What's (in) the Picture?

Chris Breebaart Photography – finding stories

Posts tagged ‘shotonnikon’

Smoking at Work: Reichstag Berlin

A staff member in formal attire standing on a terrace at the Reichstag, using a smartphone. Reflections of the building's modern architecture and venetian blinds are visible in the glass.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

From the roof of the Reichstag. A member of staff has a smoke break. A slightly less common street detail nowadays for LAPC #371.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Reichstag Dome

The dome on the Reichstag offers a wonderful panoramic view on Berlin. And you can walk the rest of the roof as well to look over the city. Here an impression in monochrome.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version

Reichstag Berlin: Dem Deutsche Volke

The front view of the Reichstag building in Berlin, showcasing its grand architecture and flags, with cloudy skies in the background.

The front of the Reichstag. A visit was on the top of my list. In 1989 the Berlin Wall was right next to the building; and since 1989 this area was completely developed. So we booked a visit to the dome. On this photo I left the dome out consciously. I wanted to have an image like the building looked in November 1989 below.

Black and white photograph of the Reichstag building in Berlin, taken in November 1989, featuring two men in the foreground, one holding a sign that reads 'Berlin ist Freiheit'.
Germany, Berlin – November 1989

The history of the Reichstag is connected to my hometown and Leiden. In 1933 Marinus van der Lubbe was accused, tried and sentenced by the Nazi-regime for setting fire to the building. He was born in Leiden en lived in Oegstgeest, as did his family.

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 iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version. The monochrome photo of 1989 was shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX.

From the roof of the Reichstag

A cloudy view from the Reichstag roof showcasing Tiergarten, featuring the Victory Column on the left and the Carillion on the right, with Teufelsberg in the background.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

A view from the roof of the Reichstag, overlooking Tiergarten. On the left The Victory Column. On the right side is the Carillion, a 42 meter hight bell tower. And in the background the Teufelsberg.

I am not sure this photo is dreamy enough to enter Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #369 ‘dreamy’.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version

Berlin: Charlie left in November 1989

Checkpoint Charlie, symbol of the cold war.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version

Berlin U-Bahn

A black and white photograph of a subway corridor in Berlin, featuring a person walking ahead with another figure visible in the distance, illuminated by overhead lights.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

Berlin has a wonderful (and cheap) public transportation infrastructure. One of the building blocks is the U-Bahn.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version

Berlin Holocaust Memorial (2)

Another impression of the the Memorial to the murdered Jews in Europe.

Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max and Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version

Holocaust Memorial Berlin

Last September I revisited Berlin after 46 years. One of the reasons to come back was to visit the Memorial to the murdered Jews in Europe. I had read stories and seen photos, and I wondered how I would take photo’s of it. And what it would be like to wonder through it. This visit I had my first experience with the monument. Here is the first impression (and the coming days I will publish some more).

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Bahn Tower Potsdamer Platz Berlin

A view of the Bahntower at Potsdamer Platz, showcasing its modern glass facade and surrounding buildings under a cloudy sky.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

The Bahntower on the Potsdamer Platz, headoffice of the Deutsche Bahn.

Potsdamer Platz was the vivid heart of Berlin. During World War II, it was almost completely destroyed. Since 1961 Potsdamer Platz was a no man’s land, a death strip as part of the Berlin Wall. After the fall of Berlin Wall this was the biggest property developing area in a major city in Europe.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Berlin Brandenburger Gate (2)

View of the Brandenburg Gate with pedestrians and cyclists in front, set against a cloudy sky.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025
People gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, showcasing the iconic monument surrounded by greenery and cloudy skies.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

Brandenburger Gate (Brandenburger Tor) is a symbol of unity for Berlin and Germany. Nowadays the Pariser Platz (Paris Square) is a pedestrian and bicycle area.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Pas de Calais

Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge #365 is ‘longing’. This landscape is so appealing, I still feel the excitement I felt when I shot this sequence.

shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Blue Hydrangea

Close-up of a cluster of blue hydrangea flowers with soft, delicate petals.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Outstanding

Black and white close-up of a Knautia Arvensis plant, showcasing its leaves and budding flower against a blurred background.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

In the front garden, next to the Japanese Anemone, there is a Knautia Arvensis. It is more easily known as Field Scabiosa.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Star

A close-up, black-and-white image of a Knautia Arvensis flower, also known as Field Scabiosa, standing tall in a garden. The flower has a star-like appearance with a slender stem.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

In the front garden, next to the Japanese Anemone, there is a Knautia Arvensis. It is more easily known as Field Scabiosa. It is literally a star.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Japanese Anemone

A close-up photograph of pink and purple Japanese Anemone flowers with delicate petals, set against a dark background.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2024

To close the series of the Japanese Anemone, a last one in color.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Monochrome Moods

Monochrome photograph of delicate flowers with soft focus, showcasing their intricate details and textures.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2024

I like monochrome photography for many reasons. One of them is the ability to play with the mood in the photo. Just by adjusting the aperture time or the opening of the lens, the same light delivers a different mood. This one and the photo I published yesterday, were shot on the same day.

Lens- Artist Challenge #364 is ‘Quiet Moment’. Close ups of natural beauty are a wonderful instrument to just be quiet, enjoying the view. And to realize all is connected.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Delicate

Black and white close-up photo of delicate flowers and buds against a blurred background, emphasizing their natural beauty.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

Lens- Artist Challenge #364 is ‘Quiet Moment’. Close ups of natural beauty are a wonderful instrument to just be quiet, enjoying the view. And to realize all is connected.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Growing Up

Black and white photograph of a thin branch with sparse twigs, set against a softly blurred background.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

The aim is to get up into the light and find your place among the rest of the garden.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Japanese Anemone

Close-up of a Japanese Anemone flower with light green leaves in the background.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

The Japanese Anemone in the front garden at close look.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Morning Rain

Close-up of leaves with raindrops, illuminated by morning sunlight.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

The morning sun reflecting the drops of rain that the night left behind.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Cley Windmill

A black and white landscape image featuring Cley windmill in the distance, surrounded by grassy fields and a cloudy sky.
England, Cley next the sea – January 2025

This is the famous Cley windmill at Cley next the sea. It’s by far the best name for a coastal village. Interestingly, it actually does not have a sea front. The mill was owned by the family of James Blunt.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Choices And Preferences 1 (Cley next the sea)

I have a fondness for black and white aka monochrome. That grew on me. Mono was cheaper 50 years ago and more ‘easy’ to handle in a dark room. Monochrome gives something extra at times. The sphere, the grain. And over all these years I learned to see objects in monochrome, visualizing what something looks like in grays.

When I bought my first Nikon digital camera (the D70), I naively asked ‘where is the monochrome setting?’. It was not there. Shooting was color only. If I wanted mono I had to create it myself afterwards in Lightroom, Photoshop or an app like Snapseed. But lucky for me, on the iPhone and on the recent Nikon Zf, there are monochrome settings. To be honest, that was one of the reasons to buy a Zf. So now I have a choice: mono or color.

I know the taste of my ‘audience’ is different than mine. In three days I like to find out more about your taste. What do you fancy more: a photo in mono or in color?

This is the famous Cley windmill at Cley next the sea. It’s by far the best name for a coastal village. Interestingly, it actually does not have a sea front. The mill was owned by the family of James Blunt. The photo was shot in color.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

A Walk Through The Park


England, Southwell – April 2025

The cemetery of Southwell’s Minster.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Southwell Minster Choir Gate

England, Southwell – April 2025

Choir Gate of Southwell’s Minster.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Timeless Guildford

England, Guildford – April 2025

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Blue Belled Graveyard

England, Guildford – April 2025

Near the High Street of Guildford is a St. Mary’s Church with an old graveyard. The Church where Lewis Caroll used to preach under his real name.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Blue Sunrise

England, Ranmore Common – April 2025

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Caught in between

England, Ranmore Common – April 2025

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Standing Out

England, Rusper – April 2025

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Discovering Bluebells in Surrey: A Spring Adventure

England, Ranmore Common – April 2025

The brief for this weekly Lens-Artists Challenge #349 is ‘the first thing I thought of (when I saw this)’.
Bluebells are famous. But I never saw one with my own eyes in the wild until this Spring.

This Spring I saw them flowering in the woods of Surrey. Beautiful.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Southwell Minster Window

England, Southwell – April 2025

A window of Southwell’s Minster.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Poppy Anemone

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Flashback

Egypt, Edfu – April 2002

The temple of Horus at Edfu in Egypt. A quick backflash.

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.

Shot with Nikon F90 on KodakTriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version.

Magnolia Revisited

The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – April 2025

This year I followed the flowering of the magnolia tree in our front garden. The mono photos are taken with Nikon Zf, the colors come from the iPhone.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Flower Parade 2025: The Last Ones

The Netherlands, Voorhout April 2025

April 12 2025 was the yearly Bollenstreek flower parade; an impressive treat of creativity and beauty. The colors on display, the fragrance, the beautiful arrangements and the wonderful weather made it a true treat. 

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Flower Parade 2025: Pump it Up

The Netherlands, Voorhout April 2025

April 12 2025 was the yearly Bollenstreek flower parade; an impressive treat of creativity and beauty. The colors on display, the fragrance, the beautiful arrangements and the wonderful weather made it a true treat. 

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Flower Parade 2025: Advertising by Flowers

The Netherlands, Voorhout – April 2025

April 12 2025 was the yearly Bollenstreek flower parade; an impressive treat of creativity and beauty. The colors on display, the fragrance, the beautiful arrangements and the wonderful weather made it a true treat. 

Some of the floats were sponsored by countries, to promote tourism or expressing a bond. Here some photos of the floats of China, Thailand and Brazil.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Flower Parade 2025: Tulips in Nature

The Netherlands, Voorhout – April 2025

April 12 2025 was the yearly Bollenstreek flower parade; an impressive treat of creativity and beauty. The colors on display, the fragrance, the beautiful arrangements and the wonderful weather made it a true treat. 

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Flower Parade 2025: Monkey Business

The Netherlands, Voorhout – April 2025

April 12 2025 was the yearly Bollenstreek flower parade; an impressive treat of creativity and beauty. The colors on display, the fragrance, the beautiful arrangements and the wonderful weather made it a true treat. 

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Flower Parade 2025: King of the Sea

The Netherlands, Voorhout – April 2025

April 12 2025 was the yearly Bollenstreek flower parade; an impressive treat of creativity and beauty. The colors on display, the fragrance, the beautiful arrangements and the wonderful weather made it a true treat. 

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Flower Parade 2025: Sail Amsterdam 2025

The Netherlands, Voorhout – April 2025

April 12 2025 was the yearly Bollenstreek flower parade; an impressive treat of creativity and beauty. The colors on display, the fragrance, the beautiful arrangements and the wonderful weather made it a true treat. 

This float is themed Sail Amsterdam 2025.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

The Continuing Story of Magnolia Close Up (final sequel)

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

The Continuing Story of Magnolia Close Up (penultimate sequel)

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

The Continuing story of Magnolia Close Up (mono sequel)

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

The continuing story of Magnolia Close Up (colorful sequel)

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Magnolia Sunrise

The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – March 2025

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

One Moon Tree


The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – March 2025

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Mr. Duck


The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – February 2025

This little guy is going to be a daddy soon, as Spring is coming in.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Magnolia Close Up Daily 10

The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – February 2025

Since January I try to take regular photos of the Magnolia tree in the garden. The coming days I will publish a daily photo of a close up. For some it will be boring and repetitive, for most (I hope) it will be fun.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Magnolia Close Up Daily 9


The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – February 2025

Since January I try to take regular photos of the Magnolia tree in the garden. The coming days I will publish a daily photo of a close up. For some it will be boring and repetitive, for most (I hope) it will be fun.

Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using SnapseedGrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.