Spring is here!

Arjan Wilmsen April 15, 2018

The temperatures are rising again, the trees and flowers are turning green and colorful again. People awake from their winter sleep and head out into nature. As much as I love the winter, Spring is always welcome. I just love the seasons, as they pass. They all bring their own beautiful assets to the table.

Therefore my wife and I decided it was time for a little bit of outdoor fun today. And we drove down to the south of the province that we live in (Limburg) To the town and area around Gulpen. Its so gorgeous. Super green, nice hills (which are rare in The Netherlands) and we just had the best weather for a decent hike. Below are some shots from our day in Gulpen, check them out. And if you ever are in the area be sure to make your way outside of the town for a bit, to get a amazing panoramic view over the town

*All shots in this blogpost were shot on my Iphone 8 and edited with the VSCO photo editor.

Out and About 3: Großer De-Witt-See & Ferkensbruch

Arjan Wilmsen August 19, 2017

With the weekend in front of me I decided to end my week with a nice little outdoor photo session. I was going to have to drive a bit for work anyways, so why not make a little detour on the way home and take my camera gear with me? Right? Right! I had been scouting Google Maps for a little bit the past few days for nice locations in Germany, just across the border. My recent trip to the Krickenbecker Seen in Hombergen got me going to find more similar places.

So in doing so I came across two places pretty close to each other that might make interesting photo locations. I am talking about the Großer De-Witt-See & Ferkensbruch. Both situated close to Lobberich in North Rhine Westphalia. Lobberich is situated some 15 minutes away from Venlo, The Netherlands. So really, this place is around the corner. I love living close to other countries. So much.

I found the Großer De-Witt-See quite nice. Calm little lake with lots of nature around it.
This resulted in me shooting a nice set of photographs of the place. Have a look at the gallery below. (Click the images to see them in full size)

Ferkensbruch was a little bit disappointing, small, not much nice viewpoints over the water and a little bit of a boring place. You can't win them all. I do have one nice photo from that place though. All in all not a bad way to start my weekend, and being able to enjoy the outdoors like this is really all that counts anyways.

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Hoge Venen & Bieley

Arjan Wilmsen May 3, 2017

Last week we had a public holiday, Kings-day. We celebrated the 50th birthday of our King. I had this day off just like many other Dutch people. I went and celebrated this day, you guessed it... Not in The Netherlands, haha. Instead of staying home I got into my car and drove off southbound. Into the Hoge Venen in Belgium and in Germany. I have always wanted to pay a proper visit to this area. And the weather was pretty good, skies full with nice clouds so off I went.

I first made my way down to this area just down south of Monschau, Germany. I have seen some photos of this rock called the "Bieley" and I was quite curios to how it would look and what kind of photographic perspective it offered over the valley beneath. I have seen a few photographs that looked promising. And boy, was I right. I had to walk for a few kilometers over some well organized paths through the forest to finally come up to a much smaller and "less traveled" path. At first I was skeptical to take this path and see where it would end up. Although I was pretty sure that this was going towards the rock I was looking for. So off I went deeper and deeper into the woods. All of a sudden I saw the rock peep out between the trees and overlooking this little valley beneath. Breathtaking place. With a little stream curving and finding its way through the valley. Surrounded by mighty pine forests. On top of this rock it really felt as if I was in the Alps or something. Really spectacular viewpoint and location. It was so good to be alone for a bit, taking in the environment around me and enjoying it. This place is so good to photograph, everywhere you look there's great shots waiting to be captured.

After making my way back to the car I decided to drive back home through Belgium. And I had a little stop in "Parc naturel Hautes Fagnes - Eifel" close to Ternell.
I got out the car and shot some more photographs in these great forests that are all around you in this area. The road that I drove crosses these massive woods. You really feel like you are alone with nature, something I really love and makes me feel comfortable. With everything. A nice way to spend a day off and an even better way to recharge.

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert