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

During a morning walk to the nature reserve Natuurpark Oranjezon we passed a row of pastel-colored beach houses. I was just about to photograph them when two people strolled by, followed by a young boy, head down, slowly kicking his ball forward with an air of boredom. That was the moment I pressed the shutter.

The scene struck me as a double contrast: the boy’s mood against the lively, cheerful backdrop, and the pale sand blending with his hair against the colorful beach houses framed by dark dunes. It’s a reminder that sometimes life feels gray, even when surrounded by color.

Although this wasn’t shot in a city, it still belongs to street photography. The genre isn’t limited to actual streets — it’s about candid, unposed human moments unfolding in their natural environment. Whether in a square, a metro station, or here on the beach, the essence of street photography lies in observing and capturing the fleeting stories of everyday life.

Taken with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm.

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📸 First film snap after a really long time.
🎞️ That feeling when you’re not quite sure what will come out — and that’s exactly the magic of it.
🚗 The last ride with Suzy before she left home.
Thanks for the memories, beautiful. ❤️

#filmisnotdead #35mmphotography #analogvibes #lastdrive #motorcycles #momentcaptured #myvisualdiary #suzukisv650 #photography