Freewheelin’ #4 - expanding
After traveling once in 2020 and 2021, I finally got the miles in during the first half of 2022. Freewheelin’ #4 also reflects on expanding my portfolio, network and gear. Much has happened, let me catch you up!
Expanding
As of this week, I’m fulltime freelance for exactly 1 year! And whilst that’s a milestone to begin with, it’s also the amount of time I’ve given myself to reach a potential. Based on this evaluation, I would consider to go back to an office job or to keep going. I can now happily tell you, I choose the latter!
As the title tells, my last 6 months were about expanding. The amount of projects per month varied a lot, but overall, things progressed. Especially gear-wise I made great steps, on top of the drone-upgrade from late last year, but also by working with a few large scale brands.
Expanding was also the theme for knowledge and calmness. Let me explain. As I work freelance alone, and no one around me works in the same kind of environment, I have to figure out a lot by myself. This allows me to dive deep into certain subjects. Even though some subjects are not worth the time investment (looking back), you still learn a lot, continuously. The calmness is what follows as a result of knowledge. Even though I realize the that more I know, the more I don’t know… I still see a progression in how I handle things that come my way. Like a cancellation, or a week without any projects. You become more calm when in a situation for a longer time.
Anyway, as said, much has happened. So, let’s get into it with business first :)
Business
It’s been slow, it’s been busy, but most of all; there were some great projects! It still amazes me how fast things can go, and what projects come seemingly out of nowhere. It’s an interesting and ever-evolving world, even in my area far from the main cities in The Netherlands. There’s a need for creativity and marketing affords, and I’m all here for it.
3 months at the time
The first 3 months of 2022 proved relatively slow, especially compared with the 3 months that followed. April is when everything seemed to happen at once. But what happened?
As a person that used to work on an office, I can tell companies are pretty slow when it comes to January to the beginning of March. Be it to make plans for the year, or everyone having a winter depression. Generally speaking, it’s slow during these months, except maybe for people going on winter sports.
For me, this was reality also; things just fell still after new years. In contrast, at the end of March / start of April things started to roll again all the way up to halfway June. So, really 3 months at the time.
I’m guessing I’ll run into the same problem next year. Having a week off is okay, but having up to even a month or more is not great as a freelancer. I’ll try to get a trip planned during the January-February dip next year, like a travel on own expense or a sponsored one. And to a location that helps against the winter depression would be even better!
Portfolio additions
I was on a roll in April, with a lot of variation in projects as well! Let me get you up to speed to some:
Vinyl Frame (product Photo/Video)
Someone close to where I live reached out to me and asked to capture their product “Vinyl Frame” with both video and photo. Even though I captured some product content before, I never did it in such an extended way. The video was to showcase the functionality and how-to install, the photos are used to refresh the website and as social promotion. More here
3D-Tour Trial Garden (3D-tour)
As COVID-19 was still at large at the start of the year, I was asked to make a 3D-Tour of a Chrysanthemum Trial garden. The result: a virtual experience for potential clients to walk through and get up to speed with the newest varieties. More here
Techno Event (event Photography)
Undisclosed is a start-up I got in touch with late last year. The want to put Alkmaar and its surroundings on the map when it comes to Techno parties. The first event we collaborated on was a so-called pre-party with around 300 people. My assignment was to capture the atmosphere and to snap some content that could be used to promote the main event later in July, where I’ll be photographing again. More here
Illusionist promo video (Videography)
Illusionism by Jeroen de Jong on tape! To promote his work and what he brings to the table on events, we created a video showcasing his talent and what he means to the people attending the event. We mixed these two elements together with voice-overs from two live-events where I was present, making the ideal promo for him. More here
Construction site drone photos (Drone Photography)
When the trees turned green, I was asked by two construction companies nearby to capture their local projects from the sky. To comply with national rules regarding drones, I had to purchase yet another drone under the weight limit (<250 grams). This drone allowed me to fly within city borders, and to capture construction sites where I was not allowed to fly with my Mavic 3. Takes a little investment, but it payed back immediately. Worth the risk! More here
Hotel and cabin Photography (Hotel Photography)
One thing I wished to work on in 2022 was hotel photography, and luckily I got two projects done in the first half a year. One was outsourced to me by a different party, and one (the cabin) was send to me on Instagram by one of my followers. Both not paid very well, but great for the experience and portfolio for future projects. More here (hotel) and here (cabin).
These were my highlights of the last few months. Moreover, I created a lot of travel content. I’ll come back to that soon.
Project pile
To show people what I was up to the first 4 months of 2022, I created a “Project Pile” showreel including photo- and videography projects.
I shared this showreel on several social media channels to inspire new clients. I believe being active and sharing your content regularly will lead to more projects on long term. People tend to react on activity, as long as it’s not to pushy or overkill. So, a video every few months with a project recap seemed to be the right call for me.
Logo re-design
I created my “mite” logo around 1,5 years ago already but was never able to settle on 1 logo & font design. One day I was working a project together with a local graphic designer going by the name of Sjoerd van Schagen. As I wanted to end my internal debate regarding my logo I asked him to take a look at it. The result was a slightly adjusted logo (few different shades) and a font that was just right. He created a few variants I could choose from and included my slogan “changing perspectives”.
What I loved about outsourcing this, is that someone else is making a certain decision for you. At the end of the process, the logo is what it is. You can let loose of your indecisiveness and go with the logo that was created specially for you.
I’m happy to not having to look at the design anymore for years to come. it gives a feeling of peace to the mind. And, benefit of having 1 appearance, people can recognize you better as well.
monthly clients
Throughout 2022 I’ve had two consistent monthly clients. For one; a monthly video on a specific subject. Second being product photography for a beer subscription service. The latter is barely paid but fun to do, plus I get to receive 6 craft beers monthly :)
The monthly video is a project I wished I had more of. You know there’s one day filming and a day editing per month, and you have plenty of time to work on other projects in the meantime. This allows me to message potential clients and say work on my website and blogs. Finding more employers like this, especially on a monthly basis, proved rather hard. I guess you’ll have to run into it somehow. If I do find a way, I’ll write it down for the next one!
Here’s the latest of the monthly videos for Dekker Chrysanten. More here.
Special project
I had to keep quiet for a while on this one. Lintjesregen Schagen 2022 was a celebration of handing out royal ribbons to 13 people in the township of Schagen.
Firstly, months prior to the event, we filmed and edited 13 separate clips of family/friends of the lucky ones to show on the led screen on the back of an old VW. This VW would drive up to the front doors and play the video as announcement before the mayor would step in. On the day itself, I captured the event for an after movie as well.
The atmosphere was great and everywhere we left, we left from a small party. As the video had to be online the same night, we did have to hurry quite a bit between all 13 locations but a very successful day altogether.
Gear and Rig
Gear, so much new gear! I love it. I’m not the biggest gearhead but I can really enjoy making progress again. At the start of the year, I was running into the limitations of my camera (EOS RP), especially on videography projects. 4K was off the table and low-light performance was the worst. Due to this, I wasn’t in a place to promote myself for events or higher-rated videography projects at all…
But the tides have turned. I didn’t pay myself for a few months straight and saved up to the max. And finally, everything was ticked off the bucket list. New camera, drone, tripod and everything to build a solid hand-held rig to name a few.
The large downside to the last 6 months was that one of my clients (taking care of a large percentage of my revenue in this period) turned out being low on cashflow, making me wait over 5,5 months to get the first payment. This caused me to delay several investment I wanted to make before doing certain projects. Legal action is a bit far from logical right now, but him not paying timely slowed down my progress as a creator. It sucked.
New new new
So what’s new exactly? here’s a small sum-up:
Canon R5C: I wanted to invest in a camera with good video compatibilities but also needed a second camera for (event) photography. So, I needed to invest in a hybrid camera for now. The Canon R5C was exactly what I needed, being able to film up to 8K and still shoot 45MP RAW photos, just perfect. A huge upgrade for both services.
RF 24-70, RF 85 & RF 100-400: I sold my RF 70-200 and traded it for a 85mm F2 (portraits) and a RF 100-400. I felt like I always missed some range at 200mm, so the 100-400 fits my style better. The RF 24-70 fits my R5C perfectly as a variable lens for videography.
DJI Ronin S2: As the camera and lens became heavier, I had to upgrade from my old gimbal as well. I was sporting a Ronin SC (first generation). I upgraded to a second generation pro version. Let’s keep the stabilization coming!
DJI Mini 3 Pro: as mentioned before, I needed a drone that allowed me to fly within city borders (<250 grams). During April/May DJI announced their new Mini 3 Pro which was the exact drone I needed to for this job. The Mavic 3 is still superior with strong winds and video, but the small drone already proved perfect for a lot of situations.
Heavy duty tripod: I’ve been working with a lightweight (and low quality) tripod. Lately, I’ve been having more and more issues with the tripod and new weight of all the gear as well. So, a heavy duty tripod was necessary. Thankfully, Smallrig just announced a heavy duty tripod at 1/3 of the cost of the regular market price. Couldn’t let that one slip.
Monitor calibration (SpyderX Pro): I was having issues with my monitor colors and how it looked on (mobile) screens. It’s okay if I have to adjust it on my own Instagram page, but not when sending customers their final images. So, both screens are now calibrated!
Hand-held rig: last but not least, I ordered components to build a hand-held rig of my Canon R5C. This includes a V-mount battery, a focus puller, mini matte-box, top handle and so on. I already had a monitor but I’ll replace that one later this year due to it’s limited capabilities.
As you might have noticed, most investment come around when I run into problems or limitations with the current set-up. To me, this is great, as it confirms growth as a creator and rules out unnecessary investments.
Traveling
My goal for the year is to travel at least once every two months. So far so good it seems. January started with Portugal, March was for Ireland and I went to Spain in May. And I got plans for July and August already. Exciting! Most travels are now work-related which s just great if I’m honest. Being able to combine travel and work feels perfect so far. Let me tell you about the travels so far!
Ireland
A friend of my currently studies in Dublin, Ireland and we decided to visit during Saint Patricks day in March. As a friend and I never visited the country, we went a week earlier to drive along the west-coast, better known as the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW).
As this was going to be an adventurous vacation, I decided to reach out to some brands. First and foremost, I contacted DJI as part of the Skypixel Creator program. Second was contacting a few brands to see if they would collaborate on a self-paid trip to the rugged lands of Ireland. I ended up getting in touch with two more: PolarPro and Koffiemaatje.
DJI / Skypixel
In exchange for Mavic 3 travel content in Ireland, DJI offered me credits for their online store. As a frequent user of their store, I happily agreed! I promised to deliver both photo and video of our journey.
PolarPro
PolarPro is a manufacturer of mainly filters for camera equipment, like ND filters and CPL’s. As I already had a Mavic 3 CPL in my possession, we agreed I would capture content in exchange for an undisclosed amount of Merchandise. Thankfully for me, this merchandise was made for outdoor adventures, like rain shells and cotton stretch t-shirts. Perfect for the trip!
Koffiemaatje
On a community platform I spotted a company that made portable coffee machines that could deliver a cup of coffee on battery power. Perfect I thought to myself, and even better if I could get it sponsored. One email further, we had a deal. The machine for a couple of photos. I could do that more often! :)
Extremadura, Spain
Remember I won the “photo of the year” by Columbus Travel? If not, no worries. They awarded me a free vacation for two to Croatia this year. However, they emailed me asking if I’d like to exchange that vacation for a travel report to Extremadura, Spain. Basically, exchanging a week of vacation for a week of working.
I accepted. Why? Companies like Columbus Travel (biggest travel magazine in The Netherlands) works with a lot of established photographers. Hard to get into that pool without a warm introduction. To me, this was a way of getting my name into the travel photography side of things.
I traveled to Extremadura for 8 days, worked 12+ hours a day (worked as actively looking for things to photograph) and had a bless. Got to learn a lot from my travel buddy and how business goes round in the travel industry.
Hoping I can hit the ground running with the article which will be published in December 2022 (edition 115). I’m excited!
A few clips of Extremadura
Upcoming travels
In July and August I have a trip planned to Norway and Germany respectively, Germany being a vacation to old travel friends (and the one that inspired me to take photos). The trip to Norway is to photograph and shoot video of a 6-day trekking trip through the mountains. Never done anything similar but I’m excited to be there. The evening I get back to The Netherlands I have another Techno Event to photograph, that’s going to be a tough one I’m guessing.
Local guide - 1 million views
I started as a local guide late last year, and recently reached 1 million photo views. Currently, I have around 330 photos online all over the world, and I’m happy to see they are appreciated.
I upload these photos in low-res to prevent image theft. This way I can inspire people when they travel with Google Maps whilst promoting my own photography.
Personal
As the life of a freelancer dances a fine line between personal and business, I can include more of my life into this as well. Past 6 months have been busy in terms of social activities and networking, even working with a business coach. Hear me out.
Business coach
Not so much for business but more on a personal level, I started to run into some mental blocks during my work as a freelancer. I don’t think my clients had any troubles caused by it, but I felt like I wanted to work on myself so create a better work balance for myself. So, I went to a business coach.
Talking and digging into troubles makes you stronger. And boy, did I have to dig deep sometimes. Without going into to much detail, I had some mental blocks caused by things happened in the past. This withhold me sometimes from feeling confident about myself and my work. I felt a lot better after the sessions finished last month, more free.
I do believe you constantly have to work on yourself to keep going, though I feel great for now! Happy I took that step and take away some doubts and blockades.
Dutch Shooters Community
@dutch.shooters is a online community of Dutch photographers and other digital creatives. This community started out on Instagram and found its way to Whatsapp and Discord too. Besides an active following and content sharing, dutch.shooters organizes meet-ups and events regularly. Great for those who love to meet in person!
Due to this community, I did a project with another creator earlier this year in Venlo. He was videographer on a project in a logistical center, I joined as drone pilot for two days.
At the start of June, we met-up again in Utrecht in a park, see the post below. For anyone getting into photography (hobby or professional), I’d recommend looking for a community like this. If not for networking, then for the drinks and socializing.
Broken foot, again…
After breaking my foot in August 2021, I took it slow to recover. In March I felt strong enough to hike for several days straight in Ireland and everything was A-Okay. So, logical sense for a 25-year old, I should start sporting again, getting in shape for the summer.
After a few training sessions however, I somehow broke my foot again on the same spot… Thankfully I only had to be plastered for a week this time around. This way I didn’t miss any projects. The downside this time around is that I still have a soar foot, even three months after the accident. So, my foot is a unreliability factor right now, which sucks…
Hoping things will get better soon but I’ll likely have to look after it for all my life.
Back to this again, but only for a week this time.
Got a Car!
I cannot describe how good it feels to get your own car, it’s just amazing! I bought a 2005 Toyota Yaris and feeling so free right now. I bought it personally but will be driving it for business as well. I can deduct money per kilometer when driving for business, so it’s quite beneficial that way.
Website updates
As my portfolio starts to build even further, I can adjust my website accordingly. I made the homepage more appealing, the showcases more complete and managed to snag two more photo awards.
Homepage
The homepage received a major overhaul. From being a few blocks to a full list of services and a banner of me standing on a mountain in Ireland holding my camera. To me, this version is much more appealing but it’s up to the visitor.
So far, I get regular (unique) visitors on my site but no-one gets in touch. Maybe I need to lead them more to my contact page? Maybe I’m not the problem? No clue, but I’m hoping people don’t find it hard to get in touch with me, I’d love to help.
Showcases & portfolio
My portfolio received some unique extra content over the last months, enough to create more separate showcases and specify more focus areas. I removed the travel showcase as there’s a full travel page containing all content per country.
The current lay-out feels perfect. Whenever I’m getting in touch with a new client, I can send specific pages and know exactly what they’ll see first. My current set-up now almost functions like a tailormade landing page for any company I’m writing to. Would recommend this to every creator! Along with a specific media kit in .pdf format to send along with the email.
Two more awards
What would a Freewheelin’ blog be without any new awards ;) I managed to grab two more awards at the latest Muse Photography Awards!
Currently, I participated in two other competitions. One of them are the Siena Drone Awards where I managed to grab a commended awards last year. Hoping for a higher score this year as it’s the most prestigious award in (travel) drone photography.
Prints ireland
After coming back from Ireland I added over 20 new prints to the print store! To celebrate, I was running a 10% discount off on all Ireland prints. Little secret; I didn’t sell a thing. Better luck next time I guess.
Social Media standings
The graph I introduced in Freewheelin’ #3 is back! I added the data of last blog to the graph, figured that would make for a better overview.
Still growing! Though, to get into a place to collaborate with brands on social promotion, I need to get my account around the 5-10K mark. I hope to get more collaborated content onto my account and more video content, so I might grow a little faster in comparison with the last year.
Let’s see where the next few months might lead me to. Until next time!
Cheers, Mike
More of this series
GOOD TO SEE YOU!
My name is Mike Tesselaar, in short MiTe. I’m a photographer from The Netherlands with a heart for traveling and adventuring.
I write blogs about photo- and videography, travel, freelancing and personal related stories. Hope you’ll find inspiration and feel welcome to stick around a little longer!
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