April 2011 wallpaper – “Pathway to Infinity”

April 2011 wallpaper – “Pathway to Infinity”

The April 2011 wallpaper is dedicated to my beloved mother, Yvonne Timmermans-Regeer. She passed away last week after a two year fight against cancer. With her passing away I loose the biggest fan of my photography. She loved the sea, so may her soul find rest and peace on this pathway to infinity.

Following a question in my previous blog post I received input via the various social network sites on which of the presented photos should become the April 2011 wallpaper. Upon popular request I have chosen photo #2. A good friend of my wife has called it “Pathway to Infinity” and so its name will be. Kim, thanks for naming this photo in a way I could not have done better myself.

The photo was taken during sunset at Camperduin near the city of Schoorl on the west coast of the Netherlands.

Click on the image above to get the small version (1280x853px).

Click here if you want to get the large version (1920x1200px).

If you would like the wallpaper in another size just drop me a note.

North Sea coastline sunset

North Sea coastline sunset

Since I am spending some time in the province of Noord-Holland (in the Netherlands) I have the opportunity to visit the coastline on a regular basis when the weather situation allows for some sunset photography. Besides that I love to photograph sunsets I simply also enjoy just watching the sun disappear in the sea creating a wonderful mixture of colors in the sky.

The attached photos are all long-exposure images from resp. 13, 20 and 30 seconds. I have used GND (Graduated Neutral Density) filters to capture more detail in the foreground by blocking excessive light from the sky and exposing both fore- and background optimally. The images were taken near the city of Schoorl at Camperduin.

Although the colors are warm in the photos it was a cold experience taking them. All three photos were taken in the past few weeks and as it is still early in the year the temperatures were only around 5 degrees (C) with a strong sea wind making it feel like freezing. My fingers were all cramped when I left the scene.

I am considering choosing one of the photos for the free April 2011 calender wallpaper, but I am hesitant which one to pick. Which would you like to see as the April 2011 calender wallpaper? Please comment!

Postcards from Holland

Postcards from Holland

Windmill near Volendam, Noord-Holland

Due to family reasons I am currently spending some time away from home and back in my country of birth, the Netherlands.

Although I have visited the Netherlands the past years frequently I never spent much time to seriously photograph it. Actually, some Dutch cows are currently the only gallery in my portfolio from the country I lived in for more than 30 years (you can view them here).

Now that I have lived abroad for many years it seems that I view my previous home with different eyes. While I was living there it would not have had my preference to go out and shoot some images in stormy and cloudy weather, but it was different two weeks ago.

There was a heavy storm with very strong winds and regular rainfall a few weekends ago. Flights from Schiphol airport were delayed or even canceled and traffic on the roads was seriously effected. These were the conditions I went out with my camera (I did not even bother to take my tripod with me) and shot the attached photos.

“Towards the end” at the coastline of Petten, Noord-Holland

The “Mallumsche Molen” of Eibergen in Holland

The “Mallumsche Molen” of Eibergen in Holland

The “Mallumsche Molen” (Mill of Mallum) is located in the eastern part of Holland (the Netherlands) in the village of Eibergen, my hometown.

This wheat-mill was first built in 1188. The villagers of Eibergen were required to get their wheat grained at this mill. The mill existed out of two parts, a wheat-mill and an oil-mill. During a fire in 1746 both buildings were destroyed. In 1748 the wheat-mill was rebuilt. In 1960 the mill was completely restored.

Even at present day the mill is in operation on every Saturday afternoon and can be visited by the public for a demonstration.

The village of Eibergen, located along the river Berkel, originated in the 12th century. The river Berkel runs from Vreden, in Germany, to Zuthpen and was an important transportation route at the time.

For more information about the village of Eibergen please visit VVV Eibergen or Historische Kring Eibergen (both in Dutch).

The above image is a panorama photo built out of 8 individual images stitched together using photo-merge in Adobe Photoshop CS5. The image below is a single photo and a close-up of the water wheel of the mill.

Summer at the west coast of Sweden

This summer we spent a week at the west coast of Sweden, near Falkenberg in the province of Halland to be exact.

The weather forecast promised sunshine and warmth, so we packed our camping gear and headed westbound… and we were not the only ones. The various campsites were completely packed with caravans, mobile homes and tents, and most campsites had a big sign “FULL” in front of their reception house. Stupid enough we had not pre-booked a place, so we drove from campsite to campsite to find an available spot. Eventually we were lucky and were given a good spot on a campsite with good facilities.

We had some wonderful days, the weather was indeed great and during the days we relaxed. In the evenings I took my camera and headed for the coastline. In front of our campsite was an interesting seaside with some spectacular sunset views. The rocks at the shore made some good foregrounds to bring some depth into the photos. The two photos in this post were taken during the same evening, at the same place, but in various directions and with a slight difference in time.

We enjoyed ourselves until the weather changed… a storm came with heavy rains and strong winds. Spending time in a tent is fun when it is about 20+ (C) degrees with sunshine, but the fun quickly disappears when you need to hang on the tent poles and ropes to keep things in place. It does not become much better when you look at the secretly smiling faces from your neighbors looking down at you from their caravan window. Thus, it did not take long before we packed our dripping tent and went back eastwards towards Stockholm. In the car it was my turn to smile, because I knew I had some great photos in my camera!