Last Saturday I was one of two photographers documenting the yearly Sinterklaas activities at our head office. In this blog I will share some behind the scenes photos, so you'll get an idea of the preparations for this feast. Click on "read more"  to continue.

A couple of day ago we went on a trip with our department to waste water treatment plant Vroomshoop. This trip was to see what we were all working on, our company designs these plants, and to celebrate a year of hard work and getting good results. It was quite a trip, partly over highways and partly through beautiful small towns. After more than one and a half hours driving, we arrived at the plant. After eating some local bread, drinking hot coffee and listening to a brief presentation by the plant owners, we started our walk. As luck would have it, this was right at sunset giving opportunity to make some nice sunset pictures. Click "Read More"  to see the rest.

Had a great time at a party. I was asked to shoot some pictures of the event. It was held at De IJsbreker (a club/youth centre) and a live band was booked for the evening. I prepared for photographing in an environment with difficult lighting conditions. I set my Panasonic GX7 on auto ISO (with a 3200 limit) an set it to aperture priority and I took two lenses with me. The 25mm F 1.8 and my 45mm F 1.8. I ended up using the 25mm most of the time, as it's a great all round lens.
Hereunder you'll find some of my favorite pictures of that evening. 

For the second year in a row I was asked to photograph the Sinterklaas festivities at our office. Like last year, this was lots of fun. Especially photographing the preparations. This year the old (Dutch/Belgian) tradition was more than ever under fire from a small group of people who think black Pete (zwarte Piet) is a racist figure. Sometimes even causing violent incidents. I still find their reasoning strange. Just because Petes are black, they're racist? Because everyone (black or white) can be a black Pete. Petes are loved and looked up to by kids. Petes aren't mocking black people (it's nothing like to the old American black face). Every kid would love to be a black Pete. They're fun, generous, kind and help a wise old man handing out presents and sweets. I hope the positivity will outweigh the negativity.