Sky’s and Clouds - Signature theme’s in Dutch artists works

Landscape photography of a typical dramatic sky in The Netherlands

Dutch landscape painters of cloudscapes and skies

If you have ever visited the Netherlands, and you’ve stayed there during the spring or autumn season, you must have noticed that our weather can change very quickly. The climate in our country has always been, for many centuries, harsh during winter times and dynamic throughout the year. Those dynamic weather conditions make for the perfect cloudscapes and landscape photography in The Netherlands during these times! Both the summer and winter can be very beautiful, but somehow the magic isn’t the same and the sky is less dramatic during these times.

Hermitage

Whilst visiting a very unique museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, called “Hermitage’ I’ve learned that the old dutch masters of painting from the 16-17th century and myself as a landscape photographer have something in common; I too see the landscapes and cloudscapes of my own country, as the inspiration for much of my work and dramatic cloudscapes are a big part of them. 

Work by Salomon van Ruysdael; Ferry boat near Arnheim - shown in the hermitage in St. Petersburg. Look how the eye is drawn to the right bottom of this painting; where the horizon meets the clouds and the ships, sailing down the river. The colors used to portrait the skies are stunning and the atmosphere and scenery captured by the painter are truly detailed, realistic and from a high quality

This work really put a little smile and giggle on my face, when I saw the painting and I heard the narrator explain to me how it was painted, with what idea in mind and what the viewer can see. It's exactly how I look at our landscape and how my eye tries to find this kind of depth, drama, and composition. 

The old famous dutch landscape painters, such as these incredible masters:

• Gillis claesz de hondecoeter.

• Meindert hobbema.

• Pieter molijn.

• Jacob van ruisdael.

• Salomon van ruysdael.

• Adriaen van de velde.

• Jan josefsz van goyen.

• Isaac jansz van ostade.

These Masters of their trade have always been praised for their ability to paint these skies in such a unique way, that they are considered to be the best cloud and landscape painters of their time, and perhaps even the best ever. They are able to understand the layers of which the colors create these romantic, scenic and picturesque skies full of dramatic clouds. Of course, they have lived their lives in the dutch landscapes and had plenty of time seeing the true colors of the sky during sunrise and sunsets, and during daylight hours, especially during that  time of the year when the sun is still low, in spring and autumn, colors of the sky turn yellow, pinkish and the blue is soft and hazy. 

Dramatic skies and cloudscapes in the works of Rudolfo Dalamicio

In my work, I too have been inspired by those powerful skies, that always seem to be different but so beautiful and have incredible soft color tones. 

The winds in the Netherlands are strong and not always fun to feel, especially when you drive your bicycle around town, but, the moment you take a look up early morning, you know it's all for the right reasons. 

When taking out your camera, and you arrive at your landscape destination ( for that I usually use the website locationscout.net for the best spots around the country - everywhere around the world), you can rest assured that you won't be disappointed. 

When I walk around the country, I always pack my Peak Design Camera Clip V3 to easy acces my Canon Mark III 5D

Dramatic skies at different times of the day

Now as most photographers know already, the day has been divided in different categories, and they are the following:

• Night

• The blue hour, usually long in the summers, and very short in wintertime ( depending on the location of course)

• Golden hour

• Day time

• And again Golden hour

• Bluehour

Here are some sky examples, mostly from the Netherlands, where you can clearly see the different atmosphere and scene created by the clouds and colors of the sky.

Night 

The Milky way seen in Spain in the middle of the night

Blue hour sunrise

Blue hour in the Winter in National park The Netherlands

Golden hour sunrise 

Golden hour power in Russia, Suzdal, 2022

Day time

On the island of Sumba, at the edge of a cliff

Golden hour sunset

Golden hour at a lake in Russia

Blue hour sunset

A summer night in Italy, where the moon is up and the blue sky is getting ready to sleep

A very interesting article found on this topic, can be red here: http://bib.gfz-potsdam.de/pub/wegezurkunst/realities/realities%20in%20the%20skies.pdf

Come and enjoy The Netherlands

All in all, definitely worth to come and visit The Netherlands, and get some amazing landscape photography for your own portfolio. Best times to travel to the Netherlands are spring and summer. And if you like to hike and enjoy the beauty of our forest, you can also visit in fall.

That’s it for me today! I hope you’ve enjoyed some images and are enthusiastic about heading out there yourself.

All the best photography moment to you. Regards, Rudolfo Dalamicio

Reflection and Water

Blog - The Element of Water and its Reflecting power

The power of reflection in landscape and cityscape photography

Water is one of our main elements and I love to work with that. Its power in photography  can be seen in lakes, oceans, rivers, rain clouds and many other ways, where water is either the subject of the image or its the tool to create an even stronger atmosphere. 

3 Monks in Myanmar, strolling down the river banks of Mandalay, near the Ubein Bridge

Water has a powerful quality; it can create little magnifying drops that give a glimpse of the world

You don’t always stop and look at spiderwebs, to see the details of it, as they are everywhere and are not that special for our eyes to see, but when you have the right light, the right lens and the right moment, you can find the most astonishing effects made by morning dew on the threats of spiderwebs. I call this image Jinglebells as the light and color reminds me of Christmas lights.  The morning dew, anywhere in the world, can be used to play with this magical scene, created by pure nature. The spider spun its web and the fog or dew has the ability to put little drops of water on the threads, dancing and balancing as the wind blows through fields, rivers and landscapes. Capturing the light is essential for most photography and this is no exception; the morning sun rays, I used to highlight all the little water drops. This at golden hour.

beauty can be found everywhere, you just need to look

Another way of using water as a tool, for getting a great picture, is the movement of water. 

For this you will need a tripod or something else to keep your camera steady. The flowing water you see here in this picture is created by the falling water in a jungle in Azoren, Portugal. It makes the image look smooth and silky, like the water is a threat of textile that you want to hold on to. Because the water is falling, the movement is very strong and therefore the effect on the water even better. When you use this method on a river, ocean or another place where the water is maybe less flowing, you would need a longer shutter time to create the right effect.

Waterfall in Azoren, Soa Miguel. The water always flows

In my work, reflections are used to create a esthetic effect, soothing for the eye

I really enjoy finding those unique spots under unique conditions, and use reflecting of water as my tool to emphasize the uniqueness in that moment and frame it. By doubling the effect, the eye keeps holding on and wants to explore more of the picture. What better place to capture the doubling, reflecting effect from the water, than from a super picturesque place such as the Kinderdijk, near Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This particular reflecting image was shot during illumination week at Kinderdijk. The old mills are lined up next to this river of water, draining the lands behind them as that was their old purpose. The line of light goes all the way into the horizon, the way old dutch painters used to paint their landscape paintings. They too used reflection in their work, showing a moment in time where the water is calm, not moving and without winds.

Like from most landscape artist, hundreds of years ago, I too use the reflection, cloudy skies and the horizon as my tools

Conclusion

In most of my work I use to look at object, subject, and scenes, and try to find the right reflection by looking for water. Next time you are out walking around, wether its in a city or in nature, you can too, find water to help you improve your photography by using its power and to create a more compelling and interesting photo.