A field in the morning fog, cobwebs covered in dew lighting up. Photos from 30 years ago, taken in Brittany at St. Samsom-sur-Rance, near Dinan.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
A field in the morning fog. A photo from 30 years ago, taken in Brittany at St. Samsom-sur-Rance, near Dinan.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
LAPC #417 is ‘Memories’. In a way freezing images of moments in time is creating and storing a memory. In the analogue time of film the notion of shooting a great set of photos was the first step in a process. The next step was printing it in the darkroom. That was manual labor. And some photos are just not easy to bring out. A big step towards the digital time of now. Software now is amazing, and allows me to create what I could not achieve with my not adequate dark room skills.
So this is a memory of a moment I did not feel too well being harshly told off by a French garage owner to piss off and not bother him trying to shoot photos at his workshop. As part of a course assignment in a workshop.
I walked to the bridge and this swan came down, landing in the river. Majestic. A gift.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version.
Rome is build on seven hills, but some hills are not counted in that list. One of the non listed hills is the Pincian Hill, that – like all of them – offers beautiful views over the eternal city.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Rome is build on seven hills, but some hills are not counted in that list. One of the non listed hills is the Pincian Hill, that – like all of them – offers beautiful views over the eternal city.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Rome is build on seven hills, but some hills are not counted in that list. One of the non listed hills is the Pincian Hill, that – like all of them – offers beautiful views over the eternal city.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Beaches and sunsets, sea meeting land, space wide open.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Drought in England after months without rain and an unusual amount of heatwaves. The landscape turned dramatically.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
One of the first questions I had buying my first digital DSLR was ‘how do I shoot monochrome photos from now?’. In the past it was just choosing what film I put in a camera. Going digital implied using editing to revert from color to monochrome. More recently black and white modes came back on devices. Not only on iPhone. My choice for Nikon Zf was influenced by it. But it all is a question of taste.
The same photo of the station of Haarlem in color and (edited) monochrome. Pick one or both.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The skies over Kent.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme of LAPC #398 is ‘choose your color’. The brief is to present a photo with a dominant color. Despite being a big fan of monochrome, I do love colors. The fun of colors is their subjectivity; any color has fans and haters. The sense making of colors is as diverse as people are unique. And that’s good. We need colors and images in our life to tell our stories.
An abstract of the texture of garden furniture with a little pool of water.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme of LAPC #398 is ‘choose your color’. The brief is to present a photo with a dominant color. Despite being a big fan of monochrome, I do love colors. The fun of colors is their subjectivity; any color has fans and haters. The sense making of colors is as diverse as people are unique. And that’s good. We need colors and images in our life to tell our stories.
So here you can choose between silver and grey. Or both :-).
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Summer is coming nearer, but the present temperatures are not matching that. But behind the glass, out of the wind, being on the beach is a pleasant stay.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme of LAPC #398 is ‘choose your color’. The brief is to present a photo with a dominant color. Despite being a big fan of monochrome, I do love colors. The fun of colors is their subjectivity; any color has fans and haters. And sometimes the use or non use of colors stems from group think.
The sense making of colors is as diverse as people are unique. And that’s good. We need colors and images in our life to tell our stories. Today I stick with blue. Colors are context dependent, hence subjective. Blue is a lot of times associated with sorrow, pain, loss, or life experience. And it creates the most beautiful music.
I’m Mister Blue
I’m here to stay with you
and no matter what you do
when you’re lonely, I’ll be lonely too
René Klijn
While a deep blue sky might express power, focus and the absence of worries. Be any color you want.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The beach at Het Strand. A bit tongue in cheek: strand in Dutch means beach.
Shot with iPhone 17 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
This week’s LAPC (#397) is ‘Texture‘. The Keukenhof is a world famous botanical garden, yearly displaying the impressive beauty of bulb flowers. It is only open for eight weeks to the general public; this year from March 19 till May 10. About one and a half million visitors enjoy it in that short period.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
This week’s LAPC (#397) is ‘Texture‘. The Keukenhof is a world famous botanical garden, yearly displaying the impressive beauty of bulb flowers. It is only open for eight weeks to the general public; this year from March 19 till May 10. About one and a half million visitors enjoy it in that short period. Last week was its last week.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
This week’s LAPC (#397) is ‘Texture‘. The Keukenhof is a world famous botanical garden, yearly displaying the impressive beauty of bulb flowers. It is only open for eight weeks to the general public; this year from March 19 till May 10. About one and a half million visitors enjoy it in that short period. Last week was its last week.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Den Haag Haagse Poort on a day with fog. Just a mono.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseedand Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
It is quite a simple question to ask. Do you prefer the monochrome version or the colored version of a photo?
I grew up with monochrome. Because it was cheaper. That applied to films as well as darkroom costs.
The mono version emphasizes the background and atmosphere. The colored version is high lighting the front of the frame.
But in the end, as the famous nr. 14 Johan Cruyff said: every advantage has its disadvantages. And the choice is as always subjective.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseedand Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
To end a long set of photos of the marshes near Blakeney, a panorama shot.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseedand Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge #383 is ‘patterns and designs’. Sunrises are always amazing, but the marshes being touched by the first rays is amazing to see.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge #383 is ‘patterns and designs’. The sunrise distorted in the lens.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge #383 is ‘patterns and designs’. The sunrise over marshes near Blakeney.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge #383 is ‘patterns and designs’. The sunrise over the famous Cley windmill and Cley next the sea.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge #383 is ‘patterns and designs’. A Winter rain shower over the quaside of Blakeney.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge #383 is ‘patterns and designs’. The marshes at Blakeney in first morning light.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge #383 is ‘patterns and designs’. Being caught in Winter shower in Blakeney, resultated in a gorgeous full and double rainbow. As we can see here, the story of the pot of gold is probably not true.
Shot with Nikon Zf (the two portrait photos),and iPhone 15 Pro Max (the landscape) 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.
This high rising can be found near the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Brandenburger Gate (Brandenburger Tor) is a much used backdrop for photos in Berlin.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
One of the memorial landmarks of Berlin is the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche. In its simplicity it is a powerful landmark and memorial.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Walking through Berlin was sometimes causing some disorientation. Lots of places that were ‘void and empty’ in November 1989 are now (re)build. In 1989 I just saw a small part of former East Berlin. It was a challenge to figure out what I was looking at. An old building, a refurbished one or a new build? I have a slight preference for old buildings. Lots of them are beautifully restored. This is one of them: the Bundesrat in the former Prussian House of Lords. As seen from the Mall of Berlin.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
September 2025 I visited Berlin for the second time. My first visit was in November 1989. That coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall. After 46 years I wanted to see how Berlin had changed since ‘die Wende’.
In 1989 we just spent one day in East Berlin. This visit the first day we looked around in the former East Berlin area. The television tower still towers over the city at Alexanderplatz. There is still a lot of construction activity, and along the roads you see pipes in blue and pink. First I thought that it was a smart concrete transport system. In reality it is a way to pump out groundwater from construction sites into the Spree river.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
September 2025 I visited Berlin for the second time. My first visit was in November 1989. That coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall. After 46 years I wanted to see how Berlin had changed since ‘die Wende’. The coming days I will publish some photos of this trip.
Friends had ‘warned’ me about the changes I would see. What in 1989 was a vast open space (e.g. the Potzdamer Platz) is now completely filled with modern architecture. But what struck me the most was the vibrant vitality the city breathes now. It is cosmopolitan and a magnet.
One of the landmark squares of Berlin is Alexanderplatz. On a building just a few hunder meters away I saw this text ‘Allesandersplatz’. Everything is different square? German humor? Or the basic conclusion after the first day. A lot changed. At face value.
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
This week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge (#164) is ‘Looking Up/Looking Down’.
An old photo of an old tree, still standing.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak Plusx, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A test shot for a new long zoom lens.
The B4 retouch series
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. All of them are not completely retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax ME super II on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A test shot for a new long zoom lens.
The B4 retouch series
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. All of them are not completely retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax ME super II on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The theme for the lens-artists#131 is ‘emotions’.
An old tradition is ‘ringsteken’. Literally stitching a ring from a wood block, hanging from a rope over the road, sitting in a carriage, pulled by one or more horses. The jury is watching.
The B4 retouch series
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. All of them are not completely retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The theme for the lens-artists#131 is ‘emotions’.
An old tradition is ‘ringsteken’. Literally stitching a ring from a wood block, hanging from a rope over the road, sitting in a carriage, pulled by one or more horses.
The B4 retouch series
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. All of them are not completely retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The theme for the lens-artists#131 is ‘emotions’.
An old tradition is ‘ringsteken’. Literally stitching a ring from a wood block, hanging from a rope over the road, sitting in a carriage, pulled by one or more horses.
The B4 retouch series
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. All of them are not completely retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #113 is ‘A labor of love’.
Regardless one’s opinion about religion: faith is a labor of love.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #113 is ‘A labor of love’.
Ephesus is a beautiful excavation near Selçuk in the west of Turkey. The library of Celsus is an amazing piece of architecture and art.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish in – an originally – small series. That series caught on a bit more than I thought. All of them are not retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #104 is ‘Summer’.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
