Category Archives: Photo trips

Overhere in the Netherlands we are blessed with the Wadden Sea Islands. No need to travel far or to go abroad to destress and relax. You just have to drive a couple of hours and then take the ferryboat which brings you in just 45 minutes to one of the islands, on our case Ameland. By the way, I can highly recommend the pea soup, served with dark rye bread and bacon, available on the boat…. yummy! Once on the island, life changes. For example. with no car available (we chose to leave it at the shore) we rediscovered the joy of walking and biking. Meaning with ‘we’ my boyfriend Edwin and I. With no other daily obligations and our heads clear nature looked even more better.

And this is where the fun begins. Where other photographers lose themselves on the Wadden Islands completely in landscape photography, we found ourselves pretty fast lying on the ground… taking pictures of toadstools. I know, it sounds crazy, but it is the truth. I never thought to find so many toadstools over here. I even bought a new tele lens because I was convinced Ameland would seduce me to take landscape and wildlife pictures. But no way, I hardly used it. It stayed in my photo bag for most of the time. But no worries, I am sure someday this lens will see the daylight and make itself useful.

As for Ameland, I was extremely happy with the toadstools and my macro lens. Moreover because it felt like catching up a bit with photographing in autumn. As you might know, I have been very busy during the summer with subjects as the Banded Demoiselle and the Banded Darters. In the following autumn however I only had very few opportunities to go out into the woods and enjoy the mushrooms. Maybe this more or less forced confinement was not that bad in the end, because hey the energy level can’t peak all the time . Anyway, this catching up with one of my beloved subjects felt really good.

Apart from all this, I honestly think whether you are a photographer or not, a trip to one of the Wadden Islands is highly recommended.

Below you can see some of my pictures, taken during this trip to Ameland.

It has been rather quiet on my website the past month. This is not because I have been inactive, but because I have been on a holiday to Costa Rica. Man, what a joy that was! Never before I have visited this beautiful country in Central America, but a voice inside me tells me my visit will not be limited to only one…

Costa Rica:  land of colors, sounds, light, scents, birds,  butterflies, plants, monkeys, frogs, hummingbirds etc. How can I describe you without doing shortage to your richness?

Let’s start with the hummingbirds. So small, so fast, and so pretty. It’s great to see them nearby feeders, but it is even more great to see them drink from natural plants like the beautifully formed and colored heliconias.

The great thing about staying longer at one place than just one or two days is that you get to know the behavior of, in this case, the hummingbirds. I noticed that this particular hummingbird had a kind of observation post nearby. He just sat there for a few minutes, resting and at the same time inspecting intensively his surroundings by constantly looking to the right and the left. An ideal moment for me to ‘catch’  him.

I have seen lots of Iguanas. They are perfectly camouflaged when sitting in the vegetation. Most of the time I only noticed them because they moved when I passed by. However, the one shot below was easily spot by me because it was green and was sitting on a purple kind of plant. This is a young specimen from the Common or Green Iguana. Young and beautiful.

I think it’s true what they say: the prettier the bird, the uglier its sound. Anyway, in my opinion this surely applies to the Scarlet Macaws. The crazy thing is, you forget about the sound when you see them. They are so pretty! And not shy at all! To see them fly, almost always male and female together, above the rain forest is just breathtaking. I got the chance to see them very close, a very precious moment I will always cherish.

And now it’s back to earth, back to my life in the Netherlands again. Give me some time to get used to my normal life again. Costa Rica, you have stolen my heart!