Photography projects by multimedia maker Michiel Bles, background photo stories, portraits, corporate photography and training

Background story: growing up in the refugee camps of Lebanon /

16 January 2018

Sabra and Shatila refugee camp. Home of massacres in the past. Now a barren place to live. Only a few miles from downtown Beirut
Living conditions in Lebanon's refugee camps are bad. Houses are poorly maintained. Armed violence is day to day business in the camps
Young children are influenced by the arms they see around them
Children have little place to play in camps like Ein el Helweh, Rashidieh and El Buss. All are located in the south of Lebanon, not far from the border Israelian border
Next to Palestinians, Syrians now find a temporary home in Lebanon's refugee camps
In Safe Spaces children find a way to release stress and tension by dance and theatre performances
Dutch NGO War Child organises these activities in close cooperation with local partner organisations
By drawing and writing children and young people have an outlet to cope with their experiences and find a way to temporarily escape the daily pressure they live under
War Child founder Willemijn Verloop visits a creative workshop in Ein el Helweh, one of the most overcrowded refugee camps of Lebanon
Dutch singer Marco Borsato is War Child's goodwill ambassador. In one of the countless alleyways of the Sabra and Shatila camp he experiences the physical limitations of living in a refugee camps
Sports is an essential tool for children to learn to deal with violent experiences, to gain trust again and to learn how to cooperate

Reportage of children living in the Ein el Helweh, Rashidieh and El Buss refugee camps of Lebanon

Project info: Hundreds of thousands Palestinian refugees live in refugee camps in South Lebanon. Ein el Helweh, Rashidieh and El Buss have been the makeshift home of generations of Palestinians who have fled the violence in Gaza and the West Bank. In 2010 and 2012 I visited the camps in Lebanon to document the lives of children living in these dire conditions.

Together with founder of the Dutch NGO War Child Holland and its goodwill ambassador Marco Borsato I interviewed and portrayed children and their parents. The pictures, reportages, background stories and video reports have been and are still used in War Child’s printed media, website, social media and advocacy reports.

Client: War Child

Media: Photography

Languages: –

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Staff portraits Radio Netherlands Worldwide /

17 November 2017

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Portrait photography Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Project info: Portrait series of members of the editorial team of Radio Netherlands Worldwide. These editors and producers work for the China, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East desks. Goal of this staff portraits series was to have a consistent visual presentation of the RNW team.

Client: RNW Media

Media: Photography

Languages: –

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RNTC iPad training for journalists /

14 November 2017

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Corporate event photography

Project info: International journalists and journalism students are trained on the use of iPad in their journalistic work. This photo series shows the activities of the journalists from Egypt, DR Congo, Nepal and other countries. The iPad training course is organized by RNTC in Hilversum. The photo reportage will be used on RNTC’s website, social media en corporate print outlets.

Client: RNTC

Media: Photography

My role: Shoot, selection and post production

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Tear sites, external photo publications /

3 October 2017

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Recent photo publications on external websites

Tear sites, rather than tear sheets. External websites where my photographs have been published.

RNWorg-RNW-NOOR-Academy

Dagdromen op het pont, het Ij, Amsterdam, schippers door fotograaf Michiel Bles

RNWorg-Turan-Ali

Photo by photographer Michiel Bles for RNW, freelance multimedia maker

Stimuleringsfonds voor de journalistiek Elvira van Noort fotograaf Michiel Bles.

RNTC training photo by photographer Michiel Bles

De Ceuvel Carianne van Raak fotograaf Michiel Bles

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Gulu carwash /

16 February 2017

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Photo series of a makeshift carwash in Gulu, Northern Uganda

Project info: When the heat of the day leaves town and the sun gets low, men gather at the washing bay in Gulu. At this roadside carwash against a tropical backdrop, cars, trucks and motor bikes get their daily clean-up.

Client: Autonomous

Media: Photography

Languages: –

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Corporate event photography: photo series of training sessions RNTC /

22 June 2016

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Corporate event photography

Project info: For the new website of training institute RNTC, launched June 2016, I produced a photo series of their training courses for international students.

By applying a specific, distinctive color grading to the photography, the website gets a consistent look and feel. The photo series represents the activities RNTC organizes for their international clientele.

Client: RNTC

Media: Photography

Selection only

Go to the new website of RNTC to see the full photo series

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Background story: Los Valientes/the braves /

10 May 2015

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Background photo stories

Project info: Five brave, aspiring photojournalists from Latin America face major challenges expressing their opinions. Prejudice, intimidation, violence, it’s part of their daily job in Mexico, Venezuela and El Salvador. This long scroll honours these young professional photographers and video reporters.

Client: RNW Media

Media: Photography, webdesign

Watch Los Valientes live

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Portraits of editorial staff Love Matters at RNW /

9 May 2015

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Portrait photography

Project info: Portrait series of RNW’s editorial team ‘Love Matters’. Goal: to develop a consistent visual presentation of the team.

Client: RNW.org

Media: Photography

Languages: –

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Photo reportage Amsterdam Gay Pride 2014 /

8 May 2015

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Corporate event photography

Project info: Visual report of Amsterdam Gay Pride 2014. For five days I followed eight LGBT activists from seven countries around the globe

Client: RNW.org

Media: Photography, social media reporting

Selection only. Photos are cropped for navigational purposes.

Watch the Amsterdam Gay Pride 2014 in 18 photos

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Various portraits /

8 May 2015

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Portrait photography

Project info: Various portraits for various clients

Client: War Child and RNW Media

Media: Photography

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/ Michiel Bles / Freelance multimedia maker

Reportage of children living in the Ein el Helweh, Rashidieh and El Buss refugee camps of Lebanon

Portrait photography Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Corporate event photography

Recent photo publications on external websites

Photo series of a makeshift carwash in Gulu, Northern Uganda

Corporate event photography

Background photo stories

Portrait photography

Corporate event photography

Portrait photography