About

Hi, I'm Niels!

I'm a hobby photographer from Groningen, The Netherlands.

I'm also a Software Engineer at Belsimpel & Gomibo, and I've worn many hats over the years: graphic designer, interface designer, photographer, videographer, writer, and editor.

On this site, you'll mostly find things about my photography.

(Text continues below the photos.)

Self portrait, January 2025

Self portrait, February 2025

Self portrait, March 2025

Photography (2006 - 2017)

I started with photography in 2006, when I got my first 'Point-and-Shoot' camera. I didn't know anything about the technical side of photography back then: I just clicked the shutter button, and took photos. Although I should probably call those first photos 'snapshots' instead.

I mostly took photos of friends and family (birthdays, trips, Christmas, etc.), but sometimes I'd also take my camera and bicycle and ride around my hometown (Zaandam, Netherlands) to take photos of all kinds of random things. I also took photos of korfball matches — most of the time the photos were terrible (especially when the matches were indoors), and I didn't understand why. Oh, how I've grown. 😁

In 2008, I started college (Communication Systems, at Hanze UAS in Groningen, Netherlands), and photography was one of the subjects during my studies. Those classes taught me a lot, and made me more interested in photography. That year, I got myself a DSLR (Canon EOS 400D) and started to take more and more photos, experiment with all kinds of techniques and types of subjects, and I got better and better.

Occasionally, I was asked to take photos, which led me to upgrading my kit (to a Canon EOS 7D) and starting a business where I offered photography as one of the services. I shot portraits, business interiors and exteriors, (corporate) events, and also shot one wedding.

I was never really good at marketing myself, and I didn't really know what I wanted, so in 2014, I closed down the business, after I got a fulltime job as a Software Engineer. I did still shoot the occasional event or korfball match as a volunteer, but my spark was gone, and in 2017, I stopped taking photos for a long time...

Photography (2023 - ongoing)

Then, in 2023, after some tough personal years (which I'm still recovering from, to be honest), my interest in photography returned slowly. In April of that year, I dusted off my professional DSLR and took it along on a personal day trip to Zwolle, and shot the first photos in a long time with that camera. Later that year, I created a new account on Instagram (@photobynilkes), to start sharing some photos from my archive, together with some background about the photos I posted.

After sharing a few posts on that account, the urge to really create again started to get stronger and stronger. So in September 2024, I decided to really put more effort in my photography and just pick up my camera and go for a walk. So that’s just what I did.

I used my big and heavy Canon EOS 7D for those first few outings, and I realised quickly that if I really wanted to start doing photography for fun again, I needed something lighter, something that would make we want to get out and shoot. So I got a second hand Sony A7C, and bought a few cheap third-party lenses.

By the end of 2024, I had gotten out to shoot about half a dozen time, and I really felt the joy of taking photos for fun again. I wanted to keep that momentum going, so for 2025, I decided to set some goals:

1. I would work on my photography at least once every week in 2025. This could -for example- be by going out and taking photos, or if the weather is terrible, it would be okay to stay inside and try to be creative within my home. To really make sure I did this every week and create some accountability, I made sure to create a post every week to share those photos.

2. I want to take a self portrait every month in 2025. I’m doing this to try and come up with creative ways to take different types of photos of the same subject (me 🙋‍♂️). But there’s also a strong personal reason: I want to improve the way I look at myself, to be nicer to myself, to find some confidence — and so far, taking self portraits has really helped with that. (For this goal, I was inspired by the work of @helen.hetkel.)

Both of my 2025 goals are still going strong. You can keep track of my progress by following my Instagram account: @photobynilkes.

My Gear

Digital - Mirrorless (main camera)

• Sony A7C
• Viltrox 28mm f/4.5
• Viltrox 40mm f/2.5
• TTArtisan 75mm f/2

Digital - DSLR

• Canon EOS 7D
• Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8
• Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye

Film - SLR

• Minolta X-300
• Minolta MC Rokkor-PF 50mm f/2

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