If you're flying into Amsterdam and happen to see a burning Boeing 747, don't panic. The flames are real, but the disaster is not.
The plane is used to teach firefighters how to extinguish aircraft blazes. It's one of dozens of training grounds where Dutch military, police, and first responders hone their skills and prepare for disasters. Photographer Jeroen Hofman offers a sweeping vision of these simulated catastrophes and conflicts in his ongoing series Playground.
Hofman, who also explored the curious, slightly morbid world of forensics training, sees his countrymen's acute attention to detail as part of their national identity. "The Dutch have this thing where they always want to prevent disasters from happening," he says. "We want to be ready for everything."
The photographer has spent six years documenting 65 of the country's shooting ranges and training sites. New recruits and seasoned veterans alike prepare for every imaginable scenario, from urban raids to helicopter fires, while keeping up on basic skills like marksmanship. Realism is key; the training "village" of Marnehuizen has a bakery, a butcher, and a bank. "They do it very seriously," Hofman says. "They don’t make jokes when they see a bunch of people lying around dead as actors because they know that one day this will be real."
Getting inside required determination. Hofman has sent countless emails and made dozens of calls seeking permission to photograph the locations, and campaigned tirelessly for access. He spent nearly a year pestering officials at the Schiphol Airport Fire Department.
Once he gets the OK, Hofman arrives with his gear and a rented cherry picker. It's a chore to move, so he tends to take his time scouting the location to determine the best views and lighting. After he's found the spot, he'll position the cherry picker, extend the boom, and wait. Drills can last several hours, with everything carefully planned. "You can see it as a play—a well-organized, structured play," he says.
Despite the intense work, Hofman's photographs have a whimsical, theatrical feel. Many of them look like the set of a big-budget action movie. But it's all deadly serious. In one exercise Hofman photographed, marines searched for roadside bombs in a location meant to evoke Afghanistan. Three of them later shipped out to Urozgan Province, where they died in an ambush. "All these people at some point in their lives will face horror, terror, the thing that they will have to show how to do it in real life," Hofman says. "You cannot prepare for everything."
