here’s a special kind of chaos that comes alive in a city after dark. When Kevin and I went out for some street photography in Tilburg, I wasn’t planning on experimenting… but the road beside me was practically begging for it. Headlights glowing, engines humming, the rhythm of cars passing like pulses of light through the night — it felt like the perfect moment to attempt something notoriously tricky: handheld long-exposure car photography.

Armed with my Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 24–70 Art, I opened the lens to f/2.8, dropped the shutter all the way to 1/2 second, and kept ISO at 500. In conditions like this, physics isn’t on your side. Every heartbeat, every breath, every tiny muscle tremor becomes part of the photo. And honestly? Most shots were complete misses — streaks, smears, abstract failures.

But that’s the beauty of experimentation: sometimes the chaos aligns.

In this frame, the passing car locked into motion just long enough to stay recognizable, while the world around it dissolved into soft trails. Technically improbable, creatively satisfying. Handheld long exposure is a conversation between control and surrender — you guide the moment, but the moment also guides you.

And in those rare situations where the two meet halfway, the result becomes something unexpectedly artistic.

#longexposure #longexposurephotography #streetphotography #nightphotography #urbanshots #tilburg #motionblur #creativeexposure #canon5dmarkiv #sigma2470art #slowshutter #carphotography #cityatnight #experimentalphotography #lighttrails #nightstreets #moodygram #capturingmotion #handheldphotography #streetmood #urbanexplorer #playwithlight #photonarrative #storytellingthroughlight #scienceoflight #wonderinglens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #lowlightphotography #cinematicstreets #eveningvibes #urbanmoments #photoexperiment #movementandstillness #physicsinmotion #artisticeffect #slowshutterart #lensculture #creativecity #citylightflow

Photo Challenge 214/365
This is the last shot from the bouquet of flowers. Was told to try different angles of flowers and I do a lot of head on shots of the flowers. This was a different one that I think turned out well. The tiniest slider work. As with the last, low ISO, tiny aperture, and long shutter speed. No healing tools. #macro #macrophotography #macroflower #purpleflower #photoexperiment #2023photochallenge

Photo Challenge 210/365
Another shot of no real subject having the multiple subjects be the subject. I didn't know flowers were so fuzzy! Low ISO, tiny aperture, and a long shutter speed to compensate. I had to bring the exposure up but then add contrast and other sliders to make it pop a little too. #flowers. #macrophotography #macro #macroflower #photoexperiment #2023photochallenge

Photo Challenge 207/365
This one I was playing with depth of field and contrast. I was trying to get all the yellow frame to be in focus but I guess there was too much dimension in the yellows. I had a low ISO, tiny aperture, and slow shutter. I got half of it. Next time I will pay attention to the focus before moving on. #yellowflower #yellow #macrophotography #macro #macroflower #photoexperiment #2023photochallenge

2023 Photo Challenge 184/365
So this was a shot that tried to combined night time photography and macro photography. The spider was active at night and the movement plus trying to focus in the dark made me miss the spider but get the prey. I think I want to try this again. #photoexperiment #spider #nightphotography #macrophotography #photoshopedit #2023photochallenge

2023 Photo Challenge 177/365
For better or worse, I got another shot at the sunrise this morning. I blinked and it was there, I took about 50 shots with various exposures. This involved a bunch of slider work. I was told expose for the highlights and develop for the shadows in my night time class and I tried that here. I think this was a good shot and cropped it to get the sun at the top left intersection. #sun #hazy #canadafires #chillicotheohio #sunrise #photoexperiment #2023photochallenge

2023 Photo Challenge 176/365
One of my attempts this morning to catch the haze of the Canadian wildfires in Ohio. By the time I got home from the dog walk and got back out with my camera I missed my shot. Will try again tomorrow. Heavy slider work to bring the sun into some sort of unblownout circle. #photoexperiment #photoshopedit #sun #hazyday #canadianwildfire #summer #2023photochallenge

2023 Photo Challenge 167/365
This was an attempt to stop the car but blur the background. Closest I got to making it happen. I got more work to do but with a light just a few meters away it is hard to get a track on cars. I will try again another time. #photoexperiment #shutterspeedphotography #jeep #2023photochallenge

This was a shot from my night time photography. The assignment was either landscape or water, leaning to water. It is strange when you do night time photography cause you look kind of shady. A cop circled around and thought I wasn't a worry. There was a lot of slider action. #night #nighttimephotography #lake #water #photoexperiment #pier #photoshopedit #2023photochallenge