A few weeks ago I was asked to setup a showcase series with my favorite wintersports photos for the popular Tacky website. But as they have a strict policy of not showing ski-photos, which I love taking, I decided to upload the whole series of 44 images onto my own website too. I’m a wintersports photographer in a broad sense, I hope this shows a bit of what I love doing so much and why. It’s a story into my work, I hope you enjoy it! Click here for the full gallery!

Simply the best view in the Alpes, high on top at Les 2 Alpes watching over the Mt.Blanc. Privileged! [Les 2 Alpes, France.2007]

There’s no better start to a skitest photoshoot than this! Fresh pow, a deserted skiresort and a mountain with a perfect angle. Even better when it’s snowboardcross coach Frank Germann kicking ass! [Bad hofgastein, Austria.. 2009]

As the Dutch Ski Associations head photographer I also do the skiing. From a photography point of view a very worthwhile job, espcially if you get photos like these from the champ; Alwin de Quartel. [Schladming, Austria. 2009]

The Belgium freestyle champsionships is an insane party week that features some amazing snowboarding. Especially the kickers are always huge and Seppe Smits knows what to do with them. [Les 2 Alpes, France. 2010]

Bad light is no excuse for bad photos. Though it does help when your subject is Richard Molenaar, one of the most stylish skiiers I know, dressed in near-fluor colors. Ans yes, this is very close! [Sölden, Austria. 2011]

The Berghuis sisters have become like sisters to me after all these years of shooting. But Britt somehow managed to avoid getting a decent powder photo taken. Then, suddenly, it all came together: a small stretch of fresh cold powder that needed to be shredded. After a small discussion we both ran to our positions and this was the result. Ten minutes later that whole stretch was completely done for by a zillion tourists. [Les 2 Alpes, France. 2007]

Perhaps one of my all-time favorite ski-photos. It all came down to a matter of good timing and Gebke Compeer understood just that. To me it just shows the ultimate freedom of beeing in the snow. [Bad hofgastein, Austria. 2009]

After a long testweek photoshoot it is fun to fool around a bit with a massive block of icey snow, leftover from the Hannibal show on the Sölden glacier. Rens de Wild knows what to do with it. [Sölden, Austria. 2011]

Underwater scenery with a three banded anenome fish

“You guys should put some seats up there” shouts Kev. 32 years old, Australian, tourist, but personal trainer at home with the appearance of a well-tanned dive instructor from the average tourist brochure. “I could have watched this I for hours, I’ve never seen anything quite like it”. His wife Denise nods and I can only agree, we just made a dive that went straight to our personal top-3′s.

A green dot in blue waters

Even if you’re not a diver, Lankayan is a great place to be

Place of action is a small island off the coast of Malaysian Borneo that is so blatantly beautiful that you could live there. Anyone who has ever Googled “Lankayan” knows what I’m talking about: pictures of a small green postage stamp surrounded by the most beautiful blue waters one can imagine. Upon arrival, it turns out to be much more beautiful than the pictures, how often does that happen? When we walk the wooden pier, it is just clear waters all around us, full of corals with tiny shark fins cutting though the surface. It looks like an aquarium but it is real! The young sharks, not more than fifty centimeters long are a sign that the reef here is healthy, says the leader of the island resort. “Almost nowhere else in the world you see something like that in a touristy place” he explains, “Lankayan has been heavily protected since 2001, it’s all take nothing, leave only bubbles”.

Underwater scenery

Common sight at Lankayan Island: Turtles!

That is why the place is still very popular among turtles, loads of them still come ashore to lay eggs, during certain periods it’s even a daily occurrence. And the hatching can be watched too as the eggs are dug up and placed in a protected area. There is nothing that beats the sight of baby turtles making a run for it during sunset. Truly magic!

Baby turtle portrait (during counting of hatched eggs)

Quick photo-opp before release

Off they go! Shame only less than 1% makes it to adulthood

Yes, that time of the year again: 10.000 people taking a dip in the cold waters (8 degree) of the North Sea at the beach town of Scheveningen. A tradition that was sold out this year for the very first time. Only in Holland!

© 2012 Fotograferen net.
Client: Unox

I loooooooove you!

(Photo courtesy of Fototoko)
If you look well you can spot me halfway on the right hand side of this photo…

Yes, it’s COLD!

Really, really COLD….

Braver than his sister…

#winning

Images (left to right):
Dolf van der Wal, World Championships Snowboarding in La Molina (Spain). January
Martini Royal. Series for Bacardi-Martini, taken in various image outlets in the Netherlands over the course of a week. April
The best party of the year: Tomorrowland in Belgium. Still getting goosebumps from that crowd! July
Lankayan Island sunset for National Geographic Traveler, Malaysia. September
Toneshifterz, photographed with the remote-cam at Q-Base. Also nice as time-lapse! September
Mindblowing Petra, Jordan trip for Duikmagazine. October
Sun Anemone on Black Coral in the Gulf of Aqaba. October
Friendly Oman, welcomed with tea in a shop in Muscat. Trip for Oman Tourism. April
The best view of Gran Canaria, family trip for Duikmagazine. May
Pygmee Elepahants in the Kinabatangan rainforest. National Geographic Traveler. September
Inside card: Anemone fish in Malaysian Borneo: Lankayan Island.

Article on experiencing Rome the slow way.
Published in Tulp Magazine, december 2011.
Text and photography: © Fotograferen.net

Click here for the regular 16:10 size of this wallpaper.

“Do you know how we call English people?” Asks Vijay, our guide, referring to their secret tour-guide language. “We call them Ulu Kinabatangan, you know U.K.”. “And for Germans we do this”, he says while stroking an imaginary mustache. “The Dutch, however…” and bursts into laughter while pointing to his nose. I immediately understand what he means because half an hour ago I was face to face with one of the most bizarre inhabitants of the Malaysian rainforest: the Proboscis monkey. The animals, with their huge noses and bellies, looked so much like the well nourished Dutch colonialists that they nicknamed them ‘Dutch monkeys “. If you’re somewhere in the Malaysian jungle, and a guide rubs his nose, you know why.

Fisherman at a Kinabatangan river oxbow

Hornbill bird at the Melapi Lodge

Now the chance of watching your guide while in the jungle of the Kinabatangan River, is about nil. Everywhere you look, there’s life that is much more interesting. Every hundred meters or so there is a special bird to admire, from tiny bright blue kingfishers unwilling to pose for the camera to the hornbill with its impressive yellow beak that skims over the treetops. We are five of us in a boat going slowly over the brown waters of the river. Closely we keep an eye on the riverbanks, hoping to see a saltwater crocodile. The tired look of our captain speaks volumes: not every piece of floating wood we enthusiastically mistake for a crocodile is actually one – quite the contrary! We should better look out for monkeys, at least you can hear them before you see them!

Chinese shooting crowd at a Kinabatangan river cruise

The nice thing about Malaysia is you never have to search very far for them. It is funny to see that all boats with tourists stop at the first group they encounter. If you wouldn’t know better, you’d think every camera nowadays comes with a huge telephoto lens. A boat like ours, to the brim with Chinese and equally impressive-looking photographic lenses, is leaning dangerously when the cameras suddenly point the same small piece of jungle. I mumble something silly about “watching monkeys” and suggest we look elsewhere. Plenty of Monkeys to go around here!

“These tracks are just a few days old,” says Vijay a little later after we quietly enjoyed another troop of monkeys. He points to a muddy patch on the side of the river. “Traces of Pygmy elephants, maybe a week old” he says, “I’ve heard they are upstream now”. “If you want help out with paying for gasoline, we can see if we find them, I give it about 50%”.

Despite the long sail, we are not alone and boats appear out of nowhere all over the place. After some waiting one of the guides points to his ear and imitates a trunk with his other hand. He heard something! Everyone is silent immediately and not before long a scene from Jurassic Park breaks loose: all around us we hear trumpeting sounds: intrusive, scary, loud and very aggressive. It’s strictly forbidden to go ashore to approaching the animals, we now understand why. This type of elephant doesn’t trample you but makes a run for you, turns around and delivers a deadly kick. Definitely not an attractive prospect.

Busy…

Borneo, or pygmee elephant [Elephas maximus borneensis]

Matriarch female with juvenile son

Suddenly, a tusk appears out of the thick bush, it’s a young male followed by his mother and five other elephants. The animals barely visible, only their backs stick out above the tall grass. Why they are called Pygmy Elephants is a mystery, the animals are huge and eat at a phenomenal rate. With the grass almost eaten Mom and son are briefly visible, playing with their food. Endless clicking of cameras breaks the silence, followed by many “ohh’s and ahh’s”. And then, just as quickly as it began, it is over. The sun is nearly down and what remains is the long journey back across the river. Our smiling faces speak volumes, this is really something to remember and now I understand why everyone here with such excessive cameras around.

Dusk on the Kinabatangan river

Last September I had the privilege to go on my first assignment for National Geographic Traveler (NL). It turned out to be a super-short dash to the other side of the planet for a five-day mad dash to the Sabah Province in Malaysian Borneo. In three parts I will photoblog the trip, starting today with my visit to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre.

Upon entering the walkway to the feeding area these guys are hard to miss: Macaques.

Surprise find, a Viper!

Don’t get too close, these animals have huge teeth and know how to use them.

In over thirty years they have managed to bring back 600 animals into the wild, quite an accomplishment although it is hard to monitor the long-term results as these animals cannot be tagged. As impressive as this number is, not all animals are released. Even though human contact is minimized as much as possible, some of these amazing primates get so fond of their trainers that they will never leave the reserve and it’s forest. You have to realize that the animals are not caged, only at night, and they are free to go wherever they want. This is why at the feeding station, the popular tourist attraction, they only served the blandest of food available in order to stimulate the animals to go out and search for their own meals.

Hot, hot, hot, busy, busy, busy!

Young Urangutan at the feeding station.

Excellent place to snack…

In any way it is a fantastic place to go for a visit (the feeding takes place twice a day) because you get to see the animals quite up-close and will encounter many of the other monkey species that are prone to this region. From here on most people either go back home (Sandakan, the main port for the region is close-by) or head straight for the rainforest, as I did. So come back for part II and see if I encountered some wild elephants.

And how nice is it coming back to relax in the Sepilok Nature Resort.