The 'Bureau of Operational Landscapes' examines the relationship between landscape photography and logistical landscapes, with the Port of Rotterdam as a case study.

In his dissertation, Weber argues that the complex spatial configurations of contemporary logistical sites demand a new photographic methodology to interpret and engage with these landscapes. This argumentation resonates in his initiation of the 'Bureau of Operational Landscapes' – a conceptual and practical framework – through which he reimagines landscape photography as a more-than-representational act that solicits public engagement with logistical space.

Through the 'Bureau of Operational Landscapes', Weber utilizes both landscape photography and site-specific encounters to expand public perception and scrutiny of the port. This way, the logistical landscape may be made more legible to the public, encouraging a relationship beyond the official narrative that governs these vital yet often overlooked spaces.

Prior to photography, Donald Weber (1973, CA) was originally educated as an architect and worked with Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Much of Weber’s work is concerned with making visible the technological, spatial, legal, and political systems that shape our current condition – the infrastructures of power.

He has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Lange-Taylor Prize, the Duke and Duchess of York Prize, and shortlisted for the Scotiabank Photography Prize, amongst other citations. His diverse photography projects have been exhibited as installations, exhibitions, and screenings at festivals and galleries worldwide including the United Nations, Museum of the Army at Les Invalides in Paris, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Royal Ontario Museum.

He is an Associate Professor of Contemporary Photography at Aalto University, Finland, and co-founded the Master Photography & Society at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. His practice-based PhD explores operational landscapes through photography, tours, and site-specific encounters as a method of reading land and to rethink its (official) stories.