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Kleinkunst

Photo blog 2007-2019

These are small series of photos from 2007 to 2019. The emphasis is mainly on nature photography close to home (landscapes, wildlife, macro), short trips or events.

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Birds of prey ()
A small selection of images of the most common birds of prey in Belgium and the Netherlands; buzzards, hawks, sparrowhawks and kestrels. Birds of prey hunt for smaller birds, rodents and amphibians, are therefore somewhat larger and have sharp claws and large crooked beaks.
Sunrise at the heathlands ()
The end of August is always a good time for landscape photographers. In the morning there is often atmospheric fog and the heather is in full bloom in our regions. This is a small selection of photos of sunrises on the flowering heathlands. A few photos are made this year in the beautiful nature reserve the Teut in Zonhoven. The other images are from past years in Gerhagen (Tessenderlo), Veerle heide(Veerle-Laakdal), Averbode heide (Scherpenheuvel), 's Hertogenheide (Aarschot) and Blekerheide (Lommel).
Little owls ()
A small series of photos of the cute little owls with their bright yellow eyes. The little owl is one of the smallest owls (21 to 27cm) in the Lowlands. The little owl is mainly nocturnal and can be found in a wide range of habitats including farmland, woodland, heathland, … It feeds on insects and small vertebrates like mices.
Black-tailed godwits ()
The Black-tailed godwit is a beautiful wader and a meadow bird par excellence. They hibernate in Africa, but they return to the Low Lands early in the spring. During the breeding season the godwit shows spectacular court flights. I was able to photograph them courting and mating in Friesland in the Netherlands.
Red squirrels ()
One of the cutest mammals in our forests is the red squirrel. I have been able to photograph them very often and this is a varied selection of my best images. Squirrels can easily climb trees and jump from branch to branch. They have a beautiful bushy tail and in the winter they also get ear plumes. Squirrels do not hibernate in winter time but they very active during autum when they will bury nuts and seeds. They also eat mushrooms, berries and insects.
Green woodpeckers ()
This summer, a juvenile green woodpecker and his mother visited our garden in Scherpenheuvel (Flanders, Belgium) almost every day. Green woodpeckers almost exclusively search for food on the ground and our lawn was the ideal place to find ants. A couple of days I layed down under my camouflagenet to photograph them from a low angle and at close distance.
Hageland by night ()
A series of photographs of famous and less well-known monuments in the Hageland region (Scherpenheuvel, Diest, Bekkevoort, Holsbeek, Tielt-Winge) photographed during the blue hour or later at night. Often there was a beautiful starry sky and usually I use several lamps to illuminate the subject.
Cluj-Napoca ()
Some blue hour photos of the historical centre of the city of Cluj-Napoca in the region Transylvania in Romania. It is the second largest city in Romania and has a rich history and beautiful buildings and monuments.
Roe deer ()
The population of roe deer is the Lowlands (Belgium & Netherlands) is increasing. But even though they are spotted more often and in different biotopes, they mostly remain shy animals that are difficult to observe for a long time. The past summer I really started observing and photographing them in the nature areas in Aarschot and Scherpenheuvel-Zichem. This is a small series of my most beautiful photos.
Fox cubs ()
Some months ago I had a great encounter with some red fox cubs (vulpes vulpes). Fox kits are always very cute and playful when they are around their brothers and sisters. These foxes weren't shy at all and I was able to lay down to get a nice viewpoint and photograph them near the water and in the sand dunes.
Little owls ()
A small series of photos of the cute little owls with their bright yellow eyes. The little owl (Athene noctua) is one of the smallest owls (21 to 27cm) in the Lowlands. The little owl is mainly nocturnal and can be found in a wide range of habitats including farmland, woodland, heathland, … It feeds on insects and small vertebrates like mices.
Sint-Pieters-Rode ()
Photos from last year 2016 of the castle of Horst and the nearby chapel in Sint-Pieters-Rode (Holsbeek). The photos were taken in different seasons at day time but also at night. The castle of Horst was built in the mid-14th century and is still quite authentic. The small chapel of Saint Joseph is located in a field under an old lime tree nearby the castle. It has been built in the beginning of the 19th century.
Autumn in the Ardennes ()
Autumn pictures of the beautiful region around Malmedy in the Belgian Ardennes with the wonderful valley of the Hoëgne, the waterfall of Bayehon, the castle of Reinhardstein and the waterfalls of the Ninglispo.
Woodpeckers ()
In the Benelux (Belgium/Netherlands/Luxemburg) live five species of woodpeckers. They are beautiful fascinating birds but they are also quite shy and cautious. The great spotted woodpecker is the least shy and is quite common. The green woodpecker can be seen in gardens. The last months I was able to make some good photos of three species (great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker and black woodpecker) in moste cases from a hide.
Oostvaardersplassen ()
The Oostvaardersplassen in Flevoland is the largest national park in the Netherlands. It is a large wetland with reed plains, rough grassland and ponds that attracts thousands of birds. 25 years ago they introduced some deer, Heck cattle and Konik horses and this park is a very good example of rewilding. Now there live about 1100 wild horses, almost 3300 red deer, 40 Heck cattle, around 50 roe deer and a healthy population of red foxes.
Winter in Sint-Pieters-Rode ()
Photos of the nearby castle and chapel of Horst during the winter. The castle of Horst was built in the mid-14th century and is still quite authentic. The small chapel of Saint Joseph is located in a field under an old linden tree nearby the castle. It has been built in the beginning of the 19th century.
Kingfishers ()
Kingfishers are one of the most beautiful species of birds in my country Belgium. This bird is a fish-eater with a bright blue orange plumage of about 16cm long. I already spend a lot of hours sitting in my camouflage hide near a pond, but often I didn’t capture any good shots. Recently, however, it was a great day and a young female kingfisher has been fishing for many hours. She catched fishes, insects and a lot of frogs and tadpoles and eat them all. I was able to shoot a lot of beautiful photos.
Rutting season in Hoge Veluwe ()
Every year the rutting season of the red deer starts at the end of September. We went one day to the beautiful Hoge Veluwe National Park in the Netherlands. The park is home to almost 200 red deer. During the rutting season the males, known as stags, leave their male herds and will search for females. At that time male red deer will have impressive antlers and they will grow a short neck mane. They start roaring and fighting with other males to impress the hinds.
Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen ()
The Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen is a beautiful nature reserve in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It is a dune area with lots of water channels. It has the largest population of fallow deers in the Netherlands. There also foxes, roe deers and many birds. We also visted the neighboring Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. We were not able to spot the wisents (European bison) but we saw a nice herd of Highland cattle.
Sint-Pieters-Rode ()
The castle and the chapel of Horst are photogenic landmarks near my new home. So in recent months I went out to photograph them several times, mostly in the evening and at night or when there were special weather conditions. I tried to create some unique photos of these monuments that differ from the images that already have been captured by many other people.
Blooming heathland ()
The most interesting time for landscape photographers in my home region the Kempen is definitely the blooming period of the heather in late August. This year it was a two weeks earlier than other years. I woke up early multiple times to photograph the sunrise at the heathlands of the Blekerheide and the Heuvelse heide in my hometown Lommel.
Tiengemeten ()
Photos from a weekend trip to the nature island Tiengemeten in North Holland. In 2006 Tiengemeten was transformed from farmland to nature and now it is full of wild flowers, there are wonderful fields of yellow goldenrod, semi-wild Highland cattle graze there and waterbirds are also numerous.
Birds ()
Last spring I spent a lot of time in nature; sometimes very close to my home in Lommel, occasionally from my hide and also several walks in the bigger nature reserves in the Netherlands. I was able to photograph a lof of birds and now I’ve created a small selection of the best photos of kingfishers, cormorants, herons, woodpeckers, buzzards, ...
Konik horses ()
The Oostvaardersplassen in Flevoland is the largest national park in the Netherlands. It is a large wetland with reed plains, rough grassland and ponds that attracks thousands of birds such as geese, spoonbills, cormorants, herons, .... 25 years ago they introduced some deer, Heck cattle and Konik horses. Now there live about 1,000 wild horses, the largest population in Europe.
Lommel by night ()
Night photos of my hometown Lommel. Some well-known landmarks such as the Leyssens mill, the German war cemetery, Saint Mary’s park, the CC Adelberg and the church of Lommel center with sometimes with a wonderful starry sky. Some photos are my by using my flash and torch and some 'light painting' techniques to illuminate the subject.
Red deer rut ()
From mid-September to mid-October the deer rut takes place. At that time male red deer (Cervus elaphus) will have impressive antlers and they will grow a short neck mane. They start belling and fighting with other males to impress the hinds. I went several times to the Weerterbos in Nederweert (Netherlands) to photograph the red deer.
Sunset at Heuvelse Heide ()
From mid-August the heather blooms in our nature reserves in the Kempen (region in Flanders). So a couple of days I woke up early to photograph the sunrise and the rich colour of the purple flowering heathland in my hometown Lommel at the Heuvelse Heide
Tree frogs ()
In some small nature reserves in Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg you can find tree frogs (Hyla arborea). These tiny frogs are only 2 to 4 cm in length. They are green and have a brown lateral stripe from the eyes to the groin. Females have white throats, while males have golden brown throats. They mostly can be found on brambles near small streams or ponds.
Kingfishers ()
Finally I found a nice spot in nature my hometown Lommel where a couple of kingfishers is regularly catching fishes. The past few weeks I spent a lot of hours in the early morning near the small stream and I was able to make several good pictures of these beautiful but shy birds. The common kingfisher (alcedo atthis) is a fish-eater with a bright blue orange plumage of about 16cm long.
Historia Mundi ()
In June the Historia Mundi event took place in Lommel. During two days many groups came together to do re-enacting and living history. Based on historical research all groups tried to reproduce cloths, weapons, tents, crafts, ...
Beavers of Leuven ()
In June a beaver family of four animals housed in the Dyle river near the Begijnhof in the center of city of Leuven. The beaver (castor fiber) is the largest rodent in Europe and is now back in Belgium in some places. Beavers are nocturnal and generally very shy. But these beavers showed up at dusk and were not disturbed by the many people who where watching them dragging and eating branches.
Normandy coast and Nieuwpoort ()
Photos of a photography weekend on the coast of Normandy with its impressive cliffs and picturesque lighthouses. Our trip ended with a great sunset and a blue hour in Nieuwpoort on the Flamish coast.
Insects ()
This past summer I have been photographing insects with my new macro lens and extension rings. This resulted in some nice pictures which reveal a lot of interesting details of these insects.
Flowering heathland ()
From mid-August the heather blooms in our nature reserves in the Kempen (region in Flanders). I went to the Maasmechelse Heide in The Hoge Kempen National Park and two days I woke up early to photograph the sunrise and the rich colour of the purple flowering heathland in my hometown Lommel.
Running horses ()
On the last day of July our photo club ISO400 had a great photo-shoot in the nature reserve the Sahara in Lommel. 4 people of a local horse stable came with their beautiful horses to run through the water and in the white sand which resulted in some great action photos.
Young wild animals ()
This spring I spent a lot of time in nature and I had some unique opportunities to photograph some young animals and birds. These are my best photos of a wild boar piglet, young tawny owls, a juvenile woodpecker and a cute red fox cub. All photos except the ones of the wild boars are made in their natural habitat in my home region.
Night photography in Duisburg ()
A couple of photos of evening photography in Duisburg. The ‘Tiger & Turtle’ sculpture is a walkable roller coaster. And in a small parc the Mercator globus can be found.
The mills of Kinderdijk ()
Some photos of the 19 windmills in Kinderdijk in South Holland. They were constructed around 1740 to drain the polder. Nowadays there are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Flowering tulip fields in Zeeland ()
In spring a lot of tulip fields are flowering in Zeeland (The Netherlands). I went there and on an early morning I started photographing these magnificent display of colours.
Swans ()
Photos of a group of swans on the lake of the nature reserve De Maat in my neighbouring city Mol-Rauw.
Snow and ice ()
Photos of snow and ice in my hometown Lommel and surrounding areas during the coldest week of this winter.
Flamish and Zeelandic coast ()
A day of photographing at the Flamish and Zeelandic coast in Breskens, Cadzand, Knokke and Blankenberge.
Birds in the Belgian Ardennes ()
Photos of a weekend of photographing birds from a hide in Viroinval in the Belgian Ardennes; tits, finches, creepers, nuthatches, woodpeckers, ...
Autumn in the High Fens ()
Photos of autumn in the nature reserve High Fens (Belgium) near Ternell with the small Hill and Getzbach rivers.
Damselflies and dragonflies ()
Some photos of damselflies and dragonflies in my hometown Lommel.
Living statues festival ()
During the weekend of 18th-19th June my hometown Lommel organized a living statues festival. Several wonderful living statues and amusing street artists from all around Europe were invited to demonstrate their skills.
Tree frogs ()
Photos of some European tree frogs (Hyla arborea) in a nature reserve. The frogs are range from 3 to 4 cm in length.
Hallerbos ()
Photos of the Hallerbos (Dutch for Halle forest) with its bluebell carpet (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) which covers the forest floor for a few weeks during spring.
Hallerbos ()
Photos of the Hallerbos (Dutch for Halle forest) with its bluebell carpet (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) which covers the forest floor for a few weeks during spring.
Zealand ()
Photos of a day bird watching in Zealand (The Netherlands)
Lommel Sahara ()
Some photos of Lommel Sahara with the first snow of this winter. The Sahara is a small nature reserve with ponds, woods and some small sand dunes.
Insects ()
Some macro photos of dragonflies, beetles and grashoppers.
Living Statues in Lommel ()
Last weekend my hometown Lommel organized the 3th European Contest for Living Statues. Several wonderful living statues and street artists from all around Europe, Cuba, New Zealand and Brazil were invited and during 2 days they demonstrated their skills.
Ghent ()
Some photos of the beautiful historical centre of the city of Ghent.
Winter in Lommel ()
Some photos of winter time in my hometown Lommel.
Fauna on Texel ()
A few photos of seals and birds on the Wadden island Texel (The Netherlands).
Lommel during winter time ()
A few photos from different spots in Lommel during the snow white but ice cold second week of 2009.
Contest for Living Statues ()
Last weekend my hometown Lommel organized the European Contest for Living Statues. More than 45 beautiful living statues were invited and during 2 days they demonstrated their skills. Hereby a few close-up photos of some of these artists.
War cemetery on freezing winterday ()
Photos of the German war cemetery in my hometown Lommel on a freezing cold and white Saturday morning in December. It is one of the largest soldier cemeteries from WOII and 39.091 German soldiers are buried here.
Blue tits ()
A couple of blue tits (parus caeruleus) have been living in the birdhouse in my little garden for a month. The whole day they were flying in and out. In the beginning they were feeding their young ones yellow caterpillars. The last few days all kinds of insects and seeds were on the menu. Now all 4 small blue tits have fledged.