Kees' photos

Apart from the double rainbow (which is always nice to have), I particularly liked the light on the top of the tree.

One of the gripes I have with both of my cameras is that they won’t record rainbows in their entirety: a wide angle of 24mm eq. simply isn’t enough. Well, one tries to make the best of what one’s got...

“No one is miserable but in comparison to others” (nemo est miser nisi comparatus) – Seneca, The Trojan Women. This is so true. It’s no fun having to free a car from a load of snow, but that fate is shared by countless other people, so why should one complain? On Boxing Day it started to snow badly, and it didn’t stop until the snow was 16" thick. As a consequence, I had to work several hours a day to clear a path to the outside world (after all, one has to eat). Last item on the list: our trusty Prius which, for lack of room in the garage, was parked beside the house. Fortunately, I could take my time, and fortunately, thaw, sun, and the subsequent rain greatly assisted my efforts.

Given the distance dividing us, it was never easy to visit our daughter, but recently it has become even harder: She now shares her home with a cat called Nelly. Naturally, Chencho wanted to make friends, but because of the risks involved we wouldn’t let him, so they both remained excited observers.

It was quite a surprise, when my wife entered our bedroom. Were we angry? No. Just a little disappointed... After all, there should be less destructive ways of telling “Chencho was here”.

A Roman Catholic church in my home town, neo-Gothic, pretty big. In its design too grand, in fact, to enable completing the bell tower. Most failed Dutch church towers have managed to rise a bit higher. I have once imagined I was a billionaire offering to finish this one after the original plans. I think it would have caused civil commotion: for one thing, bells ringing wouldn’t have allowed the neighbors to sleep late.

At least some one noticed me exiting the church. Our landlady in Montepulciano was puzzled by Chencho’s name. Naturally, it is pronounced “Kenko” in Italy, and when we explained it should rather be “Cencio” she had to laugh, that being Italian for “rag”, per pulizia , with which to clean up things (in German, that would be “Lumpen” –“Lumpi” actually is a term of endearment for dogs). I’m glad we weren’t in France: the imaginary landlady would probably have understood “chien chaud”, meaning “hotdog”...

After dinner, it’s nice to have an espresso and an Amaretto di Saronno at a street café. There are three in Sabbioneta, and we visited them all, at different times.

Chencho at the central piazza of Sabbioneta.

There were times we went on vacation by train, but we didn’t need today’s infrastructure then...

Picture taken with a camera bungling down, while having a drink at yet another Sabbioneta street café. Chencho did fine, being shielded by a bunch of familiar legs.

These are exciting times. I’ve sold my scooter and bought a motorcycle, no, not a Yamaha XV950 (as the license plate suggests), but the XVS950A (sadly too complicated to be issued as a license plate). I’m not an accomplished rider, and it’s sheer luck that I’ve managed to keep the thing in an upright position. I’m working on it, though!

Pictures of the moon are ubiquitous, and most of them are better than this one. But it is mine, all mine. It’s one of the first I shot with my Sony 55–300mm lens, which was meant to complement the original 16–50mm one. I will probably only use it on special occasions: I’m more of a wide angle guy, and am anxious not to litter the inside of my camera by changing lenses too often.

I moved to Munich in 1981, to work in a building that is part of the former residence of the Bavarian kings (aptly named “die Residenz”). The servants’ quarters, to be sure, utterly destroyed in WW II, and later rebuilt in a modest fashion. Nevertheless, it is a bit embarrassing having to confess that I have never visited the Museum in another part of the same building, that is: never, until now. I’ve also posted a picture of the Court Chapel, much bigger than this one, and nice without being lavish. However, being king, one would like to retreat, from time to time, to a less inhibited place, and converse with God as an equal.

Former Court Chapel, now a popular concert hall for chamber music.

Sadly, I know nothing about the subject of this picture; I believe I took it in the Antiquarium, so the odds are that it is old, very old. Fact is, I sometimes take pictures just for the love of it.

The Bavarian kings had an early appreciation of Classical Antiquity, and built a museum for their collection of ancient art. The hall was also suited very well for private functions.

If the weather doesn’t prevent me from doing so, I often spend my afternoon breaks in this garden, or court yard, just a few steps away from work. A good read and a cigar –for that I readily cancel lunching.