Age is just a number. Like in 2016, I tried the one shot a day challenge: take and post a photograph every day. On the third day of the year, I saw the measuring tape lying near my desk like this, and decided that it made for a nice subject, especially because the numbers were in the range of my upcoming birthday. I never expected this shot to do so well as it did. Explored (#450).
Breakthrough. The title is a direct translation of the Dutch word written on the side of the canal (part of an art project). Just a winter morning shot on the way to the supermarket, but it got good responses.
Cookie crush. The fun part of the one shot a day challenge is that you take shot you normaaly won't. These cookies were on my desk because our spaniel Jazz loved them. I put in a smurf figurine for fun, and lots of people liked it.
Evil twin. This was meant to be just another chains shot for the Links section of my art blog, but it was quite popular at Flickr.
Frozen Burgel. A lovely winter view of the canal, once more on the way to the supermarket. Predictably popular.
Fiat Lux. An abstract of the sort that I like to do. It is a close up of a decorative ceiling light in a Zwolle clothes shop. I loved one comment on Flickr: "a dentist who takes LSD?"
Rains of Castamere. As a fallback for the one shot a day challenge I always had the CoolArt trick: reflections of my wife's colourful paintings in aluminium foil. This is one of my favourites, named after the Game of Thrones TV show.
Selfie - the roundabout way. I took a shot of my wife's handphone just seconds after she took a shot of me. To my surprise it made Explore (#474).
Centripetal. How this did not end up in Flickr Explore I'll never understand, given the reactions and the large number of faves it received. Oh well. It certainly was popular, and a personal favourite as well. To think I passed this object twice almost every day for nearly five years before I noticed its potential as an abstract. It is in fact part of an air conditioning unit near the local supermarket.
Parallel lines. Once more a chains shot for my art blog that did very well by itself as a photograph. A detail of a ship moored at the banks of the IJssel.
UI. An old typewriter (probably from the thirties) that we bought years ago as decoration. Lots of good reactions on Flickr.
Coldplay. When I was running out of CoolArt options for my daily shots, I turned to details of some of my wife's mixed media creations. This was the most successful of the lot (oil paint and wool).
On shaky grounds. The flipped reflection of Kampen's Broederkerk in the Burgel made for an interesting image.
Convergence. Opportunities for abstract photographs are everywhere, you just have to spot them. This is actually the steel access plate to a ship moored at the riverside near our home. I converted it to black and white, and flipped it upside down for further alienation. Good reactions on Flickr and also a personal favourite.
Scribbles. A straightforward water reflection abstract, probably the Burgel in Kampen. Nothing special, but decent reactions on Flickr.
Diagonellow. More water reflections, again probably in the Burgel. I like this one better because of the diagonal composition and the details.
April canal reflections 1. I had a series of water reflection shots in April that resonated with lots of people on Flickr. This is my favourite of the bunch. Large yellow electricity coils reflected in the local canal (the Burgel) and flipped upside down.
April canal reflections 2. A different take on the same scene. Change of viewpoint and going for diagonal rather than vertical reflections.
IJssel reflections. The first shot with my new camera (Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 18-300 mm lens). It's the reflection of a restaurant boat in the IJssel near our home.
Zwolle church window abstraction 1. The Broerenkerk in Zwolle is a church that was converted to a bookstore a few years ago. Most of the original parts have been retained, including the stained glass windows, a mixture of old and new designs. While we had coffee there, I zoomed in on the new windows high above us, creating this colourful abstract which got a good response on Flickr, and is a personal favourite as well.
Zwolle church window abstraction 2. A different part of the window. Although slightly less successful and slightly less favourite, I like it enough to include it.
Hasselt reflections. Back to the abstract water reflections. This is a reflection in the canal of the little nearby Hanseatic city of Hasselt, shot with the new Nikon camera. Good reactions on Flickr as well.
More Hasselt reflections. Same canal, same day, different reflections, similar good feedback on Flickr.
Down to the trains. And now for something completely different: this is the way down to the trains from Schiphol airport. Not really abstract, but almost. I love the line play and colours, and so did others on Flickr.
Jews' alley. Taken on a short break of a few days to the East of Germany. This is the beautiful medieval town of Quedlinburg. One of my own favourites of the year, and also pretty popular at Flickr.
Centric. Detail of a door in Quedlinburg. Strong line play, and good responses at Flickr.
Shark. Back to Kampen, back to water reflections, in this case in the IJssel river. I went for a diagonal composition, and the shark figure I see in the final result was a nice bonus.
Ghent Triptych 1. Another short break took us to Luxembourg, France and Belgium. This is a weathered door in Ghent.An abstract that works because of the colours and lines.
Laon cathedral ceiling. From the same trip, this is in the city of Laon in Northern France. An almost ghost-like symmetrical image that appealed to a lot of people.
Laon cathedral interior. There's something about cathedrals that makes my photographs of them more popular than expected. I guess it's the symmetry and the light.
Ghent Triptych 2. The counterpart to the earlier shot - same door, different part that I focussed on, I like them both.
The spider and the octopus. OK, I included this one mainly for the title I gave it. It's not a bad shot either though, and it did get favourable responses. You're looking at the ceiling of a church in Lingen (Germany), where we went on a day trip.
Seven layers. I spotted this scene at the near by ancient fishing village of Urk. A minimalist shot, inspired by the famous photograph Rhein 2 by Andreas Gursky.
Left or right. A detail of an installation (maybe an air conditioner) in a Harlingen church. I like the switch in orientation.
Workplace. Not a particularly outstanding photograph, but it includes my wife, our gallery (left) and the beautiful location of it.
Bottles. Detail of an art installation constructed for the International Hanse days in Kampen. I include it because of the positive reactions I received.
Curves and lines in Ruurlo. This is the roof of a construction at the railway station of Ruurlo, shot to give an optical illusion like effect, especially after the conversion to black and white.
The princess and the castle. My lovely wife in front of the Ruurlo Castle (now in use as a fine art museum) on a beautiful summer's day.
Golddust. Rusty surfaces are a gold mine for abstract photography, and this is no exception. Throw in a composition with attention for diagonal flow, and we get a shot that I like a lot, and received good reactions on Flickr as well. I can't recall where this is though.
Abstracted wall. Taken in Kampen during an open day where anyone could have a look how the old military (and later fine arts) school was being converted to apartments. This wall with its textures and colours made for a compelling abstract.
Abstracted wall 2. The same building, the same day, different wall. My personal favourite of these three.
Abstracted wall 3. The last one in the series, different wall again. The most faved of the three.
Ship abstract. This abstract, which works because of the lines, curve and colours, is an extreme close-up of the anchor point of a ship moored at the banks of the IJssel near our home.
Flowing. Abstracts can be found anywhere, even if it just requires a different angle and good framing. This is a shot of curtains that works well in black and white.
The numbers game. An interesting find in the fascinating Arnhem Open Air Museum. An old milk factory has been completely rebuilt there including all parts, such as this board with bottle tops.
Study in grey scales. A minimal abstract that I shot during a holiday in Switzerland and France. It is a detail of the ceiling of a shopping arcade in Bern.
Vichy patterns. My shot of the year in every aspect. It;s a detail of the glass roof of a spa building in Vichy (France), with a very effective diagonal composition. My first Explore entry in a long time (#422), and one of my most faved shots of recent years.
Geneva office abstraction. An effective architectural abstraction, which makes one wonder which side is up.
Bern or Kampen? Bern, actually, but near our home in Kampen we have a small side street that looks very similar.
Up on the roofs. The roofs of Bern, near the famous bears zoo. The conversion to black and white gives it a slightly abstract feeling.
Eye spy. A detail of a Ferris wheel in Geneva, converted to black and white for obvious reasons.
Parallel lines. A rather uncomplicated shot, but it was well received at Flickr. It is a close-up of curtains, with a black and white conversion and diagonal composition that enhances the image.
From darkness into the light. We round off the year 2017 with three images of the traditional Christmas celebration in Kampen (Kerst in Oud Kampen). All three are handheld evening snapshots I took with my point and shooter in the evening of a special light installation.
Ominous. The second in the series. Somehow the atmosphere remind me of the later Harry Potter movies (maybe because Harry Potter was a theme that evening as well).
Vortex. The final one in the series, and my personal favourite of the set. Which brings the year 2018 in the Flickr archives to an end. It was a pretty decent year for my photography.
