Tagged: weather

View from Sint Philipsland, Zeeland towards Philips Dam with wind turbines and grassy nature

5. September 2023

A Tour of Saint Philips’ Land

Sint Philipsland is a relatively unknown part of the Netherlands, much less frequently visited than other regions in the province of Zeeland. Twelve years ago, during a stage of the Oosterscheldepad, I could already observe that this is not entirely fair. Unfortunately, the area is difficult to reach by public transport. But fortunately, I was able to convince travel companion C., who has a camper van, to take a trip to the south. It led to a wonderful hike under dramatic cloudscapes, as the English say. Island or peninsula? Apart from Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, Sint Philipsland is the only part of Zeeland… Read More

View across the partly snow-covered fields towards the village on the Icelandic island of Flatey

Photography

23. May 2022

A quick visit to Flatey island

Flatey is an island in Breiðafjörður in northwestern Iceland. The name means Flat Island, and that’s what it is, by Icelandic standards. It’s not very large: two kilometers long and a few hundred meters wide. And yet Flatey has been inhabited for well over a thousand years, due to its favorable position close to fishing grounds and trade routes. Around 1900, 400 people lived here; today there are only five permanent residents. But many houses are used as holiday homes, so in the short Icelandic summer the population multiplies. Rain Traveling companion A. had been to Flatey before and had… Read More

Sunset and golden hour at Myvatn (mosquito lake) in North Iceland

Photography

17. May 2022

Spring in Iceland – a good time to travel?

After two trips to Iceland in the summer and two in the winter, traveling companion A. and I decided to give it a try in the spring. The period was more or less dictated by the Dutch May holidays, which this year largely fell in April. For nearly three weeks we traveled through the land of ice and fire. And the question is, of course, if it’s a good idea, travelling in Iceland in springtime. Spoiler: yes, although… This was our itinerary. Red=airplane, purple=bus, orange=car, blue=boat, green=walking boots. Click here for a larger version Catkins If you go to Iceland… Read More

Historic barges and modern residential buildings, reflected in the water of Wijnhaven harbour in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Photography

3. April 2022

Reflections of Rotterdam at Windforce Zero

It look like the months have a theme this year, in terms of weather. In January it has been foggy for days on end; in February, we were hit by storms Corrie, Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin. And in March the theme apparently was dry, sunny and windless, as if nature needed to catch its breath after all those storms. It was a great time to walk along the old harbor basins of Rotterdam, hoping to capture some beautiful reflections. Reflections Sunny and windless, those are ideal weather conditions for creating reflectifications. That’s what I call photos of buildings, trees and… Read More

The parking garage entrance near Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam, Holland on a foggy day in autumn

Photography

11. October 2021

A Misty Morning in Rotterdam

Autumn is the season of special effects par excellence. In addition to beautifully colored trees and spectacular cloudy skies, mist and fog sometimes create a special atmosphere in these months. On October 8, the mist conditions in Rotterdam were truly sensational. The day started with thick fog but at about nine o’clock the sun slowly started to break through. From my balcony I first saw the Parkhotel, the Boymans museum and the Depot building emerge from the mists. After that, the Euromast and the twin towers of the Erasmus MC slowly appeared. Apocalyptic Beautiful images quickly appeared on the internet,… Read More

Dramatic sky over a farm under spectacular lighting conditions in the polder along the IJssel river near Zwolle, The Netherlands

Photography

2. September 2021

The wet and chilly summer of 2021

The summer of 2021 was a soaking wet exception to the sweltering and bone-dry summers of recent years. Tropical days were scarce; rain showers were anything but; at least in the Netherlands and the direct neighbours. Looking back According to the meteorologists, summer ends on August 31; according to the astronomers it goes on for three weeks more. So at the time of writing, September 3, we are in a kind of twilight zone, a transition phase. Autumn is in the air, most summer flowers have finished blooming, the first trees are starting to change colour. It’s time to look… Read More

Kruisplein square in Rotterdam, covered with compact snow and in the background the Central Station on a sunny day in the winter of 2021

Photography

16. February 2021

The brief harsh beautiful winter of 2021 ★★★★

For a few years now, I have made it a habit, some time mid-March, to look back on the past winter, and especially on the photographic aspects of it. Unfortunately, since I started doing that, there has hardly been any real winter weather in the Netherlands. In 2014/2015, the winter lasted only two days. In 2016/2017 I had to go to the far east of the country to take beautiful pictures. And in 2017/2018 there was some cold at the beginning and the end, but the rest of the winter was grey and rainy. For the winter of 2018/2019 I… Read More

The shining pot of the Boymans museum collection building under construction in Museum Park in Rotterdam during the blue hour on a morning the the winter of 2020

Photography

26. January 2020

January Mornings: the 2020 Edition

In a previous post I explained why early January is such a good time to go out taking photographs at daybreak. There’s no need to set the alarm inhumanely early because the latest (in the sense of the least early) sunrise is around New Year’s Day. And in this time of year sunrise coincides more or less with the morning rush hour, making it easy to adorn the photos with light trails and other special effects. Also this year I went out a few times early in the morning for a photo expedition through Rotterdam in the blue hour. Unfortunately… Read More

Westersingel canal in Rotterdam in the blue hour before sunset with a very thin layer of snow on the grassy banks

Photography

31. March 2019

The Lousy Winter of ’18/’19

Now that the magnolias are in bloom, it’s about time for my traditional photographic review of last winter. And what a lousy winter it was … One snowflake on a scale of one to five! And a position in the mild winter top 10 of the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute I know, weather and climate are not quite the same and you cannot automatically blame global warming for every mild winter day. But still it makes you wonder if snow photography has a future. However, the winter of 2018/2019 also had a few photogenic moments. But one had to act… Read More

The floating pontoon bridge across Leuvehaven harbour near the Maritime Museum in Rotterdam during the blue hour before sunrise

Photography

3. February 2019

January Mornings

In a previous blog, I told you that the earliest sunset, the first milestone on the way to spring, already happens on December 12. The latest sunrise is two and a half weeks later, on December 30th. The graph below makes it clear: on that day in Rotterdam – and it won’t be much different elsewhere in the Netherlands – the sun won’t appear untill 8.50. Expeditions Sunrise at (almost) 9 AM ; that means that in January you do not have to get up extremely early to experience the blue and the golden hours. So every year I set… Read More