Some mornings feel like stepping into a story long before you take the first photograph. A week ago, after a long cold night, I woke up long before sunrise with that familiar excitement buzzing under my skin — the kind that only a camera, a quiet landscape, and a promise of light can create. I pre-heated the car, stepped into the darkness, and let the road guide me toward the Kampina in Noord-Brabant. While most people were on their way to work, I was on my way to chase a sunrise.

And nature delivered.

After a 30-minute walk through the dim early light, the world suddenly shifted. The entire atmosphere turned black and yellow — not just the sky, but the mist, the air, the ground. Low winter sunlight scattered through moisture particles, a phenomenon called Mie scattering, which often produces this rich, glowing yellow hue under the right angle and density conditions.

In the foreground stood an old, gnarled tree — twisted by years of weather and time — silhouetted against a backdrop of dark, leafless woodland. It felt like a character stepping forward from the shadows.

Captured handheld at f/6.3, ISO 640, with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm, this image is a reminder that sometimes you don’t just photograph a sunrise… you walk into it.

#wonderinglens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #sunrisephotography #kampina #noordbrabant #dutchlandscape #naturephotography #mistymorning #yellowmist #gnarledtree #winterlight #canon5dmarkiv #sigma100400 #lightchasing #moodylandscape #atmosphericphotography #storytellingphotography #naturelover #landscape_captures #earthvisuals #treestudy #morningwalks #brabantnatuur #natuurmonumenten #goldenlight #mistandlight #fieldnotes #observationalphotography #photographerslife #ambientlight #dutchnature #wildernessculture #earlymorningvibes #moodygrams #forestmagic #natureperfection #wildscapes #naturestories #lightandlife

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

Training in the Dark

Some birds seem determined to test a photographer’s patience — or their low-light technique. Lately I keep stumbling into the same situation: dark birds on dark water, surrounded by even darker environments. And this time the mystery guest was a Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), the Dutch kuifeend, calmly drifting through the shadows at Oranjezon in Zeeland.

Photographing a mostly black bird on black water is a bit like trying to sketch a raven at midnight with a broken pencil. But that’s where the fun begins. With the Canon 5D Mark IV paired with the Sigma 100–400mm, I went for the now-familiar approach: low shutter speed, high ISO, and careful handheld tracking. A balancing act between motion blur and noise, exposure and detail. But when it clicks, it clicks — and this frame caught the elegance of the bird without losing the texture of those inky ripples.

This moment was extra special because I was there with my son. He wanted to escape the pressure of school for a bit, so we drove off at 6:00 in the morning and reached the coast before sunrise. By the time I took this image — around 10:00 — the world had softened, he’d relaxed, and we were just two people sharing cold air, quiet water, and the calming rhythm of nature.

Honestly? Those father-son moments mean more than any perfect exposure ever will.

#TuftedDuck #AythyaFuligula #Kuifeend #Waterfowl #Zeeland #Oranjezon #DutchNature #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #LowLightPhotography #DarkWaterShots #HandheldPhotography #TrackingShots #NatureLovers #BirdWatching #AvianLife #WildlifeMoments #FatherSonTime #NatureAsTherapy #SchoolStressRelief #EarlyMorningPhotography #BeforeSunrise #CoastalWildlife #EuropeanBirds #BirdingNetherlands #ScientificCuriosity #FieldNotes #StoryBehindTheShot #PhotographyPractice #NatureJournal #ExposureChallenges #ISOHigh #ShutterSpeedLow #NaturalMood #MoodyNature #CalmWaters #WaterBirds #ByMaikeldeBakker

The tiny drama on the shoreline

At the beach of Oranjezon in Zeeland, I stumbled into a miniature comedy act starring two birds with very different personalities. In Dutch we call them a Steenloper and a Drieteenstrandloper — but internationally they’re known as the Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) and the Sanderling (Calidris alba).

The Turnstone was doing its usual business: flipping over shells and stones with impressive determination, searching for hidden snacks. But right behind it — practically glued to its tail — the Sanderling trotted along, refusing to be shooed away. The back-and-forth between them felt like watching a feathered version of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, tiny legs moving at ridiculous speeds.

Photographically, this was a fun challenge. A dark grey day, the sea rolling in behind them, and me lying low with the Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm at 400mm. Because of the poor light I had to work with a slower shutter speed (1/250s). Tracking two hyperactive birds at that focal length is like trying to thread a needle in a storm — but somehow it worked. The legs slightly blurred just enough to show their speed, while the birds themselves stayed sharp.

I’m honestly proud of this one. A little slice of nature, comedy, and chaos — exactly as it happened on that windy Zeeland beach.

#RuddyTurnstone #ArenariaInterpres #Sanderling #CalidrisAlba #Shorebirds #BeachBirds #Zeeland #Oranjezon #DutchNature #BirdWatching #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #NatureLovers #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #TelephotoMagic #TrackingShots #LowAnglePhotography #BirdBehavior #FeatheredFriends #CoastalWildlife #NatureComedy #FastLittleLegs #BlurAndSharp #WildlifeMoments #EuropeanBirds #AvianLife #BeachWalks #StoryBehindTheShot #FieldNotes #NatureDiaries #ScientificCuriosity #PhotographyChallenges #GreyDayPhotography #BirdingNetherlands #NatureReserve #CoastalEcosystem #AnimalInteractions #TinyDrama #ByMaikeldeBakker

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

The White Swan in the Black Water

Like the hoot of a coot, this one was a difficult shoot. The swan floated in near darkness — the kind that tricks even the most advanced metering systems. The white of its feathers reflected light so intensely that every automatic setting wanted to blow out the highlights. So, back to full manual it was.

Shot in Park Sonsbeek in Arnhem with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400, I carefully balanced the exposure — 1/250 s, f/6.3, ISO 12800. A few test frames later, I found the sweet spot where the white plumage stayed detailed without losing the subtle ripples in the near-black water.

A bit of contrast, a touch of color correction, and that was it. The rest is natural — the quiet precision of light meeting patience. Sometimes photography feels less like taking a picture and more like measuring reality in fractions of a second.

Photography, after all, is just another way of studying light and life.

#Photography #NaturePhotography #BirdPhotography #Swan #EurasianSwan #Cygnusolor #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #ManualMode #ExposureControl #Contrast #LightAndShadow #LowLightPhotography #NatureObservation #WildlifePhotography #DutchNature #ParkSonsbeek #Arnhem #NatureInTheNetherlands #BirdWatching #PhotoTechnique #FieldPhotography #PhotographyTips #DocumentaryPhotography #ScientificObservation #NaturalBeauty #AnimalBehavior #UrbanWildlife #PatienceInPhotography #LightStudy #LearningPhotography #DutchPhotographer #WildlifeEncounters #NatureLovers #OnTheField #FieldNotes #CanonPhotography #SigmaArtLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography

A Rare Sight

While walking through Park Sonsbeek in Arnhem, I noticed a young woman sitting quietly on a bench, reading a book. No phone, no earbuds — just her, the pages, and the sound of songbirds in the background. It felt… unusual. Peaceful. Almost like catching a glimpse of a forgotten behavior in its natural habitat.

I knew I had to take the shot, but I did it from a distance — using my Canon 5D Mark IV paired with the Sigma 100–400mm. The light was soft, diffused by the trees, and I wanted to preserve that calm atmosphere. I shot silently, or at least as silent as a DSLR allows. Still, there was that feeling — the quiet guilt of being a hidden observer. Maybe that’s part of street photography: capturing beauty without disturbing it.

I could have pointed the lens elsewhere — at the noise, the rush, the chaos of everyday life. But I didn’t. I chose this. Because sometimes, documenting stillness says more about who we are — or who we’ve forgotten to be — than all the motion around us ever could.

#StreetPhotography #CandidMoments #ParkSonsbeek #ArnhemPhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #QuietMoments #ReadingInThePark #Solitude #UrbanNature #LightAndLife #PeacefulScenes #PhotographyAndObservation #HumanStories #StreetPhotographer #DutchPhotography #MindfulMoments #NaturalLight #DocumentaryPhotography #PhotoStory #HumanBehavior #EverydayLife #Stillness #ObservationArt #StoryThroughLight #VisualStorytelling #UrbanCalm #ContemplativePhotography #PhotographyJourney #PhotographyEducation #ArtOfSeeing #UrbanObservation #PhotographyEthics #StudyOfLight #FieldPhotography #LensAndLife #NatureAndHumanity #PhotographyInNature #RealMoments #ByMaikeldeBakker

Dark waters, white beak, red eye.

At Park Sonsbeek in Arnhem, I spotted something white moving on the dark pond surface. For a second I thought, “what is that?” — and then it hit me. A coot! An Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra, Dutch: Meerkoet). These little water birds always look like they’re in formal wear — black suit, white tie, red eyes, and serious attitude.

The water here was unusually dark, absorbing almost all light. My camera’s metering system had no idea what to do with it and kept pushing the ISO sky-high. So I switched to full manual mode: shutter at 1/250s, aperture f/7.1, ISO locked at 2500. The Canon 5D Mark IV with the Sigma 100–400mm lens handled it beautifully. No flashy post-processing here — just careful exposure control and a bit of patience.

I love how the black feathers blend nearly invisibly into the dark water, leaving only that bright beak and red eye cutting through the scene. It’s one of those moments where light, contrast, and instinct all meet. What a hoot… or should I say, what a coot!

Photography, after all, is just another way of studying light and life.

#EurasianCoot #FulicaAtra #Meerkoet #BirdPhotography #NaturePhotography #WildlifePhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #BirdsOfEurope #DutchNature #LowLightPhotography #ManualMode #ExposureControl #NaturalLight #WildlifeObservation #UrbanWildlife #DarkWater #PhotographyAndScience #LightAndLife #FieldPhotography #OpticsAndArt #PhotographyEducation #NatureDetails #ParkSonsbeek #ArnhemPhotography #BirdLovers #PhotographersLife #WildBirds #ScientificPhotography #NatureStudy #CanonPhotography #SigmaArtLens #WildlifeArt #LearningByObserving #AvianBeauty #ContrastAndLight #PhotographyJourney #NatureThroughTheLens #StoryThroughLight #ByMaikeldeBakker

Life passes without knowing

At Arnhem Central Station, people move endlessly — from one moment to another, unaware of the journey they’re truly on. Routine takes over. The phone becomes the compass. Eyes locked to screens, thumbs scrolling, souls adrift. Few notice the architecture around them, the rhythm of footsteps, or even the light that shifts and dances across the tiles.

My own journey that day was about learning — observing people, testing new perspectives, and finding hidden vantage points where I could watch unnoticed. (Not too difficult, as most were glued to their screens.)

The girl in black: shot from above, standing outside the station, her silhouette blending with the dark tiles — all muted tones, all rhythm and repetition.
The bokeh lady: framed through the interior lights, her world sharp, while the station around her dissolved into soft circles of light.
The traveling musician: a young woman with her guitar case beside her, phone in hand, a reminder of my daughter — and of how stories move unseen through every crowd.

All shots were taken with the Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 100–400, around the bright mid-morning light inside Arnhem Central Station.

#StreetPhotography #Arnhem #ArnhemCentraal #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #UrbanLife #DocumentaryPhotography #HumanMoments #StreetPortraits #CandidPhotography #EverydayStories #VisualNarrative #LightAndShadow #StreetLens #PhotographyOfLife #UrbanObservation #ModernSociety #LifeThroughALens #PeopleAndPlaces #TravelPhotography #CityMoments #StoryInALens #ReflectivePhotography #BokehLovers #CommuterLife #UrbanGeometry #StreetScene #HumanCondition #MindfulObservation #HiddenPerspective #DutchPhotography #PhotoStory #VisualPoetry #CapturedMoments #RoutineAndRitual #PhotographyIsObservation #ThroughMyEyes #StreetPhotographyDaily #ObservationInMotion #ByMaikeldeBakker

The woman who wants to impress the coroner

Somewhere between logic and lipstick, I saw her — driving through one of Tilburg’s busiest junctions, lipstick in hand, eyes not on the road but on the mirror. Roughly 50 km/h, traffic lights changing, lives intersecting. And yet, vanity prevailed. Perhaps she wanted to impress the coroner — already perfectly made up for her final portrait.

Captured near the Westpoint junction, this fleeting moment required careful timing: a slow enough shutter to reveal the motion blur of the street, fast enough to freeze the driver’s focus on something far less vital than safety. Shot with the Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400 mm lens, handheld and steady — though I wish the same could be said for her priorities.

Photography often reveals more about human behavior than we expect. Sometimes beauty, sometimes tragedy — and sometimes, the quiet comedy of our own contradictions.

#StreetPhotography #Tilburg #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #UrbanDocumentary #PhotographyRealism #PhotoStory #EverydayLife #CityMoments #StreetObservation #CaughtInTheMoment #HumanBehavior #DocumentaryPhotography #VisualJournalism #PhotographyHumor #DarkHumor #UrbanLife #StreetLens #OnTheMove #RealLifeStories #ObservationalPhotography #MomentCaptured #ThroughTheLens #VisualNarrative #DutchStreetPhotography #SocialCommentary #EverydayScenes #UrbanPhotography #EyeForDetail #CityLifeCaptured #TrafficMoments #UnsafeDriving #StoryInALens #CandidShot #PhotographersEye #ModernLife #SafetyMatters #UrbanWitness #PhotoObservation #ByMaikeldeBakker

Concrete Perspective

From up high, perspective changes everything. Standing atop the Spoorpark tower, I looked down and noticed how geometry and life align in the most unexpected ways. The pavement below—made up of large 4x6 meter concrete slabs—formed clean intersecting lines that seemed to guide movement through the frame. Then, almost perfectly on cue, a woman entered the scene from the lower right corner, her attention fixed on her phone.

Through the Canon 5D Mark IV paired with the Sigma 100–400, I framed the shot so that one diagonal ran straight toward her, while another crossed it, forming an “X” that almost marked her path. It’s fascinating how urban design, when viewed from above, becomes a study of pattern and rhythm—how our daily movements trace invisible geometries that we rarely notice from the ground.

#ConcretePerspective #StreetPhotography #UrbanGeometry #AerialPerspective #HumanScale #CityPatterns #VisualComposition #EverydayGeometry #ArchitecturalLines #CanonPhotography #SigmaArtLens #TiltedView #GeometricMinimalism #TiltPerspective #StreetLife #ObservationalPhotography #DocumentaryStyle #PhotographyAsScience #PerspectiveStudy #UrbanExploration #VisualRhythm #CompositionalBalance #LightAndLife #DutchPhotography #TilburgCity #Spoorpark #AbstractRealism #ModernObservation #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #MindfulObservation #PatternRecognition #StreetVisuals #CityTexture #CandidMoment #CreativeSeeing #LinesAndLight #ArtInEveryday #StoryInStillness #CapturedMoment #ByMaikelPhotography

Street Photography — “The Reader”

There I was, standing quietly in the shadow, my camera ready. Across the street, people moved like they always do — eyes fixed on glowing screens, thumbs scrolling endlessly from one three-second clip to the next. But then she appeared.

No phone. No earbuds. Just… a book.
That strange, clunky object made of paper, filled with words and stories — a relic from another time.

As she walked past an abandoned, graffiti-covered house, lost in her own world of ink and imagination, the scene unfolded like a paradox of past and present.
The forgotten building, the fading posters, the sharp sunlight cutting through the dust — and in the middle of it all, someone who remembered how to be still.

Shot with the Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 100-400mm lens — proof that sometimes, the most remarkable street scenes are the quietest ones.

Photography, after all, is just another way of studying light and life.

#StreetPhotography #TheReader #UrbanObservation #Tilburg #DutchStreets #EverydayLife #VisualStorytelling #CandidMoments #DocumentaryPhotography #PhotographyObservation #StreetScene #HumanBehavior #UrbanDecay #CityContrast #StreetLightAndShadow #Sigma100400 #Canon5DMarkIV #CandidShot #UrbanMood #QuietMoments #StreetPerspective #StreetLife #StoryInLight #RealLifeMoments #StreetComposition #ShadowPlay #UrbanTexture #StreetArtAndLife #CapturingMoments #ObservationalPhotography #RealWorldScenes #BookLover #AnalogSoul #LostInAStory #AgainstTheFlow #VisualAnthropology #LightStudy #CityWatching #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography

Do not compare yourself with me.

When scrolling through my images, some photographers might feel discouraged. Please don’t. I started just like you. And there are photographers far beyond my level — and that’s fine too. We all walk our own path, shaped by our curiosity, patience, and willingness to learn. Let other people’s work inspire you, not define your limits.

Back to this image — taken from high up in the Spoorpark tower with my Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 100–400. Looking down, everything changed: perspective, composition, and opportunity. The lines of concrete and grass formed an abstract canvas, intersected by light and shadow. A lone figure sat on the raised plateau, looking down at her phone — unaware that she’d become part of this quiet geometry.

Photography teaches perspective — not just through the lens, but in life itself.

#StreetPhotography #Perspective #PhotographyReflection #InspirationNotCompetition #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #BlackAndWhitePhotography #DocumentaryPhotography #Tilburg #Spoorpark #UrbanGeometry #LearningPhotography #PhotographyCommunity #VisualStorytelling #LightAndShadow #PhotographyJourney #MindfulPhotography #EverydayScenes #ArtOfObservation #ByMaikeldeBakker

Tilburg Central Station seen from the Spoorpark Tower

From high above in the Spoorpark tower, I aimed my Canon 5D Mark IV with the Sigma 100–400 toward Tilburg’s central station. Through the lens, the city stretched quietly beneath me — vast, layered, and still. It’s moments like these that make you realize how small you really are in the grand architecture of the world. The air was hazy that morning, softening the distance and muting the colors until the scene almost looked monochrome already. So I leaned into it — converting it fully to black and white.
Sometimes, when color falls flat, contrast becomes your best storyteller. And if that still isn’t enough, black and white will always be your last saviour.

Photography, after all, is just another way of studying light and life.

#Tilburg #Spoorpark #TilburgCentralStation #CityscapePhotography #BlackAndWhitePhotography #DocumentaryPhotography #UrbanPerspective #SigmaArtLens #CanonPhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #ArchitecturalPhotography #PerspectiveStudy #LightAndLife #StoryOfLight #PhotographyIsScience #UrbanStillness #VisualGeometry #ExploringTilburg #ByMaikeldeBakker

A Different Perspective

After picking up my photo buddy Kevin, we made our way to Spoorpark and climbed the observation tower to see Tilburg from above. From up there, even the gentle sway of the structure becomes quite noticeable — especially when you’re looking through a 400mm lens. At that focal length, every millimeter of motion is magnified into a dance across the frame.

Shot with the Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm, this image captures the morning light just before noon. The sun, still low in the late autumn sky, painted the landscape with long, stretched shadows — the kind that reveal depth, rhythm, and texture you can’t see from the ground.

Photography, after all, is just another way of studying light and life.

#Spoorpark #Tilburg #AutumnLight #LongShadows #PerspectiveShift #UrbanLandscape #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #TelephotoPhotography #CityFromAbove #ArchitectureStudy #LightAndShadow #MorningGlow #DocumentaryPhotography #ScienceOfLight #PhotographyIsScience #VisualExploration #StreetToSky #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography

“Drawing Circles with Light”

Sometimes photography becomes a dialogue between light and motion.
After capturing the stillness of Spoorpark, I decided to try the opposite — movement. With my Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 24–70 Art still set to ISO 3200 and a 6-second exposure, I aimed for the Westpoint Tower and began to draw circles with my camera.

In those few seconds, the static lights became fluid — ribbons of color swirling through the darkness. The sensor recorded every trace of that movement, translating intentional motion blur into something new: a painted rhythm of photons and time.

It’s fascinating how a simple circular gesture can turn structured architecture into abstract light art — proof that photography isn’t only about freezing moments, but also about exploring what happens when we let them flow.

Photography, after all, is just another way of studying light and life.

#LongExposure #LightPainting #IntentionalCameraMovement #ICM #UrbanLight #NightPhotography #CreativeExposure #Spoorpark #Tilburg #WestpointTower #CityLights #ExperimentalPhotography #PhotographyAsScience #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma2470Art #UrbanExploration #PhysicsOfLight #LightInMotion #ByMaikelPhotography #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography

Spoorpark by Night

Around 20:30, the park was almost empty, the air still, and the city quietly humming in the background. The scene was too dim for handheld photography — the light levels had dropped well below what 1/250 could handle. So, I set my Canon 5D Mark IV on the ground, attached the Sigma 24–70mm Art, and switched to a 6-second exposure at ISO 3200. A 10-second timer prevented any vibration from the shutter press.

In that brief span, photons from dozens of small light sources — streetlamps, strings of decorative bulbs, reflections off distant buildings — converged on the sensor, translating an invisible trickle of light into structured data.

Photography, in essence, is the science of collecting light, one moment at a time. This image is what those six seconds of light looked like, seen through the calm of Spoorpark at night.

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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

Sometimes the most interesting places are the ones most people pass by without noticing. This narrow alley in the center of Tilburg caught my attention during a small street photography adventure with a friend.

Normally, I work in color, but this time I decided to embrace black and white — something I rarely do. Without color, the eye is drawn to form, texture, and contrast. Every brick, every reflection of light becomes part of the composition.

Shot with the Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 24–70mm Art lens, this scene challenged me to balance light and shadow in an environment where every photon counts. Street photography, after all, is about seeing — truly seeing — and waiting for the light to tell its story.

#StreetPhotography #BlackAndWhite #UrbanGeometry #Tilburg #PhotographyJourney #SigmaArt2470 #Canon5DMarkIV #LowLightPhotography #VisualStorytelling #CityMood #TexturesAndLight #CompositionMatters #StreetScenes #MonochromeMood #DutchStreets #EveryPhotonCounts #ExploringTilburg #UrbanObservation #ArtOfSeeing #ByMaikeldeBakker

A walk through Huis ter Heide & Bosrijk

A few days ago, my wife Christel and I wandered through the northern part of Huis ter Heide, bordering the Efteling Bosrijk. The air was calm, soft clouds drifted by, and sunlight occasionally broke through — just enough to paint the forest in warm tones.

While walking, I noticed a flawless Imleria badia — known as the Bay Bolete or “Kastanjeboleet” in Dutch. It stood proud among fallen leaves, its chestnut-brown cap glistening slightly from the forest’s moisture. This species plays an essential role in the ecosystem, forming symbiotic mycorrhizal bonds with trees like pines and beeches, exchanging nutrients that keep forests thriving.

Later, Christel spotted a red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), poised on a wooden fence, turning its head just as she clicked the shutter on our Canon 5D Mark IV with the Sigma 100–400mm. That curious glance over its shoulder made the shot come alive — pure serendipity.

We ended our walk at Klaas Vaak Lake, where the houses of Efteling Bosrijk mirrored perfectly in the still water. The reflections of reds, greens, and browns looked like a painter’s palette — a calm, storybook ending to a wonderful day outdoors.

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