Tagged: sunset

De zon gaat vlammend onder in de Rotterdamse haven achter de Euromast

Halfway Zalmhaven Tower

It’s becoming a good year for high altitude urban photography. Only two weeks after the already quite sensational photo session from the Montevideo penthouse, I was once again invited to take pictures with a number of fellow photographers from a special location in Rotterdam. This time the action took place at the Zalmhaven tower. The organizer of the event was once again Ramazan Aydogan from Rotta Historica, in collaboration with Margot de Ruiter from R365 Christie’s International Real Estate. Zalmhaven The Zalmhaven tower is the tallest building in the Benelux. The tower itself is 203 meters, and the mast reaches… Read More

De iconische M op de glazenwassersinstallatie van woontoren Montevideo in Rotterdam

The Montevideo Penthouse

It’s been a while since Rotta Historica‘s Ramazan Aydogan organized one of his renowned photoshoots. We once stood on the roof of the Delftse Poort building and Erasmus House, and on a minaret of the Mevlana Mosque. However, due to the pandemic, it hadn’t happened for a few years. On January 29th, it was time again: together with nine other photographers, I was invited to capture the view from the penthouse of Montevideo. Montevideo Montevideo is not only the capital of Uruguay but also a residential tower on Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam. Most buildings on the pier are named after former… Read More

The Mevlana mosque in Rotterdam in springtime with the Schie river in the foreground

Rotterdam as seen from a minaret

I have been to many high places in recent years to take pictures of Rotterdam. But on Easter Sunday, together with a few fellow photographers, I had the opportunity to capture the city from a very unusual point of view: a minaret of the Mevlana mosque. The photo shoot was organized by Ramazan Aydogan from Rotta Historica. He previously brought us to the roofs of the Delftse Poort building and the Erasmushuis. Ottoman The Mevlana mosque was completed on its location near the river Delfshavense Schie in Rotterdam West in 2001. The design is by the Schiedam architect Bert Toorman.… Read More

Close-up of a bollard between the cobble stones on the quay of Wilhelmina Pier in Rotterdam, The Netherlands with in the background a fiery sunset over Charlois neighbourhood

The Earliest Sunset and the Shortest Day

The shortest day: every autumn, it’s something to look forward to. From 21 December, the days will lengthen again. But in fact, it’s a little more complicated: the earliest sunset is more than a week before the shortest day. And that’s good news. Harbinger of spring This will be an encouraging post for everyone with a winter depression. And in fact for everyone who passionately longs for the spring, and who doesn’t? I can appreciate a bit of snow and ice, but I’m certainly not fond of the dark, the humidity and the chillyness of winter in the region where… Read More

Map of Europe with the 30 countries that use the Central European Time

Daylight Saving Time: a Graphic Argument

For decades it seemed to be one of the untouchable certainties of existence: Daylight Saving Time. At the end of March we move the clock one hour ahead and at the end of October we put it back again. Lovely long and light summer evenings, everybody happy. Survey European Commission chairman Jean-Claude Juncker put an end to that certainty on 31 August 2018. He mentioned a survey that supposedly showed that a majority of Europeans want to get rid of the clock shift. “People want it, so we’re going to do it,” Juncker said firmly. Those people, however, turned out… Read More

Evening photograph of Rotterdam: Westersingel during the blue hour, with Codarts Art School and Calypso building in the background and a very old plane tree in the foreground

Christmas Blog: Lights on the Shortest Day

If in winter it wouldn’t become dark so early, it wouldn’t stay light on summer evenings that long. In that respect, things are distributed fairly across the globe: over an entire year there’s the same number of daylight hours everywhere. In a way, we are now saving light for later. But there is another reason for not being too sad about the short days. Some theory to start with This year 21 December is the shortest day. Of course, also in that day there are 24 hours but it’s the day with the least hours of daylight. A less known… Read More

Evening has fallen over Rotterdam; still from a time lapse movie with a dark blue sky over the Old West and Erasmus Medical Centre

Rapid Nightfall – a Time-Lapse of Rotterdam

I am a big fan of time-lapse movies, with those rapidly moving people, cars, clouds and stars in breathtaking landscapes. You don’t need very specialized equipment to make them. After some study in the manual of my Nikon D5100 I discovered the shooting interval option that allows you to define exactly how many frames you want with any given interval. A tripod is of course essential, and a reasonably presentable view is also useful. And then you have to wait for the right weather for a nice evening twilight, just about halfway between a bright sky and a thick cloud… Read More