Merry Christmas everyone…
This is a shot from one of the viewpoints halfway up the trail to Skalka.
Steep climb… SUPER cold air… and legs burning… but views like this make every step worth it.
Landscape
#106 Adventurer
There’s a line I read the other night that sucker-punched me right in the gut.
It said:
“How can I make sure I squeeze everything out of life instead of having life squeeze everything out of me?”
Boom.
Read that again.
That one question stopped me cold.
Made me think about all the years, all the places, all the near misses, and bold calls that shaped this wild thing I call my life.
See, when I was 24 — young, dumb, and allergic to ordinary — I looked around and realized my whole future was already planned for me.
Finish school.
Get a job.
Marry.
Have kids.
Grow old.
Die.
The classic slow death dressed up as a “normal life.”
My parents thought I’d follow the script.
Everyone did.
But something in me snapped.
I wasn’t going to wake up one day and realize that I hadn’t lived.
No… no way!
And so… I started squeezing the juice out of my life.
Lived in Africa.
Hitched across Spain.
Got lost in New Zealand.
Enjoyed rum from a coconut in Samoa.
Ditched everything and moved to the UK.
Traveled across South Africa to Cape Town.
Ended up in the Netherlands — still chasing sunrises and sunsets, still figuring it out, still learning new ways to live.
And here’s what I’ve learned…
You don’t find yourself by staying comfortable.
You find yourself by chasing your wildest dreams — by choosing the road that might fall apart halfway through and taking it anyway.
If I’d listened to the plan, I’d still be in Karviná, Czech Republic — working for some random company, talking to the same people, probably married, kids and all… pretending to be happy.
Instead, I’ve got stories that beat stuff any day of the week.
So yeah… reading that line hit home.
I’ve squeezed a hell of a lot out of life already… and I’m not done yet.
Neither are you.
We get one life.
One shot.
Don’t wait for the world to hand it to you.
Go take it.
Go see the damn world.
Go squeeze it dry.
Let’s go.
#99 Autumn Walk – Keep Going
The path bends, but it doesn’t end.
You can’t see what’s around the corner… but that’s where the magic usually hides.
This shot’s a reminder: keep going, even when you don’t see the destination yet.
I turned it into a print for that exact reason — so I don’t forget what it feels like to trust the road.
What’s one thing you’re walking toward?
#95 Not every day’s Sunshine And Rainbows
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.
#90 The Day I Met a Deer, And Nearly Lost My Mind
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.
#87 Sunrise in Limbricht
When there is fog rolling across the fields and the sun starts to punch through it, that’s your window.
That’s when you already outside with your camera shooting this photos like madman.
Because that kind of light doesn’t wait. You’ve got maybe 10-15 minutes before the best moment is gone.
It’s in that time when ordinary turns beautiful. And you’ll end up with shots that look like movie stills without even trying.
And if you know your way around Lightroom, a few small tweaks… like lifting shadows, warming tones, and softening contrast… can turn a dull photo into something jaw-dropping.
And that’s exactly why I’m building this fog preset pack.
These presets are made for moments like this…
They bring back depth, tone, and atmosphere instantly.
You’ll spend less time editing, more time shooting.
But that’s something for later…
#86 Field At Night Kollenberg
“Sometimes you don’t find the shot. The shot finds you.”
Rolling into December super strong with a shot I took a while ago. I went up Kollenberg after dusk with no idea what I’m gonna shoot. Just chasing that feeling of beeing outside, in the dark, walking around Kollenberg.
At first I thought nothing fancy to shoot but then the carved lines so perfect they looked like someone drew them.
Felt like each one leading into infinity.
So I took a shot.
#85 Geleenbeek Munstergeleen
A shot from my morning walk in Munstergeleen overlooking Geleenbeek.
One second, everything was gray and lifeless. The next, it looked like a scene ripped straight out of a film.
Beautiful!
#78 Cold Air, Warm Light
I can feel winter knocking.
Not here yet, but close enough to smell it in the air. The mornings are colder. The fog rolls in heavier. And when the sun finally breaks through… it hits the landscape like fire through smoke.
I took this shot a while ago… but every time I look at it, I can still feel that glow.
That silence. That peace. Man, I loved being out there.
#75 Seven shots. One scene. A minute from home…
Found this old sequence of seven shots sitting on my hard drive. Stitched them together… and damn, it hit me again. This was autumn full of crazy deep reds.
We shot this about a minute from home. I told my girlfriend to stand in the shot with her mountain bike… just to show how massive this scene really was.
It’s wild how you can pass the same spot a hundred times and never really appreciate it until one day, you do… and it knocks the wind out of you.
#74 Late Autumn Sittard
I took this shot while mountain biking along the stream years ago. Autumn was showing off. The air smelled like wet leaves, the ground was a muddy mess, and every corner looked like a potential for a snapping a quick shot.
Cold morning day but perfect.
#61 Sint Rosa Chapel Autumn
Thousands of shots. But this one… this one stuck.
Something about the colors. The quiet. The air…
It’s not perfect — but it’s real!
Funny thing is, I almost left my camera at home that day. Went for a short Sunday walk… and this happened.
Maybe that’s why I keep coming back to it.
Because the photos you love most aren’t the prettiest…
they’re the ones that make you feel something.
#59 Watersley Sittard At Autumn
I rode past Watersley that morning and the colors stopped me cold. The trees were on fire, the air crisp… one of those moments you know won’t last long.
The view was too big for one frame, so I shot it in pieces… five, maybe six. Then I stitched it all together in Lightroom, brought out that deep, golden tone, and let the photo breathe.
Sometimes you don’t plan the shot… it just happens.
#55 Autumn on Kollenberg, Sittard.
Snapped this at sunrise on Kollenberg in Sittard.
While most people were hitting snooze, the sky decided to show off. Glad I didn’t miss the show.
#52 Lost In Corsican Mountains
“Getting lost is not a waste of time. Staying where nothing moves you is.”
Woke up on a winding road somewhere in the Corsican mountains.
Didn’t know exactly where I was. Didn’t care.
The view was ridiculous… the kind that makes you forget time. Made myself a cup of super strong coffee, watched the sun crawl over the peaks, and thought…
…this right here… this is what most people trade away for comfort.
Fuck comfort!