Today we’d like to introduce you to Lukas Van Der Lende.
Hi Lukas, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in West Michigan. My parents were both artists, my mom a painter and my dad a commercial photographer. I grew up with a family that had a high respect for the arts and always encouraged me in my artistic pursuits. After dropping out of college I started working in my dad’s studio. That was very helpful in growing my technical ability but I needed to go out on my own and find my own style. Now, over a decade making my living with a camera, I look back and am so thankful for a family that supported my career from the beginning.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s never a smooth road. Even with the support of my family, it took me 5 years of working professionally to have my own camera that I owned. I had a time working for a company that supplied all the equipment for me and one day I walked into the office and the owner let me go. No camera, no lenses, no laptop. I had started completely over and I had nothing but my skill, knowledge and the relationships I had made. After taking my licks, I came up with a plan, during that time I was shooting real estate listing photos. I went into my office, with half of the realtors in my community, and sold listing photo packages. After my last day in the office I walked around to each realtor and made my sales. I walked out with enough money to jump start my business, buy a laptop, camera, lenses, tripod. Everything I needed, along with a day full of shoots my first day out of the job. Using that moment propelled my career and I used it as a stepping stone to start doing work I was passionate about.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a photographer and filmmaker. I work for a local church making their videos and photos. I also share my work on YouTube and instagram, using them as a means to showcase my work and also help others with their art. I shoot a little bit of everything, but living in a small tourist town on Lake Michigan, my eye gravitates toward the water. Right now I am working on a longterm project titles “life on the pier” and it showcases the people through street photography that choose to spend their time on the pier in grand haven. A location I have grown up seeing photographed thousands if not millions of times. But with this project I am taking the attention away from the lighthouse, and placing it on the people who make this place special.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think the most important characteristic to my success is a longing to learn, to continually grow and that I have an overwhelming need to go make photos and videos. Even without social media, I would be out taking photos and trying to sharpen my craft.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lukasvanderlende.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukasvanderlende/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@lukasvanderlende?si=dLTI-fe4xe6l9s-7
