Winter in Antwerp ...

It has been difficult to return to this European winter ... return from swimming and wading at various beaches all over New Zealand.  Difficult to return from a country where you squint in the sun  ... to a country where the sun makes an occasional appearance.

Difficult ... yes.  Very.

But I filled my life with projects, as is my way.  And they're all EXCITING.

And there are lots of projects because other people are so interesting however ... there's only one of me and this attempt to not miss New Zealand has become a nightmare of a workload. 

I have 5 major projects.  These last two days have been spent, head-in-hands oftentimes, as I recognise that I might have over-committed myself, in ways that I seem to specialise in.

Each project is brilliant.  Some have been underway for a while.  Some involve 1,000s of photographs I have yet to process.  Others are future plans that excite the hell out of me.

Anyway, here's a glimpse from the other day when I wandered into the city in search of boots for the snow.  I found these boots and they were cheaper than the price listed here ... half price in fact. 

And the guy that sold them to me was the nicest guy.  We chatted about the countries we come from while I shopped for my boots.  A huge thank you has to go to him because shopping in Antwerp isn't always fun and the people aren't always friendly.  When I find the receipt, I'll come back and tell you which shop I bought them in ... so you can pop in too.

And so it is ...

Snow has arrived here in Antwerp.

It's cold, damn cold.  I woke at 3am and padded through the house, trying to work out if I could turn the heating up.  It goes way down at night. It was 14 celsius inside ... it didn't feel quite right. 

It's snowing again as I write this meanwhile a tram derailed over on the Leftbank here and it's a little messy when it comes to getting past Central Station on Tram 5.  But I need more Nespresso coffee capsules, just till a delivery can be made.

Sigh.  I'm going to get snowed on. 

In good news, my voice recorder arrived in the mail today.  Interviews can happen again.  I lost mine in New Zealand and was so sad.  I am so careful with my equipment, so very careful usually.

Anyway ... outside just now.

'Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more'.

We're just in from a weekend spent in Wallonia, where the temperature dropped to below zero celsius and snow fell.  And we gathered around a huge fire in a big old house and spent our time talking with good friends.

Actually, my heart has been warmed as friends have welcomed us back to Belgium after weeks spent wandering in that New Zealand summer.

Wednesday found me out with Jurjana, my truly delicious Croatian friend here in Antwerp.  She drove me to her favourite restaurant and we enjoyed a lovely lunch and catch-up session at Patrasche, in Hoboken. 

Thursday and Stephanie, an English friend, came over for dinner with her daughter.  Another few hours spent talking and listening.

Friday and it was Lucy, Fiona, and Ruth.  My lovely Irish and Belgian friends.  We began as an informal Nederlands class but they have become such good friends that there was something of a 'coming home' feeling as I arrived at Fiona's house.  Actually, we don't really speak in Nederlands anymore .... but, by crikey, we always have a most excellent time when we get together.

And this weekend was the icing on the cake.  We wandered over to the New Zealand/Belgian/American household, over there on the other side of Belgium, and the snow fell and our wandering souls were surely warmed.

We're back in Belgium where its winter.

You know those mornings when ...

When you race out after breakfast to photograph the rubbish bags in an area not your own ... for that blogpost you wrote elsewhere.

And on the way home, after rubbish bag photography where you bluffed that yes, I'm meant to be doing this, you are picked up by a Jehovah's Witness doing her work.  (I mistook her for a friendly Belgian out there on the suburban streets, between the supermarket and home.)

And unable to be rude, you obediently give her your home address, so she can come check whether you read that religious tract she just gave you.

Then you have that hour long appointment with a woman so wise that she makes you smile ... work on photographs, put the laundry through and vacuum.

You open the stunningly excellent carrot and cardamom bio soup you picked up from the supermarket because a truly generous yoga instructor is calling by, just to show you that you can do yoga without your injured neck popping out and all over the place.

And you talk photography with her because she wants to learn the how of it and you love sharing what you know.

Well ... it's been a day like that so far.  The photograph ... the street I wandered home along earlier this morning.

 

 

The Autumn Photography Workshop That Was - Antwerp

We had a most delightful day wandering this Flemish city of mine with our cameras …

We were 4, as they might say here. I loved the international flavour of us. We came from Italy, Belgium, Finland and New Zealand, meeting at my house, over lunch and pdf workbooks.

My photography e-course book is included in each photography workshop, as is Hanna’s video e-book in video workshops. I had previously asked Francesca and Bouchra what elements of photography they were most interested in and, after lunch, set them practical exercises focusing on their areas of interest.

That done we were ready to wander out into the beautifully warm autumn day Antwerp was offering. The city was good to us and shop-owners welcomed our interest in their decor and products. The autumn leaves glowed in the exquisite golden light on offer and we played … cameras in hand, 4 women together, out and enjoying the freedom to experiment and learn.

These workshops are as much about offering a safe and supportive environment for learning just how to use your camera … as they are about slipping in through the backdoor and visiting the lives of the people who live here. And it’s about any camera … whatever you have. And just as important is the realisation that your way of seeing is valid. That perhaps photography is about knowing the rules but then it’s bending them to your style, to exploring them and pushing them to their limits, about playing.

The goal? Well, it’s about coming away knowing that your way of seeing is exactly that … it’s your way. An expression or extension of you. In the same way the artist chooses their medium, the writer their genre …

I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on Tuesday. A huge thank you to Francesca, Bouchra and Hanna for being so much fun to go wandering with … and for being so willing to experiment with photography.

Photo credit goes to Francesca Puccio.