[ PongPong / 05 ]

Photo stories

Sequences, not singles

One frame tells you what something looked like. Eight frames tell you what it felt like to be there.

A Sunday in Willemstad

08 photographs · 06:00 — 19:40 · Willemstad, Curaçao
Empty Handelskade at six in the morning, harbour water flat as glass.
01
A woman opening the shutters of a shop, light hitting the doorway.
02
Fishermen unloading crates at the floating market.
03
Hands counting change on a market table, coins catching the sun.
04
Kids running the length of the Queen Emma pontoon bridge.
05
A family lunch spilling onto the pavement in Scharloo.
06
An old man asleep in a plastic chair, radio on his lap.
07
The last of the light going down behind Otrobanda rooftops.
08

Shot on one battery, one lens, one very long Sunday.

[ PongPong / 05a ]
Departure hall at Hato airport before sunrise, one traveller waiting.

The last flight out

11 photographs · Hato, 06:40
Swimmers and boat crews at Caracasbaai on a still afternoon.

Water people

09 photographs · Caracasbaai
[ PongPong / 06 ]

Moving frames

Short films · sound on
Still from an event film: crowd lit by stage light at a Pietermaai party. Watch film

Fete — Pietermaai

Event film · 02:14
Still from a brand story: barista pouring at Kas di Kòfi in morning light. Watch film

Kas di Kòfi

Brand story · 01:08
Behind the scenes still: crew setting up lights on a rooftop at dusk. Watch film

One shoot, one day

Behind the scenes · 03:22
Still from a social edit: fast cuts of salt flats and swimmers. Watch film

Salt season

Social content · 00:45
[ PongPong / 07 ]
About

Photography isn't about freezing time. It's about keeping a piece of it.

PongPong at work, camera at his side, standing in a bright doorway in Willemstad.

Self-portrait, badly timed · Otrobanda

I'm PongPong. I photograph people on an island where everybody knows somebody, which means a shoot usually ends with food and it takes an hour to leave.

I started because I kept missing things — the second after the toast, the look between two people who thought nobody was watching. Cameras are the only honest way I've found to hold onto those. So that's what I chase: the frame just before or just after the one everyone expects.

The work runs across portraits, events, weddings, brands and long documentary days where nothing is planned. Different jobs, same approach: get close, stay out of the way, wait longer than feels comfortable, and never ask anyone to say cheese.

  • BasedWillemstad, Curaçao
  • WorkPhotography + video
  • TravelLocal & destination projects
  • LanguagesPapiamentu · English · Nederlands

Get close. Stay longer.

[ PongPong / 08 ]

Behind the frame

Unedited, unflattering, accurate
Camera bag open on a kerb, lenses and a warm bottle of water inside.
07:12 · gear check, again
Photographer crouched low in a street, shooting up at a subject out of frame.
Low angle, high effort
Scouting a location at midday, harsh shadows across a wall.
Scouting, 34°C, no shade
A hand holding a reflector while wind pulls at it.
The wind always wins
Editing late at night, screen glow on a cluttered desk.
01:40 · culling 1,400 frames
[ PongPong / 09 ]

What we can make

Quotes on request

Every project is priced after we talk, because a two-hour portrait and a three-day wedding have nothing in common.

Let's create something
[ PongPong / 10 ]

How a shoot goes

Notebook and phone on a table during a first client call.
01 — Discover

Tell me what you're making

A call or a long message. What it's for, who it's for, and what you want people to feel.

Location scouting shots pinned side by side.
02 — Plan

We build the direction

References, locations, timing, light. You get a plan before anyone picks up a camera.

Shoot day: camera raised, subject laughing off-frame.
03 — Create

Shoot day

Relaxed, fast and organised. Most people forget the camera is there within ten minutes.

Finished images being reviewed on a screen.
04 — Deliver

Edited and yours

Private gallery in 7–14 days, high-res downloads, web-sized set for socials, print files on request.

[ PongPong / 11 ]
PongPong didn't just capture the event. He captured the energy.
Shanira D. — Event organiser, Pietermaai
We booked one shoot. We've used those photos for two years.
Kas di Kòfi — Punda
My grandmother hates photos. She has this one framed.
Julien R. — Family session
[ PongPong / 12 ]

Journal

Notes, locations, shoot breakdowns
Golden hour light spilling across a Curaçao cliff path.
Locations · 6 min

Five spots in Curaçao that look unreal at golden hour

Where to stand, what time to be there, and which ones are worth the drive out west.
A portrait lit by a single window, breakdown of the setup.
Breakdown · 4 min

How we made the Salt & Gold portrait

One reflector, no strobe, and forty minutes of waiting for the sun to drop behind the flats.
Street corner in Willemstad photographed at midday.
Field notes · 5 min

A day shooting around Willemstad with one lens

What changes when you take away every option except where you stand.

Behind the shoot: Kas di Kòfi opening campaign

Mar 2026

Best locations in Curaçao for portrait photography

Feb 2026

The story behind the photograph: Fete at Pietermaai

Jan 2026
[ PongPong / 13 ]

Have a story worth capturing?

Or reach me directly hello@pongpongphotos.com WhatsApp Instagram