--- title: "The Art of Artwork" date: 2026-10-17 language: en topics: ["art", "creativity", "people", "work"] source_url: https://willem.com/en/2026-10-17_the-art-of-artwork/ --- # The Art of Artwork *What is not in the picture matters just as much* > Great pictures matter. In an age of AI slop the human has to stand out, the product has to stand out, the production has to stand out. My brother Kevin Middelkoop has been making photos for more than twenty years, and more and more films too. In this post I put his work center stage! ## The eye A good photo is a choice. What is in it, and just as much what is not: a line that runs a little crooked, a cable on the floor, a messy corner, a car in the wrong spot. Kevin sees those things before he presses the button. He is patient and precise, and he works with daylight and strong mobile flashes to keep the colours true and let the materials speak. He even taught me how to straighten a photo the right way: first one strong line in the centre, then the verticals, and only then, if it truly fits, the horizontals. A photo that is almost straight looks worse than one that was never touched. That is the kind of detail nobody notices, until it is wrong. ![1,287 photos from kevinmiddelkoop.nl in one picture. Photos: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/c0ca586d88e9.webp) ## Dutch skies With his Leica M11 Kevin works on a project of many years: Dutch skies. No people, no buildings, only sky and a thin strip of land. The clouds do the talking. All that sky, and every cloud is EXACTLY in place! ![Dutch skies, a project of many years on the Leica M11. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/09bf1ccf777c.webp) ![Only sky and a thin strip of land. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/6c05d76ea8d9.webp) ## Space and atmosphere Kevin grew up, like me, around the interior building company of our father: inspiring interiors and special details from a young age. You can see it in his work. A [villa on the water](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2023-06-24_architectural-photography-of-a-villa/), a [former water tower](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2024-02-21_before-after-virtual-tour-redevelopment-of-former-water-tower-in-mijdrecht/) turned into workplaces, a staircase seen straight from above. ![A black-clad villa across the pond. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/d18c50cfe846.webp) ![A former water tower, looking up. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/65d20c7fbb2f.webp) ![A spiral staircase, straight from above. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/b09b4adea748.webp) ![A black ceiling with copper-lined pendants. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/3b7dde17744c.webp) ![A wood-panelled bar with brass chandeliers. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/c22fdd762928.webp) ## Taste For [Eetcafé 't Pakhuis](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2026-03-26_homepage-reel-and-photography-for-restaurant/) in Amsterdam he shot the dishes, the interior and a homepage reel in one compact session. For a bakery he photographed [four shops](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2024-10-31_corporate-photos-google-street-view/) and their cakes, bread and pastries. You can almost smell it. ![Eetcafé 't Pakhuis in Amsterdam. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/b1011f147d53.webp) ![Pastries at the bakery. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/00c82dd909bf.webp) ## Film Here is a montage of some of Kevin's footage, featuring a shopping centre that gets a new floor, the dunes and meadows of Terschelling, divers at a sluice, the flower auction at night, Eetcafé 't Pakhuis and drones over the morning mist. Watch the full films here: | Film | Duration | Date | |---|---|---| | [Timelapse of a floor renovation](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2024-07-03_timelapse-sequence-floor-renovation/) | 2:12 | 3 July 2024 | | [Sustainability film on Terschelling](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2026-08-25_sustainability-film-on-terschelling/) | 4:00 | 25 August 2026 | | [Underwater inspections of a sluice](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2024-11-29_corporate-film-about-underwater-inspections/) | 2:46 | 29 November 2024 | | [The flower auction for PP Flowers](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2026-09-09_corporate-film-for-pp-flowers-at-the-flower-auction/) | 1:27 | 9 September 2026 | | [Homepage reel for Eetcafé 't Pakhuis](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2026-03-26_homepage-reel-and-photography-for-restaurant/) | 0:36 | 26 March 2026 | Behind every shot is a story. Divers [inspecting the walls and gates of a sluice](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2024-11-29_corporate-film-about-underwater-inspections/). The [flower auction](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2026-09-09_corporate-film-for-pp-flowers-at-the-flower-auction/) in Aalsmeer. A [timelapse](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2024-07-03_timelapse-sequence-floor-renovation/) of a shopping centre that gets a new floor. And on Terschelling, drone pilots searching the meadows for the [nests of vulnerable birds](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2026-08-25_sustainability-film-on-terschelling/), so they can be protected before the grass is mown. A nest with eggs, hidden in the grass. That is the shot! ![Drone pilots in the morning mist on Terschelling. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/36a716ea568a.webp) ![A nest with eggs, hidden in the grass. Photo: Kevin Middelkoop](https://willem.com/global/images/0571a07da7e2.webp) The reel and the four colleague films on [korverbv.nl](https://korverbv.nl/) are his too, as I wrote in [Human Work](https://willem.com/en/2026-10-19_human-work/). ## Snake '97 Kevin is also the one who shot the razor-sharp macro photos of the old phones for Snake '97. Those photos are still the game: more than 41 million downloads, and millions of people carry a copy of my old phone in their pocket, photographed by my brother. The whole story is on the [making-of page](https://snake97.com/making-of/). 41 million downloads, ONE photographer! ![The phones of Snake '97: Kevin's macro photos are the game](https://willem.com/global/images/e573234db237.webp) ## AI and craft I build with AI all day, and I believe it can foster creativity and craftsmanship. It takes the boring work away and leaves more time for what matters. But the eye stays human: knowing what to leave out, waiting for the right light, seeing the odd line before anyone else does. Kevin keeps social media at a distance, on purpose, and writes about his own work in his [updates](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/updates/). Read [What do you actually do, Kevin?](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2026-02-26_what-do-you-actually-do-kevin/), or how he built a [camera obscura from a cardboard box](https://kevinmiddelkoop.nl/en/2026-08-12_solar-eclipse-through-diy-camera-obscura/) to watch the solar eclipse. Curiosity is part of the craft. | | Kevin Middelkoop | |---|---| | Photography | Interiors, architecture, hospitality, companies | | Film | Company films, aftermovies, timelapses, drone | | Also | 360-degree virtual tours, Google Street View | | Experience | More than 20 years, own business since 2009 | | Works from | Nieuwveen, mostly the Randstad, abroad too | ## Conclusion Pictures are the first thing people see of your work, long before they read a word. Make them count! Looking for photos or film that make your people, your product or your space stand out? Have a look at Kevin's work and give him a call. [action1]