loving (and using) the one you're with....      

capturing sunrise with my iPhone

last week i went out with the dogs early in the morning and walked right into a gorgeous sunrise. at first i cursed myself for not taking my Olympus with me, but then i realized i could use my iPhone instead. i absolutely love what my iPhone and i managed to accomplish together....  

today Tracey Clark posted at shutter sisters about a similar experience with the same wonderful results.
so here's a big hurray for the iPhone!

playing with light
gathering bokeh
today i captured the bright sunlight sparkling in the water of a stagnant pool
playing around with focus and depth of field infused my shots with beautiful soft bokeh circles

sparkle and shine

celebrating the spring buzz

This month shutter sisters have chosen two words for their one word project.... SPARKLE and SHINE

It is spring, and nature provides both sparkle and shine in abundance!

This morning i captured some of the beautiful glittering gold reflections in a stagnant muddy pool with overhanging branches. 

the energy of spring

savoring the soft nurturing sunlight

Spring is here. I can see and feel it everywhere. Things have started growing and the grey is slowly disappearing. 

There is a soft, warm light spreading over the landscape, infusing everything and everyone with new energy.

Today shutter sister Paige Baicer posted about it.

the beckoning space          

today's shutter sisters post is about the great wide open

the beautiful open spaces you suddenly notice when you extract yourself from the daily grind and take some time to look around you

the breathtaking vistas that beckon you to move forward and escape your confined existence

here are some of my great wide open shots from the past months

natural monochrome

Today Paige Baicer posted about how photographs of natural scenery (often in winter) sometimes turn out almost black and white, with hardly any color in them.

I browsed through my recent work and found these examples of almost monochrome scenes

The only color here is provided by the beaks and legs of the seagulls standing on the grey ice waiting for who knows what....

This was taken on another day, with a more purple/pink shine in the air. There is only a faint brownish coloring in the chunk of ice covering the dark branches

Taken the same day, here the color is almost completely gone, faded to a soft pinkish grey veil covering the frozen lake. 

how far i've come
Yesterday's shutter sister post was a celebration of the community of female photographers and the way we all have gained confidence in our photography over the last couple of years.


It made me think of my first ever (primitive, 4 megapixel) digital camera, a present from my sweetheart in 2006, and i dug up one of the photographs i took with it. I put it next to one of my more recent images of the same subject, taken with my Olympus PEN (12,5 megapixel, 126 pages manual, tele zoom lens)

I cropped and slightly tweaked both images in aperture, and am really amazed at how much i have progressed and developed on my photographic journey, but at the same time have stayed true to my vision.

I have always been fascinated by the reeds and rushes in and around the water, the changing of their colors and shapes and the way they bend in the wind and form a kind of see-through curtain with the background shimmering through.

In these past years my way of capturing that fascination, of framing what moves me, has improved enormously. Of course using an expensive high end camera helps with the technical quality of the image. But for the depth and expressiveness in my photography, for the way i am now able to pour my vision into my images, i am deeply indebted to all my shutter sisters.

capturing the unexpected
shooting what catches my eye


Today's shutter sister post is about looking forward to the photographs that lay waiting for you, the stories that need to be told, the images that kind of sneak up on you and say: hey, capture me! After my daily trek with the dogs i browsed through all the photographs I had taken and found these unexpected treasures

The sun was bright and lit up these plumes against a backdrop of dark branches so they looked made of silver. A close up from another angle had a completely different effect.

Even though the sun was shining it was very cold outside. I drove my scooter over the last remnants of ice on the path, breaking it up and creating the most beautiful ice-scapes. 

Same day, same place, completely different subject, color and story.

the weekend

todays shutter sisters post is about the comfort and joy of the weekend

here is my attempt at capturing the essence of my weekend in just one shot

sitting at my table, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper
enjoying the light coming in through the french doors and the way it accentuates the shapes and colors around me
quietly gazing at the reflections in my stainless steel cofffecup

happy valentine's day

Getting in close

Last monday Nadine came to make some portraits of her mother and me. She used my Olympus with the tele zoom so she could get close without being 'in our face' too much.

At lunchtime I grabbed the camera to return the favor and took these candid shots.

Today Tracey Clark posted a wonderful message on the shutter sisters website about the intimacy of getting in close to your 'subject' to capture and accentuate some of the personal details within the 'bigger picture'. I think these shots are a great example of what she means.....