The most beautiful fall ever..

After all the excitement of last weekend I needed to unwind so I went to the Veluwezoom. A sure destination to forget everything and just focus on nature. When the sun broke through the light fog I was absolutely stunned by the beauty of the forest. I really think that this year’s fall is the most beautiful ever in Holland! The colors are so rich and deep, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything like it. Or maybe I just didn’t see it before in the way I do now.

People often say to photographers ‘you only look through the viewfinder and forget to just enjoy all that is beyond that view”, but I find that ever since I photograph I see a lot more! Not only animals but also scenery, although I’m not much of a landscape photographer. When I got into the more serious photography, I also learned more about animals and nature in general. About the turn of the seasons, about the return of the migrating birds, about animals that go into hibernation and about the light and weather conditions to be expected. And.. and that’s about the most important lesson learned; to be out there at the best time to see animals and nature at its best: early mornings.

Two blogs ago I wrote about the feeling that overpowered me when I walked through the rays of the sun, shining through the fog, on an early morning. This morning I had the same feeling. The views were so magnificent, so beautiful, it was just.. humbling. And yes, I also have heared that word used in the most inappropriate ways, but it’s the best word that comes to my mind when I walk through scenes like the ones I’ve included here.

What a fantastic day!

It took nearly a year of preparations with its peak in the last few months, but boy, was it worth it!! Last saturday we held the VNF 25th anniversary jubileum Photo Festival in the “Hanzehof” in Zutphen. It was fantastic!! The quality level of the presentations shown was exceptionally high, which makes me even more proud to be part of the VNF. Super presentations of David Pattyn, Karel Tomeï, Gertjan Straalman and Jari Peltomäki but also suberp presentations of our own VNF members like, Jan Vermeer, Wim Weenink, Jan Huttinga and many others! It was hugely inspiring and although I saw most of the presentations from the side of the stage, the pictures shown were mindblowing. I felt really privileged to be hosting this day.

Picture to the right is a phone photo taken by my sister in law of me, opening the festival.

 The festival was featured on the TV Gelderland news bulletin and they shot footage at the festival. But they also wanted to show ‘the passionate photographer’ at work :-). So they asked me if they could come the next day and shoot at my place. Well, of course they could but when I rolled out of bed the next morning after all the excitement and adrenaline had worn out, the mirror told me that it was probably not such a good idea 🙂 Anyway, they came and I took them to two places where I took some of my favorite pictures; the roe deer in the forest and a Kingfisher I shot a few weeks ago. It was great fun!! Later also TV Oost took over the feature so the clip was also broadcasted on monday.

I think we can all look back to a fantastic festival and by the sounds of the feedback we received from visitors we can be very proud of ourselves!