Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf has died at 64. He shot themes from gay nightlife to the royal family

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Acclaimed Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf has died at age 64. His work documented topics ranging from gay nightlife in Amsterdam to portraits of the Dutch royal family. Olaf’s highly stylized photos often featured lighting influenced by Dutch master painters Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer. They were exhibited at galleries around the world during a career spanning decades. Olaf’s website says he recently underwent a lung transplant and suddenly became unwell and died Wednesday. Director of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum Taco Dibbits called Olaf historically important because of his activism and role in the LHBTIQ+ community. Dibbits says Olaf was “an artist with enormous drive and with a very great eye for detail.”