Photographer Maartje Punt is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘Coven’. To see Maartje’s body of work, click on any photograph.

New Orleans is a city unlike any other — strange, magical, and endlessly fascinating. With Coven, I wanted to capture my experience of this place that constantly kept me in awe. It’s a city of contrasts: filled with vibrant people, a dark nightlife pulsing with mystery, whispers of voodoo and ghost stories, and at the same time an explosion of music, color, and joy. Yet beneath all of that lies the haunting history of slavery. The images are my way of exploring that tension between light and shadow, between the spiritual and the earthly, between reality and imagination… that defines the soul of New Orleans.

I shot all the photos on an iPhone. The medium doesn’t really matter to me. I can also shoot with a digital camera, Polaroid, analogue 35 mm or 120 mm — it’s about capturing the moment. And you always have your phone with you. I’m glad my work reaches a wide audience through these kinds of platforms.

About the Artist

Maartje Punt (b. 1989) is a versatile Dutch visual artist based in the Netherlands. After graduating from ArtEZ University of the Arts as a Crossmedia Designer, she built a multifaceted career as a photographer, gallery owner, graphic designer, and author. Her distinctive photographic style — characterized by atmosphere, emotion, and narrative depth — has been showcased in over twenty exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad, published in various media, and honored with multiple national and international awards. In 2025 alone, she earned 2nd place in the People category of the iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) and was nominated for the Vincent van Gogh Photo Awards.

All images and text © Maartje Punt