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Carlo Van Stek
@carlo_vstek
Travel photographer based in the Netherlands
I’m Carlo, a photographer, born and raised in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. My parents have always been very supportive of my creative expressions and they gave me my first digital camera when I was 17, which I brought along on my first trip to New York City. Manhattan was such an amazingly different world from what I was used to that I spent the whole vacation taking hundreds of photos. At this point, I didn’t really have a real connection to photography yet as it wasn’t really something anyone I knew was doing as a hobby. Also, there was no Instagram back then, nor smartphones. Taking photos was something I did on vacation and during birthday parties, but other than sending a few photos to friends, there was no use for them yet. This changed when I discovered websites and platforms dedicated to photography, and I began to develop a deeper interest. I bought a better camera and that’s when I started photographing everyday life, instead of special occasions alone. Back then, 500px was the place to see the most incredible photos and that’s where I got my first real inspiration from.
"I have always looked at photos from National Geographic and thought to myself; I want to visit those places and take these shots myself!"
"During my Multimedia Design study, I had the opportunity to choose Photojournalism as a minor, which really made me take my photography to the next level in terms of visual storytelling."
Whatever creative thing I do, I always want to be as precise and perfect as possible, improving every single time. I bought my first DSLR and started practicing daily with all different kinds of techniques. This is also when I first started using Photoshop to edit my photos, developing my own photographic style. I focused on creating certain visuals, thinking about what I was doing rather then just point and shoot. I created an Instagram account and finally had a place to showcase my work. I got hooked on photography and everything that came with it.
When a Route 66 road trip was booked and my first dream would come true, I bought a semi-professional DSLR camera. I traveled every year in March three years in a row, visiting all three of my dream destinations. These trips definitely opened my eyes to the world and my three-destination-bucket list turned into a list with a couple dozen of places I want to visit. Without travel, I would have never developed my visual style the way I have now. Travelling has made me so much more aware of how our earth is shaped and how beautiful and colorful it can be. Nature’s shapes and colors have inspired me to create new styles I can use when shooting portraits or cities. Nevertheless, growing up in Amsterdam, one of the most photogenic cities in the world, has not shaped me into being an urban photographer at all.
"I have somehow always struggled to take photos of an urban environment, although there are definitely exceptions, especially when it comes to iconic or historical landmarks."
The Netherlands is a small country with very few large forests and there are certainly no mountains, so in some way it’s inevitable that you end up doing urban photography, which definitely contributes to skill enhancement too. In terms of inspiration though, being in nature, observing the way everything flows naturally together in terms of shapes and colors, is certainly more inspiring for me.
"Nowadays I work as a freelance graphic designer, which enables me to work and enjoy freedom at the same time."
I would like to be travelling and possibly working remotely in the future, both as a designer and photographer. For now though I take on photography jobs only occasionally because I’m still trying to improve my graphic skills first. I am an autodidact; if I don’t know how to do something I look it up, and that’s how I have taught myself how to edit my photos and how to use a camera. Creatively speaking I’m always trying to improve, whether it’s through composition or post-processing. I like to develop my own creative skills by experimenting, which is also why I don’t believe in learning by trying to recreate images or tricks of other photographers.
"To me, that is slowing down your personal development instead of advancing skills and style."
I think photography is an amazing hobby to keep you occupied because there is always some new function or technique to learn. I look at other photographers’ work everyday and take some inspiration from everyone, whether it’s from an account with 1M followers or ‘only’ 300. I try to incorporate ideas in my visuals and keep developing my own style continuously. If I look back at pictures I posted 3 years ago, the difference is so obvious. I enjoy to see my development of my style and skills over the years and I don’t mind others to see that as well. In fact, it’s something I love to showcase. It’s a record of development and it represents my journey as a visual artist, which is something beautiful.
"Meanwhile, I would say I have quite a specific editing style. I’m always trying to distinguish my work among work of others."
I think that, in the age of filters and presets, it’s more important than ever to develop your own unique style. So rather than using a filter to make everything look the same, I love showcasing all the different beautiful colors our world has to offer. Travelling the world and seeing so many different types of places has really opened me up to this, although I have always had a strong preference for using bright and vibrant colors in any of my creative work. Using colors allows me to create a certain aesthetic I personally find very pleasing. I suspect that the way I am using colors in my imagery has led me to a more minimalistic style lately.
"Regardless of my style or the way I edit, my goal is to demonstrate well known spots and scenes in an unusual way."
I want to open your eyes to the beauty of the world and make you perceive it in a way you never could have imagined yourself. It’s all in the details. The reason it takes me forever to finish editing all my photos when coming back home from a long trip, is that I carefully select which photos I want to use and show. I realized that the more time and effort I put in preparation of the process, the more fulfilment I get out of it afterwards, which I personally can see back in my photos. Every photo asks for a different approach and I treat every single image as an individual artwork. The last thing I want is my feed to look repetitive, and people seem to appreciate my divergent feed. I always get the most amazing comments on my photos, and I never stop being thankful for it. I’ve been told a couple of times people acquire great inspiration from my work, which is the greatest thing I feel I can achieve.
"That would be my ultimate goal, to be an inspiration for others to create their own personal style."
Of course I hope to generate within others the desire to travel to the places I shared. That means I was able to successfully transform my personal enjoyment of that moment into the visuals of the photo. Photography made me pay more attention to the details in everything. Whether natural or man- made, there is so much beauty to be found in anything if you would look at it from the right perspective. It has given me an appreciation of the world we live in and how important it is to preserve it and cherish all the cultural and geological differences everywhere.
"Being able to capture this and transmit it through images, is literally the biggest motivation to continue to develop myself and to share the results with the world."
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