Trip down memory lane.

This photograph was taken in 2010, just six years after the portrait I shared earlier of Shigeru Miyamoto. And looking at it now, I can already see how much had changed.

This time, the subject was Ryota Niitsuma, former Capcom developer, producer, and one of the people behind several of the company’s fighting game titles, including parts of the Street Fighter legacy.

The difference with my earlier work is striking. Better composition. Better understanding of light. A more thoughtful moment. It was shot on a Canon EOS 350D with a fairly standard Sigma zoom lens—nothing fancy, just a simple tool and a growing eye behind it.

At the time, I was running my own media company with a staff of 27 people. Life moved fast. Deadlines, interviews, events, constant decisions. Photography was never my main role, but when my team needed me to step in, I did.

And somewhere in that chaos, I started to fall in love with the craft.

What I notice most now is not just the technical growth, but something else: even back then, I was already teaching. Showing younger photographers simple things—where to stand, how to use the light, how to frame a subject. The same small lessons I would later share with others in nature and beyond.

Funny how some paths reveal themselves only when you look back.

#RyotaNiitsuma #Capcom #StreetFighter #GamingJournalism #PhotographyJourney #Canon350D #PortraitPhotography #MediaHistory #Throwback #PhotographyGrowth #GameIndustry #LearningPhotography #CreativeGrowth #PhotoArchive #CanonEOS350D #OldPhotos #VisualStorytelling #ThenAndNow #PhotographerLife #Mentorship #TeachingPhotography #CreativeCareer #MemoryLane #GameDeveloper #BehindTheScenes #Nostalgia #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens
A trip down memory lane.

Long before I focused on nature photography, I started in a very different world: games journalism. First with Nintendo 64 Magazine in 1996, later at N-Europe, and eventually founding my own media company in 2004 while still writing for others. Back then, if you wanted photos for an interview, you took them yourself.

And looking back now… let’s just say photography was not yet my strongest skill.

This image is one of my first photographs I considered “good” at the time: a portrait of Shigeru Miyamoto, the creative mind behind Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and so many worlds that shaped my youth.

Shot on what I believe was a film-based Canon EOS Rebel with what was probably the kit lens, it reminds me how far both technology and skill have come. At the time, I thought this was a great portrait. Today, I would never frame or light it like this.

And that’s exactly the point.

If you look at your old work and feel a little embarrassed, that’s not failure. That’s proof you’ve grown. The eye that critiques your past is the same eye that has learned to see better.

And years from now, the images you are proud of today may teach you that same lesson all over again.

#ShigeruMiyamoto #Nintendo #GamingJournalism #PhotographyJourney #PortraitPhotography #FilmPhotography #CanonEOSRebel #RetroPhotography #N64 #NEurope #MediaHistory #LearningPhotography #CreativeGrowth #Throwback #PhotoArchive #OldPhotos #PhotographyLessons #VisualStorytelling #GameIndustry #NintendoHistory #PhotographerLife #ThenAndNow #GrowthMindset #CreativeJourney #MemoryLane #ThroughTheLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens

I just blocked videogamer.com through DNS and I feel happy about it.

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #GamingJournalism #Journalism #Videogames #Gaming #Games

🎮 Vice deletes Steam censorship stories. Waypoint staff walks out.
🔗 https://aftermath.site/waypoint-quit-steam-vice
#GamingJournalism #MediaEthics #Steam
Waypoint Writers Quit Over Removal Of Articles Related To New Steam Policy [Updated] - Aftermath

Two articles by writer Ana Valens were removed at the demand of Vice owner Savage Ventures, the latest in multiple deletions at the site

#LegendaryDrops last video about #Polygon tells a lot of facts about why people celebrate its death. Just listen to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CE0EvPkLiI

#Journalism #GamingJournalism #Gaming #Videogames #Games #Magazine #OnlineMagazine #VoxMedia

Polygon played themselves and they lost

YouTube

Huge bummer to hear about Polygon getting sold to the slop farm Valnet. I remember a long time ago when Screen Rant had some interesting pieces on movies once and a while.

I wonder what will happen to their video division. I really enjoy their YouTube channel. I saw that their main short video contributor got laid off. Maybe they'll all land somewhere together. Or we can get some of them over on some Dropout shows!
#polygon #valnet #droupout #GamingJournalism

Every now and then I like to go back and laugh about my time working for a shitty Valnet website. It's so funny they say my expertise is in Cyberpunk 2077 and Valheim, two games I literally never played in my life.

I had to pay rent, so I used YouTube tutorials and opinions my friends had on Valheim to write "guides" and listicles. But now I'm an "expert." Also fun fact, when you no longer work for these sites? They don't let you edit your profile anymore! And they can edit your articles while still claiming you wrote them!

#Gaming #Journalism #GamingJournalism

Corporate-backed "independent" gaming journalism? Something's not adding up. 🤔

A new gaming site claims independence while being powered by Walmart. As someone running a truly independent site, this raises serious questions about the future of gaming journalism.

Let's dive into what real independence means.

#GamingJournalism #IndieJournalism #Gaming #MediaCriticism #GameNews
https://the-2tonwaffle.ghost.io/the-corporate-waltz-when-independent-gaming-journalism-isnt-really-independent/

The Corporate Waltz: When "Independent" Gaming Journalism Isn't Really Independent

When "independent" meets corporate backing, something doesn't add up. The latest gaming site claims independence while powered by Walmart - but can you really be free when wearing corporate chains? Let's talk about what true independence in gaming journalism means today.

The 2TonWaffle

y'all please spread this far and wide. #theOtherFrost is doing diligent #journalism hard as hell. His arena is #Gaming, but from #GamingJournalism he's wrenching out the nails of the selfish, capitalist, ignorance industry. and if you're familiar with #TheEscapist, #SecondWind, etc you'll know sooner what a big deal this is.
#ThankYou!

https://youtu.be/nT7SkcsHK9M?si=2AZcbaw1KMAAzSqK

- YouTube

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