Autumn: Vijlenerbos

Arjan Wilmsen November 8, 2018

Autumn is here, and I am super busy. Renovating the house and working on what feels like a thousand projects. All of this is good. I can’t complain. But due to me being super busy I haven’t had the change to go out and capture some of that Autumn goodness. Up until this week… This week it finally happened. And probably right in time, within a few weeks these popping colors will probably be gone.

In this blog, a nice forest in Vijlen, Limburg (NL) south of the country. Lots of pines, elevation changes and beautiful forest trails and paths. A great place to spend a few hours hiking. And so I did. Alright, have a look at my shots below, thank you.

Observing and enjoying the beautiful forest.

Epic scenery, so much drama in this one.

Panorama shot of the forest, epic colors peeping through in the back.

Making a little pitstop halfway through my hike.

Click the images in the gallery below to see them in full size

Thanks for checking out my site and blog. A like, comment and a share is always highly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Night sky in Hvalfjörður, Iceland

Arjan Wilmsen August 28, 2018

Time for a post with a single image again, not going to write too much. Take a look at the night sky in Hvalfjörður, Iceland. Dramatic mountains, mysterious mists, the night skies and the cold breeze. This is Iceland in its purest form.

Hvalfjörður is home to some very rugged cliffs and mountaintops.

Wedding Photography in Iceland

Arjan Wilmsen July 16, 2018

If you follow me on social media and check this site every now and then you've probably seen that I have been to Iceland yet again recently. This time I was shooting wedding photographs for this lovely American couple. It was one of the best trips and experiences I've ever had. Hanging out with this amazing couple in these breathtaking locations just was something else. I loved every second of it. To add to that, shooting their wedding photographs really made this something very special and unforgettable. Have a look at some of the photographs from this trip.

Here's what the couple wrote about the experience with me after the trip:

One of the important things for my then fiancé and I was having some amazing photos at our favorite travel destination, Iceland. We had booked our honeymoon there and thought that this was the perfect opportunity. We had no idea where to start looking for a photographer but I made a facebook post on Iceland the Photographer’s Paradise facebook group. We received an overwhelming amount of responses and sifted through many portfolios but from the very beginning Arjan’s work really stood out. We loved his landscape photography and more importantly how incredibly nice he was to work with. Even before we made a commitment to work with him, he sent us a map with over 40 locations throughout Iceland he thought would be perfect for us to shoot in and committed a lot of time on communicating with us despite a significant time zone difference. We were hesitant at first because as skeptical people we were scared to meet a complete stranger in a different country and this was further complicated by how uncomfortable we are being photographed, evidenced by maybe 1 good photos of us together in the 6 years we have been together. Arjan could not have been more understanding, accommodating, and a pleasure to work with, oh and he brought us Dutch cookies to congratulate us on our recent wedding. Meeting him in person in Iceland and spending two full days with him driving around the country was a lot of fun. He made us feel very comfortable, ran around everywhere trying to capture the perfect shot, was willing to stop at any location we wanted to randomly, and he shooed away all the other tourists getting in our shot at the black beach while carrying my jacket on his head. The best part – the incredible photos he was able to take that we will cherish for a long time to come. We could not be happier with our experience and could not recommend Arjan enough.

Here's a few more shots from the amazing time I got to spend with these amazing people in Iceland

Strabrechtse Heide

Arjan Wilmsen May 18, 2018

I am an idiot. But sometimes its nice to be an idiot.
So I went out to shoot some landscape and sunset shots last night, at the Strabrechtse Heide. Very cool, all good. Only to forget how big this natural heath land is.

So the entire distance that I had walked from where I had parked my car needed to be covered again. I am talking quite some kilometers here. And all in the dark. Now, walking our hiking in the dark is no issue. But at this place it gets DARK!!

About 30 minutes before the sun went down

Trust me, hiking this place in the dark was no joke. It got my adrenaline levels right up, because there's wild boars, wild Highland cattle probably not super happy with me strolling through their habitat during breeding season. While I am actually also managing to find my way back in the pitch black forest.

But hey, that's my dose of adventure for this week! Haha... But let me tell you, I was quite happy to make it out of the forest a bit faster then usual this time...

Check out more images in the gallery below. Click on them to see the original aspect ratio.
Thanks again for looking at my work, it means a lot to me. Feel free to comment and share.

Lightroom Preset: Blue forest

Arjan Wilmsen March 15, 2018

I have been playing around with creating my own presets for Lightroom. This preset actually comes from another preset that I recently made. Have you seen the blog post about the band shoot I had with the guys in Probation? Yes? Noticed the tones, and the look of those shots. Now take a look at these. Right! It basically is the same preset. I have only tweaked it a little bit to just fit a little bit better for landscape/outdoor shots.

As I was fooling around with the preset I applied it on some older shots. These shots were taken on a dayytip to Germany back in Januari. What do you think? Do you think it works?

What kind of look and tone would you give these shots? Let me know in the comment section below. Also, I am giving away this preset for free. All you have to do is send me message on facebook and share this post on social media!