~ Myrtos Beach, Kefalonia, Greece.

A change of scenery can mean either of two things for a landscape photographer. On the one hand you could be inspired by new surroundings and getting to know new subjects all over again. I'm in camp B, though. Having lived my entire live in a particular area, I find it quite daunting to find beauty in a landscape that's dominated by empty polder - where evidence of man-made structures and landscapes is abundant. As with all photography, subjects change in appearance in good light and particular weather conditions. Sometimes, even the mundane becomes the star of the show. It's not often that mist starts to thicken in the late afternoon. This was one of those occassions.

~ Some whispy clouds with painterly qualities, just before cumulus clouds moved in from the north (right). This was captured around the time the tide receded, carving out interesting formations in the sand. I enjoy to watch closely as those formations get a fresh splash of seawater, as they reflect more and more of a crimson sunset. This is six exposures. Two sets of three make up the square composition while the bracketed three exposures were hand-blended to leverage the dynamic range in this scene. Hope you like it. » Website » Facebook 'Holiday' was captured at the North Sea (near Huisduinen, the Netherlands) with the D750 at 18mm. f/14 | ISO100

.:: Homeward Shore ::.. Please view this here » https://500px.com/photo/147417149 ~ May Donar grant us guiding wind... I captured 'Homeward Shore' somwhere at a beach near Den Helder, the Netherlands with the D750 at 18mm. Single exposure focus stack. f/10 | 0,5sec | ISO100 Thanks for looking.

~ When the Dutch north-westerly storms clear, they often do so to reveal layers upon layers of clouds. Especially before duskfall, when those layers catch different phases of a virtually perpetual sunset, the lightshow is often phenomenal. And the beach? Often times, it's completely deserted around those storms. Alone in the elements - in a place you know by heart and soul.

July 2nd, 2015 - The European Storm Forecast Experiment (ESTOFEX for short) issued a level 2 warning for the Benelux, mainly for large hail and possible tornadoes. All geared up, I leaped at the chance to see a couple of lightning strikes. It had been some time since we've had severe weather come our way, but was I a happy photographer to be returning (alive) with this picture. There was lightning, downbursts and even something that may have been a waterspout off the coast of Den Helder. This image shows an incoming shelfcloud of a multicell-type structure of cumulonimbus (thunderstorm) clouds. Right in it's path is a so-called outflow, where most of the precipitation plunges from the sky. It's a constant internal struggle when you shoot these things - Every fibre of your being tells you to GTFO, when a brightly coloured monster passes overhead. "Just one more shot", you could hear yourself say. A lightning bolt comes crashing to Earth within three kilometers - You know, because you've learned to count the difference between hearing and seeing a strike. "Just one more." 'Outflow' was captured at the North Sea Coast, Den Helder, the Netherlands with the D600 at 14mm. Focus stacked, hand blended fore- and background. 1/25s | f/9 | ISO100

~ Methane rising from the thawing soil. Well, that greenhouse gas is invisible, but it is far more potent (25% over a 100 year period) than CO2 at keeping the sun's heat trapped in the atmosphere. This one is for you, Earth. Hang in there.

This incredibly short-lived moment was going on while I was poised and ready for the sunset on the opposite side. A raincloud passed overhead and the lens caught droplets, but I thought to follow it as it passed over the dunes. Sure enough, a double rainbow started to emerge right after it. I rushed to get my feet wet and get knee-deep into the swirling see and weed. Which might be a fun foreground subject. What I personally like most about this scene isn't the rainbow, but the gold-colored, translucent rain illuminated by the last light of the day. This moment lasted for no more than 20 seconds. :)

~ Sandbank revealed by the receding tide, accompanied by a break in the clouds during sunset. Something a little different from me to keep it fresh. This is a 30 second exposure in which I imagined the sandbank having a cousin in the sky. Thank you for the recent following, guys! Really appreciate your support. » Website » Facebook 18mm | f/10 | 30sec | ISO100

So that last picture was kind of out there, don't you think? Here's one that you could have expected from me and a short story about the thought processes that make up my daily live as I process my images. ~ From a dark, solemn place, I contemplate the meaning of it all. The pursuit of popularity, fame and and fortune. And then, whether I'm alone on the beach, in the woods or in the mountains, I remember why landscape photography is so damn worth it again. It's a peculiar feeling when 50-odd people sit in front of you at your presentation and ask you all sorts of questions about how and why this pursuit became such an important part of your life. It's like a toddler growing up. To its parents, a child appears to stay the same, day in, day out. But when a distant relative comes to visit after a year or so, the child can do all sorts of things - the kid has feelings; a personality; an opinion. Concerning photography: It's the same thing. We never truly understand our own potential nor our drive or motivation, until we are externaly confronted by it. Now this is something that's certainly true for introverts. Maybe it's universal, I don't know. To me, there is no such thing as the pursuit of fame or any of those things at all. There's just the eternal handshake of inner worlds and outer worlds - The very definition of fine-art photography if you ask me.

"...Rage against the dying of the light..." 'The Dying Daylight' was captured at the North Sea Coast, Den Helder, the Netherlands with the D600 at 14mm. 1,6s | f/16 | ISO50

Sunrise was about to start and I had to hurry to find a promising composition among the dunes. I hadn't done any research for the exact location and wanted to try something new in the area I'm all too familiair with. There's a small lake near some of those trees I've photographed many times before, so I had thought to try my luck there. The excitement started when I saw there was still some ice left after a couple of days of actual wintery weather and that the ice was nicely textured as well. It's why I opened up the aperture to f/7.1 and focus stacked this scene. Of course its dynamic range is too wide for even this modern piece of kit, so I opted for a three shot bracket for each focus interval. Right after the very last frame, a couple of (semi) wild horses made their appearance over the left horizon, but I got spooked by the number of them and forgot to turn off the bracketing mode, consequently failing nature photography class. This is three bracketed frames for the sky, three for the background, three for the immediate foreground, three for the lower middle ground and three more for the space between the middle ground and the background... If that makes sense at all. :) I've focus stacked the groups of three first and blended them by hand next. Some creative editing using luminosity masks and color efex to finish it off. Thanks for having a look. I captured 'The Last Morning' in 'de Grafelijkheidsduinen', the Netherlands with the D750 at 14mm. f/7.1 | ISO100

~ The largest rock in the north of the Netherlands laid bare to glisten in the setting sun. Yeah, we don't have that much rock around here. Lots of water though. :)

~ Intimate recording of iceflows reflecting the sunrise caught on a nearby mountain.