I’m back from vacation and the holiday break, refreshed and ready to dive into a brand-new year 📸
Looking forward to 2026 and all the new photography opportunities, creative projects, and moments waiting to be captured.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and inspiring New Year. All the very best for 2026 ✨

#NewYear2026 #PhotographyLife #BackFromBreak #CreativeJourney #BestWishes

Back from the holidays and ready for 2026 📸 Looking forward to new photography opportunities ahead. Wishing everyone all the best in the New Year! #NewYear2026 #PhotographyLife #BackFromBreak #CreativeJourney #BestWishes
Photography Legend Neil Leifer: "I Thought: Shit, What Will They Think in the Laboratory?"

Neil Leifer is one of the world’s most famous sports photographers. Here, he speaks of his favorite photograph, the shocking openness of celebrities and the magic of Muhammad Ali.

DER SPIEGEL

Done with the last copyright registration for 2025, PHEW!

The drama of the USCO's eCO (electronic copyright office) system always elevates my pulse & blood pressure. I've stopped storing the password, it always needs resetting! 😆

Then, they say the system is best used with Firefox — and I can't get it to work with Firefox, at all! Safari is even worse (requires navigating the forms with the keyboard😵‍💫) but luckily Vivaldi worked...
🥴

#Photography #USCO #Copyright #ArtistRights #PhotographyLife

Rooted in nature, reaching for adventure. Never stop exploring.🌻

#Naturephotography
#Exploremore
#Wanderlust
#Fieldofdreams
#Photographylife

I'm writing up my site's Terms and Conditions page in straightforward, simple language and throwing some easter eggs in it for anyone who actually reads it. From the durability guarantee section:

"Metal prints are exceptionally durable and Rag Baryta paper is built to last a couple of lifetimes or more, but any photo material can be quickly degraded or destroyed by direct sunlight, rough handling, high heat, humidity, mildew, a cat looking for a scratching post or an angry political leader throwing ketchup on it."

Elsewhere there is a disclaimer about pet capybaras.

#PhotographyLife #Photography

When Worlds Accidentally Collide

Sometimes you see something that just makes you smile — that quiet “well, look at that…” moment. While walking through the city center of Arnhem, I noticed two entirely unrelated things that, from the right perspective, told a story together.

On the side of a building was a statue of a woman — hands in her hair, expression frozen somewhere between shock and amazement. But nearby, a street sign had clearly taken a hit and was now bent at a rather unfortunate angle. From where I stood, it looked as if she was reacting exactly to that.

Moments like this are the reward for looking twice. I took out my Canon 5D Mark IV with the Sigma 100–400, framed the scene just right, and captured that perfect visual coincidence. It’s not the kind of image that shouts — but it does make you grin when you notice the connection.

Photography, after all, isn’t always about light or motion. Sometimes it’s about timing, perspective, and the quiet humor of the world arranging itself for a fraction of a second.

#StreetPhotography #UrbanObservation #DocumentaryPhotography #VisualIrony #CoincidenceInArt #PhotographyHumor #CityPhotography #Arnhem #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #StreetDetails #FoundComposition #ArtInEverydayLife #UrbanArt #ObservationalPhotography #ComedicComposition #DutchPhotography #Netherlands #StoryInAFrame #PhotographersEye #MomentInTime #UrbanExploration #StreetStatue #StreetSigns #PhotoHumor #AccidentalArt #CityStories #PhotographyLife #PhotoOfTheDay #SeeingDifferently #StreetScenes #EverydayStories #UrbanPerspective #CandidMoments #LightAndLife #ArchitectureAndArt #PhotographyStudy #FieldObservation #VisualStorytelling #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography
Street photography — Noordstraat, Tilburg

There’s something cinematic about the streets at night. The way neon cuts through darkness, shaping color where the sun has long faded. Around 20:00, under the soft hum of the “Sam Sam” sign, I noticed this quiet corner — a red brick façade, a shop window glowing like a memory, and a dark alley entrance beside it. Just then, a woman passed by, her stride catching the light for a fraction of a second. It felt like a frame from a detective film — a moment between mystery and calm.

Photographically, it was a challenge worth taking. Shot with the Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 24–70mm Art, a lens known for its sharpness and contrast control. In near darkness, balancing ISO, shutter, and aperture becomes an act of intuition — reading the light as much as measuring it. And sometimes, timing rewards you with a story in motion.

#StreetPhotography #NightPhotography #Tilburg #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma2470Art #UrbanMood #LowLightPhotography #Noordstraat #DutchStreets #CinematicLight #CityStories #DocumentaryPhotography #PhotographyIsScience #VisualStorytelling #NeonLight #UrbanExploration #PhotographyLife #StreetLightMagic #ByMaikelPhotography #MaikeldeBakker