Cinematic

#160 Three Weeks With the Fiido Titan

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160 Three Weeks With the Fiido Titan

A few weeks ago I bought a new bike.

The Fiido Titan Adventure Bike.

And I had no idea how much it would change my mornings.

Over the last three weeks I’ve found myself waking up before five, excited like a little kid… packing my coffee gear, camera and heading out exploring.

Those early rides have become something I absolutelly look forward to.

There’s something special about cycling through empty streets while the sky slowly changes colour. 

The villages are silent. 

The roads are almost empty. 

Birds are waking up. 

A light layer of mist hangs above the fields. (Photo coming up soon)

It feels great…

Photography has always given me a reason to wander.

But with the Fiido Titan, it simply lets me wander farther.

And of course… easier.

To say I’m having fun on this thing would be an understatment.

I stop whenever something catches my eye.

A lonely tree standing in the morning fog.

I grab a quick shot…

Beautiful light spilling across a field. 

BOOM… few other shots.

Morning fog defusing the sunrise.

The camera shutter is on FIRE!

A quiet bench that’s somehow perfect for making coffee.

And I’m sitting there, chilling, sipping coffee and thinking about nothing.

And like that… I come home with bunch of great photos and clear head. 

That’s when it really hit me.

This bike just became part of my creative process.

It gets me outside.

It helps me slow down and enjoy what I’m doing.

More…

I’ve owned plenty of bikes over the years.

BMX bikes when I was a kid.

Road bikes.

Mountain bikes.

Every one of them was fun in its own way.

But this is the first bike that makes me think about tomorrow’s adventure before today’s ride has even finished.

Every time I park it…

I’m already wondering where the next sunrise will take me.

Let’s go…

#158 St. Peter’s Church and the Basilica of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart At Sunrise

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St. Peters Church Sittard

One of my first photos after getting an apartment in Sittard.

This used to be my view from the window, and to this day I think it was one of the best views of St. Peter’s Church and the Basilica of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart I could have wished for.

I photographed it at every time of day.

Wide-angle lenses.

Zoom lenses.

Different cameras.

Before the storms.

After the storms.

Timelapses.

Videos.

I came back to this view more times than I can count.

And every single time, it looked different.

That’s when I realised it wasn’t the church that kept changing.

It was me.

Life has a funny way of doing that.

You think you’re photographing a place, but years later you realise you were photographing a version of yourself.

The one who had just moved into a new apartment.

The one trying to figure things out.

The one dreaming about what came next.

The building is still there.

The sunrise still happens.

But that chapter of my life is gone.

I’m glad I pointed my camera at it.

Because memories fade.

Photographs don’t.

#157 After Storm Sky in French Alps 

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157 Dramatic Sky in French Alps

While driving over one of the mountain passes in the French Alps, we got caught in an incredible storm.

Luckily, it only lasted a few minutes.

It was one of those intense mountain downpours that make you wonder if it’ll ever stop.

A few minutes later it was over.

The clouds opened up, the peaks came back into view, and the light was unbelievable.

This is one of the photos after the storm.

#156 You almost don’t have a choice…

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#156 You almost don't have a choice...

You get almost forced into photography when you’re in Český Krumlov.
Seriously.

You walk around one corner… there’s another photo.

Cross the bridge… another shot.

Look up… another one.

It feels like the whole town was designed by a photographer.

I remember walking around with my camera thinking, “This place is incredible.”

Twenty minutes later I was still saying the same thing.

I love places like this.

They get my creative juices flowing.

For me, Český Krumlov feels like walking through an open-air museum.

The architecture.

The light bouncing off old stone walls.

The reflections in the Vltava River.

The little streets that somehow look different every time you walk through them.

Most people simply walk through places.

I like to stop.

Take a photo.

Take it all in.

If you’d like to bring a little piece of that feeling into your own home, I’ve made a selection of my favorite photographs available as fine art prints.

Maybe one of them belongs on your wall.

Talk soon…

#95 Not every day’s Sunshine And Rainbows

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95 Stadspark Bridge In Sittard

I pulled this shot out of my archive for one reason…  

To remind you that the weather isn’t always sunshine and rainbows… and that’s a good thing.  

Once you accept that, and head out anyway, you’ll realize even the “shit” days have something to offer.  

Some of my favorite shots were taken when I could barely see ten meters ahead.  

Like this one, heavy fog, early morning in Stadspark Sittard… completely swallowed by mist.  

I love days like that.  

I love photos that look like they were ripped straight out of a slow-burning horror movie.  

You can “feel” them. 

The silence. 

The mood. 

The weight of it all.  

Every day’s a practice day… but the messy, unpredictable ones?  

That’s where you grow. 

I pulled out this shot from my archive and want to share it with you for one reason… 

…as a reminder that the weather ain’t gonna be always sunhine and rainbows and once you accept that, and head outside even though it’s shit, you still might come home with great shots.

Me? 

I love foggy days like this one… I love shots with atmosphere, scenes that look like they were ripped out of a horror movie. 

Every day is a practise day… Let’s put it this way. 

#92 The Kind of Morning You Don’t Forget

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92 Perfect Morning MTB Ride

I think out of all the years I’ve gone out for early morning MTB rides, this was the best morning ever.  

You know that feeling when everything just clicks? Your bike’s running smooth, the temperature’s perfect, you’re dressed just right for the weather.  

You’re in that zone… perfectly centered, free, thinking to yourself…  

“Damn… this might be the best morning ever.”  

That was the day.  

And the bonus?  

I had my camera with me.  

I was taking shots, soaking it all in, not wanting the morning to end.  

Snapped this one just after Puth village… and honestly, I couldn’t get enough of that moment.  

Perfect morning.  

Perfect light.  

Perfect peace.  

Sometimes that’s all you need.

#91 Staring At The Rain

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91 Libor Bednarik - Staring at the rain

I’ve been staring at the rain for hours.  

So long that I got bored.  

I took this shot out of pure boredom.  

When there’s torrential rain, there’s no point in going out.

Or is it?  

It changes everything. Makes for some awesome-looking, dark, moody shots and moments filled with atmosphere.  

My favorite part?  

The reflections on wet pavement… they just look great.  

The funny thing is… half my favorite shots are either right before the rain or just after, when the sky finally opens up… usually packed with depth, stillness, and that calm, dark mood nature paints so well.  

So… if you’re hesitating, don’t.  

Go out.  

Shoot. 

#90 The Day I Met a Deer, And Nearly Lost My Mind

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90 Sunrise Over The Hills

It happened in New Zealand.  

Fog rolling over the hills. Golden light sneaking through like smoke. It was one of those mornings I’d dreamt about for years.  

I jumped out of the van, grabbed my camera, and ran toward the ridge. There I saw a deer poking his head through the most beautiful light I’d ever seen.  

I stood there, heart racing, ready to take the shot…  

I switched on the camera and almost had a heart attack.  

The worst nightmare… one that’s happened more times than I’d like to admit. I realized my SD card was still plugged into my laptop.  

Cursing myself.  

Then the grass under my boots started glowing as the sun made its way through the fog. Tiny drops of dew catching the light.  

I wanted to cry. 

A deer above the fog, in the most amazing landscape, with perfect light and my fucking card sitting in my laptop, on the table.  

I wanted to kill myself.  

Nothing I could do other than rush back to the van and grab the card… so I did.  

By the time I got back, the deer had enough time to smoke a whole cigar… gone 100 times over and when it comes to that beautiful light I saw? 

Don’t even get me started…

Pissed to the core! 

I then took some shots that day but it wasn’t the same.

Anyway… 

I’m sharing this with you because I don’t want you to make the same mistake. 

Simply, check your camera before you go. Or carry extra SD cards in your pocket at all times. You never know when you’ll make such a detrimental mistake.  

It’s worse than being a smoker on a hike and forgetting your lighter.  

Fuck, that happened to me too.  

Luckily, I don’t smoke anymore.  

Anyway…  

Here ends the lesson.  

#80 One Second Forever

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One Second Forever

A train tears through the fog like a beast set loose from hell. Steel screaming. Air splitting… and above it all… a single bird, cool as ice, perched on the wire. Didn’t even twitch. Just watched while chaos thundered beneath it.

That’s the shot.

My favorite!

Glad I pressed the shutter on time.