“When my mother went to work, she left me as a child with my father. By tradition, I sat in the barn and knew all the cows by their heads. Geertje Algera lives in Utrecht, but she grew up on a farm in Werkum. Rounding up the cows, driving the tractor, going to check the cattle with Her goat; she had to help with everything. “This is where I really learned how to deal with things.”

She wanted to become a veterinarian. When she was nine years old, she witnessed a caesarean section performed on one of her father’s cows. “I thought it was a very cool profession, but I didn’t have the materials for it.” Her father and sister encouraged her to continue their education. It was never an idea to take over the farm. “I liked the farm, but not the farm business.”

She eventually became a journalist because she was interested in photography and video. Alger began working at KRO as a reporter and later as a kamjo (photo journalist). Including for Walking, reunion, crossroads And Discussion about 2. In 2014, she asked herself: How do I want to continue my career? I found out through a blog that you can also create videos for TV using your smartphone.

“Heavy to carry around cameras”

“It seemed like a strong story to me that it was possible. But I was motivated. If it’s possible, it’s much easier than the Camjo. The Camjo is great fun, but it’s heavy to carry around the cameras. As a reporter, you suddenly have to be a photographer, which is… Which wasn’t easy for me.”

A friend of Workum’s sent her a link to a smartphone photography course in Switzerland. “I said to my manager, ‘I feel a calling to do this.’” I was given permission to participate and had a blast. But more importantly, she noticed that she could do a lot with it.

When she returned to the Netherlands, she showed the videos she had made during training to her editor. She was allowed to start working on it immediately. “I was given a budget to buy a tripod and a microphone. I was the first to do this in Hilversum. My videos were broadcast on NPO2.

He started for himself

This did not go unnoticed. After an article in Villamedia Magazine , the trade magazine of the NVJ (Netherlands Association of Journalists), has been approached by municipalities and patient organizations to ask if they would like to provide training on it. In 2016, Alger decided to take the plunge and start his own business. She makes videos herself and also offers training on shooting with your smartphone.

“And this is where the approach I learned on the farm came in handy. On the farm you have to plan, organize, switch quickly and learn. My father also had to decide on a regular basis: should I invest in a new tractor or a new milking machine or not. And he wanted to offer a product Well, it is good milk that can be used to make good cheese. I also want to offer a good product: nice video and good training.

When Algeria goes out to film, she doesn’t have much with her; Two iPhones, a microphone, and a tripod. “And you can assemble it from my couch.” When she started filming with her cell phone for television, there were few people who questioned her work. “They think you should just use big cameras and choose the maximum number of pixels. I’m not interested in that, I’m following the story.”

“A big camera makes you tougher. If you shoot with your cell phone, you look more like someone working in the garden and kitchen.” This has sometimes caused comedic confusion. One of them said to her: Did you know that you have applications and lenses for that? Then Algeria says: “Yes, that’s right, I wrote a book about it.”

Written book

She wrote this book called “Create Professional Videos Using Your Smartphone” in 2022. In the book, she explains how you can shoot using your smartphone. One of her top tips is cleaning the lens. ,,And the; Walk forward. The movie is closer. Don’t zoom in, because the quality will be worse, but go ahead.

“Videos taken with a smartphone can be seen on TV every day, and I see professional smartphone photos all over the news. Many people don’t know this, because they associate it with wobbly vertical images.

Occasionally, videos of The Farmer’s Daughter can still be seen on television. “My mother can see if I made videos. How? I think there are ordinary people in the photo and because I use creative shots. Sometimes I put my cell phone in a plant pot and then water the plants. Then you see the drops falling on the camera. This is possible, and it Much more difficult with a large camera.

“He thought it was cool.”

She thinks the nice thing about her job is that she gets to go everywhere and gets to see everything. “One day, I do an internship in the hospital and after a few days in the museum. I like it very much.” She also meets a lot of people because of this and loves it when she sees people talking when she explains something about smartphone videos. “For example, they find that video is better if you shoot short clips and paste them together instead of shooting the whole thing in one take.”

Algeria prefers to be the builder of bridges between Friesland and the Randstad. “The Frisians see me as a city woman. In Utrecht they still see me as a farmer’s daughter. Of course I am both.” Doing a job for an organization that combines both of these aspects of it would be the icing on the cake. “Or the icing on an orange cake.”

“My father was very focused on innovation and the future. I do too. He went to other countries to see what was happening there, and I do too. He died in 2007. I think it’s a shame he couldn’t experience what I do now. I think it was He thought that was great.