Business class

All along the Belgian coast, you will find people enjoying the sun in a lazy beach chair. These are offered for rent at the more popular stretches, just like cabins that become yours for the day.

 
I hadn’t been anywhere near our national beach on sunny season days for quite a while (I strongly prefer walks along the empty shoreline on cooler, windy days) so the 21st century version of common ‘beach furniture’ took me by surprise…

Who would expect these sofas and armchairs on the sand, and coffee tables complete with a selection of (no doubt gossip) magazines near plastic palm trees? Did we become so spoiled on luxury that we are perfectly happy to get a sunburn as long as we can do it in style?

Fortunately, there’s still some of us that easily get by with the bare minimum…

Gear notes: D700, 24-70/2.8G, 180/2.8D

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A chairy tale

Yesterday, I enjoyed another day out with the Belgiumdigital friends. The weather was absolutely gorgeous in Blankenberge, one of the ‘hot spots’ of the Belgian coast.

There will be more to come on this. But as I started weeding through my shots, post-processing a few of the better ones, I struck me how many chairs I had captured all through the afternoon. They popped up around me in all shapes and colors. And they all were empty. Have one too, and enjoy the gallery!

Out for lunch

Next time, I’ll jump…

Just the two of us

Peek-a-boo!

A good time for reflection

Gear notes: D700, 24-70/2.8, 180/2.8

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Dream glass

Once in a while, you can put your hand on a beautiful lens, one that pleasantly surprises you beyond all expectations. That happened to me a few weeks ago, when a good friend passed me a nice copy of Nikon’s AF180mm f/2.8ED tele.

 My very first shot with the lens – even before I paid for it…

I have always been a fan of narrow depth-of-field pictures, and especially so for shooting close candids of people. But if on top you also get a crack sharp image, excellent micro-contrast and soft creamy blurs, the party really gets on!

A chilly January morning at the Belgian coast.

I have no doubt that you will get to see more pictures from this lens on blog posts to come…

Outside Antwerp’s central railway station.

Gear notes: D700, 180/2.8D

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A fresh start

We couldn’t have wished a better beginning of 2010! Close friends are renting out a small apartment at the Belgian coast, and when it suddenly became available for a few days they invited us to come and stay to celebrate the New Year with them.

As we arrived on the evening of January 1, we were welcomed by magnificent fireworks right in our ‘front yard’. I should have known better than to stay out for half an hour on the freezing balcony!

The next morning greeted us with a thin coat of fresh snow on the sand. Just what I needed to get out again for a healthy long walk on the beach with a small camera bag (and hat and gloves).

Plenty of people out by mid day, enjoying the chilly but refreshing breeze. Funny to see how an area that normally thrives on baking sunshine takes on a very different atmosphere in colder weather.

Thanks, Lut and Hugo, for a great New Year’s present!

Gear notes: D700, 50/1.8, 16/2.8D, 24/2.8, 180/2.8D

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