Water Fun – Valletta Malta
A playful water fountain in a square in Valletta, Malta.
Shot with Nikon D7000, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
A playful water fountain in a square in Valletta, Malta.
Shot with Nikon D7000, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #407 is ‘celebrations around the world‘. A procession in Valetta, Malta.
Shot with Nikon D7000, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
Every time we travel to of from the UK via the Channel Tunnel, I try to take photos of these steel giants. They carry power lines in the area of St. George-sur-l’Aa. No worries, I’m in the passenger seat.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The LAPC theme #385 is ‘unusual crop’. It is about cropping (re-framing an existing image) for effect. I used an old photo from March 2018 to play with for this theme. I cropped it to get rid of some elements that I kept in the original shot. This theme makes me think about how I shoot and the principles I learned in the past.
I am not sure I fully understand the essence of the brief. I only understand it if I take it literally: how it is unusual for me to use cropping while editing. Let me try to explain. Cropping afterwards is to re-frame a shot. My aim is to frame a desired photo at the shoot on the camera. That is a principal I learned long ago. Modern technology helps. You can see the result of a shot right away on the camera. And zoom lenses give you the flexibility to decide about the framing. Long ago, all I shot was on a 50 mm lens on film. Then sometimes I deliberately shot to ‘crop’ the result. E.g. when I was unable to get close enough. In the darkroom, you enlarged the picture (blow up), and then decided the result of the frame. Nevertheless, this often resulted in a loss of quality (grain, sharpness). So I learned to frame from the start, long ago.
But even in those analogue days, blowing up negatives was creative, it added to the texture of a photo. Nowadays it is easier to be playful using better technology. Camera’s, phones, software, monitors, computers all contribute to more agility in the editing process.
I am curious about the perspective of other ‘old school’ photographers. The ones who used film and a darkroom in the past before the digital age. How do they view this challenge?
Shot with iPhone 6s plus edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.


Every time we travel to the UK via the Channel Tunnel, I try to take photos of these steel giants. The same goes for when we return from there. They carry power lines in the area of St. Georges-sur-l’Aa. No worries, I’m in the passenger seat.
They remind me of mythical knights, marching in line over the fields. In the archive you find a set of photos over the years.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
There is not a wall or hill, or other side. It is just green.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A spell of heavy rain, on the border of Summer and Autumn at Scheveningen beach.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
On a warm Summer’s day, there are traffic jams on the canal.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
And yes, another sunset. Well, they come around every day. This one is a golden gem.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Tram station Prinses Beatrixlaan.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
One of my favorite bands is Genesis. In 1976 A Trick of the Tail came out with a beautiful song ‘Mad Man Moon’. Last month I tried to take a shot of the moon using my iPhone. And this is the result.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
And the sun also rises in gold on a Summer morning. And when you shoot it in color, it is literally photographer’s gold.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Summer mornings can sometimes welcome you into a warm, joyful and laid back day. This is one of those days filled with ease. The sun also rises, each day, at more or less the same place. And when you catch it early, it is photographer’s gold.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Sun shining through the trees on the start of another warm Summer day.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version,
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
We Dutch are often described as being on the penny. Of course, we all wear wooden clogs. We eat stroopwafels all the time. We have a fetish for windmills. And do not forget to accuse us of creating our own country by fighting the sea. We drink to gain courage and let you pay your own meal. Add tulips and other bulb flowers to finish the picture of the Dutch. Oh yes, we are considered rude. We call it ‘direct’.
In the end we sure have a laugh about all that is said about us, Dutchies, worldwide. But if you combine being on the penny with buying flowers, you choose flowers that stay good for weeks: Chrysanthemum. As Johan Cruyff used to say: “every disadvantage, has its advantage”.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a wonderful clever piece of photographic technology. It is the ideal snap instrument, that is always in my pocket. The quality of the images is improved immensely over the years. And to be honest, I shoot most of my photos with it nowadays. Just because I always have my phone with me. What I still do not like is the quality of images when you use the zoom. This shot is on full zoom and the details disappear. Unfortunately I was not able to move closer at that moment. At these moments I wish I had my Nikon Zf at hand, with a nice long lens.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
In The Netherlands, we do grow lots of cut flowers. A lot of them are exported but there is plenty of supply for the domestic market. In our household we have fresh cut flowers every week. Last week we had these big fellows. Gladioli are famous for the saying ‘death or the gladioli’. A Dutch proverb that translates to ‘all or nothing’ or ‘do or die’. Success or failure.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
While trying to take an after sunset photo, my iPhone decided it needed a long exposure. The result an unexpected shot. This is the photo I aimed for. It was published two days ago. It shows the sun reflecting in the clouds after sunset.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version



The garden is a joy now, flowers popping up everywhere. The Agapanthus are doing very well this year. They are the diva’s this time of year. This is a white agapanthus, tweaking it a bit with Snapseed turned it into yellow all of a sudden.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The sun reflects its light in the clouds after sunset.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version



This is the last stage of the yearly cycle of a giant Allium. It comes in three photo versions after showing that amazing flower, that we enjoyed this year.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version


In the charming streets of Delft, a couple dressed as bride and groom had us questioning whether we’d stumbled upon a wedding or a spontaneous costume party. Either way, love was in the air, or at least some excellent snap photo ops!
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The city hall of of Delft with the steeple of the New Church in the background.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
This part of Katwijk is not much photographed, I guess. The roofs and the tower of the church made a nice composition.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
During the NATO summit navy vessels patrolled the coast. This is a impressionistic long shot of a frigate finding its way through the windmills.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for his week Lens-artists challenge #356 is ‘Quiet Hours’.
Delft has a technical university with a long history in engineering and water management. The plan for Dutch coast defense implemented in the Delta Works originated here. Deltares is a major technological institute for research focusing on water management.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
In our times Don Quixote would be busy fighting a plenty of windmills. Most of them you find at sea, would he take swimming lessons?
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version

Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Windmill ‘Hoop doet leven’ in Voorhout.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The beach of Katwijk in Spring 2009.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

The LAPC challenge for this week (#354) is ‘reflections’. Reflecting can be visual but also in a way of contemplating. On the photo three Dutch government policy departments.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.