Thank You for the First Year of Studio Notes

Dear readers,

What a year.

2025 was the first time I stepped into Substack, and it surprised me more than I expected. Writing here has become a part of my practice. Your responses, questions, and curiosity made it feel like a place where I can think out loud, reflect, and give language to work that usually develops quietly behind the scenes.

This community feels like a gathering of people who actually care about the process behind the images, not only the results. That means more to me than I can say.

Looking back, these are the five pieces that shaped the year. Not only because of what I wrote, but because of the conversations that followed.

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Top 5 pieces of the year

1. “Shooting for Dior”

A look behind the scenes of a memorable assignment. I wrote about the energy on set, the rhythm of working under pressure, and how beauty reveals itself when everything lines up.

Read it here:

2. “Why I Think Less Might Be More in…”

A reflection on minimalism, and why reducing elements can open up a stronger emotional space. It is about slowing down the image so the viewer can enter it.

Read it here:

3. “Falling in Love with Photography Again”

A personal piece about rediscovering the joy of making images, and how technology sometimes brings you back to the roots of why you started.

Read it here:

4. “Creating Without Limits”

A piece about creative freedom. Letting go of expectations, returning to intuition, and allowing experimentation to guide the process.

Read it here:

5. “Does Art Need to Tell a Story?”

A question that kept coming back this year. I wrote about my view on narrative, and why not every artwork needs to explain itself.

Read it here:

Thank you

Thank you for reading, responding, sharing, and showing up.

Thank you for giving your time and attention, which is the most valuable thing anyone can give.

This platform has become a place for thinking, for slowing down, for exploring ideas that do not always fit anywhere else. I am glad you are here.

Looking forward to another year of creating, questioning, and discovering together.

— Bastiaan

Thanks for reading Studio Notes! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.