Outdoor ways to move up or down

Caught a photographer in action!

Click here to find more responses to Cee’s challenge!

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Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Autumn Glow

This morning I took photos in the Japanese garden in The Hague, the Netherlands, with a focus on macrophotography and playing with exposure. Other responses to this challenge can be found here.

Dog training nights in The Hague

Small, midsize and big dogs and their bosses all get together to be trained an hour a week to ensure well-behaving dogs. Your little puppy might be the sweetest thing but if not well educated it may rule the house before you know it. They learn to sit, lie down and walk right next to you. And you learn that no dog will be well-behaved if you are not as consistent as you can be with your pet friend. It was really nice to see how eager the dogs were to do as told, even if things didn’t always go right. And after a number of weeks, the dog (and of course its owner) receives a certificate and moves on to the next training. A bit of patience is required, because each dog takes its turn and receives a lot of individual attention. Until the next lesson, there is a lot of repeating the tricks you were taught.

Community garden (Volkstuintjes) in The Hague

Close to the heart of The Hague, you’ll find the Clingendael Park. And only a bike ride away, you get to the allotments which form the community garden or approximately 35 volkstuintjes, which together form a kind of cooperative. On a beautiful Friday evening, all members got invited for home-made drinks and food, to celebrate the beginning of the summer. It was a great opportunity for me to take some photos and hear more about this particular piece of land and everything that grows there. It is behind a big fence, but you are welcome to look around.

Black berries, strawberries, raspberries, I got to taste them all. Pumpkins started to grow, as well as tomatoes, paksoi and zucchini, and if you treat them well, they’ll give a great harvest. Of course, there are lots of flowers, depending on the season (and the owner of the plot). In the beginning of the year, there is a kind of lottery, so you never really know which plot will be yours for that forthcoming year. The neighbouring farmer provides the manure. The members built their own well, so that they always have additional water if rain falls short.

The main problem is taking good care of your plot. If you don’t attend to it regularly, it will be covered in weed in no time, which is not looked well upon. In fact, you may then risk loosing your membership. There are always plenty of others on the waiting list.

Not so for those celebrating on that Friday evening. They were very knowledgable and managed to take a lot of produce home, on their bikes of course!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Mirror

This photo was taken in the Royal Gardens in The Hague, which you can enter going through the regular entrance, but also through an alley, when you get to a door, ring the bell, and the door will then be opened. Lucky neighbours looking out over the garden. More responses to this challenge can be found here.

Dunes @ 55mm

It was a funny day, between rain and shine…

 

Developing Your Eye II, Day Nine: “Double”

Today’s challenge: show us your double take!

What I found after developing the photo ….

Developing Your Eye II, Day Seven: “Glass”

Today’s challenge: Experimenting with glass can create multi-layered and unpredictable shots. Incorporate a form of glass — a window, a mirror, a wine glass, sunglasses, or something else — in today’s image.

ISO 400, 18 mm, f/5,6, 1/60 sec

ISO 200, 18 mm, f/5,6, 1/60 sec

The small building was first constructed as a garage for a big American car, owned by the first inhabitant of the penthouse on the top (fifth) floor of the Nirwana apartment building, constructed between 1926 and 1929. It then became a gas station and now it is a beauty salon.

Developing Your Eye II, Day Five: “Moment”

Think about the fleeting moments you experience each day — from a moment with your child to a commute through the subway among strangers. What moment will you share with us?

Today’s Tip: Movement is a great way to convey time and fleetingness. Play with motion and achieve varied results by turning your flash off. Or using a tripod to keep your camera steady. Or panning your camera across your scene while following a moving subject.

My daughter at the hairdresser’s today. ISO 1600, 28.9 mm, f/4.5, 1/30 sec.

Developing Your Eye II, Day Two: “Mystery”

Today, share an image that creates a sense of mystery. A lone mitten on the sidewalk. A trail leading off into the distance. A creaky door, left open. Intrigue us.

Here is some additional information about today’s photo: http://bunkersite.com/locations/holland/z-holland/denhaag/arend.php

ISO 400, 27 mm, f/5,6, 1/60 sec