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I needed a well earned break from work so when I was invited to spend a few days in France, I took the opportunity. All I needed was some spare clothes, my camera, a few lenses and my walking shoes.
The weather was really great : all the time sunny, nice and warm. The views were magnificent and the food was great. Nothing beats french bread in the morning with some good Camembert. Diner in the evening with lots of champagne and wine too wasn’t that bad either.
Sadly it was only for a few days before the job was calling again and instead of walking in the mountains, it was back to reality and the daily comute to Brussels.

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After the lousy summer of 2011 we had a few good days in September. I took the opportunity to go to Lier to check it out, have a few mojito’s and enjoy some sushi (by the way REALLY GOOD sushi !).
It was another opportunity to try out the 70-300mm F4/5.6 L IS USM lens and again, it blew my mind.
You can even use it for landscapse photography :

But the main reason I bought this lens is for candid photos like this one :

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I got a visit from a friend from Leuven and after a few drinks we made some pictures.
I suddenly realise that I miss Leuven more and more.

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Finally a sunny day in august 2011, finally a day to use my vespa again…It’s have been months since I drove it.
What better than going to the canal with a brand new 70-300mm F4/5.6 L IS USM lens and canon DSLR to test it out.
Good things with this lens :

• size and weight is perfectly balanced on a DSLR
• very sharp on the lowest F numbers. You really can use it on F4/F5.6 (depending on how much you have zoomed in)
• the IS is 4 stops and works really well
• the price is not that bad (if you take into account the build quality, the sharpness of the lens, the IS, …)

Did I miss the F2.8 from the 70-200 ? Not really. If your subject is closer to you than the background, you really get a nice bokeh, even on F5.6 (when zoomed in more than 150mm)
And if I really want smooth bokeh, I still have the 135mmF2.0 or the 85mmF1.2.
In my humble opinion, you want a nice zoom lens and 200mm isn’t long enough ? Don’t hesitate and buy the 70-300 F4/5.6 L IS USM, you won’t be disappointed !
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A good friend was competing in the 1/8 triatlon in Vilvoorde and I wanted to surprise her by showing up and supporting her while also taking a few pictures.
Despite the bad weather forcasts, it was warm and sunny sunday.

Maybe a bit too warm because afterwards, I was really tired when I got home. I misjudged the distances a bit. Walking from the center to the start of the swimmingcontest, then speedwalking to the bike track, then speedwalking to the center to catch them running while carrying a 1D with a couple of lenses on my back, was really, really exhausting !

At least I was able to get pictures of her competing in the three disciplines so besides tired, I was happy too.

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My canon 100mm macro lens spends way too much time in my camerabag.
I was just walking in my tiny garden when I noticed the insects on the flowers.
I spend in total less than 5 minutes to get these 2 pictures I’m rather fond of.

It’s another example of how good lenses from canon are these days. It’s almost easy to take pictures of flying insects !
If you’re looking for a macrolens ? Don’t hesitate and spend your money on a canon 100mm F2.8 IS macro lens, you won’t regret it !

Every year, there’s an 24 hour mountain bike race in my town. Last year I mist it but I made plans of captering the whole event this year.
High ISO’s, bright lenses, people sleeping, … I had lot’s of ideas.
Sadly a persistent cold changed my plans. Instead of taking pictures I spend most of my time in bed coughing.
But since I was just across the street, I tried to get some photos but quickly realized that I was too weak to go into the woods.
After catching my breath, I took some pictures on the marketplace but after 15 minutes I had to go back, back to bed.
Hopefully better luck next year

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I should remember to update my portfolio more often. It’s not my favorite pasttime and after updating flickr and facebook I often think “I will update my site tommorrow”, which I offcourse never do.
I kinda like Hasselt. The city is nice and the girls are often very pretty. Hannelore is a good example of that.

(continue reading…)

I realized that the Dutch coast was actually closer by than the Belgian one. So with the announced sunshine and my car fuelled up I planned a trip to Zeeland.
No traffic jams, only an hour and 15 minutes away, very friendly people, sun and lots of boats on the water…what more could you possible wish for ?

I took the opportunity to try out my B&W ND filter (10 stops) …and I liked it !

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We joined SC Primavera on a big trip starting in Tienen and ending in Kessel-lo. I ate at least a kg of dust today but it was worth it.

More new photos can be found in this album. Check it out if you want to see more.