I have been asked to write about my photography for the monthly newsletter of my colleagues from India. Some of them have been or still are in Groningen, working on the same projects that I have been involved with. When they are in Groningen, they always use their spare time to find out more about Europe and The Netherlands and they are very interested in the locations I visit for my photography. I figured it would be nice to write about the photographs that I feel are typically Dutch and I combined some new text with previous blog posts to come up with the text below.
Whenever he finds time, Ron can be found somewhere in the Northern part of The Netherlands, standing behind his photo camera, waiting for the right moment to capture that perfect landscape shot. He writes about his photography for the blog on his own website. The following is a compilation and shows some beautiful Dutch scenery…
August 1, 2011. Windmill Blues. I have been to this location at the Paterswoldsemeer, very close to Groningen, on many occasions. I’ve done my homework; the weather conditions should be great for a sunset shoot. I’m at the right time at the right place. But where are the clouds that were promised? Never mind; once it is dark enough and the lights that illuminate the windmill are switched on, I get my chance to capture the windmill and its reflection. An exposure of three minutes; I love the effect it has on the water. At the end of the year, this photo was published in Zoom Magazine; a Dutch photography magazine.
February 12, 2012. Unreal Ice World. It’s winter in The Netherlands and I’m on my way to IJsselmeer. Then, between Laaksum and Stavoren, the road goes up onto the dike. I see what I came for: a huge frozen lake, where the wind has formed bizarre sculptures of plates of ice. As the sun slowly sets, the light starts to get better and the world becomes more and more unreal. Am I still on planet Earth?
April 7, 2012. Of Time and Tide. I went to Moddergat, one of my favourite locations, located at the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage site. I was working the scene and was totally absorbed in it. Great looking skies and a golden sunset to capture; can it get any better? Then I noticed the high tide coming in. I was out on the flat part of the Waddensea that gets somewhat dry at low tide. Because it’s so flat, the tide comes in at high speed. Up to my ankles in mud, I had to practically run for high and dry ground. I made it. Barely, but I did. And it was totally worth it…
April 14, 2012. Nothing can change my mood now. When I went to bed last night, I had no intention of getting out early today. Yet, I was awake before six ‘o clock and then took a peek through the bedroom curtains. There was a beautiful low mist and I decided to get out and go to the Noorder windmill (Noordermolen) in Groningen to finally capture that windmill in the mist. This had been on my list for quite a while. Because I hadn’t planned on going out I was actually quite late and I was practically running towards the scene. And what a scene it was!
April 29, 2012. Tulip Fields. It’s a cliché, but as a Dutch landscape photographer, you need to have some shots of tulip fields in bloom. Unfortunately, I don’t live near the area that is known as “the tulip bulb area”. Following a lead from my in-laws, I was very pleased to find a tulip field near Zijldijk, which is not that far from Groningen.
May 7, 2012. Rapeseed. After the tulip fields, lots of fields in Groningen turn yellow as the rapeseed fields start blooming. In the past, there were even more fields but there are still plenty to find in Groningen. But where to find the time? Luckily, sunrises are ever earlier and sunsets ever later so there’s plenty of time left for photography, right? This one was taken around a quarter past six in the morning, “conveniently” before work started at seven. I arrived at the scene about one hour earlier and was very afraid the layer of clouds at the horizon would not move at all. I’m glad I waited as long as I did and managed to squeeze in a couple of nice shots when the sun made an appearance for a short while before disappearing behind the clouds again.
Interested in Ron’s photography? Want to see more of the Dutch landscape? Then take a look at Ron’s site at http://www.buist.net/.
