Dalheim, and I am now a Kase Filters Ambassador!

Arjan Wilmsen June 19, 2020

Dalheim

Today I went out for a little trip in Germany. Packed with my camera, some filters and my drone and I headed out to Dalheim. This place is located directly on the German/Dutch border and is beautiful. It has some beautiful forests, marshland, a little lake and a small stream running through the forest. There is also a watermill. The Dalheimer Mühle.

Some more information and background about the watermill. The Dalheim mill was mentioned for the first time in a document from 1231 and could therefore be the oldest water mill between the Meuse and the Rhine.

During secularisation in 1802, Napoleon destroyed the monastery. The farm buildings of the monastery were not destroyed. When the monastery was sold around 1806, the mill went to the Schippers and Zardingen families from Dülken. In 1899 it was resold to the Count of Schaesberg-Tannheim.

1999 to the present day: The Willemsen family bought the Dalheimer Mühle after it burned to the ground.After almost ten years of renovation work, the Dalheim Mill was reopened in September 2008. Today the mill offers more than 150 seats on the outside terrace and another 110 seats inside.

Dalheimer Mühle. A beautifull watermill.

There’s some beautiful forest in the area, perfect for a wander and a stroll

Dalheim is just so pretty. The perfect place to wind down, escape your everyday life for a bit. And enjoy nature. The watermill is now a restaurant, so you can enjoy a nice meal at the end of your day. Looking out over this pretty lake. Please watch this video I shot in Dalheim below. It has some nice drone shots, and shows off the area really well.

Kase Filters Benelux - brand Ambassador

It is with great pride and a lot of excitement to announce that I am now a Kase Filter Benelux brand ambassador. I’ve been using Kase filters myself for the past 1,5 year and ever since day one I’ve loved the quality and ease of use of these professional filters. I am very much looking forward to represent this great brand, and work together with all other talented ambassadors.

Kase is a fast growing worldwide filter brand with professional filters that guarantee excellent quality. Especially landscape photographers who are on the road a lot will have a pleasant experience with Kase. The filters are made of High Defenition glass that ensures an unprecedented clear image. Because with the Kase Wolverine filters the glass is also toughened, it can take a beating and you will never suffer from scratches or other damage.

My workshop participants will be able to get a nice discount on any Kase products with a special code that I as Ambassador will hand out.

Click the logo to go to the webstore (in Dutch)

Colours that deviate because you use a filter? Not with Kase. The ND filters give you optimal colour control, so that all colours come into their own in your photos. The Nanotech coating on the Kase filters prevents unwanted reflections and repels water and oil. This way, the filter is easy to keep clean. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Nederpeel - Grave & I have a drone now!

Arjan Wilmsen May 21, 2020

I now have a drone.
I recently bought myself my first drone, something I’ve been sitting on for a few years now. But I could never make the decision which one to get, and was therefore hesitant to spend the money.

It was going to be DJI drone whenever I would go and buy one. Simply because they usually have some quality drones with decent photo and video options. I’ve seen some of my friends fly their drones during my workshops. And I did get to fly with theirs for a bit. So I knew what DJI drones were all about.
DJI launched the Mavic Air 2 in April/May this year, and this drone looked promising, affordable and with a lot of new and just decent specs. So, long story short… I got myself the DJI Mavic Air 2. And I love it.

I’ve been flying the drone quite a lot during the past few weeks, getting to know it, and just having straight up fun basically. In this blogpost I will share some photography and video that I shot with my new drone recently. And there will be loads of drone footage to make its way onto my website from now on.

Nederpeel-Grave
Nederpeel-Grave is a nature reserve west of Heibloem, near the hamlet of Caluna in the Dutch municipality of Leudal. This estate is 75 ha large, of which 55 ha is woodland and the remaining part is grassland. It was a private estate, but the owners sold it in 2002 to Staatsbosbeheer in order to safeguard the natural values for the future. Originally there was peat here, but that has disappeared.

A loam layer at a depth of more than 1 meter provides a moist soil. The forests in the area have therefore largely been constructed on rebates. The Neerpeelbeek flows through this area. It was canalized but has been able to meander again since the first decade of the 21st century. The area is home to trouser woods and poplar plantations. Only in the lowest parts are remnants of the original vegetation to be found.

These include large buttercups. To the west of this area you will find the Kruisvennen nature reserve, in the north the Groote Moost, in the southwest De Zoom.

Check out this gallery below for a set of photographs taken in this area. You can click each photo to see it in a bigger size. Thanks for checking out my blog!

Finally out photographing again

Arjan Wilmsen April 6, 2020

It is early 2020, and the world is on lockdown. A lot of people are affected by the covid-19 situation. This means we are all staying in, at home a lot more then we are used to. It makes sense, safety first. But this also means that I haven't been out doing any photography recently, but then today the weather was so nice, I decided to grab the camera, and go out. Just outside of the house, no travelling allowed basically anyways.

Thanks for watching my video. Please subscribe if you like my content.
And make sure to scroll down, to take a look at some of my photographs from this session.

Thank you!

New camera / Nikon D500

Arjan Wilmsen July 10, 2017

So recently I had to buy a new camera. Something I didn't plan on doing just yet. It was more of a necessity than anything else...

My good old Nikon D7000, that I will be using still even though its not 100% reliable anymore... Will mainly use it for some landscapes and some videos probably. I can't let it go, it's still a very capable camera

Reason why? My trusty good old Nikon D7000 kind of broke down on me. I was happily shooting away with it on this recent event photo job I got booked for. When suddenly this error showed up on my display. At first it looked like it was only a coincidental error so I didn't bother too much about it. But then it kept coming back, and back, and back... I was going crazy. It seems that the mechanism of the shutter is worn out. If I take a photo more than 50% of the time the shutter "fails". So though the camera still "functions" it's just not reliable anymore. Sending it in for repairs is probably out of question, I probably have lost warranty after years of use. But I am not getting rid of this camera, not at all. I can see myself still using the Nikon D7000 for landscapes, and some video purposes. But its not usable on jobs anymore where every moment and every click should be captured instead of hoping the camera actually taking the photo. (Luckily I had a Nikon D3100 on me as backup to photograph the event, all turned out well in the end)

My new camera, the Nikon D500. a true masterpiece. FX quality camera in a DX format body.

So, it was now time to purchase a new camera, because. Yes... I can't be running around with a sketchy camera. I need my gear to work. I have been looking to get a obvious step up from my Nikon D7000 for some time, but now I had too anyways. So, its was time to decide. Do I go FX or do I stick with DX? With most of lenses being DX and not having the budget to invest in a FX body with a set of FX lenses I decided to stick with DX. But the next question was, what camera is a step up from my Nikon D7000, is it going to be the 7100/7200/7500 or maybe even the D500. Some sleepless nights later comparing specs I decided to go for Nikon's DX flagship, the incredible D500. I just felt that stepping up from the 7K series was the right thing to do, and really take it up a notch while still being it a DX camera. There's no better DX camera then the Nikon D500.

Some short facts about the D500: 20.9mp APS-C sensor, iso 52. AF system is the same as in the Nikon D5 (Nikon's FX top model) 10fps continuous shooting. 4K 30fps, 1080p 60fps, high iso (up to 51.200) and so on... Its basically a professional FX camera with all these specs. But just with a DX sensor. The right choice for me considering the amount of DX lenses I use.

The Nikon D500 and the Nikon D7000 next to each other. Its obvious that the D500 is the bigger adult brother of the D7000. Both camera's are totally awesome.

Below are two first landscape photo's I shot with the Nikon D500. I really love how fast it focuses even in low light. Image quality and dynamic range are impressive. Certainly improved here compared to the D7000. I am aware the D500 is more of a sports/wildlife camera with its AF system and 10fps burst mode. But I can't see why it won't make a bad ass landscape camera too. Do you agree?

I have also tested out the video function on the D500 for a little bit. Watch in 4K!