Antwerp the great old

Antwerp is my city, you all know that. It's close by and it's very photogenic. So I'm sorry if I'm boring you with all my posts about Antwerp. Maybe it's because I love it so much and I want you to feel the same way about it. Trust me it's not hard to do. A little thing about Antwerp, it has a mix of old an new. It has diamantes and fashion. A great nightlife and there are lots of ways spend your time and money. Something you can do and is free: getting lost in the city. There is nothing else that you have to do. Just walk and see were you end up. I bet you will love to see the real Antwerp. The cobbled roads and alley's will give you an idea of what it was to live in Antwerp in the past. You still are able to feel the history and you just know that all the houses have lots of stories to tell.

This time I ended up with my photo group at the river the Scheldt. We are doing the port of Antwerp in a couple of weeks. Now we were at the old warehouses, in the olden days this was the port and all the goods that were brought to Antwerp were stored there. When we were done freezing our asses of, we decided to go to get a drink first and then stay at the 'Grote Markt' were city hall is and shoot some photo's there. The buildings are all beautifully illuminated. In this way all the details are highlighted. I'll just show you the photo's and you know what I mean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy Photography

Caroline

 

The beauty of nature and art

Or you are a nature person or a art/city person? People that love nature don't like to be stuck in a museum. And you just don't put a city person in nature, they would flip. But what if you are both. You would be rare and unique, yes. But can you combine it? Maybe if you do a museum and a park in one day? Maybe it's an nature exhibit? But what if there would be a way to get your nature and art kick at once? Well you can! More and more parks open their gates to art. Beautiful sculptures scattered around a park is the best of both worlds. Then you can take a city girl and give her some fresh air and you can take a nature freak and give him some culture. And you, rare person, that loves both. Breath, relax and take a stroll. This is for you.

A park in Belgium that is famous for his art in nature concept is the 'Middelheimpark' in Antwerp. I think they are pioneers in this front. As long as I can remember there are beautiful sculptures in the park. Classic and old, very new and modern stand site by site. It looks like they are meant to be.  Making it interesting to look at, it's fun and playful. Go there with friends and have a picnic. go with family and have a fun and inspiring day. Go with a date or a lover, take a stroll, talk and see what the other one likes and dislikes.

But the beauty of nature and art isn't alone combining the two. I believe it's seeing art in nature too. Mother nature on her own created so much beauty. Beauty that we humans can never transcend. And I don't believe we have to. We just need to be able to see it, recognize it and take care of it. So in one word LOVE it. So...I wouldn't write this blog if I didn't have some photos to show right? Here they are...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy Photography

Caroline

 

Important Theory

When I stopped school I thought that my studying days were over. I guess I was wrong. Wanting to be a photographer theory is more important then it ever was. Knowing and understanding light comes with practice but the theory behind it, is equally important. The easiest way to learn about light is with the exposure triangle. This triangle shows the balance between shutter speed, diaphragm and ISO. Putting these settings in a camera is often a choose between a sharp photo or a photo with motion noise. It's a match between deep focus versus shallow focus and a not so difficult decision between sensitivity and noise. Not so difficult because you don't want noise.

So the theory. I'll keep it short. I talked about all these things before but I want to explain what it all means. The diaphragm determines how much light enters the sensor. The bigger the number behind F/, the smaller the diaphragm and the less light the sensor gets. The shutter speed determines how long the light enters the sensor. So the longer de shutter speed is, the more light the sensor gets. Downside is that there is more risk at motion noise because of vibration. The last component is the ISO, this determines how sensitive the camera will respond to light. The higher the ISO, the higher the chance at noise.

It all is a triangle so that means that if you change one thing it effects everything. Every change can means less light or a halving of the amount of light. Every change can mean more light or a doubling of the amount of light. This difference is the 'exposure value' or in human language 'stops'. One stop is the difference between two consecutive shutter speeds, diaphragm values or ISO values. The kind of lens you use gives difference as well. I have two images and some photos to make it all clear.



Exposure triangle

Some stops and there effect

F/11  1/125s  ISO100  @18mm
good depth of field, no motion noise, no noise

F/5,6  1/500s  ISO100 @18mm
shallow depth, faster shutter speed because of the
lower diaphragm and no noise

F/11  1/125s  ISO100 @18mm
3m distance of subject
good depth of field, no motion noise, no noise



F/5,6  1/500s  ISO100 @18mm
3m distance of subject
shallow depth, faster shutter speed because of the
lower diaphragm and no noise

F/5,6  1/500s  ISO100  @18mm
with my 18-55mm lens
shallow depth of field

F/5,6  1/500s  ISO100 @75mm
with my 75-300mm lens
shallower depth of field

F/5,6  1/500s  ISO100  @300mm
with my 75-300mm lens
shallowest depth of field



F/8  1/4000s  ISO1600 @55mm
high ISO more noise in the back
high shutter speed because of high ISO

F/8  1/2000s  ISO800 @55mm
high ISO noise in the back
high shutter speed because of high ISO

F/8  1/1000s  ISO400 @55mm
slight noise in the back
high shutter speed because of high ISO

F/8  1/500s  ISO200 @55mm
not much noise
 

F/8  1/125s  ISO100  @18mm
Good depth of field

F/4  1/500s  ISO100  @18mm
shallow depth of field (look at the bald guy)



Enjoy Photography

Caroline

Jewish Carnival or Poerim

Live brings unexpected things. Opening up for unexpected things, can bring experiences that are unique. Being a part of a unique thing, big or  small, can leave you astonished. I was happy to be able to take photos from a unique thing. For the Jewish people it's a thing that comes around every year but for me it was unique in all it's forms. I was surprised to see that even orthodox Jews know about typical western things. It was amazing to see the conflict between traditional and the translation of other cultures. It was creative and it worked really well.

As for everything Jewish people don't do anything without a reason behind it. Jews are very good in remembering and honoring the past. And the feast that Poerim is, has a great reason behind it as well. With Poerim the Jews celebrate the victory over Haman who wanted to exterminate the Jews. The Jews won thanks to fancy dress and binge drinking. What a great way to win a war. It is the only day that allows excessive drinking, so that the line between good and bad disappears. How the feast goes is in strict tradition. One last little fact Poer means destiny, witch says everything actually.

Jews are not keen on being photographed so it was good that I had somebody with me that has some contacts in the community. It was hard and I was careful picking the photos I'm going to show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy Photography

Caroline