Here are the results of several of my challenging Great Tit hunting – enjoy!
This small bird has been one of my most recent photo-challenges in the last two weeks. Called the Great Tit, it sure looks cute on the photos with its yellow fluffy belly, but it’s extremely frustrating to catch it with a camera. Every park is full of them, but they rarely sit somewhere for longer than a second and usually choose dense bushes or trees to hide in. And when they fly, they fly fast and a bit erratically, in arches, as if they were jumping from one invisible pole to another. As a result you get to hear them – they have a pretty, distinctive song – but you rarely get to actually see them… Here are the results of several of my challenging Great Tit hunting – enjoy!
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Spring is here and so is the strong craving to change something. I guess a lot of people get a sudden burst of enthusiasm towards "spring cleaning" but what I get is a modified version of it - I want to change something, e.g. my hair colour or my wardrobe. Now, this year the hair colour is not an option since only quite recently I've hit a jackpot on the exactly right red/ginger hair colour I've always wanted, and changing an entire wardrobe is as usual rather expensive. So instead I fell in love with a bag collection which I'm sure would add a splash of colour and flair to any wardrobe! I've written about Pip Studio before, but back then I was mainly focusing on their porcelain. I had no idea that they have annual collections of high-fashion bags too, and once I saw it, I was a total goner... The bags are not exactly cheap, but I think this time I'm willing to splurge on it and treat myself to one awesome Spring bag - I just need to decide which one!!! I have three favourites so far - please give me your thoughts what you think! Here is the one I think I like most: And here are two other runner-ups for the first place, and they're really close behind the one above!!! Those Spring shopping dilemas.. And here come a few others from the Spring/Summer 2010 line. Visit Pip Studio website to view the entire collection!
So the question is: Which one shall I choose?! Here is the second post in the "accessorize your bike for Spring" series - after biker's bags come biker's caps. Basically it's a protective hood from a waterproof material which you put over your saddle to protect it form rain, bird poop and other "natural disasters" which can occur when you leave your bike parked outside ;-) And of course the Dutch ones have typical Dutch designs - lots of colours, lots of flowers, and an obligatory cow-version too, of course ;-) All these caps are from http://www.bikecap.nl - one of the best sites I know for bike fashion! In the past few months I’ve showed you some shots of Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam, so now is obviously the time to give you a peek at the last of the four major Dutch cities in the Randstaad area - Utrecht. I spent a great day visiting Utrecht with my camera about three weeks ago – that one weekend which was actually sunny and the sky was brilliant blue (hasn’t happened since…). My first impression when I finally found my way through the maze of the shopping centre around the Central Station was that… the city is a mess. A very non-Dutch mess... I guess the best way to describe it is as big, rambling and sprawling – the streets meandering left and right, up and down (yes, a Dutch city with no straight streets!), every second building is of different height, architectural styles are mixed – from enormous gothic cathedrals, through extremely narrow 4-storey merchant-like houses along the canals to modern industrial buildings here and there. I did have a map of the city centre with me but I gave up on using it after the first 5 minutes and just walked around. And it was great – I loved the colorful houses squeezed alongside the canals, the bridges and the numerous churches with inner courtyards-turned-gardens. One thing that really stood out was that the water level in the canals was much lower than in other cities – in fact it was so low that there was another level of wharf-basement structures underneath the street. Some people turned it into patios or sun terraces, and in a few places this canal-level boasted specialty shops or cafes. There’s plenty of things to see in Utrecht, including the famous Dom church and tower, St John’s Church (I recommend the flower market which takes place on the square behind this church every Saturday), the many picturesque canals criss-crossing the city centre (especially the Oudegracht) or the the gothic churches of St James and St Nicholas. It is also a great city to just wander around and explore the many markets, side streets, speciality shops and cafes. So if you’re looking for an interesting destination for a city trip, Utrecht comes highly recommended ;-) PS: Beware of the bikers!!! They're everywhere and much more crazy than anywhere else in the Netherlands! I’ve lived in The Hague for two years now but somehow I’ve never had a chance to visit Rotterdam just to do some sightseeing – until last weekend. The weather was cloudy and I only had 2 hours or so, so I decided to visit the Blaak area south of the city centre together with the Oude Haven and a short walk along the Maas river, to see the Erasmus and Willem bridges. I’ve been told before that Rotterdam is not as pretty as other Dutch cities since it was completely destroyed during World War II and rebuild in a modern and industrial style. And it sure is different – no red-and-white brick houses here. Instead you’ll find sky-reaching buildings in glass and metal, some with bold colours and unusual shapes, posed dramatically against a cloudy sky. I absolutely loved it – it was the very definition of urban, dynamic and modern! Also the Oude Haven area, with its colourful boats moored between the buildings, with the Witte Huis – the only building not destroyed in the war – in the background, looked amazing, as did the two bridges. So yes, I’m definitely coming back to Rotterdam to do some more sightseeing, and I definitely recommend the Blaak area. Last Sunday – gloomy as it was – I was walking through my neighboring park when I noticed a pair of quite eye-catching birds swimming on the canal. I’ve never seen them before – they had distinctive crested heads and were amazing divers, able to swim really long distances under the water surface. Of course they kept moving all the time so it was incredibly difficult to get a sharp photo of them, especially in the cloudy weather, but I managed to get a few. As it turns out, these are Great crested grebes. And then, to my surprise, one resurfaced after a dive with a pretty big fish caught in its beak!!! The fish was still alive at this point, so a short fight ensued and once the grebe snapped its dinner’s head, it proceeded to swallow it in a few gulps… Amazing performance, if a bit bloody – I could see the fish’s tail gradually disappearing in the grebe’s throat… These must be the most amazing bird shots I’ve taken so far!
Surprisingly, one of the things that living in the Netherlands has tought me is that Mother Nature has "decked out" her ducks in a variety of colours and shapes worthy of a Paris Fashion Week. Hard to believe? Take a look below at my photos! Mallard duck, as appropriate for a fashionable city dweller, represents the urban safari meets ethnic patterns trends - with a dash of emerald thrown in to attract attenton. Mandarin duck is the amazing one I've written about yesterday... I swear, it really looks this way, even though it seems to be a Photoshop creation or a work of modern art rather than a real bird... In the world of duck fashion it is the most stunning evening gown which crowns every collection - eye-catching, bold and beautiful. This colourful duck also happens to be used as a symbol in Chinese weddings where it stands for "fidelity and bliss," and is the only daddy-duck who takes an active part in bringing up the young. Go, Mandarin! First time I saw this duck I immediately nick-named it a "James Bond Duck." You have to admit, it does look sleek and elegant, like a luxurious sports model or a classic knock-out black dress;-) To my surprise it turned out that it's called Common eider - nothing common about it if you ask me... Common shelduck is another fashionably-looking kind of duck - the combination of contrasting white, black and red with a splash of warm browns definitely does the trick for this half-duck-half-geese birdy. It's like a professional black suit with a white blouse, complemented by one small accent of red jewellery and a big brown leather bag - definitely in! Is it just me or does this duck look at a first glance as if it was bald?! It actually lookes better (i.e. less bald) in real life than it does in the photos... It's attention-drawing head has earned it a fancy name of Red-crested pochard. In the world of fashion it'd represent the currently so popular " natural" look of muted earth colours ;-) And finally the Northern Shoveler - a name well-deserved if you look at its characteristic, spoon-shaped, flattened beak. Another classic colour combination, which gets some extra points for the brilliant gem-like green head - exquisite colour! White-cheeked Pintail seems to blend in with the surroundings at a first glance, but with a closer inspection you just have to appreciate the natural elegance of exotic wild cat African prints ;-)
Mandarin Duck I have a new favourite duck – it looks amazing in pictures! It’s called a mandarin duck and the drake has the most incredible colours and patterns. Apparently it has breeding grounds in the Netherlands, although not in the Hague area – I guess I got lucky that I stumbled upon a few of them on a pond in the centre of Rotterdam. See the photos below – isn’t it the most creative duck you’ve ever seen? But it sure is a challenge to shoot a sharp photo of one, especially on a cloudy day like today, since I swear they must have mini-engines stuck to their ducky butts – I’ve never seen a duck swim that fast, they are the most mobile water birds out there!! I think it’s the most impressive bird I managed to photo-shoot so far :-) Riviera Maison is a second Dutch interior design brand which is best described “warm and cozy,” quite similar to Riverdale. Riviera specializes in wooden and rattan furniture which looks rustic and a bit old-fashioned, with a dash of French influence which makes you think of Provence and horizontally-striped Channel prints. The furniture line is complemented by cushions, tableware, candle lanterns and a variety of other home accessories, everything in the same rustic yet cozy and elegant style. Honestly speaking, I don’t think I’ll ever end up buying their furniture, at least not in the near future – it’s not only on the expensive side but I think it also asks for a big house wholly decorated and furnished in the same style. One piece among more modern furniture would be completely out of place. But no-one can deny me the undisputable pleasure of browsing the shops which stock this brand (again, it includes Dutch gardening centres) – there are whole “display-rooms” arranged with Riviera furniture and accessories, and they sure are beautiful. Below is a selection of photos with their newest collection, and you can find more at if you click here. Yesterday another of my features appeared on TheHagueOnline.com – this time I gave in to my yearning for spring and wrote about the tulip phenomenon in the Netherlands. You can ready it here, and below is the full version of the photo gallery chosen to accompany this article.
I honestly cannot wait for Keukenhof to open - this year it opens on March 18th, which is only a week from today, but it will be the middle of April until all the tulips appear in all their glory, so I still have about a month to wait. I’m just hoping that all this cold weather is not going to make me wait even longer for all the bulbs to bloom… But let’s be optimistic, the spring warmth is certainly just around the corner! |
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August 2012
AuthorA fiery red head, a writer and a photographer in love with beautiful design and all things creative |