Today had typical Dutch December wheather: dull, grey, chilly and .... foggy. Fog is always an opportunity to create a special atmosphere in a photo. I went to an area near Wageningen called 'Binnenveld'. Here you can find this long lane bordered by these huge poplar trees. The fog makes the lane disappear into nothing and it seems the man and dog are walking towards the end of the world.......

Niels

Last Saterday I was in the NP Sallandse Heuvelrug. It is a hilly ridge, created by a glacier in the forelast ice age, some 150.000 years ago. Every part of the area 'breathes' this icy period, in which it must have been cold and windy. Actually, it was cold and windy that day and everything was covered in hoar frost, making me feel being in the ice age...... I found this Common Juniper that had partly collapsed, creating an image that resembled a giant spider from ancient times...

Cheers,

Niels

The nature reserve of Kampina has been the cradle of my passion for nature and birdwatching. Here I was wandering as a little boy with my binoculairs to find birds and to get away from the every day life. It is a very diverse landscape with heaths, moors, fens, forests and a natural stream. To the south of the reserve lies the area of Banisveld. A former agricultural area, it was transformed into new nature by scraping the top soil layer. Sheep were introduced as landscape engineers. This photo reflects my state of mind while walking in the area.......warmth, light, calmness, balance.... Who says nature has no value for human wellbeing?

Cheers,

Niels

Dear friends,

it is a cliché, but sometimes a photo can say more than a thousand words. The impact some photos have not only is a result of the aesthetic input of the photographer, but also of the story behind the photo. That is when the spectator understands and feels what is happening behind the 'static pixels'. I try to make these kind of photos and an example is shown here. This shallow lake, or fen, has been drying out by nearby groundwater extraction for drinking water. The characteristic vegetation is slowly vanishing, despite restoration efforts. The politicians are debating for several years now about reducing or stopping the water extraction.....meanwhile the lake evaporates......

Niels

Dear photofriends,

I was photographing for an assignment for the province of Noord-Brabant. Near a lake some young boys with fishing gear approached me and asked me what I was doing. There attention was undoubtedly drawn by my underwaterpouch containing my camera. They said they were very skilled in fishing and they wanted to show me......"Ok let's see what luck they have", I thought. Well...within two minutes one boy caught three perches and I saw the chance to make an underwater photo of the catch. Actually this shot shows the perch hunting the bait! It showed me again what a great challenge and fun underwater photography is. I am eager to make this kind of shot again and make it perfect.

Cheers,

Niels

I was at the island of Ameland when I saw the light becoming soft and orange in the evening. I often prefer photographing against it rather than making use of the light to lit the subject. I capture silhouettes and use the sky or the reflection on the water to create a dual-toned photo. In this case, a Grey heron was fishing in the water, that was completely without ripples due to the absence of wind. I anticipated the moment of 'darting' and took some shots with continuous shooting at high speed. The little explosion of water, with the sun reflected, makes this photo special.

Cheers,

Niels

Dear all,

one of the most exciting aspect of nature photography is the fact that nature is far from predictable and you can always expect something unexpected..... As I was photographing for Natura2000 in Kampina, I cycled along a path and in my eyecorner I saw a brown creature. I looked back and saw it was a Roe deer sitting next to the path, apperently not being frightened by my presence. I stopped and crawled back with my telelens. I could approach it up to a few meters! I was puzzled by this situation, but decided to change my lens for a wide angle and later for a macro. I was so close I could smell the animal and it even sniffed at my macro lens! It was totally relaxed and didn't seem ill, wounded or in pain, although I believe this behaviour would not have been performed by a normal Roe deer. I could take a shot of its eye, reflecting the surroundings...

Enjoy! Niels

Dear all,

although at first sight the wheather does not seem particularly inviting to step out of your front door these days, photography wise there are some fine opportunities. Windy and rainy days put your creative skills to the test as there is little light to work with and almost everything is swaying. But for me this can be rewarding when I am using the motion to get special effects by, for instance, using long exposures. I was out in my 'backyard' the Blauwe Kamer with my friend Melchert Meijer zu Schlochtern and we both noticed this scene with the big willows and the flowers in front, swaying in the fierce wind. The sun had already set, so we could use long exposures without elements being overexposed. This results in the 'cloudy' appearance of the willow's leaves and the blurred flowers. The stem of the trees give the photo a 'steady' base and an eye-catcher to focus on.

Cheers, Niels

Hi,

I have just arrived home from a holiday with the family in Sweden. I love that country. I just couldn't leave my stuff at home, so I was out shooting on some evenings and mornings. We camped at a lake where a pair of Common Cranes with a young resided. Although extremely shy I could get this shot of one of the parents with the young. It took me three efforts and some luck, but they eventually popped out of the forrest just 20 meters next to me! Luckily I heard them before they saw me and thanks to my camouflage they were not scared away by my appearance or that of my big lens.

Cheers, Niels

Southern Sudan expedition report

In February-March 2008 I took part in a Wetlands International mission to Southern Sudan. Additionally I undertook my own expedition to the western fringes of the Sudd Marshes, one of the largest wetlands in the world. The report on that trip is available for download here.

Cheers,

Niels Gilissen

Renewed website online!

Dear visitor,

welcome to my completely renewed website and weblog on www.miratio.nl. Feel free to browse through the pages. I welcome any comment or advise. In the coming months, the upgrading will continue.

Cheers,

Niels Gilissen