13. September 2002
About The Dutch Gallery
On a short trip to Holland this spring I managed to take a few photographs that I'm now presenting in The Dutch Gallery and with the introduction of this I decided to comment a little bit on these pictures and why I shot them as I do.
All the photograph in this gallery are Rolleigraphs which mean they are all taken with a Rolleiflex TLR.

Amsterdam
I tend to often photograph details rather than big monuments when I'm in a place like a city. This is often more how I see a city when walking through it. The sum of the details is what makes up my impression of the place.


Amsterdam

I am also a big fan of selective focus (shallow depth of field), because this is somehow also how you see the world. Unlike small CCD's from digicams, the medium format really gives you possibilities for shallow depth of field.
You can argue, that the square format doesn't match how your eyes sees the world. And that's true, but this is where the photograph comes in - the square format simply does a good job in "framing the picture", in my opinion that is.
I'm not saying in any way that medium format is more natural or more close to how humans see things, I don't believe in this way of thinking. On the contrary actually, without being an expert or anything I think that humans must have a greater depth of field, given that your light-sensing area inside the eyes are quite small compared to the size of medium format film.
But shallow depth of field might better mimic the way we humans are able to focus our concentration on one thing? I know this might be far out, but think about it anyway....

Bicycles are very Amsterdam. A bike is my also my preferred means of transportation in Copenhagen, but I think there are even more bikes in Amsterdam. So naturally you'll find photographs of bikes in the Dutch gallery!

National Park
The national park (I only managed to visit one but there are more) was a pleasant surprise.


Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe

These not farmed and not-so-cultivated landscapes are not normally what I connect with Holland, where every square inch of land is cultivated in some way (like in Denmark where I live).
If weather permits, there are many photo opportunities and it's a nice and quiet place for concentrating on photography.
You'll find white bikes (of course) free for you to use around the park.
I've visited the Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe in which you'll also find the famous Kröller-Müller Musum.

The Coast
The beach photographed here could be anywhere, I know. Still it is from the coast of Holland near Bergen aan Zee.


Bergen aan Zee

If you also are a photographer you might want to notice that the Rollei HFT coating of the lens permits me to photograph in many angles towards the sun without having any problems with flair.

Links
• Visit the "Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe" online. (English, Dutch, French and German)
A very beautiful site worth a visit.
• Visit the "Kröller-Müller Musum" online. (Dutch and English)
• Visit the official Amsterdam site. (Dutch)
• And of course you shouldn't miss the gallery itself.