Meet Maarten Straetemans, a seasoned presence at Isosport with decades of experience in sports events. Despite his calm demeanor, Maarten is a skilled photographer, capturing moments with expertise at a pace that might surprise you. Off-duty, find him with his son or relaxing at an Italian campsite. Maarten, a reliable figure at Isosport, brings calmness to the fast sports world and stands out as a talented photographer.
An image always tells a story .
The story behind this photo is different than the image suggests. Ex-pro cyclist Johan Verstrepen rides here with a pint of beer during his farewell race on Oct. 14, 2006 in Eindhout.
Emotional contrast
AC Milan's Brazilian star soccer player Kaká celebrates one of his 3 goals during the Champions League game against Anderlecht in 2006 in Milan, my first foreign assignment for Isosport. The contrast with the disappointment of Anderlecht goalkeeper Daniel Zitka is great.
Picturing legends
At the KBC indoor athletics meeting in Ghent in 2007, I photographed Tia Hellebaut jumping over 1.98 meters there. Back then, no one could have predicted that 1.5 years later she would capture gold with a jump over 2.05 meters at the Beijing Olympics.
Emotional farewell
At the Diamond Games 2007 in Antwerp, I photographed Kim Clijsters as she left the court after her last tennis match on Belgian territory. Clijsters and I grew up just a few kilometers from each other. Being able to witness her last match was an emotional moment even for me. Two years later, when Clijsters was already a mother, she made a successful comeback with 3 more Grand Slam titles.
My childhood dream
In the beginning of my career, tennis was my favorite sport to photograph, partly because of the successes of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin at that time. After years of going to Wimbledon as a spectator, I finally worked there for 2 weeks as a photographer, a dream came true. I also worked at Roland Garros for several years. In 2010, I took this photo of Venus Williams in Paris.
Aiming high
During a UEFA Champion League match between Feyenoord and Manchester City in 2017, I took this spectacular photo of Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) dueling with Miquel Nelom.
Basketball fan at heart
As a teenager, I was an avid supporter of the Bree basketball team and later I served as their scout during games in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Basketball always remained one of my favorite sports to photograph. I photographed the games of the Antwerp Giants for many years. I took this shot of the spectacular Ismael Bako (Giants) during a Champions League game against Dijon in 2019.
Open to new perspectives
It was surreal to work in full Corona Crisis in empty stadiums. But it did allow me to explore other camera positions. For instance, I took this picture of Gareth Bale from the grandstand during an international match of Wales against Belgium.
Capturing happiness
A big part of my work involves capturing joy after scoring a goal. Emilio Kehrer of Cercle Brugge celebrated very spectacular indeed after his goal against Sporting Charleroi in October 2022.
Grateful fans
Geoffry Hairemans of KV Mechelen was substituted after scoring the only goal during a game against Sporting Charleroi in November 2023.