Definite series on transitoriness or decay

decay I

Two weeks ago we presented our final series on transitoriness (or is it decay?) in class. Time is passing so quickly that I hadn't had the chance to post them before, but here they are. The photos are all shot during contemplative walks through the nearby Vondelpark, but our teacher looked at them with contemporary eyes and remarked that the bare trees got leaves again.

decay II

decay III

A touch of frost

We are having a bit of frost now, it seems that Winter has finally arrived. Nature is all confused, because some flowers and trees have already started budding. It was way too warm for the time of year.

But now it seems that temperatures have arrived to normal which is below freezing point at night. I quite enjoy a cold afternoon at the park, so I got out a last Sunday with my camera for a crisp walk.

 It was rather crowded in the park, apparently we all had the same idea.

 Some people had tried out the ice to see whether it was thick enough to hold anything by throwing sticks on it. This happens every year, and although it is not a clever thing to do it stopped me dead in my tracks a few times.

reflection of a tree in ice 

These four sticks on the ice gave me a feeling of spaciousness.

And I just love the colour of yellow reflected in the ice. It was a wonderful afternoon at the park.

De Kontaktkompanie: onze eerste workshop!

Op zondag 21 februari geven Kees de Witt Wijn en ik onze eerste workshop: Open je hart. Deze workshop is de eerste van een serie over kontakt maken met jezelf en van daaruit met je omgeving of met een ander. De workshop op 21 februari is van 14.00-17.00 uur te Amsterdam en zal bestaan uit een serie eenvoudige yogahoudingen en een aantal meditatie- en kontaktoefeningen. Alle oefeningen zijn laagdrempelig en daardoor voor iedereen goed te volgen.
Momenteel zijn we druk bezig met alle voorbereidingen en hoe meer we ermee bezig zijn hoe meer we zin erin krijgen. Check onze FB-pagina voor de informatie.

An impromptu photoshoot of an urban shaman

One of my housemates had a friend over; urban shaman Jennifer Ann. She is a multi talented woman who not only plays music but also teaches yoga and performs healing ceremonies. She stayed over for a week and we had the most interesting conversations on food, yoga, healing and personal development. After one of those conversations I asked her for a shoot and she was really enthusiastic about the idea so yesterday afternoon she put on her shamanistic outfit and posed in the streets and Vondelpark of Amsterdam.

I really like how the photos came out, she was a great model and fun to work with.
Check out her website My Spirit Revolution.

A short trip to Leuven, Belgium

City hall of Leuven, Belgium

My sweet and I went to Leuven for a very short city trip: two days. He had a business meeting on one of those afternoons between Christmas and New Year and we decided to book a hotel to we'd had some time to walk around town.

City hall of Leuven, Belgium

Leuven is an old city, its city hall dates back to 1448. Its university is also one of the oldest in Europe.

candles in Saint Peter's church

Of course we entered Saint Peter's church, the Gothic giant with its rare religious objects and paintings, which were being restored at that moment.

Leuven's gables

We admired Leuven's gables around the Old Market place. 

window of a fish shop

beautiful tile floor

city hall in the late afternoon

breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien

We had breakfast at this cosy place in the city centre, where we shared a table with total strangers. I think it this a good formula and I would not mind seeing it in Amsterdam.

Belgium chocolates

Belgium is well renowned for its chocolate and of course I had to try some. Delicious! All in all, Leuven is a certainly worth a visit, maybe a little longer than the two days we spent there.

Belgium restaurant and cheese shop