Vera de Kok
@veradekok.nl
Election day 2025 in Delft, Netherlands
📷 Vera de Kok, cc-by-sa-4.0
📷 Vera de Kok, cc-by-sa-4.0
October 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Election day 2025 in Delft, Netherlands
📷 Vera de Kok, cc-by-sa-4.0
📷 Vera de Kok, cc-by-sa-4.0
This article on a German opera became a lot more interesting when I added this 19th Dutch photograph of a performance that had the male love interest played by a woman
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_sch...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_sch...
September 9, 2025 at 7:19 PM
This article on a German opera became a lot more interesting when I added this 19th Dutch photograph of a performance that had the male love interest played by a woman
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_sch...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_sch...
The article on the Shakespearean character of Feste only got a photo added to it back in 2020 when I was tagged the photos from the "Onze Tooneelspelers" ("Our Stage Actors") from 1899. Articles look so much better with a picture
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feste
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feste
September 9, 2025 at 7:07 PM
The article on the Shakespearean character of Feste only got a photo added to it back in 2020 when I was tagged the photos from the "Onze Tooneelspelers" ("Our Stage Actors") from 1899. Articles look so much better with a picture
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feste
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feste
By matching archival footage to articles you get to unexpected stories. Like how Albert Pomper got to be a professional organ player despite coming from the most humble backgrounds because he got educated at the Amsterdam Institute for the Blind
nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_...
nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_...
September 9, 2025 at 6:13 PM
By matching archival footage to articles you get to unexpected stories. Like how Albert Pomper got to be a professional organ player despite coming from the most humble backgrounds because he got educated at the Amsterdam Institute for the Blind
nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_...
nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_...
You get to explore the world from home by cataloging other people's photos. I got introduced to Kenyan writer Nanjala Nyabola by doing that with those made available by @re-publica.com
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjala...
Photo: Jan Michalko / re:publica (CC BY-SA 2.0)
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjala...
Photo: Jan Michalko / re:publica (CC BY-SA 2.0)
September 9, 2025 at 5:43 PM
You get to explore the world from home by cataloging other people's photos. I got introduced to Kenyan writer Nanjala Nyabola by doing that with those made available by @re-publica.com
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjala...
Photo: Jan Michalko / re:publica (CC BY-SA 2.0)
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjala...
Photo: Jan Michalko / re:publica (CC BY-SA 2.0)
In 2017 I got to contribute the photograph of @naomiaklein.bsky.social to Wikipedia when she visited Amsterdam, how cool is that?
September 9, 2025 at 4:58 PM
In 2017 I got to contribute the photograph of @naomiaklein.bsky.social to Wikipedia when she visited Amsterdam, how cool is that?
When you do things right within the Wikimedia projects, the resulting response is typically deafening silence. Thinks are getting better but compared to the dopamine hit social media can be. I got one "thank you" for finding these silos that look like the default Dutch peanut butter jar
September 9, 2025 at 4:17 PM
When you do things right within the Wikimedia projects, the resulting response is typically deafening silence. Thinks are getting better but compared to the dopamine hit social media can be. I got one "thank you" for finding these silos that look like the default Dutch peanut butter jar
Delpher, the Dutch newspaper archive, made an website in which you can browse newspaper photos that have been added to Wikipedia. If you browse for politicians you can see many of my finds kbnlwikimedia.github.io/GLAMorousToH...
September 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Delpher, the Dutch newspaper archive, made an website in which you can browse newspaper photos that have been added to Wikipedia. If you browse for politicians you can see many of my finds kbnlwikimedia.github.io/GLAMorousToH...
I got really into digging up the new portraits out of public domain material in 2019-2020. This early 20th century parliamentarian is so dapper, finding new things like this is so fun. He's nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egbertu...
September 4, 2025 at 6:46 PM
I got really into digging up the new portraits out of public domain material in 2019-2020. This early 20th century parliamentarian is so dapper, finding new things like this is so fun. He's nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egbertu...
I've gamified matching photos to individuals described in Wikidata with software I've written myself: the Orator-Matcher can take a list of names and give you an overview of matches. It ranks them by how many language editions of Wikipedia describe them
September 4, 2025 at 11:24 AM
I've gamified matching photos to individuals described in Wikidata with software I've written myself: the Orator-Matcher can take a list of names and give you an overview of matches. It ranks them by how many language editions of Wikipedia describe them
My very best portrait is that of Judit Elek (10 language editions) at the IFFR 2023. It makes me proud to think it will stand as a representation of her through the ages en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judit_E...
September 4, 2025 at 8:48 AM
My very best portrait is that of Judit Elek (10 language editions) at the IFFR 2023. It makes me proud to think it will stand as a representation of her through the ages en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judit_E...
I've taught myself photography by doing this for so long. At the beginning of this year I captured this portrait of American actress Victoria Pedretti (article in 29 language editions)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victori...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victori...
September 4, 2025 at 8:32 AM
I've taught myself photography by doing this for so long. At the beginning of this year I captured this portrait of American actress Victoria Pedretti (article in 29 language editions)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victori...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victori...
I've been doing that with press credentials at the International Film Festival Rotterdam since 2015. The photos of the IFFR can be sent on hundreds of articles.
www.veradekok.nl/en/2025/03/i...
www.veradekok.nl/en/2025/03/i...
September 4, 2025 at 7:47 AM
I've been doing that with press credentials at the International Film Festival Rotterdam since 2015. The photos of the IFFR can be sent on hundreds of articles.
www.veradekok.nl/en/2025/03/i...
www.veradekok.nl/en/2025/03/i...
Pretty quickly I noticed I could have a big impact if I also went out and tried to capture photos of notable individuals for Wikipedia. The Dutch philosopher Herman Philipse was photographed by me in 2012. Naomi Klein in 2017
@naomiaklein.bsky.social
@naomiaklein.bsky.social
September 4, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Pretty quickly I noticed I could have a big impact if I also went out and tried to capture photos of notable individuals for Wikipedia. The Dutch philosopher Herman Philipse was photographed by me in 2012. Naomi Klein in 2017
@naomiaklein.bsky.social
@naomiaklein.bsky.social
I've developed an eye for matching things I encounter to Wikipedia. Twice my phone breaking has been of benefit for the encyclopedia: my broken S2 is the example of a small motherboard, the broken image sensor in my Nokia is the example of a different kind of dead pixel
September 4, 2025 at 7:36 AM
I've developed an eye for matching things I encounter to Wikipedia. Twice my phone breaking has been of benefit for the encyclopedia: my broken S2 is the example of a small motherboard, the broken image sensor in my Nokia is the example of a different kind of dead pixel
The 10 year anniversary of the Dutch Wikipedia in Den Bosch is where I got introduced to the Wikimedia movement, and it's been a fun community to be part of ever since
Photo: @ikbendaf.bsky.social (cc-by-sa-2.0)
Photo: @ikbendaf.bsky.social (cc-by-sa-2.0)
September 4, 2025 at 7:31 AM
The 10 year anniversary of the Dutch Wikipedia in Den Bosch is where I got introduced to the Wikimedia movement, and it's been a fun community to be part of ever since
Photo: @ikbendaf.bsky.social (cc-by-sa-2.0)
Photo: @ikbendaf.bsky.social (cc-by-sa-2.0)
The way I got into photographing for Wikipedia is by going out and documenting heritage sites. These are two nationally heritage sites I captured in 2011. The chimney is in Westland Museum, a region I grew up in. The mortuary is in Den Bosch, where I went to my first meetup.
September 4, 2025 at 7:26 AM
The way I got into photographing for Wikipedia is by going out and documenting heritage sites. These are two nationally heritage sites I captured in 2011. The chimney is in Westland Museum, a region I grew up in. The mortuary is in Den Bosch, where I went to my first meetup.
My favorite photo from this set is this one of a bumper sticker that demands of immigrants that they speak English. It's very useful to illustrate the abstract concept of the "English-only movement" in the United States en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English...
September 4, 2025 at 7:15 AM
My favorite photo from this set is this one of a bumper sticker that demands of immigrants that they speak English. It's very useful to illustrate the abstract concept of the "English-only movement" in the United States en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English...
759× that's this photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge, which is used near the bottom of the page in every article about San Francisco on the French Wikipedia. This used to also be the case on the English Wikipedia
Photo: CGP Grey, CC BY 2.0
Photo: CGP Grey, CC BY 2.0
September 4, 2025 at 7:11 AM
759× that's this photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge, which is used near the bottom of the page in every article about San Francisco on the French Wikipedia. This used to also be the case on the English Wikipedia
Photo: CGP Grey, CC BY 2.0
Photo: CGP Grey, CC BY 2.0
The main way you get there is through batch uploads of course. You can see some big spikes in this graph of edits to Wikimedia Commons in 2018, 2019 and 2022. The highest peak is 28k edits in a month.
September 4, 2025 at 6:59 AM
The main way you get there is through batch uploads of course. You can see some big spikes in this graph of edits to Wikimedia Commons in 2018, 2019 and 2022. The highest peak is 28k edits in a month.
Back in the Netherlands and on a train that will take me straight home
August 12, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Back in the Netherlands and on a train that will take me straight home
Traveled half way arround the world for #Wikimania this year. Looking forward to seeing my friends again and make new ones
August 6, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Traveled half way arround the world for #Wikimania this year. Looking forward to seeing my friends again and make new ones
I'm at Art Basel this weekend as the first Dutch member of the international Wikiportraits team!
June 21, 2025 at 10:15 AM
I'm at Art Basel this weekend as the first Dutch member of the international Wikiportraits team!
This update has repeatedly reset my accessibility button settings, which I've had linked to the "Reading mode" app - Google's official screen reader.
May 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
This update has repeatedly reset my accessibility button settings, which I've had linked to the "Reading mode" app - Google's official screen reader.