Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

As social media seems to explode about the Supreme Court of the United States of America's (SCOTUS) decision to legalise gay marriage in the US and Twitter can't seem to stop talking about how great the world is, I have to admit that there's this voice in the back of my mind that wants to tell Americans "Welcome to the club! Glad that you finally made it..." For a country that prides itself on its inclusiveness and democratic values, why did it have to take so long to legalise marriage for all people? The U.S. is now among nearly two dozen countries that allow same-sex marriage nationwide: http://t.co/GDlydLBCWW pic.twitter.com/awVwTfyHXi — PewResearch Religion (@PewReligion) June 26, 2015 As the above map shows, there are many other countries where marriage is legal for all couples, regardless of their gender. In fact, both of my countries - The Netherlands and New Zealand - have already legalised gay marriage. According to the data on the website, The...

Beautiful! Zaanse schans A photo posted by @ms.foto.cologne on Jun 12, 2015 at 1:49am PDT

#AnneFrank Hatred killed her yet she saw the good in others. She continues to inspire me. https://t.co/vnYGoc1JOC — Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) June 12, 2015 Anne Frank would have turned 86 today. Anti-Semitism killed this gifted young writer. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/UYiK7pizGc — Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) June 12, 2015

Having decided that I'm going to assign myself Photo Challenges on a weekly (perhaps bi-weekly? perhaps fortnightly?) basis, the time has come to investigate Challenges. The whole idea is that I want to challenge myself to take photos based on themes and ideas or photograph certain features such as trees, flowers, buildings, windows, doors, playgrounds etcetera. The first Challenge was to walk a route I normally don't take my camera on and photograph what I see every hundred or so steps. After completing that Challenge and posting a set of eight photos of nature and the Dutch landscape, the next challenge is... To decide on the next Challenge. While  I want to challenge myself to take photos of new and different things, to look at the world in a new way and to go 'hunting' for photos (something I don't usually do), I don't want to pick challenges that are too hard or difficult and don't want to lose interest in the whole concept. The whole idea is to have ...

#01 - Polderscape The Challenge: Find a route I've never photographed along. Stop every 100 steps or so to take a photo. As I've explained in previous posts, I don't like taking photos of strangers. This means I plan to photograph locations, structures, natural features and perhaps some animals, however not people. I'll go for a nosey around town today and decide where to go. I've got a few ideas already... #02 - Cows The hoops and the hurdles: While it was most definitely my intention to take photos in the city (downtown / in the binnenstad ), when push came to shove I felt quite uncomfortable trying to take photos with people all around. People don't stop living their lives, walking past and going about their business just because I want to take a photo of a funky building, an interesting door or a pretty window. While yelling "Oi you lot, get off the street now unless you want me to shoot you" might have seemed funny to my teenage se...

The word polder is a Dutch word - reclaimed land or land that was once under water that's protected by dykes. The word polderscape means a polder-landscape. A photo (in my case) of a typical scene from a polder usually featuring grass, a farm, a mill, a river or canal. Often some birds, cows or sheep as well. Today's polderscape is about as typical as they come - flat country featuring some grass, some water, a bridge and a mill in the distance. Polder noun 1. a tract of low land, especially in the Netherlands, reclaimed from the sea or other body of water and protected by dikes. 2. a stretch of land reclaimed from the sea or a lake, esp in the Netherlands Source: Meaning of Polder at Dictionary.com The Dutch celebration of Koningsdag (King's Day - previously Koninginnedag or Queen's Day) is a day on which we celebrate the birthday of King Willem Alexander. It is also a day of people, crowds and togetherness. At concerts, outdoor markets and public events or...

Walking through town yesterday I came across this stunning tree and couldn't resist taking a photo! A Tree in the City | Nimavenl

Vandaag ben ik Alkmaar stad in geweest en heb ik genoten van het warme weer en het lekkere zonnetje. Na een bezoek aan de bibliotheek om de lezing " Van Gogh en de Gekte " over Vincent van Gogh bij te wonen liep ik naar buiten en zag ik de Grote Kerk schitteren in de zon. Even gewacht tot de mensen weg waren en toen deze foto genomen. Ik ben geen christen en ga niet naar de kerk, maar vind veel kerken wel ontzettend mooie gebouwen. Daarom deze foto van een mooi oud gebouw, geniet er van! Grote Kerk Alkmaar | Nimavenl

Tree Branch, Blue Sky | Nimavenl Here's another two photos from last weekend's Photo Walk. Well really, it's two versions of the same photo - the original and the edited version. This is the third time this week I'm sharing photos of tree branches and I'm as happy with this photo (or should that be 'these photos'?) as with the other two. On the 3rd, I shared two photos, as today an original and an edited version . Two days ago (on the 4th) I only shared a single photo - I liked the edited version a little better than the (slightly more boring feeling) original, to be honest.   Am very much looking forward to another Photo Walk this weekend, just not in the same location! Am hoping to capture some urban scenes and landscapes this weekend as well as photos of nature - I love living in a city with buildings that are hundreds of years old and am looking forward to spending some more time enjoying those buildings and learning about their history! Tree ...

The Day The World Disappeared | Nimavenl After enjoying the latest episode of The Walking Dead tonight, the world beyond the living room windows suddenly seemed to disappear.  As the fog rolled in and the footpath and houses across the street turned invisible, I couldn't resist the spectacle outside and - of course - took a gazillion photos. It isn't every day that the world practically vanishes, after all!  The street and the footpath below, the windows of houses across the street, trees beyond those houses and buildings in the distance - all gone. All that could be seen was what the photo shows - vague shapes nearby with lights behind them; the shapes only clearly recognisable as trees due to the brightness of the lights. With so much of the 'known world' suddenly missing, we wondered - What would we do if a Walker [a zombie] suddenly appeared out of the mysterious haze? How would we respond to such a strange sight? Would we even react to flesh-e...

This photo is from last month, when it was super-misty / foggy and the world beyond my direct surroundings seemed to just disappear - It was awesome! I may complain about the Dutch weather and climate from time to time, however it can also be extremely beautiful here and this photo shows some of that beauty. It's a very Dutch scene where man-made objects and nature seem to work together to make the world a happier and more beautiful place. With all that's going on in the world these days, I can sure use some beauty and happiness! Come fly away with me! Come Fly Away With Me | Nimavenl

Very much enjoyed the foggy weather today. Couldn't resist a photo walk down to the river and had an absolute blast stomping through the mud. More photos to follow soon! Disappearing Bridge | Nimavenl

Early Morning... Well, not so early any more by the time I added watermarks to the photos and decided what to write in this post! Still - it was dark when I got up, surely that counts as early! As it got lighter and I went to make a cup of tea, this amazing sight greeted me. O f C ourse I rushed to the balcony to take several photos to share! @Nimavenl We really do live in a very beautiful world!  I just wish we - humanity - could spend more time enjoying our world, loving each other and appreciating being alive to enjoy the beauty. Instead, we hate, we disagree, we dislike, we fight, we torture, we rape, we insult, we discriminate, we kill, we terrorise.  "Our lives begin to end the day we become  silent about the things that matter."         Martin Luther King, Jr @Nimavenl I refuse to let terror win - I believe in humanity. Peace   :)   Shalom   :)   Salaam

Gondelvaart A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Aug 19, 2012 at 12:49am PDT

Hidden Treasure A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Aug 2, 2012 at 12:40pm PDT

Windmill by the water A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Jul 24, 2012 at 2:02pm PDT

You're half a bridge away A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Jul 24, 2012 at 3:41am PDT

Around Alkmaar 01 A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Jul 22, 2012 at 2:38pm PDT

The River is my World A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Jul 17, 2012 at 6:56pm PDT

Well, to say I'm disappointed would be the understatement of the century. Watched the game last night on a huge screen with friends and neighbours. The kids were all playing together, the grown-ups were all watching together, I talked to people I'd never met before and others I've known my whole life. It's amazing how football and the national pride we feel brings people together the way it does. For the duration of the World Cup, it didn't matter whether someone was a supporter of Ajax or Feyenoord or ADO Den Haag; things like race, religion and skin colour didn't matter. What did matter is that we all supported our boys, our team, our country. We all lived, breathed, and wore orange. Our dream to finally win the World Cup didn't come true. Spain won. We did not. We did, however, make it to the finals of the World Cup for the first time ever IN MY LIFETIME. For only the third time ever in football history, and for the very first time since 1978. We r...