What's (in) the Picture?

Chris Breebaart Photography – finding stories

Posts tagged ‘sky’

Blakeney

A tranquil scene of a river with a wooden boat and surrounding grassy banks, reflecting the evening sky, with a couple of people walking along a nearby wooden pier.
England, Blakeney – December 2025

The seafront in Blakeney.

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

Rejected Photos

Lens-artists Photo Challenge #382 is about rejected photos. What do you do with photos you do not like? You can throw them away, or you can keep them. And if you keep them what can you do with them? First a story of myself, how I work. And in the end an example.

I am a snap shooter for a long time. When looking at this question for myself, I have to distinguish between the analog age and the digital age. But in both ages it is about quality, how you can assess that and what instruments are available after shooting. And above all: how can you be creative, and how much room is there to experiment?

The analog age was expensive: film was expensive, darkroom materials were expensive too. And being a poor student I shot as efficient as possible. You had to be patient while shooting, and selective. You also needed to trust your skills. Experience was essential to figure out what worked and what not. To produce good prints you needed to develop darkroom skills. And some negatives were impossible to print. But you kept them all. I never threw away negatives. That decision was beneficial in the digital age. After scanning my negatives, I properly made them look like what I had in mind when shooting them. What the darkroom did not deliver, software did.

In the digital age the cost of a photo is nearly non existent. The original photo (the former negative) can be copied lots of times. From the start technology offers instruments to oversee the quality of the photos. What you shoot is instantly visible on the camera. You can try different changes in the photo. Adjustments like shutter time, focus, and shutter opening can be tested most of the time. The RAW format offers flexibility for editing the ‘negative’ after the shoot. Software offers lots of creative tools to change the photo, or create new images.

So, do you keep rejected (bad) photos or not? I do reject photos, overseeing the result on my camera. I keep photos that can come to a good result after editing. The rest I remove straight away (e.g. bracketing shots).What I keep is stored on my NAS, where I use Lightroom as my archiving tool. I use editing tools to tweak a photo slightly. My favorite is Snapseed for web and social media publication. And Lightroom and Photoshop for prints.

The digital age is a time for unlimited creativity. The photos of ‘dinner at Wiveton Bell’ are an example of testing out the iPhone in a very dark situation. I shot about 8 frames, I kept them all but had my doubts. At home I worked them in Lightroom and Snapseed. And was surprised by what came out. And the ones that did not work were indeed deleted.

On the left the photo published and on the right the original RAW file.

Down To The Harbour

England, Blakeney – December 2025

Westgate Street in Blakeney, the access to the Quay at the seafront.

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

Old Pub

A picturesque village square featuring traditional architecture with red-tiled roofs, surrounded by several buildings and a clear blue sky.
England, Blakeney – December 2025

The King’s Arms in in Blakeney. Founded in 1763. And still sells fresh beer.

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

Marshes With a bit of Cley Next The Sea (on the left)

Black and white landscape of a grassy marshland with distant trees and a cloudy sky.
England, Blakeney – December 2025

The last in the series of monochrome, more or less minimal photos for this week’s Lens artists photo challenge #381 (minimalism in black and white photography). 

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

View on Cley Next The Sea

Black and white landscape featuring a vast field of tall grass and a lone tree, with a distant view of a windmill and hills under a muted sky.
England, Blakeney – December 2025

Lens artists photo challenge #381 is ‘minimalism in black and white photography’. Overlooking the marshes at first sunlight in the direction of Cley next the sea.

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

Marooned

Black and white photograph of a dilapidated shipwreck on a barren landscape under a cloudy sky.
England, Blakeney – December 2025

An old boat, slowly decaying on the marshes near Blakeney. Lens artists photo challenge #381 is ‘minimalism in black and white photography’.

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

The Runner

A person walking down a path towards the horizon, surrounded by a grassy landscape and a cloudy sky, in black and white.
England, Blakeney – December 2025

Lens artists photo challenge #381 is ‘minimalism in black and white photography’. The marshes at Blakeney are a place for running and hiking.

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

Bus Stop Morning

A black and white photograph of a quiet road with street signs and a central traffic island in the distance, surrounded by trees and a cloudy sky.
England, Blakeney – December 2025

Lens artists photo challenge #381 is ‘minimalism in black and white photography’. A bus stop at sunrise.
If you wonder how it looks in color? Here is an iPhone shot of 2024 at the same spot. In the monochrome the sun is not over the horizon, in the color one it is.

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

Dinner at the Wiveton Bell in Norfolk

Having dinner at the Wiveton Bell. A beautiful moonlight night, an open invitation to play with the iPhone. The results did surprise me.

The bottom right photo is taken with the night modus. The rest with the manual mode of ‘real light’.

The one of the church reminds me of a medieval painting.

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

Iced Sky

The sky through ice on a window.

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

Traces

A black and white image of a cloud-filled sky with a faint contrail running diagonally across the frame.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – December 2025

Traces in the sky, passing by and fleeting.

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

Big Old Jet Airliner

Dusk sky with soft pink and gray clouds, featuring a vapor trail from an airplane.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – December 2025

The sky at dusk is a nice canvas to play with.

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

Sky

A serene winter sky at dusk with soft pastel colors blending into deep shades.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – December 2025

At dusk, a beautiful Winter sky.

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

Heavy Horizon

A dramatic sky filled with dark rain clouds, featuring silhouettes of trees and a flock of birds flying across the scene.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – December 2025

An iPhone long lens shot of a heavy rain sky. This was the first of the three photos I published the last three days.

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

Birds

The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – December 2025

An iPhone long lens shot of the horizon, catching geese by accident, against a heavy rain sky. I cropped the motorway A44 out on this one.

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

Blues

A long shot of a dark sky with heavy rain, featuring birds flying over motorway A44, with a blue car passing and bare trees in the foreground.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – November 2025

A long shot with an iPhone; a heavy rain sky with birds over motorway A44.

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

Out of the chimney

Silhouette of a chimney with smoke against a twilight sky.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – December 2025

Who says chimneys are boring?

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

A Grey Quiet Day

A silhouette of a chimney emitting smoke against a monochromatic background, capturing the essence of a quiet evening.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – December 2025

Who says chimneys are boring?

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

Just missed Saint Nicholas, or Waiting For Santa?

Silhouette of a rooftop with smoke rising from a chimney against a blue sky.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – December 2025

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

Lake Side

Landscape view of Klinkenberger Plas, showcasing a grassy shore with tall reeds beside a calm water body under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – November 2025

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

Incremental

Autumn skies at sunset.

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

Windowed Leafs

The sky and fallen leaves on windows.

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

On The Road At Sunrise

On the road at sunrise, the A44 and A4 to Schiphol Amsterdam.

I am not sure this is filling the brief of LAPC #373 ‘looking back at landscapes’. It’s more looking forward on the road.

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

Sky Views

The sky and clouds are a dynamic big display of forms, colors and light. Looking up at times can take your mind off the daily life at moments.

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

Oegstgeest, The Netherlands

A scenic view of a tree with autumn leaves, surrounded by cloudy skies and a park setting, featuring benches and bicycles in the background.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – October 2025

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

In The Dutch Mountains

A lush green field in the Netherlands with a herd of cows grazing under a blue sky with fluffy clouds.
The Netherlands, Voorhout – September 2025

The Netherlands, as its name indicates, is flat. ‘Flat as a pancake’. But sometimes it looks as if we have mountains.

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

High Rise Head’s Up Berlin

A modern high-rise building with a curved facade and numerous windows, set against a cloudy sky.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

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.

Berlin Brandenburger Tor Photographers

Black and white photo of the Brandenburger Gate in Berlin, with various people exploring and taking pictures in the foreground.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

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.

Berlin Gendarmenmarkt

Reflection of the Französischer Dom visible in the glass doors of the Deutscher Dom at Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025
A view of the Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral) at Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin, featuring its ornate dome and statues, with visitors strolling in the square.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

One of the beautiful squares in Berlin: the Gendarmenmarkt. On one side you find the Deutscher Dom a.k.a. Neue Kirche (German Cathedral), and opposite the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral). The top photo reflects the latter in the doors of the Deutscher Dom.

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

Gedächtnis Kirche Berlin

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.

Bundesrat Berlin

View of the Bundesrat building in Berlin, featuring flags and pedestrians in the foreground, with cloudy skies in the background.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

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.

Berlin’s Blue and Pink Pipelines

Black and white photo of the Berlin TV tower, known as Fernsehturm, surrounded by buildings and cloudy skies.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

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.

Berlin’s Transformation: German Humor?

A modern building featuring the sign 'Allesandersplatz' against a cloudy sky in Berlin.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

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.

Writing In The Sky

A dramatic sky featuring abstract cloud formations with a mix of dark and light shades.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

Sometimes the clouds turn into a abstract symbol.

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

After Rain

A black and white photo of a beachside area in Scheveningen after rain. People are gathered near a kiosk, with wet surfaces reflecting the sky above, showcasing a mix of clouds and bright patches.

The Netherlands, Scheveningen – September 2025

After rain comes sun at Scheveningen beach.

Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max 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.

Outside

A serene landscape featuring a plowed field under a blue sky with scattered clouds, trees in the foreground, and a distant farmhouse.
The Netherlands, Voorhout – August 2025

Lens- Artist Challenge #364 is ‘Quiet Moment’. A bicycle ride to clear the head. Seeing the bulbs for Spring being planted.

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

Final Approach

Aerial view of a black airplane flying against a light blue gradient background.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

Incoming flights can be annoying, on the other hand they offer a dynamic photo subject!

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

Polder

A wide blue sky filled with white clouds, with sunlight shining down over a lush green field.
The Netherlands, Sassenheim – August 2025

Meet the edge of the polder, the dyke.

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

Levels Day

The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

During the Summer we see much more incoming traffic to Schiphol Amsterdam. Quite annoying actually, every minute a plane coming in. During day time they approach just over 600 meters, but in the evening they fly in from 1000 meters. When the wind turns West again in Autumn it will be over. However, who enjoys sitting in his garden in Autumn rain?

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

On Water

A scenic view of a canal on a warm summer day, featuring traffic jams with vehicles on a nearby bridge and boats navigating the water.
The Netherlands, Oegstgeest – August 2025

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.

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.

Field of Dahlia 2

A vibrant field of green plants with blooming orange dahlias under a bright blue sky, showcasing the beauty of summer flowers.

The Netherlands, Voorhout – August 2025

In Spring this field produces either hyacinths, daffodils or tulips. In Summer this year it produces Dahlia.

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

Field of Dahlia

A vibrant field filled with blooming dahlias under a clear blue sky, showcasing various colors and growth stages.
The Netherlands, Voorhout – August 2025

In Spring this field produces either hyacinths, daffodils or tulips. In Summer this year it produces Dahlia.

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