Its coming

Its coming to an end....The crazy life that Im living has been amazing. I am sad to leave it behind. I dont think that I would ever thought that I would learning to much as I did. I made some great memories, and met some amazing people..the pictures on this blog only capture a portion of it.

I have read and re-read something very important from Christian author Philip Graham Ryken, in his book, “Art for God’s Sake”. Here I have learned more and more about the calling of a Christian artists....

Ryken writes, “..thus the purpose of art is the same as the true purpose of anything: it is not for ourselves or for our own self-expression, but for the service of others.."

So here we go...pictures from an amazing semester meant for me and for you and for God...

espana

A truly magical place, perfect for relaxation.

roma

There are too many favorite pictures of mine to put up, so these are the ones I feel capture Roma...

It it an amazing city, full of history, tourists, art, and culture.

Rome was amazing....although there are too many tourists to really enjoy the city, it was still unbelievable. Here are some of the favorites!

The best part about SPICE is...

Everyone has a different view. Everyone has their own experience.

All About the Details!

A few random shots that may be some of my favorites so far!!! Playing around a little on Lightroom....

Memorial

Taking a trip to Westerbork, I was unsure of what I would find. There were so many possibilities, such as what was still left over and what was all there for memorial. It is a strange feeling to be in a place where thousands of Dutch Jews, Gypsy's and resistance workers would have been transported to before heading off to the major death and labour camps around Europe.

The thing that I found most heartbreaking, was that they never knew....they thought they were going to another place where they could play soccer at night, attend a church service on the Sabbath, or work for only a few hours a day. Prisoners only spent a maximum of a couple weeks here before leaving for the East....including Anne Frank.

Its hard to capture such emotion and feelings while being there and I hope I succeeded in the sense of respect and yet emptiness that I wanted to achieve.

To those who never knew.

Other great Memorial shots: Michael Kenna Phototgraphy

Architecture

There is one thing that no matter where I am or where I go, I love to capture, no matter where I find it...but I am still discovering the best way to shoot it...

Old and new architecture is in abounds around here, with so many styles and moldings, but all so different and unique.

Here are some shots from favorite architecture so far!

Praha..as the locals say it..

Short and sweet, and completely worth it. I was in Prague for about 30 hours this past weekend--which was not near enoigh time to explore it all and stop and think about what there is all to capture.

But, I have decided that Prague may have been my favorite city in Europe so far. The architecture was unbelievable, with a mixture of classical and modern. The city was lite up with the sun reflecting off the golden buildings and roof-tops....

This may end up being the farthest east I'll be going while in Europe and it was nice to see how much the architecture and culture differenciates from that in Western part of the continent, and specifically the Netherlands.

So some shots from what I saw in Prague..

Brussels

I only have limited pictures from Belgium, and specifically Brussels. I took this early in the morning, looking out from our hotel/hostel. The view was incredible, and captured a feeling of "Your mercies are new every morning" type of thing. It marks the start of a new day after a rather terrible experience of the actual city.

Tip: If you have any desire to visit Belgium...go to Brugge and the coast instead!

Spring break already?

Today it was back to school and back to reality...it was sitting through a 3 hour lecture in philosophy and a quiz I had forgot about in Dutch class. The whole time I wanted to look through my shots from Spring break again to remember all the things I did and saw...

My images that I will be posting first are from my time within the Netherlands. I had an interesting experience climbing up a windmill, and seeing the inside and outside. I heard the wind making swooshing motions as the various mechanics within the windmill turned to make a fine flour.

I also spent more time in the small town where my Opa grew up. The "castle" (according to Michiel) that we visited was a summer home to a weathly family a long time ago. Today it has been restored, and is headquarters for some type of organization. There is something strange being in the same places where I know my ancestors lived and died. I find myself thinking that walking the streets there, actually understanding the Dutch accent, and singing to the songs on Sunday, that it all seems more like a place I would call "home-y". It may have been over 50 years since my Opa and his family last lived there, and it may be only very distant family that we stay with, but it is a place that has become a home away from home, in such a strange way....

Its Been Awhile...

So it has been a few weeks since I have last posted things here....truly the time flies by before you realize how much you have done, seen or captured. Now it is time for an update on everything, starting with an image from Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Leeuwarden is the " capital" of the Northern province of Friesland. These two images show very different parts of the city.....

London Land

This may be a photo blog dedicated to the work of my time in the Netherlands, but I wanted to also post pictures from this past weekend, where I sent 4 days in London, England.

Hanging out in Amsterdam

This past Tuesday, our whole SPICE class went to Amsterdam to experience Dutch culture, society, art and architecture.

We left early from the train station and almost two hours later stepped off onto the Amsterdam Centraal station platform.

Experiencing even an larger city than Utrecht was interesting, seeing how people live and work in the city was even more intriguing.

Here is some shots of things I saw in the city...

Utrecht

My day trip to Utrecht wasn't exactly planned...we got on a train, had the phone number of someone there, and just went. It was nice to explore a bigger city than Zwolle, and be there for Saturday market. We explored the tallest tower in the Netherlands and saw some amazing canals and shops.

Utrecht holds some personal importance...it was where my de Haan-ness originates. It is the place where my Grandpa De Haan grew up...it is so strange to walk the streets and imagine him doing the same thing so many years ago. Although the city has changed a lot since he left for Canada, there are certain things that I am sure he remembers and that are similar to what I saw and experienced.

Zwolle

It has been a little over 2 weeks that I have stepped off the plane and I can't believe it.... I have seen and experienced so many different things already, and it makes me even more excited for what awaits me in the weeks to come.

I took my camera along with me to school one day last week and had a great time shooting around Zwolle. After finally seeing the sun come through the clouds, I now know why the Dutch masters included so many colours in their paintings--it is actually how it is. It is not just blue sky and grey clouds, but yellow, purple, and pinks are in there too. It is amazing how the sky transforms the town and creates a whole new landscape.

So this is my new home for the next few months...and just a few shots to get to know where I ride my bike everyday.

And so it begins..

Here we go!
A blog about photography/holland/travel and other thoughts and things I happen to capture in my semester abroad. It has been just over one week, and I want to bring my camera EVERYWHERE! There is always something happening, or something cool going on. This past week, I only had my camera limited places, since I was in school all day, but the next few days I am putting aside time to bike into Zwolle, and then just walk around. Walk into the tiny streets, the little shops and the old churches (well if they are open). I think that this will be a good way to find my way within the city centre...Goodbye map!
Here are a few shots of places so far--Both in Zwolle(where I live) and Woudenburg (the village next to my Opa's hometown).....