SURFERS MAG making of

Mike Van Cleven

Mike Van Cleven was born and raised in Belgium. At the early age of 8 he came in contact with photography through a relative. At the age of 15 Mike spend his free days with a professional photographer who taught him the dark room secrets. With no digital cameras existing, photography for the young apprentice was full of trial and error.

As being very conscious about the potential pitfalls a young start-up professional photographer could encounter, Mike decided to abandon his professional photography ambitions and focussed his education on commercial organization, marketing and brand management.

Although throughout his early twenties he was not creating any commercial photography but merely explored his creative visual skills, he worked closely on brand and image projects that required high-end visual communication.

At the age of 28 and having worked with and for some of the worlds largest consumer brands, Mike decided to use his experience in favor of his own dreams and ambitions that he had since he was a kid, and focus on his photography skills and business.

Since then he has photographed for various brands, magazines and clients worldwide, produced numerous of fashion and lifestyle shoots on some of the most remote and exotic locations around the world and succeeded in his dream.

Today Mike works primarily as a commercial photographer and videographer.

If you want to find out more about us? Visit our corporate site at www.mikevancleven.com