About me

Getting into (wildlife) photography

Hello there. My name is Maarten Oerlemans, and I enjoy capturing wildlife moments. I have a passion for wildlife photography and I want to show everyone how incredible our wildlife is through my eyes; in a single frame. Read on and I will tell you how I got into wildlife photography. 

In 2008 I received my first camera and that was the Nikon D80. I remember it was really good for someone only beginning with photography. I did all kinds of photography, but wildlife photography was what I enjoyed most. I traded my knowledge of building websites for a Nikon 70-300 lens. A great lens to get closer to the animals. During those days, I spend most of my time in the zoo photographing animals. You cannot imagine how often I was there. Back then, I had not yet discovered the thrill of finding animals in the wild. And maybe that is the reason that after a few years I somehow lost interest in photography.

Learning (wildlife) photography

Somewhere during that period, I did a beginner course on photography to learn about my camera and the basics of photography. Later on I also studied communication and multi-media design. This is where I learned even more about photo- and videography. Besides school assignments and the occasional family photoshoot, I did not really use my camera until 2018. 

Getting back to (wildlife) photography in 2018

In 2018, I bought a new camera to replace my Nikon D80. Back then, I was traveling through the US for a couple of weeks. I wanted to capture every moment of this unforgettable time. For this I bought the Nikon D7200. That time in the US is when I regained my passion for photography and more specific, photographing wildlife. I had so many encounters with wildlife, most of them were amazing and some a little frightening, that it had sparked my passion once again. When I returned to The Netherlands, I continued with wildlife photography and discovered how much wildlife we actually have. All these amazing animals living together with us that you only get to see when you begin to pay attention. And only a select few get to do that. I somehow felt that I needed to share this with the world, so I started sharing my encounters on Instagram. 

Hunting without killing the animal 

I believe that the desire to hunt is nothing more than a primal instinct. Practicing wildlife photography is definitely fulfilling that desire for me. Though, I do not think I would ever be able to kill animal. And surely not for pleasure only. What is it that attracts me to wildlife photography? It all begins with getting to know everything about the animal. Where can I find the animal and when is the animal active? What kind of behavior does it have that I need to understand, so it becomes more predictable. And how can I approach it? When everything plays out well, the photo is the prize! 

Thanks for reading.