AbstractEmporiumArtDo transformations always look beautiful? Not really. Growth can be awkward, messy—a mix of bright, clashing colors before they finally settle into harmony. It’s about progress, not perfection. If you’re craving a space that welcomes messy growth, you’ll find it on the site.
Maikel de BakkerTrip 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
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
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
Linda, her very first time seriously holding a camera—one of mine. Knowing how much she loves animals, I took her to a park known for its squirrels. First the birds arrived, giving her time to learn the basics: point, focus, shoot. Step by step. An hour later, after spotting her first squirrel, I handed her a better lens. And there she was, smiling behind the camera. Lesson one: have fun.
#Photography #LearningPhotography #WildlifePhotography #Squirrels #BirdPhotography #NaturePhotography #PhotographyMentor #CanonPhotography #Telephoto #BeginnerPhotographer #CreativeJourney #NatureLovers #InTheField #OutdoorPhotography #AnimalLovers #TeachingPhotography #FirstSteps #PhotographyLife #PointAndShoot #NatureObservation #FieldMoments #BehindTheScenes #HappyPhotographer #WildlifeMoments #CreativeGrowth #ThroughTheLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens
#Photography #LearningPhotography #WildlifePhotography #Squirrels #BirdPhotography #NaturePhotography #PhotographyMentor #CanonPhotography #Telephoto #BeginnerPhotographer #CreativeJourney #NatureLovers #InTheField #OutdoorPhotography #AnimalLovers #TeachingPhotography #FirstSteps #PhotographyLife #PointAndShoot #NatureObservation #FieldMoments #BehindTheScenes #HappyPhotographer #WildlifeMoments #CreativeGrowth #ThroughTheLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens
Another protégé. Another lesson.
This time high above the Spoorpark in Tilburg, standing on a viewing tower swaying gently in the wind. Kevin is already a capable street photographer, comfortable in the rhythm of the streets below. But this lesson was about something different: perspective.
As we looked out over the city, I told him something unexpected.
“Look down.”
You could almost see the question marks appear above his head.
From a bird’s-eye view, the city changes completely. Streets become lines, people become patterns, cars become movement through geometry and light. A perspective many street photographers rarely explore, because we naturally see the world from eye level.
And that’s exactly why it matters.
Photographing from that height wasn’t easy. The tower moved with every gust of wind, making stability a challenge—especially with longer focal lengths. While I prepared a camera with a telelens for Kevin to use, he started experimenting on his own. That moment—his curiosity, his concentration—is when I took this shot.
When I handed him the camera, I showed him some of the compositions I had seen from above. And almost immediately, he understood the lesson.
Not just how to photograph a city.
But how changing your position changes the story entirely.
Sometimes growth in photography is not about better gear or settings.
Sometimes it’s simply about standing somewhere different.
#StreetPhotography #Spoorpark #Tilburg #PhotographyMentor #LearningPhotography #UrbanPhotography #BirdsEyeView #CityPhotography #Perspective #Composition #CanonPhotography #Telephoto #VisualStorytelling #PhotographyJourney #StreetPhotographer #CreativeGrowth #UrbanGeometry #LeadingLines #CityLife #OutdoorPhotography #ExploreTilburg #PhotographyLessons #InTheField #ArchitecturePhotography #SeeingDifferently #HumanPatterns #ThroughTheLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens
This time high above the Spoorpark in Tilburg, standing on a viewing tower swaying gently in the wind. Kevin is already a capable street photographer, comfortable in the rhythm of the streets below. But this lesson was about something different: perspective.
As we looked out over the city, I told him something unexpected.
“Look down.”
You could almost see the question marks appear above his head.
From a bird’s-eye view, the city changes completely. Streets become lines, people become patterns, cars become movement through geometry and light. A perspective many street photographers rarely explore, because we naturally see the world from eye level.
And that’s exactly why it matters.
Photographing from that height wasn’t easy. The tower moved with every gust of wind, making stability a challenge—especially with longer focal lengths. While I prepared a camera with a telelens for Kevin to use, he started experimenting on his own. That moment—his curiosity, his concentration—is when I took this shot.
When I handed him the camera, I showed him some of the compositions I had seen from above. And almost immediately, he understood the lesson.
Not just how to photograph a city.
But how changing your position changes the story entirely.
Sometimes growth in photography is not about better gear or settings.
Sometimes it’s simply about standing somewhere different.
#StreetPhotography #Spoorpark #Tilburg #PhotographyMentor #LearningPhotography #UrbanPhotography #BirdsEyeView #CityPhotography #Perspective #Composition #CanonPhotography #Telephoto #VisualStorytelling #PhotographyJourney #StreetPhotographer #CreativeGrowth #UrbanGeometry #LeadingLines #CityLife #OutdoorPhotography #ExploreTilburg #PhotographyLessons #InTheField #ArchitecturePhotography #SeeingDifferently #HumanPatterns #ThroughTheLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens
My protégé Dennis, standing on a beach near Donegal, Ireland.
A few years ago, I traveled there with a beginning photographer eager to learn the craft beyond simply pressing the shutter. Together, we focused on landscapes, perspective, and perhaps most importantly: learning where to stand, where to look, and why.
Photography often appears instinctive from the outside. Some people naturally stumble upon strong compositions through trial and error. But turning those lucky moments into consistent results—that takes awareness, patience, and practice.
And Ireland is a good teacher.
With coastlines shaped by Atlantic storms, shifting light, and dramatic geology carved by ancient glaciers, the landscape constantly challenges you to adapt. Light changes by the minute. One step left or right can completely alter the balance of a scene.
Watching someone slowly understand that is incredibly rewarding.
Over time, his images evolved from average snapshots into thoughtful compositions. After several courses, he now photographs for a local rock band. Seeing that growth—that confidence—makes me genuinely proud.
You don’t need exotic locations to learn photography. These lessons can be found anywhere. But traveling together, exploring unfamiliar places, and standing in landscapes like this… it sharpens both teacher and student alike.
And sometimes, with the sea wind in your face and the Irish coast stretching into the distance, everything simply feels right again.
#Ireland #Donegal #BeachPhotography #LandscapePhotography #PhotographyMentor #LearningPhotography #CanonPhotography #NaturePhotography #TravelPhotography #IrishCoast #AtlanticOcean #Perspective #Composition #OutdoorPhotography #PhotographyJourney #CreativeGrowth #NatureLovers #ExploreIreland #VisualStorytelling #EarthFocus #CoastalLandscape #AdventurePhotography #TeachingPhotography #FieldWork #WanderingPhotographer #ScenicViews #ThroughTheLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens
A few years ago, I traveled there with a beginning photographer eager to learn the craft beyond simply pressing the shutter. Together, we focused on landscapes, perspective, and perhaps most importantly: learning where to stand, where to look, and why.
Photography often appears instinctive from the outside. Some people naturally stumble upon strong compositions through trial and error. But turning those lucky moments into consistent results—that takes awareness, patience, and practice.
And Ireland is a good teacher.
With coastlines shaped by Atlantic storms, shifting light, and dramatic geology carved by ancient glaciers, the landscape constantly challenges you to adapt. Light changes by the minute. One step left or right can completely alter the balance of a scene.
Watching someone slowly understand that is incredibly rewarding.
Over time, his images evolved from average snapshots into thoughtful compositions. After several courses, he now photographs for a local rock band. Seeing that growth—that confidence—makes me genuinely proud.
You don’t need exotic locations to learn photography. These lessons can be found anywhere. But traveling together, exploring unfamiliar places, and standing in landscapes like this… it sharpens both teacher and student alike.
And sometimes, with the sea wind in your face and the Irish coast stretching into the distance, everything simply feels right again.
#Ireland #Donegal #BeachPhotography #LandscapePhotography #PhotographyMentor #LearningPhotography #CanonPhotography #NaturePhotography #TravelPhotography #IrishCoast #AtlanticOcean #Perspective #Composition #OutdoorPhotography #PhotographyJourney #CreativeGrowth #NatureLovers #ExploreIreland #VisualStorytelling #EarthFocus #CoastalLandscape #AdventurePhotography #TeachingPhotography #FieldWork #WanderingPhotographer #ScenicViews #ThroughTheLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens
LIGHTCAMACTMy Portfolio — Explore. Connect. Collaborate.
Here's a post you can use to invite feedback:
"I'd love your honest feedback — even 2 minutes of your time means the world to me."
I've been quietly building my photography portfolio across multiple platforms and I'm at a stage where outside perspective matters more than ever. If you have a few minutes to spare, I'd be truly grateful if you could visit any of my profiles and share your thoughts:
📷 YouPic → https://youpic.com/lightcamact001
📷 Unsplash → https://unsplash.com/@lucky0101
📷 Pexels → https://www.pexels.com/@lightcamact001/
📷 500px → https://500px.com/p/lightcam_001
📷 Photocrowd → https://www.photocrowd.com/Helloworld/
I'm specifically looking for feedback on:
✅ Overall impression — what stands out?
✅ Consistency of style and theme
✅ Composition, lighting, and editing quality
✅ Which images feel strongest — and which fall flat?
✅ What area should I prioritize improving?
No need to be gentle — constructive, honest critique is exactly what helps me grow. Drop your thoughts in the comments, DM me, or leave a review directly on the platform. Every piece of feedback is genuinely appreciated. 🙏
#PhotographyFeedback #PortfolioReview, #PhotographyCommunity #HelpMeGrow ,#CreativeGrowth #PhotographerLife
Here's a post you can use to invite feedback:
"I'd love your honest feedback — even 2 minutes of your time means the world to me."
I've been quietly building my photography portfolio across multiple platforms and I'm at a stage where outside perspective matters more than ever. If you have a few minutes to spare, I'd be truly grateful if you could visit any of my profiles and share your thoughts:
📷 YouPic → https://youpic.com/lightcamact001
📷 Unsplash → https://unsplash.com/@lucky0101
📷 Pexels → https://www.pexels.com/@lightcamact001/
📷 500px → https://500px.com/p/lightcam_001
📷 Photocrowd → https://www.photocrowd.com/Helloworld/
I'm specifically looking for feedback on:
✅ Overall impression — what stands out?
✅ Consistency of style and theme
✅ Composition, lighting, and editing quality
✅ Which images feel strongest — and which fall flat?
✅ What area should I prioritize improving?
No need to be gentle — constructive, honest critique is exactly what helps me grow. Drop your thoughts in the comments, DM me, or leave a review directly on the platform. Every piece of feedback is genuinely appreciated. 🙏
#PhotographyFeedback #PortfolioReview, #PhotographyCommunity #HelpMeGrow ,#CreativeGrowth #PhotographerLife
Peter RileyFirst contract fights continue at #PeetsCoffee locations and at #TraderJoes but also at the Berkeley #PhilzCoffee at #HighwireCoffee at the #GreenliningInstitute at #creativegrowth and at APEN. At #UrbanOre #GoodVibrations, #PlannedParenthood Northern California and the #BerkeleyEcologyCenter, workers have won first contracts.
https://bayareacurrent.com/bay-area-workers-fight-bosses-for-first-union-contracts/
For the People Who Believe in My Vision
This Is for My Supporters ❤️
Creating, Learning, and Growing Together
Grateful for all the love and support.
Every like inspires me to do better.
I’m learning and growing every day.
This journey means everything to me.
Let’s build something beautiful together.
#photography, #photographer, #photographycommunity, #communitysupport, #gratefulheart, #thankyouall, #supportsystem, #creativejourney, #growthmindset, #learningeveryday, #stayinspired, #createandshare, #visualstorytelling, #contentcreator, #digitalcreator, #creativecommunity, #artistsoninstagram, #photographylovers, #photooftheday, #instaphoto, #creativegrowth, #passionforphotography, #buildtogether, #supportcreators, #inspirationdaily, #minimalstyle, #aestheticfeed, #moderncreator, #brandbuilding, #socialmediagrowth
This Is for My Supporters ❤️
Creating, Learning, and Growing Together
Grateful for all the love and support.
Every like inspires me to do better.
I’m learning and growing every day.
This journey means everything to me.
Let’s build something beautiful together.
#photography, #photographer, #photographycommunity, #communitysupport, #gratefulheart, #thankyouall, #supportsystem, #creativejourney, #growthmindset, #learningeveryday, #stayinspired, #createandshare, #visualstorytelling, #contentcreator, #digitalcreator, #creativecommunity, #artistsoninstagram, #photographylovers, #photooftheday, #instaphoto, #creativegrowth, #passionforphotography, #buildtogether, #supportcreators, #inspirationdaily, #minimalstyle, #aestheticfeed, #moderncreator, #brandbuilding, #socialmediagrowth
EmberhartGoal Process 4/5
This challenge is as much about the process as the outcomes—starting without rigid constraints to nurture ownership and creativity. 🌱
#ProcessMatters #OwnershipMindset #CreativeGrowth