Category: Photography

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

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

Abundantly blossoming prunus serrulata on a sunny day in spring in Blijdorp neighbourhood in Rotterdam

Photography

17. April 2022

The Prunus (Plural) of Rotterdam

I once wrote a blog post about my favorite autumn tree, the liquidambar styraciflua, or sweet gum. But what is my favorite spring tree? After much deliberation, with magnolia as runner up, I picked the prunus, the Japanese cherry with its exuberant pink cherry blossom. Image It is of course disastrous for my image as a tough masculine guy, this prunus adoration. But that image was never that convincing anyway. And in these gender-fluid times: who cares about a guy with a love for pink blossoms. Prunus serrulata There are many types of prunus; Wikipedia lists dozens of them and… 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 Werkspoor "Cathedral" in Utrecht, The Netherlands with in fornt of it the cafe and terrace of brewery De Leckere and the former Werkspoor harbour

Photography / Various

21. March 2022

A Beer Hike to De Leckere café

This is the second pre-publication of the hiking guide, The Best Beer Hikes in the Benelux, which will hopefully be published one day. The first blog post in that series was about our hike to Koningshoeven Abbey near Tilburg. That’s the place where the Netherlands’ most famous Trappist beer La Trappe is brewed. On this second walk we went to the café of a much younger brewery: De Leckere in the city of Utrecht. The aim of this series is to combine a visit to a brewery or tasting room with a hike of around 20 kilometers. We therefore walk… Read More

Swamp with bushes, historic agricultural relict and modern wind turbines on the Dutch nature island of Tiengemeten

Photography

14. March 2022

Return to Tiengemeten

One of the best outings in the wider area of Rotterdam is a trip to Tiengemeten. A place that you can only reach by boat has something attractive by definition. It is not a coincidence that world traveller Floortje Dessing, when she couldn’t go to the ends of the earth for a while due to the pandemic, immediately traveled to Tiengemeten. Excavators My first vist to Tiengemeten was on a Sunday in December 2006. The transformation from farmland to nature reserve was in full swing at that time. Road plates lay over muddy plains, excavators were on weekend mode, surveyors’… Read More

Koningshaven harbour, railway bridge De Hef and Noordereiland neighbourhood in Rotterdam, The Netherlands during the blue hour on a winter morning

Photography

26. January 2022

January Mornings: Blue Hour in Rotterdam, 2022

It has become a tradition: on some days in the beginning of the year I set the alarm very early to go on a photo expedition in the blue hour. Very early, in my case that is a quarter to seven. I know for some people that sounds like sleeping in. But for me it’s early enough to be jet lagged for the rest of the day. It’s worth the sacrifice. Sunrise The reason for those January expeditions, I’ve explained it before, is the late sunrise. Although the shortest day falls on December 21, the earliest sunset is already on… Read More

Colorful banks of lake Grevelingen off the island of Schouwen-Duiveland, The Netherlands with a large variety of vegetation

Photography

19. December 2021

Countdown: the best photos of 2021

I took more than 2000 photos in 2021. That’s not an awful lot, in fact; there are photographers who click that number away in a weekend. I am more the type of photographer who tends to think twice before pressing the shutter button. I’m really bad at selecting the best photos from hundreds of candidates. And I also like to keep the time spent on post-processing to a minimum. Year in Review But even with such a relatively small production, it is quite a job to make the traditional annual overview with the ten best photos of ’21. Even on… Read More

The Porsche 992 Targa 4 GTS on a dirt road in a forest in autumn

Photography

27. November 2021

Porsche Photography for Beginners, part 2

A year and a half ago I was asked by Robin Groenendijk of 64 Porsche Lifestyleblog to take pictures for an article about the Porsche Macan Turbo. This resulted in a fascinating sidetrip into automotive photography, somewhat outside both the core business and the comfort zone of 3Develop. A few weeks ago Robin asked me again, this time to make photos for a driving test with the 992 Targa 4 GTS. Even more than the Macan, this is a real Porsche as you imagine it. Including a super-low entry that requires acrobatics to get in at all. Autumn colours Last… Read More

A koelreuteria paniculata (china tree) in Leuvehoofd park in Rotterdam with in the background Erasmus bridge and De Rotterdam building

Photography

20. November 2021

Trees in Rotterdam in the Autumn of ’21

Once again, this autumn, a Rotterdam plane tree finished second in the Tree of the Year election. After the Lijnbaan plane tree, two years ago, this time it was the Breytenbach plane tree on Westersingel canal that was defeated by a competitor from the southern provinces. Those Rotterdam plane trees are like the Dutch men’s football team of the tree competitions: always loosing the final. Nevertheless it’s an impressive sight, this Breytenbach tree, on its own little peninsula in the canal. The tree owes its name to the South African poet Breyten Breytenbach, who declared it a “monument to free… Read More

Brienenoord Island in Rotterdam, the Netherlands with tidal nature and trees in autumn colors on a sunny day in October

Photography

6. November 2021

The Transformation of Brienenoord Island

There are few cities with a nature island within their borders. Both in the Netherlands and abroad I don’t know many examples. Rotterdam does have one. Okay, not really in the middle of the city, but well within the municipal boundaries and even (largely) within the Ringroad. We are of course talking about Brienenoord (pronounce breen-a north), separated from the rest of the city by a river channel named Zuiddiepje (which translates as Little Southern Deep) Van Brienen The island is 1400 meters long and about 200 meters at its widest point. It has been around since the early 19th… Read More