Hi everyone,
My name is Mike Tesselaar but you may call me MITE (which is a combination of my first and last name). I’m an
aerial and on-foot photographer from the Netherlands with a big love for travel and creating new perspectives.
My photography journey
Years ago I started building FPV drones with a good friend. I realized I started to like aerial content, especially the
photography side of it, and bought my first DJI drone soon after. The perspective of drones, especially in Holland
where everything is relatively flat, really redefined the area for me. Scenes with tulips, dunes, the beach or even
flatscapes became more interesting. As a result, the drone became a standard part of my daily carry-on.
Only about a year ago, when traveling throughout New Zealand, I fell in love with photography as a whole. I didn’t
have a full-frame at the time, so I had to work with a fourth-hand Sony APS-C camera I had purchased from locals.
You got to start somewhere.
As I like to discover new perspectives, I love to go for extremes. Examples being top-down drone photos, 360 degree
imagery, wide lenses or zoomed-in completely. This way I manage to offer something unique. With this in mind I
expanded my gear over time.
Whilst still working as a Sales Engineer, I’m able to create part-time and build my portfolio. Soon after the COVID-19
pandemic I’d love to go back traveling with all the new things I’ve learned. With a wide variety of photography
options, there is always something that fits the occasion, right?
Social presence:
As every photographer in modern times, I started promoting my work on social media. Especially for travel
photography, where reputation is harder to spread by word, these platforms can offer a ton of exposure worldwide.
And potential to showcase your work for competitions and prices. Agora is one of the platforms I’ve found in this
stage, and has been since.
Although I did not manage to win a contest on Agora so far, it did bring me a solid amount of exposure. With
nominations in Geometry2020, Rural2020 and 11 BestOfTheWeek contests, my name was displayed over the globe.
In my opinion that’s exactly what you want to achieve, create a solid base and a name for yourself, and work from
there. Some people go viral from the start, but most have to go the long way. Having a social presence really helps
showcasing your perspective of the world.
Just a month ago I did manage to claim two prizes with drone photography on different platforms.
Creating something unique
My style of photography is pretty much freestyle. I decide where I go but not what content I’m going to shoot. Once
on location I look and walk around, trying to find something interesting or eye-catching. To me, this is the best way
of expressing myself; capturing my view of the world.
Having a specific style or perspective can define you as a photographer. I didn’t know what mine was till people
around me started to talk about it. Pro tip: don’t try to find it. Look back after a while and talk about it with the
people around you, you probably already created your own.
What’s next:
My journey is relatively fresh and there are many things to find out still. Currently I’m working on opening a print
shop, joining travel communities and looking into NFT’s. In a months’ time this can be three different subjects. We
live in an ever-changing world which accelerates quicker by the day, but also a world that offers more options to
photographers than ever before. I guess we’ll have to see what’s next; want to join me on this journey?
- Mike Tesselaar
Links:
Website www.mitevisuals.com
Agora: @mitevisuals
Instagram www.instagram.com/mitevisuals
Skypixel https://www.skypixel.com/users/miketes
Mail info@mitevisuals.com