A while ago we already had a Meetup at Recyclart - which is in the old station, another special place in Brussels - seeing presentations of the work of Portuguese photographers. At this public event we will see the work of the Russian photographers Mikhail Rozanov, Sergey Maximishin, Natasha Pavlovskaya, Kirill Ovchinnikov, Nikolai Ishchuk, Alexandra Demenkova, Maria Gruzdeva, Loris Anastasyan and others with some live sound. After the presentation we propably will have a drink there. Please see details here: http://www.recyclart....

There will be an 3€ entrance fee at Recyclart.

they say, it's THE BIGGEST EXHIBITION / EVENT OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN BELGIUM ! (including photography)

One photo in exchange for a year of private piano lessons by a teacher at the music conservatory

Interesting, It's really art trade and there were so many photos traded last year for so many trips, one year piano lessons, juewellery and other things.

See the results:

http://www.tructroc.be/en_trocs.html

here is more info (read also, how it works):

http://www.bozar.be/activity.php?id=13049&selectiondate=2013-02-01

http://www.tructroc.be/en_historique.html

The Happy Shuttercounts will go there to see this!
We will meet there, (Rue Ravenstein entrance, this is the low entrance), AFTER the ticket check on the left side.

Those who RSVP yes will receive an e-mail with the organisers GSM.

Please be on time 😉

We will do some portrait photo shooting using flashes and light formers like softbox and reflectors.
Details will follow.

for details see http://users.telenet.be/mrw/engels/homeeng.htm

Quote from the site:

"Moto Retro Wieze next edition 9 & 10 february 2013. Special café racers exhibit. Old motor bikes,  yellow stained manuals, shiny head-lights? Enthusiastic collectors of old motorbikes and accessories. You can find it all at Moto Retro. Sell or exhange. Just for the fun, the excitement and the smell of nostalgia. Or are you looking for that one missing part. And perhaps you might want to buy the old motorbike you always dreamt of. Moto Retro is the place to be. Each year thousands visit the old motorbike jumble for its atmosphere and the encounters with the genuine die-hards."

following many suggestions, this is a last-last-minute meetup call.

Set your camera to high ISO and come to

Museum night in Brussels. http://www.museumnightfever.be/en/home.php
We meet in front of the Music Instrument Museum, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET - not to be in the middle of the crowd.
It is not sure, if we can stay together as group throughout the evening but we can try 😉

History and Carnival: Photoresk - the Brussels Photography going Tournay

Tournay, the 2nd oldest Town of Belgium (after Tongeren). The picturesque medieval city center. The beautiful market place, the the river Escaut ("Schelde" in Dutch), some UNESCO world heritage sites and -

Carnival? Yes, Carnival!

When nearly everywhere in the rest of the world the carnival season is over, the inner part of Tournai is closed for traffic to celebrate carnival. Probably a good idea to wait 'till spring and definitely something not to miss while in Belgium. Details about the carnival in Tournai can be found here (in french) http://www.carnavaldetournai.be/

What

There will be an parade starting at 14:30 at four different places heading towards the centre. This will be a fantastic opportunity to take great picture of Belgium habits 😉 and the city.

How

We will take the train from Brussels central at 13:16 and return to Brussels at around 20:00. Meeting point is in front of Starbucks inside Gare Central.

Trains are leaving Brussels Gare Central hourly at x:16.

Return is also hourly at x:41 the last train from Tournai to Brussels is at 22:41.

The ride takes in either direction 1:03 hours, the SNCB return ticket (week-end) is around 14€

Here are the details:

Where

We will go to Gent - Ghent - Gand (it's all the same 😉 - our walk will start at

14:00. Meeting point is the Korenmarkt /  St Niklaas Church in the centre of Ghent.

Here is a map of the location http://goo.gl/maps/U5T61

We will have a nice walk through the beautiful city with the lovely places and lots to see. And - we will try also try some of the local specialities.

There will be many, many opportunities for great shots. Of course, as we go along, there will be time to ask questions and share knowledge!

</a>How to get there

The route is here <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/Wheee">http://goo.gl/maps/Wheee

Some nice information about Ghent is on this use-it map:

http://www.use-it.travel/cities/detail/ghent/

Sometimes there are long lines at the ticket counters at Gare Central, consider to get your (weekend) ticket from the web-site.

http://www.belgianrail.be/jp/sncb-nmbs-routeplanner/query.exe/en?ld=std&AjaxMap=CPTVMap&seqnr=2&ident=ki.04093111.1363286953&REQ0HafasScrollDir=1

As Daniel mentioned, there is Saint Patricks's day on Sunday! We will see a lot of green!

See you all in Ghent!

At RECYCLART ART CENTER is another photo screening night.
They show a series from a new and talented generation of American photographers, on a live soundscape. Entrance is 3€.
We will meet inside (there is a bar) at around 20:00.

http://www.recyclart.be/fr/agenda/portfolio-usa

UPDATE

The weather remains unpredictable. So we opt for both outside with the option for some indoor activities and shoots.

It it's ok to be outside, we will have a walk in Jubelpark / Parc du Cinquantenaire propably heading towards Place Jourdan and having a Coffee / Drink somewhere while we talk shop or

we will visit the spacious Aviation Department of the Museum (free admission) and have a coffee drink in the Sky Cafe.
We'll choose the best option according to the weather / temperature 😉

What:

F-stop, shutter speed, ISO, depth of field, HDR - what the hack are you talking about? -

How:

We will talk and explain as we go and have some practical exercises. Be prepared to ask and answer 😉

Where:

We will meet in the entrance area of the Royal Army and Military History Museum
Jubelpark 3
1000 Brussels (Belgium)
http://www.klm-mra.be

How to get there:
Walking, it's not for from Schuman and the City Centre
Tram:
N° 81 and 82
Bus:
N° 27,28,36,61,67,80
Metro
Schuman or Merode (Line 1)
Car
Spacious parking is available on the Esplanade, by the entrance of the Museum.

UPDATE:

I've updated the map. The pointer now shows the exact position of the entrance. We will meet just behind the entrance to the Royal Park (but before the cashier).

For those using public transport, here are some proposals (but there are other options, e.g fom Hysel / Atomium and having a nice walk) Route proposal by Google
(the staring point is gare-central, you may want to change this)

It will be sunny and dry tomorrow (yes!); there are no places (restaurants) to go in the direct vicinity of the the greenhouses - but the nice park of Laeken outside the Royal Place. Probably we will just find us a nice spot to do some aftermaths/feedback.

By tonight I will send all who RSVP 'yes' my GSM number - just in case.

Please be on time - we'll enter at 11:00

____________________________________________________

Every spring, the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken are open to the public for 3 weeks.This is the only time when the Royal Greenhouses are accessible to the public.

It is an excellent opportunity to see the wonderful architecture of Alphonse Balat, the mentor of Victor Horta, and the many plants in the greenhouses.

Take your camera and shoot ...... wonderful architecture and plants!!!

We will start over with improving the basic skills of photography and have some nice opportunities for macro shots!

After visiting the greenhouse (is 2,5 hours realistic?) we will get together somewhere either in a brasserie or go over to the park or Japanese tower but this will depend on the weather forecast. 
(update and info how to get there will follow in due course)

PS: it may be crowded later - that's why at 11:00 - it's early for a Saturday but worthwhile 😉

Here is the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Greenhouses_of_Laeken

Walk and talk and shoot
Update: finally, we have a a meeting location, at Botanique, the old Greenhouse of Brussels. The weather forecast for to tomorrow is "not too bad" 😉 we will adopt our walk and get-together depending on that.

The Happy Shuttercounts will start this meet-up with another nice walk where we can practice of course ask and share.

Later on we will meet for a chat and a drink and photography related talks.

But first, we will do an exciting stroll through Brussels, with lots of opportunities for great shots - there will be something for all of us.
After this approximately two hours walk we will have Lens Talks where we get together, discuss about our gear, raise questions, provide tips and share ideas for future meet-ups.

also see update below in the discussion

The new way to overcome limitations we noticed when we did the last portrait session. One 'model' and more than 10 photographers at the same time will not work well. Speed-Shooting® is the answer. With Speed-Shooting® we can have up to 20 individuals improving their portrait taking skills.

Simple, effective and a lot of fun: outdoor speed-shooting

What:

We will do an intensive portrait shooting. After this Meetup you will be the portrait specialist at friends- and family-events 😉 and you also will know how to direct light-assistants and 'models' 😉

How:

After some general basics and discussions about portrait styles we will form groups of three. The photographer, the portrait-model and the light-assistant. Each group will have some basic light forming equipment available.
Each photographer has 15 minutes time to work with the model, shooting portraits but also instructing model and light-assistant.

After the 15 minutes and a five minutes break the roles will change. Photographer will become model, the model light-assistant.

After three rounds each of us Happy Shuttercounts will have been photographer, model and light-assistant.

Where:

Brussels / outdoor - but we may adopt the location depending on the  freshness of the summer 😉

Do's and Don'ts for the Speed-Shooting (TM) Meetup
General:
The Photographer:
Take wonderful pictures and give electronic copies to the model. Respect the personality rights. You must ask the model for permission if you want to publish pictures.   
The Model:
You may use the pictures on which you are depicted at your discretion but ask the photographer wether or not the photographers name shall be mentioned.

In more detail:
By participation you agree to the following principles:  
The goal of the Speed-Shooting Meetup is to improve the photography related skills. During the Speed-Shooting Meetup each participant will take the role of a model (M), photographer (P) or light-assistant (L), respectively. The following rules refers to the role(s) taken by the individual during the meetup-event. The participant acknowledges that  pictures taken during the meetup shall be royalty-free and will be made available in electronic form to a) the person depicted (M,L) and b) to a password protected area of a photo sharing site to which only participants of the Speed-Shooting Meetup-event concerned have access. Any publication of a portrait photograph requires consent between P and the person depicted.

This is the first Belgian retrospective of the work of the English photographer Martin Parr.

http://www.galerieparisbeijing.com/exhibitions/pr_pages/parr_brussels_2013.html

Parr's approach to documentary photography is intimate, anthropological and satirical. Macro lenses, ring flash, high-saturation colour film, and since it became an easier format to work in, digital photography, all allow him to put his subjects "under the microscope" in their own environment, giving them space to expose their lives and values in ways that often involve inadvertent humour.[wikipedia]

Summary:
This will be the first meetup after a short summer break. Again, we have a lot of newcomers to the Photoresk Brussels Photography meetup group with a great variety of skill levels and experiences.

Now we have the full range of skill levels - from novice to professionals - in the group, great!

What:
During this meetup we will get together outdoor and recap some of the basics but also talk about advanced tips & tricks. Bring your questions and be prepared to provide answers to other Happy Shuttercounts.

Later we will practice what we just learned in the park or (depending on time and weather) during a nice walk to the Neo-Renaissance style Station of Schaerbeek, passing also the Hôtel communal de Schaerbeek.

Afterwards we may go for a chat and drink and of course photograph and related talks.

Where:
We will meet at the entrance of Parc Josaphat at the corner Avenue Louis Bertrand / Boulevard Lambermont (Tram Nr. 7 Stop Louis Bertrand, Bus 66 Crossing, walking 35 min from the center, by car - parking is easy)  Please be on time!

IMPORTANT:

The weather forecast is promising, however, if it is going to rain heavily, a "Plan B" with more indoor-ish activity will be posted here (no change after 12:00 on Saturday)  - stay tuned!

The RSVP's "yes" will receive additional contact details. Please take the RSVP serious and update it if your plans change.

See all of you Happy Shuttercounts on Sunday!
Claus, your organiser

To avoid the crowd, we will meet in front of the Brasserie Le Cirio from where we go to the Grand Place.

Details and price can be found here:

http://www.floralientime.be/

Update: because inflating will start already at 10:00 (to early and long before the parade) we will meet at 14:30 which is one hour before the parade starts. 

--------------------------------

The web-site says:

"the Balloon's Day Parade will invade the streets of Brussels to the sound of its accompanying brass bands. Escorted by the Police parade and folklore groups, the route of the Balloon's Parade will once again set off from the Comics Festival and end up at the Place De Brouckère. Come and discover the new parade balloon while it's being inflated at the Place des Palais!"

Balloon's Day Parade will be an great opportunity to take great and funny pictures!

We will meet in front/entrance of the BELvue Museum Place des Palais, 7 (this is at the right side of the kings palace). 

(you get there via Metro/Bus/Train. Park/Parc, Troon/Trône, Naamse Poort/Porte de Namur, Centraal Station/Gare Centrale

Tramway 92, 94 and Bus 27, 38, 71, 95 are close.)

This will give us some time to see whats going on and capture this. Later - just before the parade starts - we will position ourselves for getting nice shot from the parade. Finally, we will find a place for a wrap-up and drink somewhere.    

The web-site says:

"the Balloon's Day Parade will invade the streets of Brussels to the sound of its accompanying brass bands. Escorted by the Police parade and folklore groups, the route of the Balloon's Parade will once again set off from the Comics Festival and end up at the Place De Brouckère. Come and discover the new parade balloon while it's being inflated at the Place des Palais!"

The "Bokeh" photo club is going on a photo excursion to Lithuania and inviting you to join.
An exciting adventure that combines together the thrill of traveling and the passion for photography! You'll get to explore a new country while working on your photo skills.

As all the trip is designed to concentrate on the photographic/creative experience while discovering a new country you will be offered an analog photography workshop with experienced photographers, as well you'll have the opportunity to improve your photography skills as during the trip you will be accompanied by a professional photographer who will provide a feedback on your photographs and answers to your photo questions.

During the trip you will:
participate in analog and alternative photo workshop with Lithuanian Analog Photography Association where you'll make photographs with a large format camera using revers positive photo process and go through the analog developing and printing process. You'll participate in a photo excursion to explore Vilnius by night, experiance breath taking sceneries of Lithuanian nature, travel to visit ancient palaces, castles and mounds, visit Lithuanian sea side villages - Mingė, Ventės Cape, Juodkrantė, Nida.

The trip activities:

Day 1 (09.07)

Arrival to Vilnius with the evening flight,
Photo excursion "Vilnius by night". (guided excursion in the old town of the city, urban landscapes by night)
Stay in the hotel in Vilnius city center.

Day 2 (09.08)

The journey to Lithuanian sea side along the riverbed of Nemunas with the visits of ancient palaces, castles and mounds.

Places planed to visit:

The Kernavė village - Kernavė is a UNESCO protected historical and archeological site near Vilnius and famous for man built mounds.
This serene spot reminding about glorious past of Lithuania in medieval ages.

The Raudondvaris manor - the monument of the beginning of the 17th century of Renaissance architecture in Lithuania.
The Seredžius church - Neo-renaissance church build in 1913.
The Seredžius mound - an incredible view opens up from this mound were in[masked] stood the Peštvės castle. It was rebuild few
times, but then got abandoned in XV century, fell apart and vanished.

The Veliuona village famous for the archeological complex of mounds ant the Veliuona manor build in Classicism style and it's park with
magnolia flower tulip-trees and the biggest Thuja tree in Europe.

The Raudonė castle and the park - residential castle was built in the end of XVI age. The building is an example of 19th century neo-
Gothic architecture. Recent look preserved after the reconstruction in 1877. A panorama of the outskirts opens up from the observation
deck in the castle tower (33,5 m height).

The Panemunė castle - the Rennaisance castle build in 1604 now houses a museum and you may climb its mighty towers. The surrounding
park is a perfect location for a nice stroll.

Arrival to Mingė village - a small ethnographic fishermen's village at the banks of Minija river. In the village people live on both sides of
the river Minija and can reach each other only by boats. The area is called the Venice of Lithuania.

A stay in an ethnographical guest house in Mingė.

Day 3 (09.09)

Visit to Ventės Cape - ornithological bird ringing station. It is known as a rest place for many birds during their migrations, particularly the autumn migration. One of the first bird ringing stations in Europe, still in operation, was opened in 1929.
Further journey to The Curonian Spit ( Kuršių nerija) - a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. Its southern portion lies within Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia and its northern within southwestern Lithuania. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by the two countries.

The excursions and a boat trip in Nida - a small old fishermen village in the Curonian Spit famous for its majestic sea-shore sand dunes, Thomas Mann’s summer house, Neo-gothic church and old ethnographic cemetery.

Dinner in Klaipėda and trip back to Vilnius.
Stay in the hotel in Vilnius city center.

Day 4 (09.10)

The workshop hosted by Lithuanian Analog Photography Association.
Excursion to Vilnius TV Tower - the highest building in the country (326.5 m) and the historical monument of Lithuanian fight for it's independence from Soviet Union.
Dinner, sightseeing and some picture time at the TV Tower restaurant - observation deck "Milky way" situated at the hight of 165m.

Late evening flight to Brussels.

Price: 630 euro

Included in the price:

Accommodation (3 nights) - 2 nights in a hotel in Vilnius (double room) and 1 night in a ethnographic guest house in Mingė.
Breakfast x 3, lunch x 3 and dinner x 4.
4 days of photo consultations with guiding photographer.
Workshop at the Lithuanian Analog photo association and materials used for the workshop. ( portraits with big format camera using revers positive technique, overview of analog developing and printing).
Planned excursions.
Admission and audio guided excursion in Vilnius TV tower.
Transportation during all the stay.
Boat trip in Nida.

According to the planed route the participants are transported with a private micro-bus.

Plane tickets are not included in the price. (The trip agenda is scheduled to the timetable of low fair airlines Ryanair flight 09.07 arriving to Vilnius at 20.05h and 09.10 leaving Vilnius at 20.45h) https://www.bookryanair.com

Register: [masked] (registration till 23th of August)
more info: http://www.bokehphotoclub.com/photo-trip.php

Number of participants: min 6 - max 8.

Level of participants: All levels, no previous photo knowledge needed.

Update

We will be a large group this time, photo enthusiasts with a wide range of experience and skill levels. We also will be happy to welcome plenty Happy Shuttercounts which are new to our meetup group.

The weather will be fair, our walk will last around two to three hours with plenty of opportunities for interesting pictures. And - don't forget, it's also about learning and sharing. Be curious and ask - if asked, share your knowledge and explain. After the walk we  may get together for an review and drink.

The theme for our walk

Signs and Symbols

Our theme for this walk are signs and symbols. You will find them everywhere, not necessarily only as traffic signs. Watch out for them. Take great pictures. Be creative.

Signs and Symbols are not your thing? Feel free to find your own which is matching your visual interest or just get inspired from what is happening around you.

Weather

I will be overcast and dry tomorrow with temperatures up to 20C (!) -> no hard shadows!

What else?

Put your camera manual in your bag just in case you have questions to the settings 😉

The rough plan

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/4/b/f/c/600_285319452.jpegWe will meet at "A" and have our walk in the aereas marked in red (depending on  where the interesting things are happening) 

General information about the Car Free Sunday:

The public transport like busses and tram will operate. The STIB and De Lijn will be free of charge on that day.

The Car Free Sunday will be valid for everybody, except taxis, journey buses, assistance services, police and persons with a special permit. Vehicles authorized to circulate in Brussels during this day will have to respect the maximal speed of 30 kilometres per hour. The whole Brussels Region will be closed for traffic from 9:00 till 19:00.

Hi all, looking forward to an nice excursion and to see the work of an photographer who influenced the whole art of photography:

Henri Cartier Bresson

What:
see the Henri Cartier Bresson Exposition in the wonderful Abbey of Stavelot, one of the oldest in Belgium (founded around 650) located in the beautiful area in the south-east of Belgium. It will be an one day excursion.

http://stavelot.djm.eu/fr/expositions/henri-cartier-bresson-des-europeens

How:
most of us (all?) will go by car / car-sharing. We will meet at 10:30 at Montgomery http://goo.gl/maps/V23F9, departure will be a few minutes later (slower cars fist 😉 at around 10:45.

We will meet later at around 13:00 at the entrance of the exhibition in Stavelot
(this detail will/may be adjusted as soon as all travel arrangements are settled, (depending if we already arrive together by car in Stavelot etc.)

For detailed Travel arrangements an google docs document has been circulated with the meetup - update 25/09/[masked]:50

Seats are availible on a first-come-first-serve basis, make your arrangements.

Train options exist but are probably not very convenient:

http://www.infotec.be/Medeplacer/Rechercheditin%C3%A9raire/MonItin%C3%A9raire.aspx?A=Gare+de+Bruxelles-Central%2C+1000+Bruxelles%2C+Belgique&B=STAVELOT+Ecoles&latA=50.8454658&latB=50.3963724&;...

8 expat photographers present their view on a given theme: lines and curves. The opening night, on October 4th, is a good oportunity to meet them and their work.
More details here: http://www.creatifimage.be/page/expo/

Update:
Already more than 50 Happy Shutterconts singed up. We are going to beat or record!

This time, we will have something new: Upon arrival at the meetup location, ask your organiser for the secret code. You will need it later.

Our walk will be a little bit shorter than previously announced (around 4 km).

We will roughly take the same route as described by Oliver here: http://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/art-nouveau-on-the-go-1015.html (the app seems to be broken on the iPhone?) to see some very interesting parts of town, have great opportunities to take nice pictures.

And - again, the very balanced mix of creativities and skill levels! Be ready to ask questions and provide answers and have a great afternoon out.

After the walk, we may go for a snack and/or drink to share some final thoughts.

Weather:

after some rain and thunderstorms on Friday and probably Saturday, Sunday will be overcast with sunny spells. No hard shadows 😉

----------------------------------- end of update -------

Our Plan

We will have an approx 6 km walk during which we will see some of the most famous Art Nouveau buildings in Brussels and - as usual - have to great opportunity for photography related chats.

Hint: it's not a bad idea to carry the manual of your camera if you are going to ask some specific questions

Is this meetup for you?

This meetup will be as nice, entertaining and educating as all out other meetup so far but to avoid any disappointments you should notice that we will not be able to visit any of the buildings from inside as part of this meetup.

If you want to see more

if you want to see the building from inside, you have to get tickets ( one weekend 20€ / four weekends 55€) from the organisation which is responsible for  Biennale Art Nouveau Event in Brussels and pre-register for the visits (Photoresk has no affiliation with them) and create your own itinerary.

Finally: a little warning COPYRIGHT

the copyright rules are quite different in different (even EU) countries. Belgium has become famous for the restrictive application of architects rights. I am not going to judge here if individuals who are shaping our living environment have the right to protect elements which are in public sight as their property but I suggest everybody to have a look at the Atomium web-site since the same applies to many buildings in Belgium.
Reccomended reading: http://atomium.be/authorsrights.aspx?lang=en

However, this should not stop you from taking pictures - but you should be aware and consider what you will do with the photos later on

Interested in photographing the yellows, oranges and reds of the autumn leaves? If yes, you'll have to hurry before the wind blows everything away.

Let's meet at the Chinese Pavillion in Laeken: https://plus.google.com/102707527596622839001/about?gl=be&hl=en .
Saturday will be the best day of the weekend. I propose to not meet too early to avoid harsh sunlight. 

Route proposed:
- (start) Chinese Pavillion
- Royal Palace
- Monument Leopold I
- Park van Laken
- Bloemist van Stuyvenberg
- Koloniale Tuin
- Ossegempark
- (end) Atomium

There is public transport at start/end. Car parking in the streets nearby the start (at the end I'm going back by foot to the start in case you don't like to go back on your own).

PS don't forget to bring your walking shoes (and name tag if you have one 😉

Wanna practice those shutter speeds in low light conditions?
Then here's your opportunity: the 1st Brussels Light Festival.

We meet at 6pm outside the Kaaitheater (address above).
According different weather forecasts it won't drizzle until somewhere after 8 or 9pm, which should leave us enough time to scan the site and also witness the 'special' light performances at 7pm and at 7:45pm.

Program of the Brussels Light Festival: www.brusselslightfestival.be/en/route
Some pics: www.chinadaily.com.cn/slides/[masked]/01/content_[masked].htm

PS1 You might want to bring a tripod (if you have one).
PS2 Number of attendees is 'limited' to be able to remain together as a group (since it's 'dark').
PS3 Please try to be on time 😉

https://www.facebook.com/events/604739942918850/

Come to have a look at the photo-exhibition of the czech independent photographer David Tesinsky on his exhibition of the "People's stories" with the exhibition name "Guide to this world..and other worlds".
The versnissage will be on november 7. in La Gougoutte á pépé in Brussels from 7pm.
Adress: Av de l'Hippodrome 135 Renbaanlaan
1050 Ixelles (bus 71: Geo Bernier)

Update: Weather forecast: Should stop raining around noon on Sunday but the temperatures will only be 8C to 10C - get something warm.

We will be an huge group - we all should look after each other not to loose anybody.

Get your photography related questions ready and be prepared to explain... (same procedures as always ... 😉

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are so many mural paintings in Brussels - Photoresk could do easily two walks 🙂
http://brusselscomics.com/en/route_bd.cfm
http://www.brusselsbdtour.com/default.aspx?section=Parcours
http://www.opt.be/contenus/_comic_strips__mural_paintings/en/362.html

This time we will do a 4.3 km walk following the route below.

KLICK HERE TO SEE THE ROUTE ENLARGED WITH DETAILS

UPDATED
The foundation Stichting is presenting the life-time work of the photographer couple Bernd and Hilla Becher.
The expo runs from from 6 October to 15 December 2013

Let's go and see this exposition and meet for a drink discuss what we've seen afterwards!

http://www.fondationastichting.be/en/#expositions

Update: (schedule and where to meet)

There are two options to get there. By train and bus or car. Last year most of us took the train/bus which was easy and very relaxing. 

Others came by car and we met there. 

The timetable would be as such that it's either the train at 12:00 from Central or - for those who take the car or share a car 14:30 in Monschau. The only issue is parking in Monschau  - very limited and nearly impossible so everybody will be forced to park outside and take a shuttle.

By train is probably the best option. For those taking the train, we will meet at Central in front of the Starbucks 

.....................

Street, decoration, people pre-celebrating, low light and what else to spot on a Christmas market?

(Photo by george.simeon - during 2012 Photoresk visit to Monschau)

We did it last year and we will do it again: The Christmas Marked in the small medieval German town Monschau

Everybody seems to be already hyper-busy those days before Christmas. Calm down this Saturday, grep your camera gear and enjoy the  Happy-Shuttercount--Expedition with train-  and bus-ride to the Christmas marked in the small German town of Monschau.

It is going to snow over there next week with temperatures just below zero.

See the web-cam images of Monschau (upper left is the recent one): http://www.monschau.de/service/webcam_historie.php

With the fresh snow it will be really beautiful, Glühwein and Aachener Printen will help against the cold and there will be many great opportunities to take wonderful pictures, in Monschau http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/monschau_christmas_market.php and on the way.

HOW TO GET THERE

Public transport:

Monschau is about 160 km east of Brussels. I was surprised how easy it is to get there with public transport.

Trains run from Brussels to Eupen, a small Village in east Belgium. From there, it takes 29 minutes with the bus to Monschau.

The Train costs € 10 return (!) with the SNCB Christmas deal promo; the bus may cost the same.

At 12:02, Gare Central take the IC 510 Direction Eupen [B] to Eupen Station, arriving at 13:45. Talk to the other Happy Shuttercounts during the trip and have your camera gear ready for on-the-way photos.

At 14:01 catch the bus 385 at Eupen Station direction "Kalter Herberg". Get off at "Monschau Parkhaus" at 14:25. THIS IS THE MEETING TIME/POINT.

RETURN

At 17:30 take bus 385 at "Monschau Parkhaus" direction Eupen.

17:54 get off at Eupen Bahnhof (Station).

At 18:15 take the IC 541 direction Ostende and don't forget to get off in Brussels at around 19:58

By car:

consult google maps or your GPS. The parking in Monschau is difficult. There is the 'Parkhaus' and there may also be a shuttle service - ask me if you need more details

Meeting point is "Monschau Parkhaus" / Schmiede (see map above) at 14:25 when the Bus arrives.

A small group of photographers interested in Streetlife, go out on the streets together, share tips, take shots, after a few hours find a welcoming cafe and go through every bodies selections, preferably with a laptop…
Limit 8 members to keep it reasonable.

More details;

RDV @ 1.30pm, Full itinerary given and discussed.

2.00pm we will split into smaller groups and explore specific zones, hopefully in good daylight I can't promise sun unfortunately but we will work with whatever is given to us, if it rains heavily I have some indoor location ideas.

4.00pm regroup; Q&A; Troubleshooting. Form new groups and explore different zones in low light and dusk… perhaps we might have some blue light.

6pm regroup; find a cafe; upload pictures; select; critique; present to the group for evaluation and feedback.

8pm estimated end.

All times are approximate and can very depending on various aspects.

What you will need;

1 camera DSLR or good compact with enough disk space, + extra disk, 16GB should be enough for 4 hours.

2 fully charged camera batteries, keep spare battery warm; cold batteries quickly loose their charge.

I would recommend the full frame equivalent of a 35mm or 50mm fixed lens for street photography, but if all you have is a small zoom it will also be good, you really want something small, light and responsive, any doubts please contact me.

1 Laptop with battery fully charged with Lightroom or similar soft installed and enough free space.

If you don't have a laptop you can still take part but I think you will miss the most valuable part of this meetup, to select, show and discuss your results with the group and above all learning from the mistakes because often we learn more from our mistakes then our successes, sharing these can be very rewarding.

+ Rugsack or comfortable shoulder bag and warm clothing.

What you don't need: Tripod/ multiple lens/ etc.

More details later...

Update: Getting there:  Maybe we have enough space in the cars.  Please use the conversation to indicate if you offer/need a lift.

See you tomorrow (it will be a rainy day - perfect for visiting an expo 😉  

Our Happy Shuttercount fellow Véronique cordially invited Photoresk to this photo and art exhibition in Charleroi. 
Véronique exhibits her photography together with the work of three other artists.
An guided tour by Christina Ruggin, the curator of the photo and art exhibition in Charleroi is organised. The expo is at Intérieur privé - rue de l'Eglise 2, 6032 Mont-sur-Marchienne, Belgique http://www.interieurprive.com/?p=atelier

Option: The Musée de la Photographie à Charleroi http://www.museephoto.be/‎ is nearby, we may combine the visits (or get at least an 'preview' for an later visit).

To get there:
A) We will arrange some car-sharing

B) take a train from gares du nord, centrale et midi; it takes approx. 50 minutes to Charleroi gare du sud.
There are direct buses (70, 71 et 170) and only three stops.

Everybody knows the Grand place, the EU Quarter, the Sablon etc.. I propose we discover by foot some of the less well known areas of Brussels. Format will be more or less the same as previous event "Street photography in Brussels"

What you will need;

1 camera DSLR or good compact with enough disk space, + extra disk, 16GB should be enough for 4 hours.

2 fully charged camera batteries, keep spare battery warm; cold batteries quickly loose their charge.

I would recommend the full frame equivalent of a 35mm or 50mm fixed lens for street photography, but if all you have is a small zoom it will also be good, you really want something small, light and responsive, any doubts please contact me.

1 Laptop or iPad with battery fully charged with Lightroom or similar soft installed and enough free space.

If you don't have a laptop you can still take part but I think you will miss the most valuable part of this meetup, to select, show and discuss your results with the group and above all learning from the mistakes because often we learn more from our mistakes then our successes, sharing these can be very rewarding.

+ Rugsack or comfortable shoulder bag and warm clothing.

What you don't need: Tripod/ multiple lens/ etc.

More details later… I won't limit the numbers this time but if we are too big a group we might have to split.

Another last minute Photoresk meetup...
People who go to the 'Salon du chocolat' Photoresk meetup at 4pm could combine it with this event which takes place at the same site  🙂

http://affordableartfair.com/brussels/

"... A fun and friendly art fair hosting a wealth of galleries and a huge array of affordable, contemporary art... thousands of original paintings, prints, sculpture and PHOTOGRAPHY all under one roof..."

Hope to see you there!

PS1  save money and buy your ticket online.
PS2 you'll see where we meet when you RSVP.

It is like a last minute suggestion - I just learned about the event. There will be a chocolate making demonstration at 16:00 and a fashion show of chocolate dresses at 17:00, exhibitions etc.
Entrance 10 EUR. See the link for more info:
http://brussels.salon-du-chocolat.com/accueil.aspx

UPDATE[masked]

Hi all,

To follow up with some more details on this event, I have put together a proposed timeframe for people who may wish to take the train. Please be advised that it requires one change at Denderleeuw.

OUTBOUND:

From:Bru.-Centraal  To:Geraardsbergen [NMBS/SNCB] 13:16 dep - 14:22 arr

RETURN:

From:Geraardsbergen [NMBS/SNCB] To:Bru.-Centraal 20:34 dep - 21:57 arr

or

From:Geraardsbergen [NMBS/SNCB]To:Bru.-Centraal 21:38 dep - 22:44 arr

With this in mind, we should arrive at 14:22, giving us about 30 minutes to get in position for the start of the parade. I think one of the key photographic opportunities will be the "Tonnekensbrand" at 20:00, as it should be an exciting spectacle. 

I included the 20:34 train as an option for people who may want to leave earlier, as it is quite a long day, though you may miss some of the "Tonnekensbrand" activities.

For all those taking the 13:16 train from Brussels Central, I propose that you meet outside Starbucks at 13:00, as a way to gather all the group. I also propose that you purchase your train tickets in advance online. I am still undecided as to whether I will take the train or drive, but I will either meet you at Starbucks or in Geraardsbergen.

• If you are taking the train, please put your name down on this Doodle: http://www.doodle.com/wmesfbw6sfd96xwb 

If anyone knows for sure that they will drive and are happy for members to join them in their car, please post a comment in the group, to let everyone know. Normally, we meet at White Night on Montgomery roundabout when sharing transport.

Looking forward to the event, hopefully it stays dry and we get some great shots as well as meet new people 🙂 .

A bientot,

Jon

UPDATE[masked]

Hi all, I received some more info from the tourism agency this morning:
The historic parade starts at 15:00 h, in the centre of the city at 'Hunnegem'. Of course, because of the big success every year, I advise you to come a bit earlier.
From Hunnegem, the parade goes throughout the streets of the centre of the city, up to the highest top of the 'Oudenberg'.There, near the chapel of the Oudenberg, the parade ends with the throwing of the 'Krakelingen'.
At 20:00 h  the "Tonnekensbrand" is burned on top of the Oudenberg while folk dance sets the atmosphere.
It is possible to travel by train from Brussels to Geraardsbergen. On Sunday, your trip to Geraardsbergen will go via Denderleeuw, where you will have to change to another train. You can find the exact hours in the station of Brussels."
So it looks like public transport may be an option, the following looks like a suitable schedule, allowing us enough time in the afternoon to try get good positions and enough time in the evening  to watch the "Tonnekensbrand" and get back to the train station.
Out:12:27 dep13:27 arr
In:21:34 dep22:33 arr
Of course driving is also a possibility, though since it's a festival atmosphere and quite a long day, people may want to have a drink, in which case public transport would make sense. 

Initial message:

Hi all, I mentioned to Claus about an event I saw recently and he proposed I suggest it to the group. I saw photos of it online a while back and thought it looked interesting, it's called Krakelingen & Tonnekensbrand and is held on Sunday February 23rd in the city of Grammont/Geraardsbergen, about 1 hour drive west of Brussels. http://www.geraardsbergen.be/content/content/record.php?ID=2195

There could be potential for some good shooting opportunities, lots of costumes, day & night activities, fire and druids! If you do a Google Image search for "Krakelingen & Tonnekensbrand", you can get an idea of what to expect.

Cheers, 
Jon

Ever wanted to take pictures of trains and railway stations, but were afraid to do?  🙂
Here's your chance now...
On the menu: 3 railway stations and moving trains. On our way to one of the most beautiful stations in the world (Antwerpen-Centraal), we'll make a stop at one of the most desperate ones in Belgium (Vilvoorde).

Train Schedule:
- Brussel-Centraal [14:36] to Vilvoorde [14:50]
- Vilvoorde [15:18] to Antwerpen-Centraal [15:52]
- Antwerpen-Centraal [18:08] - Brussel-Centraal [18:55]
(depending on your personal/the group's preferences, return to Brussels can be sooner or later).

To win time and save money, buy your ticket online: http://www.belgianrail.be/en and select 'Weekend Ticket Internet' which costs 8,20 EUR for a return ticket.

We'll meet at 2PM, so we have some time to take pictures in 'La Gare Centrale' before our train departs.

Jo

PS  this Meetup is weatherproof  😉

time in the evening with this magic light...
Blue hour is slightly misleading,  usually it last around half an hour hour after sunset. We will try to capture some nice city views. Later we will do some low-light / night shots.

----- UPDATE ----------

Looking forward to see you tomorrow for the Blue Hour Photoresk Meetup.

Weather and timing
The weather-forecast is very promising, mainly sunny at 15C. Sunset will be 19:08, expect nice light - the 'blue hour' until 20:00.

Later it will become so dark that higher ISO or even longer exposure times are necessary. Remember: higher ISO means more noise, longer exposure times increase the risk of motion blur and require a tripod or something else to keep the camera in a steady position.

No clue, what I am talking about, ISO, shutter speed? Don't worry, stay curious and ask tomorrow 😉

Prepare
In preparation for tomorrow, you may want to consult your camera manual and have an idea how to switch the flash off and to put your camera in manual or shutter priority mode, set the ISO and the metering  to spot or center-weighted average. Put the manual in your bag.
Advanced, who want to experiment may check how to change between first and second curtain flash trigger....

If you have a tripod, bring it. If you don't have one, just don't go and buy a cheap one - choosing the right tripod will affect all your future work with it and there are some important things to consider. We will deal with those technical aspects at another meetup if there is some interest.
If you don't have a tripod, try to bring something on which you can put the camera in a stable way and keep motions away from it. This can be the famous granny's cherry stone cushion or a freezer bag half filled with salt or grain - you just have to find a suitable wall or other support underneath 🙂

Location
The location will allow for both, city-views and later the combination of fading ambient light from traffic e.g. on Rue Royale towards Palais de Justice.

Safety
When taking pictures in traffic, always remember that Brussels drivers are now very famous for careful driving - stay safe 🙂

Suggestions and inputs are -as usual- welcome - share your experience, we are all curious 😉
------end update ----------------

Hopefully we have clear sky ....

Capturing light of the blue hour will require a longer exposure time than normal daytime photos.If you have a tripos - bring it. Or borrow granny's cherry stone cushion to put the camera steady on a wall.

What else?

You may want to check how to set your camera to spot<a href="http://photography.about.com/od/takingpictures/ss/darkphotos_3.htm"></a> or center-weighted average metering. It's a good idea to put your camera manual in your bag just in case you have questions to the settings 😉

Recycle art run a series of presentations of international photography, last month I went to one of Mexican photographers and found it very interesting, so if you want to join, be inspired and see what is happening in other countries please come... only 3 euros entrance...

http://www.recyclart.be/fr/agenda/portfolio-afrique-du-sud

Update:
those who join "the Insomnia tour" from brussels 😉
Meeting  06:00 at Montgomery close to White Night Nightshop close to corner Tervurenlaan

______________________

Yes, it's very early for a Saturday morning. Very early.

But it's only once a year. In April. In Belgium. Close to Halle. Bluebells covering the forest floor like a carped. In one week or so, it will be over....

Close to sunrise is the best time of the day for stunning pictures.

Hallerbos is about 35 minutes drive-time away from the centre of Brussels. The best way to get there is by car. You can find details about hallerbos here.

Sunrise in Halle on April, 12th is at 6:56. We will meet at the parking of Het Kriekske at 06:45. You will not miss the 'Photoresk Berlin' expedition truck. From the parking, we will driver further into the woods to a more central location.
Picture time is from 07:00 to approx 08:30.
Afterwards we can have an small breakfast-pick-nick (bring something) in the forest before we will return to Brussels.

How to get there:
Unfortunately, it seems as if there is no convenient public transport option, we need to do some car-sharing.

Photo-day in Liège!

For our hungry cameras, I propose 2 of Belgium’s most remarkable spots: Liège’s Calatrava train station and the stair/street called “Montagne de Bueren”. At the same time, we will visit one of the exhibitions of the 9th Biennial of Photography of Liège.

Calatrava’s station is the magnificent (and costly) work of architect Santiago Calatrava.
This building is a pleasure for the eyes, but it’s a trick for your camera! Bring your zoom or the widest-angle lens you have. This beast is not so easy to capture! I’m very curious what we will get.

The second imposed theme is the street “Montagne de Bueren”. The street is actually a 374-steps stairs. How you will put this into your frame is the name of the game 😉 Here, I would rather suggest a tele-lens. See Google Images for inspiration.

Between both shooting sessions, we will have a look at a photo-exhibition: “Idole” in the Cité Miroir. It looks like a very interesting exhibition about the power of images (More info on: http://bip-liege.org/en/exhibitions/cite-miroir/ ). 

Tentative timing:
- 9:45: Meeting at Brussels Central station, at the locket. Please purchase your own ticket to Liège (Weekend return tickets costs +/- 15,80 eur).
- 10:02: Train leaves 

- 11:00: Arrival at Liège’s Calatrava station – on the spot! We stay there +/- one hour to take pictures. 

- 12:00: Walk or bus to the city centre. Visit of the photo exhibition “Idole” in the Cité Miroir.
- 13:00: Lunch. I’ll try to book an affordable and popular restaurant. Off course everyone is free to grab some sandwich and stroll in the city.
- 14:00: Walk and shoot around the Montagne de Bueren, the second spot. Discovery of the this hilly and very old neighborhood. 

- 15:30: Let’s drink a Jupiler and talk about our experience. Those in a hurry can catch the 16:00 train. Then we walk back to the station
- 17:00: Train leaves to Brussels. For those who miss the train, there are other trains to Brussels every hour.

Update:

The weather will be perfect today but don't forget to take a warm jacket. I've updated the RSVP limit.
Everybody has to make his own transport arrangements, use the conversation below if you want to offer or are seeking transport.

Meeting points / time

19:00 Brussels near Avenue de Tervueren 191, 1150 Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (Montgomery)

19:45 the parking of Het Kriekske Kapittel 10, Halle

______________________________________________

It's only once a year. In April. In Belgium. Close to Halle. Bluebells covering the forest floor like a carped. In one week or so, it will be over....

Close to sunrise or sunset is the best time of the day for stunning pictures.

Hallerbos is about 35 minutes drive-time away from the centre of Brussels. The best way to get there is by car. You can find details about hallerbos here.

For those who plan to go to Hallerbos with their own car, we will meet at the parking of Het Kriekske at around 19:45.
From the parking, we will driver further into the woods to a more central location.
Picture time is from 20:00 to approx 21:00.

Meeting  19:00 at Montgomery near to White Night Nightshop close to corner Tervurenlaan / direction Tervuren. 

We need to do some car-sharing and you may be asked for a small contribution to cover the transport.

Anybody interested by a meetup on May 4th?

See http://blog.flickr.net/2014/02/10/happy-10th-birthday-flickr/

That's also an important day for Latvia it seems (Latvijas Republikas Neatkarības atjaunošanas diena)

The Happy Shuttercount Atef has a small exhibition from May 16 to June 15.

It will take place in Artpotheek
Rue Pletinckx 60, 1000 Brussels, close to Place St. Gery.
We meet at the entrance of Artpoteek on Sunday May 18th at 11:00.

Later on go for a drink in St. Gery 
http://www.atefhaikal.com/

and/or to the harbour 'festival'

http://www.portenfete.be/

A cultural happening full of rhythm!

During the Jazz marathon in Brussels, I propose to combine a photography course for intermediate photographers with a walk through the center of Brussels and a visit to the musical instruments museum.

Programme:

• 11h.30-12h00: Sandwich in the park at Mont des Arts

• 12h00-14h00: Visit of the musical instruments museum
http://www.mim.be/sax200-exhibition

• 14h00-17h00: Walk through the center of Brussels: taking pictures and listening to the Jazz music of the Jazz marathon (http://www.brusselsjazzmarathon.be/outdoor.php)
Districts: Mont des Arts, Marché aux Herbes, Gallery Sint-Hubertus, Grand Place, Sint-Katelijne

• 17h00-18h30: Dinner

• 18h30 -19h00: From Brussels center to VUB

• 19h00-21h00: Review and discuss the pictures taken

Price: free, but you pay your own ticket for the museum and dinner.

UNICEF will be offering some delicious snacks and classical music performance in Artpotheek as part of Impressions 360 exhibition. Come and join up for a good cause.

For more than a decade, Doel (a subdivision of Beveren), is threatened with complete demolition due to the future enlargement of the harbour of Antwerp. The town has been mostly depopulated, leaving a canvas for street artists. A bit more information over the town can be found on the following page: http://www.doel2020.org/page.php?ID=134 

There is a "touristic season" open from April until September. Visiting Doel by car is the easiest way. Public transportation doesn’t service Doel very often. (For those brave enough to try, there is one bus, nr. 83 that can be taken at the end of the pre-metro line of tram nr. 3 from Antwerp Central, but not all busses go as far as Doel. More information on public transport options are available on http://www.doel2020.org/Documentatie/Openbaar%20vervoer.htm) 

Here is the update:
I've checked with the Abbey, they easily can handle even large groups of more than 60 persons.

Where we meet in Gent:
We will meet at the entrance of the expo at 10:30, please be on time, if we are more than 14 persons, we will get a group discount. Have 4.50€ in change ready.

Photos:
Taking pictures in the expo area is not permitted but allowed in other parts (check the web-site for details).

It will take around 1,5 to 2 hours to see the expo. There is a restaurant inside the Abbey if you need refreshment.

Visit Gent:
We will re-join at 12:30 at the entrance and have a stroll through Gent.  

To get there:

Train:
For those who take the train from Brussels, we meet at 09:10 in front of Starbucks at Gare Central Brussels. We will take the train departing 09:17 at platform 2, arriving in Gent at 09:53.

From the Station Gand-Saint-Pierre in Gent it is a 20 minutes walk through the Citadelpark.

Car: use the discussion for pooling arrangements

Costs:
The meetup is free of charge but you may share some of your knowledge 😉

The return train ticket Brussels / Gent is 10€ (weekend)

The admission price for the expo is between 2€ (for young people under 26) and 6€ normal rate, for groups over 15 it is 4.50€ pp. Bring some change.

More info about the expo:

http://www.sintpietersabdijgent.be/en/content/discovery-photographer

about Vivian Maier http://www.vivianmaier.com/

(thank you Alexandra for the link!)

Same place: Photojournalism.  Only until 20/07/2014

http://www.sintpietersabdijgent.be/en/content/world-press-photo-2014

We are going to visit again an interesting expo in Gent.

It is the co-exhibition of the Photographers
Lisa Spilliaert
Athos Burez
Frederik Buyckx
Tom Callemin
Sanne De Wilde
Maroesjka Lavigne

Below is the FB link to the event https://www.facebook.com/events/311151442387308/?ref=22

How to get there:

a) public transport
from Brussels you can take the train from Central at 13:21 arriving 13:56. From the station in Ghent it's either an 40 minutes walk or a tram ride. Details are here: https://goo.gl/maps/kqmAk

Train-riders will meet at Starbucks at 13:10  

b) by car

Important for the submission: I've just learned that the final print must be A3 landscape!!! No portrait format. Sorry, I was not aware of this.

Update 7 July:
We will make some experiments, maybe just some background "Church" shoots towards the blue hour. Sunset is close to 22:00, we will meet at 21:00 between the two metro exits. Bring  - if you have - your tripod and some small x-mas deco stuff.

Update 6 July:

First of all a very big "thank you" to all who submitted inputs!
By now we have received some nice photos, however, to be honest, I had expected much more inputs to have an even broader choice for the selection of the best suited photos or images. So far only 13 candidate photo's are received as inputs, this number would not require a meet-up for a preselection process and the date give would be solely the  final for the selection process.

But .... why not meeting, discuss the inputs and probably generate a "fake christmas" close to summer to get quickly  more candidate pictures or inputs for an photomontage.

Your opinions please! I can try to organise tomorrow a small (very) tree and maybe some decoration (check, if you have something which would scale on a 35cm tree).

The weather is going to be nice tomorrow and we will have an "blue hour" at around 22:30.
Playing with the "depth of field", some motion blur maybe flashes and other ideas it may be possible to create something?
We could meet at a "scenic" spot in Brussels, probably somewhere, where I can bring the truck to have 240V power for some light ....

Possible locations:
- Sainte Catherine
- Sablon
- Cathedrale Saints Michel
Parc du Cinquantenaire

Preferable Sainte Catherine

Your opinion is required! Please use the discussion!

-----------------------------------------------------

Update 27 June SUBMISSION IS OPEN NOW !!!

Photo Submission

Photoresk's prestigious support the charity initiative of the Lions Club Bruessel Charlemagne for the benefit of severely ill children starts the next level:

Submission of Photos starts now and is open until the 6th of July.

Have your pictures and your name on the Lions Advent Calendar!!!

Please read the instructions below, check your archive and click <a>here</a> to submit your picture (8 mega pixel minimum)!

(if the link does not work - please e-mail your picture to [masked] and mention LionsCalender2014 in the subject)

After manual approval, you will receive a reference link to the submitted photos.

Rules

Image submission must be entrant’s original creation and must be owned 100% by the entrant.

Each entrant may deliver one or more images for this contest.

The image must have an resolution of at least 8 mega pixels.

Entries may originate in any format — including, but not limited to digital files, digital prints, color transparencies, color prints, or black and white prints — so long as they are submitted electronically.
Watermarked submissions are not acceptable.

The organiser reserves the right to remove image submissions deemed inappropriate solely at the discretion of the organiser.
The organiser reserves the right to republish any photos submitted for the purpose of this initiative.

------------------ more Details are below --------

What

Photoresk received the invitation to support the charity initiative of the German speaking Lions Club Bruessel Charlemagne for the benefit of severely ill children. We are very proud of this 😉

The Plan
Photoresk will donate the best suitable and available christmas picture or collage to the Lions Club Bruessel Charlemagne to make their advent calendar really special (what is an advent calendar?)

example: the advent calendar picture 2013

More detail
Since many years the Lions Club Bruessel Charlemagne makes a wonderful contribution to important charity programs. Key of this initiative is the advent calendar. By selling this advent calendar, other donations and a tombola support is given to the charity "La Cité Sérine" (further details about "La Cité Serine" at: <a>www.serine-asbl.org)</a>

What to do
You are kindly invited to check your archive or be creative at your desk.
It must be  Winter / Christmas relates scene from Brussels. This can be a photograph or an collage suitable for DIN-A3 print.

It's the nature of an advent calendar that 24 small doors will be opened throughout the days - the visual impression should not be completely distracted by that.

The selection
We will have an fair and secured pre-selection process followed by an selection meetup where we will chose the five best.

Please, not the Grande Place
Since the Grand Place was already many times subject of this picture, for 2014 it should be preferably another location

Prestigious project
Helping Lions to help children should be by itself reward enough. But this is not all. Your name will be published along with your picture on the front of the advent calendar for free!

What to do now
Sign up for this meetup (you also may invite your friends). Check your archive. Have your best images  for this great initiative ready. You will receive more instructions later.

About Lions
LIONS is a worldwide service organisation comprising approximately 1.3 million members. Members of LIONS commit themselves to their maxim “We serve“ for all needy fellow men and women. LIONS aim to foster tolerance within human society. They especially want to promote general welfare, developing friendly relations among nations and thereby strengthening peace in the world. LIONS assist fellow men and women who suffer from material, physical and mental distress. LIONS also try to preserve our cultural heritage.

Your rights

Your photographs help children in need. Thank you for helping to further the mission of the Lionsclub Charlemagne mission through your photography.

You will retain all rights to any photograph you submit including ownership if applicable.

You only grant the Lionsclub Charlemagne rights (as described below) to your photograph if your photo is selected for the Lionsclub Charlemagne calendar 2014.

If your photo is selected for the Lionsclub Charlemagne calendar 2014 you grant the Lionsclub Charlemagne a royalty-free, nonexclusive right, in perpetuity, to:

Use the photograph to publish it on their Charity Calendar 2014 and supporting activities, including news stories, newsletters, reports, slide shows, displays, web pages, and the like.

Questions?
Feel free to use the discussion or to contact the organiser.

This is a copy of the initial "Rain in the City Meetup" for those who want to have this spontainious meetup -  enjoy and keep you gear dry 😉

Living in Belgium we all should be experts at shooting in the rain but how many of you are like me and have never shot in the rain - anyone up to the challenge…? Obviously we have to wait for a guaranteed rainy day but that can't be far away… Time and place yet to be decided but it will be at short notice …

The Sunday-weather currently is unpredictable, I will  update this info on Saturday.

If the weather is nice (at least dry) we may hang-out and "shoot" slack-liners 😉 but also experiment to improve our photographic skills. Probably having kinda pick-nick too (bring something).
During the day we may move to other areas of the park, but we will be at the meeting point (park entrance on the side of Schuman) at 11:30 and 14:30.

I will E-Mail my GSM number  to those who RSVP yes.

Use the discussion for additional ideas and proposals.

--- the proposal by Andreas (thank you!) ---------
Hi everyone,

my slackline group is organising an event in the Parc Cinquantenaire.

http://www.beslack.be/blog/activites/rassemblement-au-cinquantenaire

The meeting point is on the right just at the park entrance on the side of Schuman.

If anyone is interested in taking some pictures or videos, or try the slacklines yourself, you are more than welcome to join. I'll be there all day long and will also bring my camera.

Perhaps type "slackline photography" into Google pictures search to get some inspiration...

Hi Everyone! I'll be leaving BRU at the end of September for a new adventure in South Africa! I'm really looking forward to it, but now I've got a mile-long bucket list of places I want to visit in Belgium. So, would there be any interest in visiting either the Chatillon Car Graveyard (are there enough cars left to be interesting?) or Durbuy (and the topiary gardens.) If we were quite ambitious, it could be done in one very long day. I could offer my car and take 4 in addition to myself. Anyways, please let me know if there is any interest! I was thinking either next weekend or the weekend after.

Not long ago we had a combined meetup with the Belgium Slack-line group, fun day with lots of great pictures taken. 

What:
On Sunday, some of the Brussels Runner Meetup are taking the Gladiator Run Combat Edition challenge in and around the Citadel of Diest.

This could be an excellent opportunity for or a Sunday-afternoon out and to focus on taking some nice action shots and techniques like using right shutter speeds for freezing or panning techniques and much more....

The unknown:
I've tried to contact the organiser of the run to find out which space is available for spectators/photographers but did not receive an answer (I don't know the place yet).
The parcours in and around the citadel looks promising:
maybe someone has more details? Please comment.

Seems as if there is no entrance fee for spectators, only for starters.

How:
Deist seems to be reachable by train, car-sharing is also an option.

more info here: http://www.meetup.com/Brussels-Runners/events/172564432/
and here: http://gladiatorrun.be/combat-edition/

We can at the station in Brussels and/or at Location. The meeting time 13:00 is meant to be in Deist.

Please use the conversation below for detail arrangements.

Thank you Patricia for the proposal 😉

Update 9/9/2014
Hi All,
Yesterday I've checked out the location and the moon at Cinquantenaire.

Honestly, I did not expect the Supermoon to look like a big cheesecake in the sky but it could have been a bit bigger. Maybe I was suffering from the moon-illusion [wikipedia]  I've learnt something new... 😉

You will definitely need a long lens or zoom in a lot.
I've noticed too:
It was an interesting idea to see the moon through the Arcs but probably doesn't look nice on photos.
* There is still the flag in the center arc moving in the wind spoiling all HDR attempts.
* The "back-side" of the Monument is not well illuminated and it will be completely dark by 21:15.  

The view from Cinquantenaire towards Montgomery might be more promising.

It will be better if we meet on the place between the two museums, towards Montgomery. We will be such a large group, not to miss 😉

---------------------------------------------------

Update 8/9/2014:

Dear all -

in a comment earlier, I've pointed to an internet site which explains nicely some techniques to photograph the moon / super moon.
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-take-photos-of-the-supermoon/

with two remarks: No remote shutter release? use the self-timer of the camera, this helps to avoid shake when pressing the shutter No tripod? put your camera on something solid. A small sand-bag (freezer bag, loosely filled with rice, sugar or similar) helps to set the camera

Pointing to web-sites is not the new style of our learning and sharing network, however, when I proposed this meetup, I expected around 10 to 20 Happy Shuttercounts to sign up. Now we are close to hundert... But don't forget: It's about learning from each other - ask and share your knowledge.

Hope the weather is with us 😉
Check back to this site, more updates to follow.

  ---------------------------- end of update ----------

Supermoon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term "supermoon" is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology.[1] The association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but the evidence of such a link is widely held to be unconvincing.[2]

The most recent occurrence was on August 10, 2014. The next and closest supermoon of 2014 will be on September 9.[3]

The supermoon at 9. September will align with the axis Cinquantenaire - Montgomery at around 21:46 at an elevation of 13,9°
A nice opportunity to picture the full moon which seems to be 13% larger as usual. Bring your tripod or borrow one  (use the discussion). 

We will have some photographic related discussions and a snack / drink before or after. Details will follow.

Another update:

Come at 20:45 to Slegerslaan corner Louis Gribaumontlaan and/or  22:15 to Cinquantenaire, the place between the museums and the fountain if we have clear sky

Rue de la Loi is cancelled.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Update 10/9: despite the uncertainties of today's cloud coverage - 
after yesterdays experience, I've re-checked the calculations.

The moon will align with the axis Rue de la Loi quite late - at 22:58 and already high in the sky at an elevation of 20°. Not really optimal for pictures along the street canyon (which in any case would change from Rue de la Loi to Rue Belliard to 'follow' the lights of the traffic).

I suppose 22:58 is too late?

Shall we cancel this meetup or change the location?

There are surprisingly not many streets in Brussels in the right angle for a good view on the rising moon (ca. 80° azimuth).

One option would be at Slegerslaan / Louis Gribaumontlaan: https://www.google.be/maps/dir/A.J.+Slegerslaan,+1200+Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe/50.840453,4.4174099/@50.8424671,4.4200934,17z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c3db599b6b0307:0x253bfacbed30c1e4!2m2!1d4.4233269!2d50.8407782!1m0

At the roundabout Slegerslaan / Louis Gribaumontlaan is only a very small time-window from 20:55 to 21:05 to spot the rising moon at a low angle of 2,1° (can't guarantee for that) which makes it really look big.... but it may not be worth to go there outside this times.

Please communicate your view in the discussion, depending on the reaction the meetup will be re-located or cancelled.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update: exact location will be anounced after the "Supermoon at Cinquantenaire meetup"

----------------------------------

We will picture the big supermoon Brusselshenge'ish along the axis Rue de la Loi

details and exact time after some calculations 😉

Brusselshenge'ish from Manhattanhenge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattanhenge

Supermoon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term "supermoon" is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology.[1] The association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but the evidence of such a link is widely held to be unconvincing.[2]

The most recent occurrence was on August 10, 2014. The next and closest supermoon of 2014 will be on September 9.[3]

If you already have some experience in event-shooting, this may be for you!

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we would be interested to meet-up with a small group at a swing-dance event this Friday, site survey is possible on Friday.

The participants (at least some of them) will be dressed up in this style. There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. However, there is up to now no light equipment, you may need to bring something / we have to co-ordinate.

Maybe some hand-held remote flashed would do also.

Sorry, it's very limited and you should already have some experience in event shooting but we will have another meetup soon where we can share our experience.

It's a no money invloved meetup.

Please contact me and Andreas for details  (I may not be available before Friday)

October 2013 we made an Art Nouveau walk in Brussels.
2014: let's go see some Art Nouveau in Antwerp!

Art Nouveau houses will be interspersed with neoclassical mansions and other eclectic architectural styles.

A majority of interesting houses can be found in the area where we meet.

Update:  (HDR and Shoes)

• from 19:30 on, Daniel will tell us how he created his wonderful HDR pictures of abandoned places.

• The ShoeFie machine will be in action. Taking automatically FREE pictures from different angles of your right shoe - they will go on Fotki and FB 

• After closing the venue, we may go for a drink to the Moeder Lambic, it's just around the corner

---- end of update --- 

The first time.

Six Happy Shuttercounts have organised this interesting exhibition for you.

A première - the first time such an event is happening under the umbrella of Photoresk.

From the mini-site:
"Six independent Photographers come together in this unique private exhibition. Discover their work. Explore their different views. Follow them on a journey into diversity. Different portfolios, different views and different perspectives ranging from experimental and abstractionism to nature and documentary. Strongly connected and tied by their devotion and shared passion for photography. All photographers are members of Photoresk, the global, inter-cultural photography knowledge sharing and learning network. "

It takes place at DoRéMi, Rue des Vierges 14-20, a few minutes from La Bourse and Place St. Gery.

We meet at the venue from 18:30 on (yes, you can come later 😉 , see and discuss and on go for a drink later.

Details about the expo on our mini-site:

http://disclosure.photoresk.com/

Beautiful and mystical
It's a place close to Brussels, easily accessible for everybody.
If the weather is nice, it's beautiful, if not, it can be even mystical. Especially when autumn spreads it's decent colours everywhere. Surprisingly it's not very well known among the expat scene. It is the National Botanic Garden of Belgium in Meise (a bit - ca. 3km - north of the Atomium).
Outside, there are so many different types of trees which you will rarely see arranged like this anywhere in the world! Not enough, the large greenhouse with its amazing variety of plants is also worth a visit.
http://www.br.fgov.be/index.php

last year in October

What to bring
So, bring of course your camera, if you have, your macro and zoom equipment and whatever you may need for landscape AND close-ups. Of course, we will as usual discuss, ask and explain as we go. Don't worry, if you don't have a special photo gear. I have seen stunning pictures which were taken with an instamatic.

What we will do
Also this time, we will be a good mix of experts and beginners sharing the same passion and don't forget: there is always someone who knows something which all the others don't know. We also will have a small challenge for the excitement 😉

What if
As usual, we can expect the weather condition will be perfect for that day, we will meet in any case and in case its raining heavily, there is also the greenhouse and there are some shelters in the park.

Autmnpicknick
Bring some cheese/sausage/etc. and something to drink. We will try to have a pick-nick, probably in on of those tiny weather shelters.   

How to get  there
<a>http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/howtoreach.php
</a> Adress: Jardin botanique national de Belgique
Nieuwelaan 38
1860 Meise
By Car. We also can do some car-sharing. Start the discussion.
By Bus to Meise. Stop is "Nationale Plantentuin".
You can use the planner: http://www.delijn.be/en/index.htm with the street address above. In practical terms, we may form two groups. One is coming by bus from Brussels, the others go directly.

Questions
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

Links
General http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/index.php

we do it again!

It was sooo nice last week, let's go again as long as there are leaves on the trees.. (this was last week: http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/events/210312272/)

Beautiful and mystical
It's a place close to Brussels, easily accessible for everybody.
If the weather is nice, it's beautiful, if not, it can be even mystical. Especially when autumn spreads it's decent colours everywhere. Surprisingly it's not very well known among the expat scene. It is the National Botanic Garden of Belgium in Meise (a bit - ca. 3km - north of the Atomium).
Outside, there are so many different types of trees which you will rarely see arranged like this anywhere in the world! Not enough, the large greenhouse with its amazing variety of plants is also worth a visit.
http://www.br.fgov.be/index.php

last year in October

What to bring
So, bring of course your camera, if you have, your macro and zoom equipment and whatever you may need for landscape AND close-ups. Of course, we will as usual discuss, ask and explain as we go. Don't worry, if you don't have a special photo gear. I have seen stunning pictures which were taken with an instamatic.

What we will do
Also this time, we will be a good mix of experts and beginners sharing the same passion and don't forget: there is always someone who knows something which all the others don't know. We also will have a small challenge for the excitement 😉

What if
As usual, we can expect the weather condition will be perfect for that day, we will meet in any case and in case its raining heavily, there is also the greenhouse and there are some shelters in the park.

Autmnpicknick
Bring some cheese/sausage/etc. and something to drink. We will try to have a pick-nick, probably in on of those tiny weather shelters.   

How to get  there
<a>http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/howtoreach.php
</a> Adress: Jardin botanique national de Belgique
Nieuwelaan 38
1860 Meise
By Car. We also can do some car-sharing. Start the discussion.
By Bus to Meise. Stop is "Nationale Plantentuin".
You can use the planner: http://www.delijn.be/en/index.htm with the street address above. In practical terms, we may form two groups. One is coming by bus from Brussels, the others go directly.

Questions
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

Links
General http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/index.php

Some of you may already have seen our Photoresk Expo Number One in the City Centre of Brussels at DoReMi.

This Sunday, we have something special in addition to the printed work:

Random pictures from two years Photoresk Brussels Meetup will be shown.

If you ever have been to a Photoresk Meetup and submitted photos to the meetup site you may discover one or another of them being projected at the Expo!

The Expo: The first time.

Six Happy Shuttercounts have organised this interesting exhibition for you.

A première - the first time such an event is happening under the umbrella of Photoresk.

It is opened from 25th September to 25 October.
Details about the expo and location on our mini-site:

http://disclosure.photoresk.com/

The press is writing about the Expo and Photoresk: http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/article/an-initiative-for-brussels-and-photography.html

After closing the venue, we may go for a drink to the Moeder Lambic, it's just around the corner

All of you have already received the invitation to
Dis/closure Photoresk Exhibition #1
and many of you already visited this first public exhibition of our group.

Saturday will be the final day, we open in the regularly during the afternoon and for the Finnisage (from 19:00 to 23:00), entrance is free.

For the last time in this combination to see:

• the prints from the 'Happy Shuttercounts' Alexanda, Claus, Daniel, Eva, Kevin and Luc,

• projections of random pictures from the past 76 (!) Photoresk Brussels meetups, 

• we also will have a modern dance session and

• food available at modest prices (with all the profit going directly to help the charity).

But we still need are photographer(s) for the event and seek volunteer(s) to take pictures at the Finnissage!

more info about our Photoresk event and the location here:
http://disclosure.photoresk.com

Of course, you are free to bring your camera and take pictures if you come 'only' as visitor but it would also be great if we would have one or two 'Happy Shuttercounts' who 'commit' as "Event Photographer" for the whole or parts of the evening. Your pictures will find a prominent place at our web-site and on Facebook.

Thank you!!!

😉 

PS The official "Event Photographer(s)" will be on the first-come, first-serve basis 🙂 - probably two at a time (19:00 - 20:00,
20:00 -21:00,
21:00 - 22:00,
22:00 - 23:00)
would be sufficient.
Use the discussion for co-ordination.

The Museum of Photography in Charleroi is situated in Mont-sur-Marchienne in a former convent. It is the largest and one of the most important museums of photography in Europe, spread over a 6000m² space, with a collection of 80,000 photographs, of which 800 are permanently exhibited.

We'll get a guided tour during 1,5 hours , in English of course  😉

After that we will have a walk along the industrial landscapes of Charleroi, according to some people the ugliest city in the world, but ideal for photography enthusiasts!

Don't miss this opportunity...

The small letters
The guide had to be booked in advance so a pre payment of 5 EUR (this includes entry to the permanent collection of the museum and the guide) to the Organizer's account will be asked after you subscribed via Meetup.
Due to the guided tour, places are limited to max. 20 people.
Please be on time as guides can be scrupulous 😉

What to bring
Obviously, your camera or anything that has a camera... The rest is up to you: a lens for landscapes, a CPL,...
Walking shoes, a small backpack with some refreshments during our walk and an umbrella or something that protects your gear and yourself in case of rain.

What we will do
- 10:30 sharp – 12:00 : Guided tour in museum.
- Lunch (a sandwich, salad or pasta dish from the Museum Café OR bring your own food).
- Afternoon: walk along industrial buildings and graffiti walls. I can't give an exact timing of start and end but the walk is roughly 15 km long.

What if it rains?
Fortunately the museum has a roof  😉
In case of rain there is always an option to stay longer in the museum and start our walk in Charleroi later.
In case of very very heavy rain... then we decide what to do on that moment.

How to get there
Museum of Photography
Avenue Paul Pastur 11
6032 Charleroi

By Car:
Offers or Requests for car sharing can be published on the conversation board below.

By Public transport:
Charleroi-Sud train station,
then take bus 70 or 71 or 170 (get out at 'Mont-sur-Marchienne place').
More details here.

Questions
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

Photo Booth on Friday Night

Shooting at Vintage „Dance and More“ Event

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we were interested to volunteer at events of Swing It Brussels, hosting the Lindy Hop exchange .
What a great opportunity for beautiful,  vintage shots!!!

What
Swing it Brussels asbl is looking for  photographer(s) for a series of events 14 - 16 November, the BRUX Lindy Exchange.
It is a packed weekend. Parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (even on Monday 17th November) and day activities on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Details
You can find details about the event(s) here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/swingitbrussels/?fref=ts
http://www.brux2014.com/program

You need to know before RSVP
The number of participants is very limited this event. You should have some experience in event shooting. When you RSVP „yes“ for the event, you should commit to participate and - if you, for any reason, have to change your plans, modify your RSVP accordingly to free you place for someone else ASAP.

If more are interested in this event than places available, preference may be give to those with a clean no-show record from previous meetups.

There will be no Photoresk organiser as usual. After you are confirmed, you will receive the contact details of the organiser at Swing It Brussels event for further information and co-ordination.

This is a no-money involved Photoresk meetup as usual 😉  

That is the agreement with Swing It Brussels

1. the photographer can use the pictures for her/his portfolio etc.
2. agrees to make the photos available on your web- and facebook pages (see below)
3. gets free entrance to the events
4. the participants to the events agree that pictures will be taken and published
5. when publishing the images, the photographer will be credited by mentioning his/her name
6. The pictures will be published on the Photomask Brussels Meetup site, the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1429961567278516/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming) and on the website (http://www.brux2014.com/).
7. the images will be made available for download

Brewery tour on Saturday afternoon

Shooting at Vintage „Dance and More“ Event

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we were interested to volunteer at events of Swing It Brussels, hosting the Lindy Hop exchange .
What a great opportunity for beautiful,  vintage shots!!!

What
Swing it Brussels asbl is looking for  photographer(s) for a series of events 14 - 16 November, the BRUX Lindy Exchange.
It is a packed weekend. Parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (even on Monday 17th November) and day activities on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Details
You can find details about the event(s) here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/swingitbrussels/?fref=ts
http://www.brux2014.com/program

You need to know before RSVP
The number of participants is very limited this event. You should have some experience in event shooting. When you RSVP „yes“ for the event, you should commit to participate and - if you, for any reason, have to change your plans, modify your RSVP accordingly to free you place for someone else ASAP.

If more are interested in this event than places available, preference may be give to those with a clean no-show record from previous meetups.

There will be no Photoresk organiser as usual. After you are confirmed, you will receive the contact details of the organiser at Swing It Brussels event for further information and co-ordination.

This is a no-money involved Photoresk meetup as usual 😉  

That is the agreement with Swing It Brussels

1. the photographer can use the pictures for her/his portfolio etc.
2. agrees to make the photos available on your web- and facebook pages (see below)
3. gets free entrance to the events
4. the participants to the events agree that pictures will be taken and published
5. when publishing the images, the photographer will be credited by mentioning his/her name
6. The pictures will be published on the Photomask Brussels Meetup site, the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1429961567278516/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming) and on the website (http://www.brux2014.com/).
7. the images will be made available for download

Discovery trail in Brussels on Saturday afternoon

Shooting at Vintage „Dance and More“ Event

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we were interested to volunteer at events of Swing It Brussels, hosting the Lindy Hop exchange .
What a great opportunity for beautiful,  vintage shots!!!

What
Swing it Brussels asbl is looking for  photographer(s) for a series of events 14 - 16 November, the BRUX Lindy Exchange.
It is a packed weekend. Parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (even on Monday 17th November) and day activities on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Details
You can find details about the event(s) here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/swingitbrussels/?fref=ts
http://www.brux2014.com/program

You need to know before RSVP
The number of participants is very limited this event. You should have some experience in event shooting. When you RSVP „yes“ for the event, you should commit to participate and - if you, for any reason, have to change your plans, modify your RSVP accordingly to free you place for someone else ASAP.

If more are interested in this event than places available, preference may be give to those with a clean no-show record from previous meetups.

There will be no Photoresk organiser as usual. After you are confirmed, you will receive the contact details of the organiser at Swing It Brussels event for further information and co-ordination.

This is a no-money involved Photoresk meetup as usual 😉  

That is the agreement with Swing It Brussels

1. the photographer can use the pictures for her/his portfolio etc.
2. agrees to make the photos available on your web- and facebook pages (see below)
3. gets free entrance to the events
4. the participants to the events agree that pictures will be taken and published
5. when publishing the images, the photographer will be credited by mentioning his/her name
6. The pictures will be published on the Photomask Brussels Meetup site, the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1429961567278516/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming) and on the website (http://www.brux2014.com/).
7. the images will be made available for download

Photo Booth on Saturday Night

Shooting at Vintage „Dance and More“ Event

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we were interested to volunteer at events of Swing It Brussels, hosting the Lindy Hop exchange .
What a great opportunity for beautiful,  vintage shots!!!

What
Swing it Brussels asbl is looking for  photographer(s) for a series of events 14 - 16 November, the BRUX Lindy Exchange.
It is a packed weekend. Parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (even on Monday 17th November) and day activities on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Details
You can find details about the event(s) here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/swingitbrussels/?fref=ts
http://www.brux2014.com/program

You need to know before RSVP
The number of participants is very limited this event. You should have some experience in event shooting. When you RSVP „yes“ for the event, you should commit to participate and - if you, for any reason, have to change your plans, modify your RSVP accordingly to free you place for someone else ASAP.

If more are interested in this event than places available, preference may be give to those with a clean no-show record from previous meetups.

There will be no Photoresk organiser as usual. After you are confirmed, you will receive the contact details of the organiser at Swing It Brussels event for further information and co-ordination.

This is a no-money involved Photoresk meetup as usual 😉  

That is the agreement with Swing It Brussels

1. the photographer can use the pictures for her/his portfolio etc.
2. agrees to make the photos available on your web- and facebook pages (see below)
3. gets free entrance to the events
4. the participants to the events agree that pictures will be taken and published
5. when publishing the images, the photographer will be credited by mentioning his/her name
6. The pictures will be published on the Photomask Brussels Meetup site, the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1429961567278516/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming) and on the website (http://www.brux2014.com/).
7. the images will be made available for download

Swimming pool on Sunday afternoon

Shooting at Vintage „Dance and More“ Event

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we were interested to volunteer at events of Swing It Brussels, hosting the Lindy Hop exchange .
What a great opportunity for beautiful,  vintage shots!!!

What
Swing it Brussels asbl is looking for  photographer(s) for a series of events 14 - 16 November, the BRUX Lindy Exchange.
It is a packed weekend. Parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (even on Monday 17th November) and day activities on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Details
You can find details about the event(s) here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/swingitbrussels/?fref=ts
http://www.brux2014.com/program

You need to know before RSVP
The number of participants is very limited this event. You should have some experience in event shooting. When you RSVP „yes“ for the event, you should commit to participate and - if you, for any reason, have to change your plans, modify your RSVP accordingly to free you place for someone else ASAP.

If more are interested in this event than places available, preference may be give to those with a clean no-show record from previous meetups.

There will be no Photoresk organiser as usual. After you are confirmed, you will receive the contact details of the organiser at Swing It Brussels event for further information and co-ordination.

This is a no-money involved Photoresk meetup as usual 😉  

That is the agreement with Swing It Brussels

1. the photographer can use the pictures for her/his portfolio etc.
2. agrees to make the photos available on your web- and facebook pages (see below)
3. gets free entrance to the events
4. the participants to the events agree that pictures will be taken and published
5. when publishing the images, the photographer will be credited by mentioning his/her name
6. The pictures will be published on the Photomask Brussels Meetup site, the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1429961567278516/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming) and on the website (http://www.brux2014.com/).
7. the images will be made available for download

 Discovery trail in Elsene on Sunday afternoon

Shooting at Vintage „Dance and More“ Event

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we were interested to volunteer at events of Swing It Brussels, hosting the Lindy Hop exchange .
What a great opportunity for beautiful,  vintage shots!!!

What
Swing it Brussels asbl is looking for  photographer(s) for a series of events 14 - 16 November, the BRUX Lindy Exchange.
It is a packed weekend. Parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (even on Monday 17th November) and day activities on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Details
You can find details about the event(s) here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/swingitbrussels/?fref=ts
http://www.brux2014.com/program

You need to know before RSVP
The number of participants is very limited this event. You should have some experience in event shooting. When you RSVP „yes“ for the event, you should commit to participate and - if you, for any reason, have to change your plans, modify your RSVP accordingly to free you place for someone else ASAP.

If more are interested in this event than places available, preference may be give to those with a clean no-show record from previous meetups.

There will be no Photoresk organiser as usual. After you are confirmed, you will receive the contact details of the organiser at Swing It Brussels event for further information and co-ordination.

This is a no-money involved Photoresk meetup as usual 😉  

That is the agreement with Swing It Brussels

1. the photographer can use the pictures for her/his portfolio etc.
2. agrees to make the photos available on your web- and facebook pages (see below)
3. gets free entrance to the events
4. the participants to the events agree that pictures will be taken and published
5. when publishing the images, the photographer will be credited by mentioning his/her name
6. The pictures will be published on the Photomask Brussels Meetup site, the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1429961567278516/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming) and on the website (http://www.brux2014.com/).
7. the images will be made available for download

Tervuren park is among the prettiest in Brussels, with the straight rows of trees decorated with colorful leaves in November which are reflected in the lakes. Weather permitting, we can catch the nearing sunset in the afternoon and get some amazing images - and attempt some HDR shots.

If you already have some experience in event-shooting, this may be for you!

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we would be interested to meet-up with a small group at a swing-dance event this Friday, site survey is possible on Friday.

The participants (at least some of them) will be dressed up in this style. There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. However, there is up to now no light equipment, you may need to bring something / we have to co-ordinate.

Maybe some hand-held remote flashed would do also.

Sorry, it's very limited and you should already have some experience in event shooting but we will have another meetup soon where we can share our experience.

It's a "no money involved" meetup. We will have the opportunity to take pictures and use them - in return we will share the results with the orgainser of the dance event.

Join Photoresk Berlin for a stroll over Christmas markets.

More details are on the Berlin meetup site:
http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk-Berlin-Photography/events/219087586/

If you are interested in event-shooting, this may be for you! - New: You can also join if you would like to act as a model dressed in 20th / 30th style.

Photoresk Brussels was asked if we would be interested to meet-up with a small group at a swing-dance event Saturday (as we did a few times before).

There will be a special surprise at the event too, but this has to kept secret by now, it will be announced later 😉

For sure, it will be both, a lot of fun and interesting.
The dancers will be dressed up in vintage style.  We will have a kind of studio set-up at the venue, decorated where we will offer free portrait shooting. 

However, there is up to now no light equipment, you may need to bring something / we have to co-ordinate. Maybe some hand-held remote flashed would do also.

Sorry, the number of photographers at the set has to be limited, otherwise it would not work smoothly. 

But - there is another option: If you like to act as model, come along and have pictures taken - but you have to dress up in vintage style!!!  (we will have some accessoires available) and you can join the party too. If this is for you - pls. don't use the RSVP to this meetup which is intended for photographers only, contact the organiser instead).

It's a no money involved meetup.

UPDATE

We reached now 38+ Happy Shuttercounts attending....

The expo-place at Place des Palais 7, 1000 Bruxelles

is far too small to take such a large group at once!
Instead of splitting the whole event, I suggest:
From 12:00 on we can meet at a coffee place nearby

Natural Caffe
Rue du Mont des Arts 20
1000 Bruxelles

http://www.montdesarts.com/fr/EatAndDrink/Natural-Caffe
https://goo.gl/maps/PHz1l
https://goo.gl/maps/nvU4N

and go to see the Expo in smaller  groups of 10 or so and come back to the coffee - place. 

We also meet collectively there after the expo at 14:00 where some may have another coffee/chat or others may leave for the next meetup / the follow-on 

----- end update ----

Interesting expo and some funny pictures even if you don't like the genre I think it's worth a visit.
Free entrance. Open until 25/01/2015.
More info on the museum site: http://belvue.be/en/museum/temporary-exhibitions/belgian-street-photography

The location changed to  co-ordinate with the expo-visit!!!

To coincide with the Street Photography exposition visit I suggest to those who are interested to put what we have learnt from the expo into practice immediately. For this we will be aided by an event that we followed last year... namely the NO-PANTS-SUBWAY day. We had great fun last year so we could try it again... This part of the event is very difficult to organise because of the chaos and number of people in the metro at this time but the effort is well worth making for those that wish too. The time and place still need to be confirmed but we will try to work it so that we can see both the expo and take part in the No Pants event. It is not obligatory to go pantless! For inspiration see last years results ...@ Street Photography in Brussels67</a><a href="http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/photos/19494702"></a><a href="http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/photos/19494702">uploadJanuary 12, 2014 · 1:30 PMcentre of Brussels

Its a last minute suggestion. There will be chocolate making demonstrations  and a fashion show of chocolate dresses at 17:00, exhibitions etc.
Entrance 10 EUR. See the link for more info:
http://brussels.salon-du-chocolat.com/accueil.aspx

It may get crowded, not sure if we can sty together as group.

There may be some nice photo opportunities macro/chocolate & fashion show ...

Aalst is famous for its carnival festivities.

When the three-day Aalst Carnaval begins each year on the Sunday before the Christian Lent, it is the culmination of a year of preparation by the inhabitants of this city. Exuberant and satirical, the celebration features a Prince Carnaval, who symbolically becomes mayor and receives the key to the city.

A big parade crosses the city on Sunday, with about 70 groups of costumed volunteers and parade cars. In addition to the carefully-prepared floats of official entrants, informal groups join the festivities to offer mocking interpretations of local and world events of the past year.

This 600-year-old ritual is a Unesco World Heritage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yODt38k8TSs

What to bring
Obviously, your camera or anything that has a camera... Walking shoes, a small backpack with some refreshments and an umbrella or something that protects your gear and yourself in case of rain.

What we will do
Taking shots of the parade, enjoying the atmosphere.

How to get there
1. By Car:
If you come by car then it's best to park your car in the industrial park of Erembodegem. I live in the neighborhood of Aalst so I'll be parked there too.
We can meet at the bus stop called 'Erembodegem Industriepark Zuid' (http://goo.gl/maps/ANUch) at 2:30pm, which is near the street corner. If you see the 'ilva' sign (see picture) then you're nearby  🙂
A bus will take us to the city of Aalst, for free. We will walk towards Deutsche Bank, to be there at 3:30pm.

2. By train:
There is a train departing from Brussels Central Station at 2:10pm, arriving at 2:48pm in Aalst.
If you come by train, then we can meet in front of the Deutsche Bank (Keizersplein 40, Aalst) at 3:30pm.
It will take about 20 to 30 minutes from the train station to Deutsche Bank.

FAQ
- The time of your return depends on your mood... There are regular trains towards Brussels, as well as busses to the industrial park.
- Carpooling offers and demands can be posted below.
- If you have other questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

http://www.carnavaldebinche.be/programme-jour-gras.html

Latest news: the weather will be good tomorrow, forecast more than 7 hours sunshine!!!!

It will be a long day, packed with events

• the "march" with the wonderful old historical costumes costumes and Geraadsbergen tradition

• The ritual on to of the hill with the mix of pre-Christian elements (fire, living fish, bread, wine) where the breads (Krakelingen) will be thrown towards the crowd of spectators and wine with fish will be drunken.  

• Later on top of the Oudenberg the pitch ton fire.  

While in Geraadsbergen don't miss the 

• MANNEKEN-PIS (older than the one in Brussels)

• MATTENTAART(the local -special- cake)

• for sure you will not miss the TOWNHALL and THE CHURCH

Bring some some warm clothing!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geraardsbergen

if you understand German, here is a nice info

--------------UPDATE[masked]----------------------------

Hello to everyone.

I uploaded the poster and the plan of the event.

This is the new plan for 2015!
I have this only in Dutch. the route have changed slightly this year due to some roadworks, so it would be more or less than last year.

If someone can make a resume in ENG of this we will be fully informed about the program.

I have spoken to one of the organisers Barbara Decock and she told me to meet her near the stands at the riverbank. I have her phone just in case.

Programma

Historisch-volkskundige stoet - 15.00 uur

Parcours (gewijzigd parcours door werken in de Denderstraat en de Abdijstraat):

Hunnegemstraat

Lessensestraat

Stationsplein

Adamstraat

Oudenaardsestraat

Grotestraat

Begijnhofkaai

Kaai

Brugstraat

Markt

Inhoud en volgorde van de stoet

1.    Folders worden uitgedeeld

2.    K.S.A.-fanfare

3.  Thebaanse trompetten

4.  Druïden

5.  Deken, stadsbestuur en O.C.M.W.-raad, in kledij uit 1815

Onze traditie

6.  Lentemeisjes

7.  De Sint-Adriaansabdij  a. De drie oudste kerken van Geraardsbergen

b. Scriptorium van de abdij

8.  Stichting en versterking van de stad  a. De vrijheidskeure, 1068

b. De 6 stadspoorten

c. Straatmuzikanten

9.  De opstandige steden [masked])

10.  Kleine ridders en jonkvrouwen

11.  Dood van Walter van Edingen (1381): lijkrede door Lodewijk van Male, rouwstoet van ruiters

Nieuw thema: 1515 – 1815 - 2015

In 1515 sloot Daniël van Bouchaute, heer van Boelare, met de kartuizers van Sint-Martens-Lierde een overeenkomst waarbij relieken van de H. Bartholomeus vanuit Lierde naar de hoofdkerk in Geraardsbergen overgebracht werden. Dit was de aanleiding tot de jaarlijkse ommegang, die we nu Processie van Plaisance noemen, waarbij het reliekschrijn samen met de Geraardsbergse verenigingen op (de zondag na) 24 augustus door de straten van de stad gedragen wordt.

12.  Gidsbeurt aan het kartuizerklooster van Sint-Martens-Bos te Lierde

13.  Leven in het kartuizerklooster

14.  Overeenkomst tussen prior Michiel Dierickx en Daniël van Bouchaute, heer van Boelare (1515).

15.  Ontstaan van de processie van Plaisance

16.  Filips IV, koning van Spanje, verleent in 1635 de toelating om de ommegang voortaan op de eerste zondag na 24 augustus te laten plaatsvinden.

17.  De reuzen Goliath, Gerarda en Kinneke Baba

18.  Vlaggen van deelnemende verenigingen

19.  Concertband Cecilia Geraardsbergen

20.  Het schrijn met de relieken van de H. Bartholomeus

21.  De kerkraad

Op 29 mei 1815 hielden de geallieerde troepen tegen Napoleon een indrukwekkende parade van 6000 Engelse ruiters in de Denderweiden (nu Provinciaal Domein “De Gavers”), ter hoogte van jeugdherberg Het Schipken. De parade werd uitvoerig beschreven door een Engelse militair, Alexander Cavalié Mercer, en door een jonge Idegemnaar, Pieter-Jozef Van Cleemputte. Drie weken later vond de Slag van Waterloo plaats. Na de nederlaag van Napoleon keerde de Franse koning Lodewijk XVIII vanuit Gent terug naar Parijs. Onderweg hield hij halt in Geraardsbergen, waar hij een feestmaal voorgeschoteld kreeg en overnachtte.

22.  Gidsbeurt bij een schilderij dat Napoleon Bonaparte voorstelt

23.  Rondetafelconferentie van de geallieerden tegen Napoleon (1815)

24.  Betaalscène aan de Gavermeersen

25.  De Gavermeersen: uitbeelding van de ruiterparade,

met het getuigenis van Pieter-Jozef Van Cleemputte

26.  De Gavermeersen: de kanonnen

27.  De Gavermeersen: de trommelaars

28.  De Gavermeersen: de wasvrouwen

29.  De Gavermeersen: de vrouwtjes van plezier

30.  Lodewijk XVIII in het Huis der Lombarden (Vredestraat)

Dansende bevolking

Het ritueel

31.  De 4 elementen (brood, wijn, vis, vuur)

32.  Joos Schollaert

33.  Aquariums, haringtafels, wijntonnen en herbergiersters

34.  Krakelingen bakken

35.  Walmke Woe

36.  Vuurspuwer, duiveltjes, sneeuwmannetjes en narren

37.  Belleman en mandendragers

38.  Koninklijke Harmonie Trouw Aan Kunst vanMoerbeke

en fanfare Met Muziek Door Het Leven van Ophasselt

Krakelingenworp - 17 uur

Rond 16.45 uur zegent de deken de krakelingen in de Oudenbergkapel. De prominenten drinken wijn met een levend visje op de top van de Oudenberg. Daarna volgt de Krakelingenworp met[masked] krakelingen, waaronder de Gouden Krakeling (waarde €750).

Tonnekensbrand – 20 uur

Vanaf 19.30 uur verwelkomt volkskunstgroep Nele (Grimbergen) u aan de Oudenbergkapel voor Tonnekensbrand. Het vuur wordt klokslag

20 uur aangestoken en wordt beantwoord met Walmkebrand vanuit o.a. 10 deelgemeenten en naburige dorpen: Goeferdinge, Grimminge, Moerbeke, Onkerzele, Ophasselt, Schendelbeke, Smeerebbe-Vloerzegem, Viane, Waarbeke, Zarlardinge, Deftinge, Galmaarden en Parike.

---HOW TO GET THERE?---

For the people who start from Brussels we have two options:

1. We go by car. The participants who have a car post a comment and the people who are interested to join, reply to this comment. Normally, we meet at White Night on Montgomery roundabout when sharing transport .https://www.google.be/maps/place/Avenue+de+Tervueren+189,+1150+Woluwe-Saint-Pierre/@50.8367275,4.408518,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x47c3db52eab1f21b:0xf79ee930db91e70d

I propose the people with a car meet the people who will go by train at the entrance of the train station of Geraardsbergen.

2. We go by train.

OUTBOUND:

I suggest that we take the train :

FROM :Bruxelles-Central [NMBS/SNCB]

TO :Grammont [NMBS/SNCB]  (Geraardsbergen)

13:46 dép. 14:36 arr. (Lane 6)

It takes 50mins and we don't have to change trains

For all those taking the 13:46 train from Brussels Central, I propose that we meet outside Starbucks at 13:20, as a way to gather all the group. I also propose that you purchase your train tickets in advance online or arrive a bit earlier at the station to buy them on spot.

RETURN:

From : Grammont [NMBS/SNCB] (Geraardsbergen)

TO : Bruxelles-Central [NMBS/SNCB]

20:24 dép. 21:13 arr. (Lane2)

Again there is no need to change trains and it takes 49mins

For the people who stay until the end, the last train is (there is also one more later but it says it needs to be confirmed, if there is no delay etc... so I think it's risky...):

Grammont [NMBS/SNCB]À:Bruxelles-Central [NMBS/SNCB] 21:04 dép. 22:27 arr. (Lane 3)

There is a change at Zottegem [NMBS/SNCB] Direction Bruxelles-Nat-Aeroport [NMBS/SNCB]

TICKET PRICE : (weekend internet offer) 8.20euro aller-retour

You can buy a ticket at this link http://www.belgianrail.be/fr/home.aspx

Historic info in English can be found in this link :

http://www.geraardsbergen.be/content/content/record.php?ID=2195

See you soon !

Spiros

http://www.imaging-days.com/
Imaging days - Photo and video fair in Brussels - Tour and Taxis on 7 and 8 March 2015 from 10am till 6pm. Tickets available online.

With this update, I give you some important info for tonight:

The combi-tickets for the museum and after-party were sold out quickly, many people will come to the event, it will be also very crowded at some hotspots.

Meeting points are

* vis-a-vis the the MIM (Music Instrument Museum)

at 19:00 and 21:00

* at the BAR of Royal Museum of the Armed Forces

at 23:00

Great if you already have your ticket and/or exchanged your voucher for the wristband (you can do the exchange at various locations).

If we are really around 20 Happy Shuttercounts, we will split into tow groups, if we are less, we may stay together.

If you have to change your plans, update your RSVP, please.

In the area where we meet are some interesting museum.

•  Music Instrument Museum

•  BELvue

•  Coudenberg

•  BOZAR

•  Brussels Info Point (BIP)

Last time it was super-crowded at BOZAR with long waiting-times. I suggest to leave this for another day and see the MIM, the labyrinth at Coudenberg, the expo at BELvue and the event at BIP

If we split into separate groups, I suggest one group goes to the MIM (takes a while to see everything) and the other to labyrinth at Coudenberg, the expo at BELvue and the event at BIP.

If you get lost, we will find you at the meeting point at 21:00 😉

At 23:00 we meet in the spacious hangar at the Bar inside the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces (have a drink watching the dancers while waiting).

To get there, take the green shuttle Bus Pl. Royale - Cinquantenaire

There we will decide what to do next, Autoworld, the Circus Events and another lounge-bar are just across.

Please use the discussion or send me an message if you have questions.

_________________________________________

Set your camera to high ISO and come to

Museum night in Brussels. http://www.museumnightfever.be/en/home.php

We will meet in front of the Music Instrument Museum,

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET - not to be in the middle of the crowd.

It is not sure, if we can stay together as group throughout the evening but we can try 😉

We did this before - after the music instruments we've seen a nice fashion show in the Brussels info point and went to see some performances at Autoworld later.

http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/photos/all_photos/?photoAlbumId=13561742

Stay tuned for an update for the 2015 event!

Happy Shuttercounts, spring is coming, it will be a wonderful warm(ish) and sunny day! 

 Let's open the outdoor season, take our cameras and go for a walk!

Taking pictures of trees (foret de Soignes):  Just trees? only trees? this could be a beautiful challenge: colour (sharpeness), b&w, different focus, aperture, movement.

And a challenge made easier if we also go to the beautiful Rouge Cloitre and its beautiful lakes and artist exhibits (and I think they have a nice cafe).

Let's meet at 14:00 on the parking  of 'Dreve des Brules', which stands on the Avenue de Tervuren (coming from Montgomery going towards Tervuren/the Ring). You can also go there with the tram 44, leaving Montgomery (11 stops, 14 min ride). Please see below the link of the meeting place.

On saturday, I'll send a private message to the people who have registered, with my mobile number, in case you need help finding the meeting place.

Please be on time, as once we will have left the parking slot, it will be difficult to find each other in the forest 😉

Looking forward to see a lot of Happy Shuttercounts!

 ttps://maps.google.com/maps?q=Dreve+Des+Brules,+1150+St-Pieters-Woluwe,+Bruxelles,+Belgique&hl=fr&ll=50.818896,4.457209&spn=0.009557,0.022724&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.688845,93.076172&oq=dre&geocode=FafOBwMdf0VDAClf-XQoVdvDRzFMNdS4rsQdgg%3BFW2ABwMdowZEACk_V-l_n9vDRzE1rEChsOe7dA&hnear=Dreve+Des+Brules&t=m&z=16&start=0

Hello there !
I'm a big Street photography fan and enjoy meeting people with the same passion for photography as I have. Recently back in Belgium and used to have a "PhotoFix" every two weeks at most with a Flickr group I'd love to recreate this here.

Be ready to get your gear out, your shutters ready and hit the streets ! The Marolles district, as many of you might already know is packed with little streets, art stores and the obvious flea market, which should make for some interesting shots.

The weather being what it is during March and in Belgium warm clothes are recommended and comfy shoes. Cameras from smart phones to Large format ( if you're willing to 😉 ) are welcome. A coffee or a beer after the shoot to either share our pictures or our passion is of course on the program ! The idea is to start around the Justice Palace and walk our way down through the Marolles and possibly stopping by the Moeder Lambic for any kind of beverage that might make you warm 😉

In the streets of Brussels

Be ready to get your gear out, your shutters ready and hit the streets ! 

We will stroll through the streets and do some candid shots!

The weather is always unpredictable in Belgium appropriate clothes are recommended and comfy shoes. Cameras from smart phones to Large format ( if you're willing to 😉 ) are welcome.

A coffee or a beer after the shoot to either share our pictures or our passion is of course on the program ! 

Some Inspiration
Have a look our discussion forum - it links to some free e-books on street photography http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/messages/boards/thread/35133462/0/#[masked]

Haya guys,
This coming Sunday I propose a day out to visit Floralia, the spring flower exhibition in the park and the greenhouses at the castle of Grand Bigard. We will have the opportunity to discover over 500 varieties of flowers including 400 tulip varieties. Bonus: for this 12th anniversary there will be a Venetian parade at 2 pm – we shouldn’t miss that!
There is a cafeteria in the park, with a choice of sandwiches, salads, light meals and cold dishes, should you want to buy something. We can as well bring our own food and have a picnic in the park.
Entrance: 12€ (if we are over 20, the price goes down to 10€)
Practical details: this event is based on car-pooling. If you have a car and are willing to drive, please let me know (also indicate how many passengers you can take). If not enough cars to accommodate everybody, the first come first served rule will apply.
Date: Sunday 19th April
Meeting place: Montgomery roundabout, south-east layby next to Bd. St Michel (metro exit in front of the Auto Ecole Stop)
Meeting time: 10:45 for departure at 11:00 (please be on time as we will leave at 11:00 sharp)
Journey (one way): 10 km
Return: late afternoon
Fuel: split at the end of the trip (usually varies between 5 and 7 EUR per person, depending on the total distance travelled and how many seats are occupied)

More info about the exhibition: http://www.floralia-brussels.be/en/floralia

European portret photography since 1990 - photos from 31 famous photographers such as Anton Corbijn, Stephan Vanfleteren, Tina Barney, Manfred Willmann, Juergen Teller, Stratos Kalafatis and many more.

In the streets of Brussels

Be ready to get your gear out, your shutters ready and hit the streets ! 

We will stroll through the streets and do some candid shots!

The weather is always unpredictable in Belgium appropriate clothes are recommended and comfy shoes. Cameras from smart phones to Large format ( if you're willing to 😉 ) are welcome.

A coffee or a beer after the shoot to either share our pictures or our passion is of course on the program ! 

Some Inspiration
Have a look our discussion forum - it links to some free e-books on street photography http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/messages/boards/thread/35133462/0/#[masked]

Ok if you registered for this meetup but for details, please look here:

http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/events/222096566/

(something went wrong and there was a duplication of events)

Larger version

map: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors

In the streets of Brussels

Be ready to get your gear out, your shutters ready and hit the streets ! 

We will stroll through the streets and do some candid shots!

The weather is always unpredictable in Belgium appropriate clothes are recommended and comfy shoes. Cameras from smart phones to Large format ( if you're willing to 😉 ) are welcome.

A coffee or a beer after the shoot to either share our pictures or our passion is of course on the program ! 

Some Inspiration
Have a look our discussion forum - it links to some free e-books on street photography http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/messages/boards/thread/35133462/0/#[masked]

More than 24h event!

We will arrange for some Photo-coverage and do some event and portrait shooting.

If you are interested in event-shooting, this may be for you!

On mai 22 -23, during the Brussels Jazz Marathon, there will be for the first

a Swing Dance Marathon.

It will be more then 24 hours of swing dance and music in Brussels.

Photoresk is invited to take pictures!!!

Stay tuned, some details needs still to be arranged!

Sorry, the number of photographers at the set has to be limited, otherwise it would not work smoothly. 

Some more pictures from the "Easy Swing" at Facebook

This in an meetup which is automatically repeated - the location will set according to current events and/or weather conditions

In the streets of Brussels

Be ready to get your gear out, your shutters ready and hit the streets ! 

We will stroll through the streets and do some candid shots!

The weather is always unpredictable in Belgium appropriate clothes are recommended and comfy shoes. Cameras from smart phones to Large format ( if you're willing to 😉 ) are welcome.

A coffee or a beer after the shoot to either share our pictures or our passion is of course on the program ! 

Some Inspiration
Have a look our discussion forum - it links to some free e-books on street photography http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/messages/boards/thread/35133462/0/#[masked]

It can not always be sunny  - what to do on a rainy day?
Photo-Exhibition

At least three members of Photoresk showing their work. 

We will see what they have done and later we meet for a drink and exchange our views.

We will meet in the central area of the cafe on the ground floor first... once we are ready we can go downstairs and see the exhibition.

This in an meetup which is automatically repeated - the location will set according to current events and/or weather conditions

In the streets of Brussels

Be ready to get your gear out, your shutters ready and hit the streets ! 

We will stroll through the streets and do some candid shots!

The weather is always unpredictable in Belgium appropriate clothes are recommended and comfy shoes. Cameras from smart phones to Large format ( if you're willing to 😉 ) are welcome.

A coffee or a beer after the shoot to either share our pictures or our passion is of course on the program ! 

Some Inspiration
Have a look our discussion forum - it links to some free e-books on street photography http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/messages/boards/thread/35133462/0/#[masked]

- A BEAUTIFUL WORLD - Photo Exhibition by Atef Haikal
Vernissage Thursday the 11th of June from 18:30 to 21:30, followed by a jazz concert at de BELMONTE bar
Place Saint-Géry 29-32, 1000 Brussels | Belgium

Update:

Sunday will be Funday 😉

The groups are created! It's a balanced mix of the skills from the questionnaire - but don't worry, everybody is learning 😉 😉
We will have nine groups and rotating through the different roles, Photographer, Model, Assistant. 
We meet at 14:00 and start with the shooting at 14:30. Before we have plenty of time to discuss any points that may arise 😉 and afterwards we may have a nice refreshment somewhere at Merode.

Remember your group and role!

You will receive a map of the exact meeting location by e-mail!

Group setup:

The timing:

(yes, yes, there is a mistake in the "Groups of four .. there will be no E ....) thank you Jo 😉

(I will bring a updated one ...)

------- end of update --------------------------

The new way to overcome limitations we noticed when we did the last portrait session. One 'model' and more than 10 photographers at the same time will not work well. Speed-Shooting® is the answer. With Speed-Shooting® we can have up to 20 individuals improving their portrait taking skills.

Simple, effective and a lot of fun: outdoor speed-shooting

What:

We will do an intensive portrait shooting. After this Meetup you will be the portrait specialist at friends- and family-events 😉 and you also will know how to direct light-assistants and 'models' 😉

How:

After some general basics and discussions about portrait styles we will form groups of three. The photographer, the portrait-model and the light-assistant. Each group will have some basic light forming equipment available.
Each photographer has 15 minutes time to work with the model, shooting portraits but also instructing model and light-assistant.

After the 15 minutes and a five minutes break the roles will change. Photographer will become model, the model light-assistant.

After three rounds each of us Happy Shuttercounts will have been photographer, model and light-assistant.

Where:

Brussels / outdoor - but we may adopt the location depending on the  freshness of the summer 😉

Do's and Don'ts for the Speed-Shooting (TM) Meetup
General:
The Photographer:
Take wonderful pictures and give electronic copies to the model. Respect the personality rights. You must ask the model for permission if you want to publish pictures.   
The Model:
You may use the pictures on which you are depicted at your discretion but ask the photographer wether or not the photographers name shall be mentioned.

In more detail:
By participation you agree to the following principles:  
The goal of the Speed-Shooting Meetup is to improve the photography related skills. During the Speed-Shooting Meetup each participant will take the role of a model (M), photographer (P) or light-assistant (L), respectively. The following rules refers to the role(s) taken by the individual during the meetup-event. The participant acknowledges that  pictures taken during the meetup shall be royalty-free and will be made available in electronic form to a) the person depicted (M,L) and b) to a password protected area of a photo sharing site to which only participants of the Speed-Shooting Meetup-event concerned have access. Any publication of a portrait photograph requires consent between P and the person depicted.

For more than a decade, Doel (a subdivision of Beveren), is threatened with complete demolition due to the future enlargement of the harbour of Antwerp. The town has been mostly depopulated, leaving a canvas for street artists. A bit more information over the town can be found on the following page: http://www.doel2020.org/index.php

There is a "touristic season" open from April until September. Visiting Doel by car is the easiest way. Public transportation doesn’t service Doel very often. (For those brave enough to try, there is one bus, nr. 83 that can be taken at the end of the pre-metro line of tram nr. 3 from Antwerp Central, but not all busses go as far as Doel.

This in an meetup which is automatically repeated - the location will set according to current events and/or weather conditions

In the streets of Brussels

Be ready to get your gear out, your shutters ready and hit the streets ! 

We will stroll through the streets and do some candid shots!

The weather is always unpredictable in Belgium appropriate clothes are recommended and comfy shoes. Cameras from smart phones to Large format ( if you're willing to 😉 ) are welcome.

A coffee or a beer after the shoot to either share our pictures or our passion is of course on the program ! 

Some Inspiration
Have a look our discussion forum - it links to some free e-books on street photography http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/messages/boards/thread/35133462/0/#[masked]

Update: last chance. If you are still interested to offer your work to be considered for the calendar, this Sunday will be the last opportunity.

We will meet in the evening . Bring your candidate picture(s) on a stick.
_________________

Let’s get the ball rolling!

The collection of candidate images is starting now, the input for the Lions Charity Calendar picture submission is open! 

It would be great to have the first inputs by 9 June! 

Send the pictures you have already taken during Christmas time for the calendar or scan your archives for suitable images.
Also collages are welcome.

You may submit up to six images.

Name your images(s)
lastname_firstname_number.jpg (like Miller_Max_1.jpg) and send them per e-mail to this email address:
<a>photoresk-brussels+[masked]</a>

You may send  lower resolution image(s) but the the final must be suitable for A3 printing!

Good luck!

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December 2014:
For the second year Photoresk will support the charity initiative of the Lions Club Brussels Charlemagne for the benefit of severely ill children. We are very proud of this 😉 

We support their initiative with the most important element - the front picture for the Advent-Calender!

Go out and take Christmas-ish and Winter-ish Brussels Pictures!

The Plan

Photoresk will donate the best suitable and available Christmas picture or collage to the Lions Club Bruessel Charlemagne to make their advent calendar really special (what is an advent calendar?)

example: the advent calendar picture 2013 (not again the Grand Place)

The advent calendar picture 2014 from Photoresk

More detail
Since many years the Lions Club Bruessel Charlemagne makes a wonderful contribution to important charity programs. Key of this initiative is the advent calendar. By selling this advent calendar, other donations and a tombola support is given to the charity "La Cité Sérine" (further details about "La Cité Serine" at: <a>www.serine-asbl.org)</a>

What to do
When you stroll through the Christmas Brussels, keep your eyes open and your camera ready.

We need Winter / Christmas relates scene from Brussels. This can be a photograph or an collage suitable for DIN-A3 print.

It's the nature of an advent calendar that 24 small doors will be opened throughout the days - the visual impression should not be completely distracted by that.

Please, not the Grande Place
Since the Grand Place was already many times subject of this picture, for 2015 it should be preferably another location

Prestigious project
Helping Lions to help children should be by itself reward enough. But this is not all. Your name will be published along with your picture on the front of the advent calendar for free!

About Lions
LIONS is a worldwide service organisation comprising approximately 1.3 million members. Members of LIONS commit themselves to their maxim “We serve“ for all needy fellow men and women. LIONS aim to foster tolerance within human society. They especially want to promote general welfare, developing friendly relations among nations and thereby strengthening peace in the world. LIONS assist fellow men and women who suffer from material, physical and mental distress. LIONS also try to preserve our cultural heritage.

Your rights

Your photographs help children in need. Thank you for helping to further the mission of the Lionsclub Charlemagne mission through your photography.

You will retain all rights to any photograph you submit including ownership if applicable.

You only grant the Lionsclub Charlemagne rights (as described below) to your photograph if your photo is selected for the Lionsclub Charlemagne calendar 2015.

If your photo is selected for the Lionsclub Charlemagne calendar 2015 you grant the Lionsclub Charlemagne a royalty-free, nonexclusive right, in perpetuity, to:

Use the photograph to publish it on their Charity Calendar 2015 and supporting activities, including news stories, newsletters, reports, slide shows, displays, web pages, and the like.

Questions?
Feel free to use the discussion or to contact the organi

In the streets of Brussels

Be ready to get your gear out, your shutters ready and hit the streets ! 

We will stroll through the streets and do some candid shots!

The weather is always unpredictable in Belgium appropriate clothes are recommended and comfy shoes. Cameras from smart phones to Large format ( if you're willing to 😉 ) are welcome.

A coffee or a beer after the shoot to either share our pictures or our passion is of course on the program ! 

Some Inspiration
Have a look our discussion forum - it links to some free e-books on street photography http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/messages/boards/thread/35133462/0/#[masked]

The RECYCLART ART CENTER has photographic evenings where the work of photographers is projected.

This is not a Photoresk-Meetup in the classical way but you may be interested to come and see some of the works and join later on for a drink or the concert.

Recyclart is a very special place - directly under the rails. You will hear each train passing above you...
Details about the event (in French) http://www.recyclart.be/fr/agenda/extra-fort-veerle-frissen-sohrab-hura

https://www.facebook.com/events/108501979490333/

What:

Day-, blue-hour and night- / fireworks-photography at Belgian National day.

There are plenty activities during the Belgium National Day.

There'll be a varied programme of festivities,  taking place in the various districts of Brussels. Many activities will be around Place Royale.

http://www.opt.be/informations/events-bruxelles-belgian-national-day/en/E/60152.html

There will be an military parade from 16:00 on and an final fireworks at 23:00

When do we start:

The official Photoresk meetup will start in the evening at 20:00, roughly two hours before sunset. 

While we will have full daylight we will stroll around and get ready for some blue-hour / nightshots later the day. We will also try to get some nice long exposure fireworks photos.

If you have a tripod or clamp - don't forget to bring it.

More:

Meetup on Monday evening?

Already at the evening before, there's the traditional National Ball which gets the celebrations started with concerts by Belgian artists, majorettes and zinneke hosts in the Marolles area.

(if someone is interested to meetup already on the 20th,  go ahead - use the discussion and suggest a photoresk meetup)

Meetup already on National Day / Tuesday afternoon?

Interested to meet-up before 20:00? - use the discussion for your suggestions

Hi all,
If you will not have seen the exhibition before the 6 of September, it will be your last chance to see it, as it will be the last day. Ticket is 10 euros.
Details about the event: http://www.new.mjb-jmb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=769118&Itemid=1

Our success-story continues!
Photoresk Brussels has more than 1000 members!!!

Dear Happy Shuttercounts,
Yesterday Erlend joined our friendly learning and sharing network as Happy Shuttercount Number 1000, a very warm „Welcome Erlend“ but also to all others who joined in the meanwhile - again Welcome!

The summer break is over now and many of us are back.

I also returned from a period of almost two month of travelling - an exciting excursion the long way round the Baltic Sea up to the Arctic Circle and North-Cap - the „Photoresk Portrait and Landscape Tour“. Bringing back not only „tons“ of pictures from ten different countries but also a lot of ideas to share and possible locations to go 😉

After period this of ‚silence‘ your Photoresk meet-up group will now start new and interesting activities.

Planned are get-together and walks as usual where we learn and share our knowledge about photography but we will also offer some workshops and other activities „out of Brussels“.

For the re-start, lets just meet-up for a short walk and an get-together & talk later on.

As Kersti suggested - we will have a look what's going on at the  "Pineau serving competition". Who don't know, Pineau is a classical French sweet alcoholic drink... http://www.pineau.be/?page_id=22406

   
Hope we will get some nice pictures from the action and people 😉

Later we may try it ourself and/or have a chat!

Looking forward to see many of you!

Claus,
your Photoresk organiser

Don’t forget - every Happy Shuttercount is invited to suggest also events and activities.

Short notice, tonight!

We will have another Near Full Moon / Supermoon - lining up the axis Cinquantenaire - Montgomery at 20:50 at an elevation of 13 degrees.

Bring your camera, the longest zoom you can find and a tripod!

We did it before: http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/events/200362092/

The view from Cinquantenaire towards Montgomery sounds promising for interesting shots (or the view through the arcs of the monument) .

  ---------------------------- ---------

Supermoon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term "supermoon" is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology.[1] The association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but the evidence of such a link is widely held to be unconvincing.[2]

The supermoon at 27. September will align with the axis Cinquantenaire - Montgomery at around 20:50 at an elevation of 13,7°
A nice opportunity to picture the full moon which seems to be 13% larger as usual. Bring your tripod or borrow one  (use the discussion). 

We will have some photographic related discussions and a snack / drink  after.

---------------------------------------------------

Here is an internet site which explains nicely some techniques to photograph the moon / super moon.

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-take-photos-of-the-supermoon/

with two remarks: No remote shutter release? use the self-timer of the camera, this helps to avoid shake when pressing the shutter

No tripod? put your camera on something solid. A small sand-bag (freezer bag, loosely filled with rice, sugar or similar) helps to set the cameraBut don't forget: It's about learning from each other - ask and share your knowledge.

Hope the weather is with us 😉

Getting up on Mondays is hard. Always.

Why not putting it to extremes not to miss a

lunar eclipses that coincide with a supermoon.

A very rare occasion! They happened since 1900 only: 1910, 1946, 1964 and 1982.

Next is on Monday, 28th September 2015 at 03:46 followed by the full moon at 04:50. Something rare and spectacular to watch and to take pictures!

And worthwhile to leave the bed early 😉 

From our meeting point we shall have a great view on both, the eclipse and the full moon a few minutes later with some high buildings framing the scene.

I will try to arrange also for some hot stuff to drink while waiting 😉

There is a NASA video describing the event

(from an American perspective, where it occurs late into the evening of Sunday, 27 September):

Beware, this is not a usual Photoresk event!

Upon multiple requests, I am scheduling this meetup to help everybody from Photoresk to find other Happy Shuttercounts at the celebrations of the German reunification in Brussels at the Cinquantenaire tonight.

"From 19:00 to 24:00, the Triumphal Arch will be treated with a unique sound, light and video show, immersing its fascinating architecture in celebratory colours while renowned DJs from Berlin and major other European cities will spin a crossover of classical and modern electronic music. At 20:00, the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz will give a short speech."

• There will be many people - don't expect that we will be able to stay together as a group.

• The sound and video performances may be better to watch than to photograph - but still there will be many opportunities for 'shots'.

• The weather forecast is quite good, but make sure you dress warm anyway!

The event on FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/389593104572619/

Beautiful and mystical

It's a place close to Brussels, easily accessible for everybody.

Greenhouse and Park (92 hectares and[masked] kinds of plants and trees).

Outside, there are so many different types of trees which you will rarely see arranged like this anywhere in the world! Not enough, the large greenhouse with its amazing variety of plants is also worth a visit.
http://www.br.fgov.be/index.php

</a>

<a href="http://www.br.fgov.be/index.php">

What to bring

So, bring of course your camera, if you have, your macro and zoom equipment and whatever you may need for landscape AND close-ups. Of course, we will as usual discuss, ask and explain as we go. Don't worry, if you don't have a special photo gear. I have seen stunning pictures which were taken with an instamatic.

We also will arrange for  pick-nick, bring something!

What we will do
Also this time, we will be a good mix of experts and beginners sharing the same passion and don't forget: there is always someone who knows something which all the others don't know. We also will have a small challenge for the excitement 😉

What if
As usual, we can expect the weather condition will be perfect for that day, we will meet in any case and in case its raining heavily, there is also the greenhouse and there are some shelters in the park.

Autmnpicknick
Bring some cheese/sausage/etc. and something to drink. We will try to have a pick-nick, probably in on of those tiny weather shelters.   

How to get  there
<a>http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/howtoreach.php
</a> Adress: Jardin botanique national de Belgique
Nieuwelaan 38
1860 Meise
By Car. We also can do some car-sharing. Start the discussion.
By Bus to Meise. Stop is "Nationale Plantentuin".
You can use the planner: http://www.delijn.be/en/index.htm with the street address above. In practical terms, we may form two groups. One is coming by bus from Brussels, the others go directly.

Questions
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

Links
General http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/index.php

Introduction
The Middelheim Museum is an open-air museum which provides a fascinating overview of more than one hundred years of visual arts.
The art park enchants more than 250,000 visitors every year. Entrance is free of charge.

http://www.middelheimmuseum.be/Museum_Middelheim_EN

What we will do
- Walk in the park, observe statues and modern sculptures, see automn colors, talk and - why not - take some pictures 🙂
The park closes at 5pm at this time of the year.
- If the group is large then we might split into smaller groups.
- If we feel like it then we can have a drink afterwards at the museum café Mika. 

How to get there
Middelheimlaan 61, 2020 Antwerpen.

By Car: 
- There are parking places along 'Middelheimlaan' and at the crossing with 'Beukenlaan'.
- Offers or Requests for car sharing can be published on the conversation board below.

By Public transport:
- See here , but not sure how easy it is by public transport.

Where we meet
If you missed it... it's written below the title of this Meetup  😉

From Rodin to  Ai Weiwei, 30 hectares of art for free

We were there last Sunday It was wonderful but time was short and we could see only half of the park.
Let's go again before the leaves are gone 😉

Pictures and reviews: http://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/events/206676402/

Introduction
The Middelheim Museum is an open-air museum which provides a fascinating overview of more than one hundred years of visual arts.
The art park enchants more than 250,000 visitors every year. Entrance is free of charge.

http://www.middelheimmuseum.be/Museum_Middelheim_EN

What we will do
- Walk in the park, observe statues and modern sculptures, see automn colors, talk and - why not - take some pictures 🙂
The park closes at 5pm at this time of the year.
- If the group is large then we might split into smaller groups.
- If we feel like it then we can have a drink afterwards at the museum café Mika. 

How to get there
Middelheimlaan 61, 2020 Antwerpen.

By Car: 
- There are parking places along 'Middelheimlaan' and at the crossing with 'Beukenlaan'.
- Offers or Requests for car sharing can be published on the conversation board below.

By Public transport:

- Bus 21, which stops right in front of Antwerp Central Station.

Where we meet
If you missed it... it's written below the title of this Meetup  😉

Finally, the location for the "Last signs of autumn" is set: let's stay away from the city centre and visit the impressive rouins of the Abbaye de Villers

The Abbey

The Abbaye de Villers (Villers Abbey), situated in the commune of Villers-la-Ville (Belgium).

Majestic ruins give a marvellous idea of the life of monks of the Cistercian Order and a lot of nice photo opportunities.

In grounds of more than 36 hectares, is a destination site imbued with history and emotion.

It was founded in the 12th Century, under the aegis of Saint Bernard. Today, its majestic ruins give a marvellous idea of the life of monks of the Cistercian Order.

What you can find here: over 850 years of history and lots of greet photo opportunities.

Photos! Photos!

Strolling through the ruins of this old Abbey will create some photographic chellenges like finding a good viewpoint or back-light conditions. A lot to try and to talk about.

A break

There is a Brasserie nearby where we will have a snack  / drink.

How to get there

By car / car-sharing (preferred)

Use the comments to make some arrangements.

By train

Line no. 140 Ottignies-Charleroi. 

Station: Villers-la-Ville (2 km from the Abbey)

Entrance fee

The regular price is 6€ (there are also discounts)

ABOUT MONSCHAU
Monschau is a very nice German village at the border of Belgium, with beautiful timbered houses, a glass factory with demonstration of the glass making process (vases, lamps, etc.), romantic old streets, nice landscapes,...
If we're lucky, we might see some snowy sceneries like the one below:

WHERE DO WE MEET AND HOW DO WE GET THERE?
We meet at Starbucks, inside Brussels Central Station where we will take the train at 12:00 to Eupen.
We arrive in Eupen at 13:43, where we will take bus number 385 at 14:01 to Monschau Schmiede.
The bus will arrive at Monschau Smiede station at 14:25.

In case people want to go by car, we can meet at 14:30 at Laufenstraße 60, Monschau (Germany), which is a kind of roundabout at the entrance of Monschau.

To return: the last bus is at 17:30 at Monschau Smiede, arriving in Eupen Bahnhof at 17:55. The train for Bruxelles is at 18:17.

EXPENSES
This Meetup is free of charge, except your tickets for train (ca. 12 EUR for a return ticket with the Christmas deal) and bus.

NEW - each of the coming PHOTORESK meetups will contribute to the PHOTORESK BOOK Project.  You may be invited to participate. More details at the next meetup.

https://youtu.be/7BXwymL81xk

________________________________________________________

PHOTORESK is spotting  mural paintings in Brussels!

Get your gear out, photography related questions ready and be prepared to explain... (same procedures as always ... 😉
We will have a nice walk, spotting wall-art and taking the best photos possible 😉

Later, at around 15:30 we will get together in the city center - time to chat and exchange.

And - early information about the Photoresk Book-Projects will be unveiled 😉

You can bet, it will be a nice and exciting afternoon!

the 3,5km walk (may be adjusted)

The Plan:

Meeting at 13:30 and going on our mural-paintings trail 😉

This will last around two hours. Plenty of time for nice pictures and lots of "how to take nice pictures" talks.

To warm up, I have secured a large table for us at 15:30 in a new nice place close to Gare Central where we can chat about what we've done, have a coffee/beer/whatever, and also introduce the PHOTORESK book project.
_____________________________
There was a suggestion to talk also about Perspective Control - and how to apply it even without special equipment or expensive software (important for architecture photography), though it's not done without software if you don't have a tilt-shift lens.

What:

We will go by train to Binche to see the world famous Carnival and take lot's of great pictures.

The Carnival of Binche is a living and exceptional heritage, a popular, human and social event. It has been recognized as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2003.

Where:

Binche  - is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut.

Details:

Photo excursion  by train to Binche to see the famous Carnival.

To get there:

For those coming from Brussels, we will meet in Gare Central, near the Starbucks.

We will take the train departing at 12:28 arriving 13:46 in Binche, well in time to locate ourself for a good spot to see the parade starting at 15:00.

The time for the return is not set yet, but the trains to Brussels run on an hourly schedule.

The price for the return ticket (tarif: Billet Week-end) is 10,60€

Important:

It may be crowded and you may get separated from the group. When we arrive in Binche, we will locate a spot where we will meet in case "someone lost".  Keep your contact details up to date.

The RECYCLART ART CENTER has photographic evenings where photos are projected on a screen and photographers speak about their work. 

It is not a Photoresk-Meetup in the classical way but you may be interested to come and see some of the works and join later on for a drink. 

Recyclart is a very special place - directly under the rails. You will hear each train passing above you... 

Details about the event (in French) https://www.facebook.com/events/880051675425976/ 

Sometimes it is not easy to find each other in the crowd, be prepared and share some contact details for TXT/SMS in advance. 

There is an entrance fee to the event of 3€ / space may be limited.

bar 19:30
doors 20:15 €3
projection / projectie 20:30

What

It will  be a beautiful sunny day this Sunday! Time to get your camera out and join us for a small discovery tour near the centre of Brussels.

Where

We will start with a stroll through the Park Cinquantenaire and catch a scenic view on Brussels from the top of the Military Museum. Later we will go through the European Quarter to Place Jourdan and grab some frites at the famous Maison Antoine.

What else

We have a table/room reserved in one of the Brasseries nearby. We not only will have our frites there but also speak about the Photoresk Book #1 - Brussels through our Lens and I will show you how easy it is to participate. You can already have a look at the book project at: http://www.photoresk.com/book_1/

Update: 

Details for tomorrow: Weather 7°, cloudy, mostly dry
Upon arrival at Gare SNCB we will walk down Rue Royale towards the centre. Parades start at 14:30 at different places. Anyhow, the main events will be around the canal and the Grand Place. 
We will keep moving but also have a drink / light lunch / snack somewhere on the way.  It will be highly dependent on the weather how often we need to warm up…. 
We should not miss the release of the large number of Ballons at 17:00 and the events taking place at the Grand Place. 
Exchange some phone numbers, the group may separate… Suggested meeting point: In front of Hotel Europe near the Grand Place.

The programme (in french): http://www.carnavaldetournai.be/carnaval-2016/le-programme/  ;

____________________________________________________

History and Carnival: Photoresk - the Brussels Photography going Tournay

Tournay, the 2nd oldest Town of Belgium (after Tongeren). The picturesque medieval city center. The beautiful market place, the the river Escaut ("Schelde" in Dutch), some UNESCO world heritage sites and -

Carnival? Yes, Carnival!

When nearly everywhere in the rest of the world the carnival season is over, the inner part of Tournai is closed for traffic to celebrate carnival. Probably a good idea to wait 'till spring and definitely something not to miss while in Belgium. Details about the carnival in Tournai can be found here (in french) http://www.carnavaldetournai.be/

What

There will be an parade starting at 14:30 at four different places heading towards the centre. This will be a fantastic opportunity to take great picture of Belgium habits 😉 and the city.

How

We will take the train from Brussels central at 13:05 and return to Brussels at around 20:00. Meeting point is in front of Starbucks inside Gare Central.

Trains are leaving Brussels Gare Central hourly at x:16.

Return is also hourly at x:41 the last train from Tournai to Brussels is at 22:41.

The ride takes in either direction 1:03 hours, the SNCB return ticket (week-end) is around 14€

What:

Spring is starting, it's time for a touristy walk through the wonderful city of Brussels. We will try to spot as many picturesque sights as possible with a lot of opportunities for nice shots. During the walk we will have a rest at one of the local brasseries.

Contribute to Book #1 (optional)

This will also be an excellent chance for you to capture the beauty of Brussels and to submit photos for the Photoresk Book #1 - Brussels through Our Lens.

Haven't heard about the book project yet? Check it out at http://www.photoresk.com/book_1/ 

Don't forget the submission date is coming closer, so check your archives and keep this in mind during the event 🙂

Where:

We start at King's Palace and will then tour around downtown Brussels -  You will discover the detailed route as we go during this lovely sunny day!

We will board the Brussels Beer Bus and take in all the cities sites from a unique perspective from inside an old Brussels vintage bus. Sample real Brussels beers and great atmosphere, this will give plenty of interesting new views of touristic Brussels... Not for the faint hearted. Included in the price, Tour, Guide, entrance to Beer Museum and enough beer to keep the thirst away. Please only sign up if you are certain to come, there are only 5 places available for the tour and it is 50 euros per person which is paid on the day to the bus driver. The complete tour lasts approx. 3 hours.

Lets have a flower day!

It will be a colourful day!

On Sunday April 10th, we will visit Floralia, the spring flower exhibition and the greenhouses at the castle of Grand Bigard. We will have the opportunity to discover over 500 different kinds of flowers including 400 tulip varieties.

There is a cafeteria in the park, with a choice of sandwiches, salads, light meals and cold dishes, should you want to buy something. We can as well bring our own food and have a picnic in the park.

Entrance: 12€ (if we are over 20 persons, the price goes down to 10€)
Practical details: this event is based on car-pooling. If you have a car and are willing to drive, please let me know (also indicate how many passengers you can take). If not enough cars to accommodate everybody, the first come first served rule will apply. Those who come on their own, we will meet at 11:30 at the entrance of the castle.

Date: Sunday 10th April
Meeting place: Montgomery roundabout, next to Bd. St Michel (metro exit in front of the Auto Ecole Stop and the White Night Nightshop)
Meeting time: 10:45 for departure at 11:00 (please be on time as we will leave at 11:00 sharp)

Journey (one way): 10 km
Return: late afternoon
Fuel: split at the end of the trip (usually varies between 5 and 7 EUR per person, depending on the total distance travelled and how many seats are occupied)

More info about the exhibition: http://www.floralia-brussels.be/en/floralia

Update 12 April :  

- Bluebells are out, some foliage

- Wether local forecast for Saturday in Halle keeps changing from cloudy to some rain, in case, check back later this week

- Car sharing, started for initial setup look > here < but also contact your driver to confirm

_________________ end of update _________

It's only once a year. Somewhen around April. In Belgium. Close to Halle. Bluebells covering the forest floor like a carped. After one week or so, it will be over....

Close to sunrise or sunset is the best time of the day for stunning pictures.

On April, 16, from 17:30 on the shadows will get longer, after 18:20 starting full shadows in the valleys after 19:00 there will not be good photo opportunities any more.

Hallerbos is about 50 minutes drive-time away from the centre of Brussels. The best way to get there is by car. You can find details about Hallerbos here.

For those who plan to go to Hallerbos with their own car, we will meet at the parking of Het Kriekske at around .
From the parking, we will driver further into the woods to a more central location.

Meeting 13:45 at Montgomery near to White Night Nightshop close to corner Tervurenlaan / direction Tervuren. We will leave at 14:00.

We need to do some car-sharing and you may be asked for a small contribution to cover the transport.

PHOTO’N PICKNICK IN A PARK

Finally spring has arrived to Belgium!

Time for a casual get together to talk about photography and to practice some basics, suggested subjects are:

• ISO, Aperture, Shutterspeed - what the hack is this?

• How to ‚blur‘ the background (control the depth of field) in theory and practice (we will do some portrait shooting)

• Eating salad and sandwiches on a blanket in a park 🙂

• Challenge: How to fold a foldable background 🙂

feel free to suggest/present more

Preparation:

• Try to familiarise yourself with your camera. You should know how to set/change ISO - Aperture - Shutter Speed (reading the manual may help 😉

• Bring something for Picnic

Hi all!

Fashion and creativity and great photo opportunities!

Brussels is one of the  creative fashion centres in the world, and the students from today will set the fashion style for tomorrow.

There will be a fashion show in the town 🙂

Over forty students will present the Autumn-Winter 2016/2017 collections they have conceived, designed, and built in their final year of study.

Check out the details here: http://ffevent.be

Perfect second chance for you if you missed out on la Cambre show 🙂 and great photo opportunities!

Tickets are 15€ evening desk (11,50 € pre-sales, 6,25 € for students), please sign up only if you plan to come too 🙂

P.S. Places are not numbered. First come, first served 😉

Sara Farid, Pakistan based photographer and photojournalist, working also for well known news agencies, is visiting Brussels.
Let's meet, exchange some stories, Sara will speak a bit about her work and news photography and what makes news.
Later - depending on our mood and the weather - we may go for a stroll downtown Brussels to take some pictures ...

During the Summer of Photography 2016 - Photoresk Brussels will visit various exhibitions.
Usually, at BOZAR, there is a mix of free and paid expo-spaces.
This time we will see

"open spaces | secret places
Works from the SAMMLUNG VERBUND, Vienna"

and meet for a discussion / drink afterwards.

The meetup is free but the entrance to the expo is ca. 11€

The exhibition showcases the works of twenty-eight contemporary artists such as Francis Alÿs, Eleanor Antin, Anthony McCall, Joachim Koester, Louise Lawler and Jeff Wall. Through their photographs and installations, the artists examine our relationship with space and take us through historical locations, emotionally charged spaces, imaginary, real or reconstructed places.

Due to the extremely increased security measures the police urgently asks to leave backpacks and bags at home.

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Photo opportunities at Belgian National Day.

There were many wishes last Sunday to organize a meetup for the Belgian National Day this Thursday 21st of July. So impromptu, we will do this again, and meet by the Museum of Musical Instruments.

It will be likely crowded, so this way we can find each other and go together to enjoy the festivities of the day, mostly happening at Park Royal and by the Royal Palace. The parade will take place at 4pm, however we will discover whatever there is to see before already (it's basically a full day of events).

High security during Thursday may not allow big bags, so maybe have your cameras in hand. The weather will be nice and warm, so hanging out in the park will be ideal 🙂

See you soon!

Photoresk Visit to Liege

What:
(Re)discover the city of Liège and its architecture. Liege is the 3rd biggest city in Belgium.  It offers plenty things to do. We will arrive in Liege at Liège-Guillemins Station - designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava.

After the first photo opportunities at the Liège-Guillemins station, we will go to the La Boverie's park (http://www.laboverie.com/parc-de-la-boverie/le-parc) to have a Picnic!!!
So, bring something for lunch with you 😉!
After this, we will continue to the city centre, to the famous stairs of the ´Montagne de Bueren' and to the Citadelle where we'll reach nice viewpoints! 

From there we will slowly heading back walking or public transport.  We also may stop for another refreshment (beer) or the way.

The will be a lot to see / pictures to take in this less known, typical Belgian city.

How:
We will go to Liege by train. The duration of the train ride is exactly one hour. The weekend-rate return-ticket  is 16€.

Following our first Summer of Photography visit, Photoresk Brussels will see the Alex Webb exhibition at BOTANIQUE, and meet for a discussion / drink afterwards.

"Magnum Agency photographer Alex Webb has been capturing the tropical light and intense colours of Latin America and the Caribbean in his unique way since the end of the seventies. Facinated by the effervescence of life in these countries, as well as by the coexistence of different cultures, the photographer questions the notion of borders in his photojournalism. Be they geopolitical, cultural, religious or ethnic, borders are perfectly centred in the lens of one of the masters of the art of 'street photography'."

The meetup is free but the entrance to the expo is ca. 5,5€.

More info on https://www.summerofphotography.be/en/exhibition/alex-webb

We will visit the very interesting Photographic expo "Eyes wide open" and take a walk around some of the sites of the city Gent. Meet in central station (in front of starbucks) @ 9.30am for train at 9.56am.

* SUGGESTION - Please bring a picnic lunch!, if the weather is good (which it should be) we will have lunch in the grounds of the Abbey where the expo is held. 

We will try to return to brussels before 7pm but this remains flexible.

Expo details below...
https://sintpietersabdij.stad.gent/nl/content/eyes-wide-open

"More than 100 volunteer gardeners put together this giant floral puzzle in less than four hours."  http://www.flowercarpet.be/en

The famous flower carpet portrayed in the popular Brussels postcards will show itself soon! Only for few days. Photoresk will be there to capture this piece of art on Sunday 14th.

We will meet at 9 am by the Charles Buls Fountain and take a few pictures before crowds of people take over grand place. At 10 am, they will open the town hall balcony for visitors (entrance fee: 5 euros), and we will be right on time to have the first view of carpet that day.

After enough flower shots, we can stroll through the city and have a drink at one of the brasseries.

See you there!

BOOK CELEBRATION AND PHOTO FUN

We made it, the book. Brussels Through Our Lens. It has finally arrived, nice and shiny! Beautiful B&W photos together on 72 pages. All Photoresk.
(check it out: http://www.photoresk.com/book_1/)

We will be at Park Cinquantenaire, by the stairs (check out the map), next Tuesday 23rd August from 18:30 to 20:30. The ones who made an order, can pick up their book/s. The rest can join our celebration for the first Photoresk book published or just come by and say hello. We will also have a portrait exercise in the evening sun and you have a chance to try out reflectors...

We will have a few bottles of sparkling to celebrate the collective effort of Photoresk members to make this book happen!

Come and join us!

Update 30 Aug:

Hi  all,

two of us will join at the entrance of Pairi Daiza at 10:45.

SNCB also offers transport&ticket for 33,33€ (http://www.belgianrail.be/en/leisure/bexcursions/nature-animal-parks/pairi-daiza.aspx) ; You would have to take the train at 09:05 from Brussels Central (than you Zuleika for the info) and walk ca. 1km to the entrance.

Please use the discussion below for co-ordination.

---- end of update ------

Are you on a holiday or feel like taking a day off to enjoy the last summer days in Belgium? Join us for Pairi Daiza on Wednesday 31st of August. We will avoid the weekend crowds and catch excellent photos of the wild life presented at the park.

"Pairi Daiza offers an unforgettable day in paradise in the midst of wild animals. The park helps to sensitise visitors to the beauty and fragility of nature. Pairi Daiza houses more than 4,000 animals from around the world, including birds, mammals, fish and reptiles and it is located on the former site of the Cistercian Abbey of Cambron, featuring ancient trees and numerous historic buildings. Paradisio also participates with about thirty scientific programmes in the active conservation of endangered species we assume responsibility for their reproduction within the Park." - https://www.pairidaiza.eu/en

We will meet do car sharing, so feel free to ask or propose available seats below. The meeting spot at 9:30 am is Montgomery, near the White Night Nightshop, close to corner Tervurenlaan / direction Tervuren. Please, be on time.

It will take about an hour to reach Pairi Daiza. We will spend the day at the park and leave when everyone's content with their photos. The park is rather big and there are places for us to buy and enjoy lunch together.

Did I mention already, there is a little panda which is growing fast...

The entrance price for the park is 34 euros (or 29,80 euros if purchased online). The drivers may also ask compensation for the gas.

Let's photograph the WORLD of animals in Belgium! 

The Balloon's Day Parade will invade the streets of Brussels to the sound of its accompanying brass bands. Escorted by the Police parade and folklore groups, the route of the Balloon's Parade will once again set off from the Comics Festival and end up at the Place De Brouckère. Come and discover the new parade balloon while it's being inflated at the Place des Palais!

Balloon's Day Parade will be a great opportunity to take funny pictures!

We will meet in front/entrance of the BELvue Museum Place des Palais, 7 (this is at the right side of the King's Palace). 

(you get there via metro/bus/train. Park/Parc, Troon/Trône, Naamsepoort/Porte de Namur, Centraal Station/Gare Centrale

Trams 92, 94 and buses 27, 38, 71, 95 are close.

This will give us some time to see what's going on and capture it. Later - just before the parade starts - we will position ourselves for getting nice shots from the parade. Finally, we will find a place for a wrap-up and drink somewhere.    

MX , Extreme Unicycle, Highline, Jump It, Longboard, Mountainboard, Parkour, Roller, Skateboard, Slackline, Streetsoccer

Great opportunities for action-shots in the middle of the city. There are plenty cool activities, just to mention a few: Action-show jumpline at 10h, 13h, 14h and 17h, and the great finale at 18h.

The highlight: Highline at the level of the 13th floor at 11h and 17h (with a special surprise for a few lucky Happy Shuttercounts who are not superstitious and afraid of hights).

Probably we will not manage to stay together as a group, but we will reunite throughout the day (location and times TBD).

Details about the event here: www.zotday.be & http://www.beslack.be/blog/activites/zot-day-2016

We will visit the museum of photography in Charleroi. 

Exposition
It is the largest and one of the most important museums of photography in Europe, spread over a 6000m² space, with a collection of 80,000 photographs, of which 800 are permanently exhibited. In addition to this, there is and actual exhibition of 

Street Photographer - Arthur (Usher) Fellig -- alias Weegee

Arthur (Usher) Fellig (June 12, 1899 – December 26, 1968) alias Weegee ongoing a photographer and photojournalist, known for his stark black and whitestreet photography. 

Details here http://www.museephoto.be/actuellesen.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weegee

We will take the train. It is about an hour by train. We will take the train at 9u59.

Afterwards we have to take a bus. 

The Museum of Photography in Charleroi is situated in Mont-sur-Marchienne in a former convent. 

Don't miss this opportunity...

How to get there
Museum of Photography
Avenue Paul Pastur 11
6032 Charleroi

By Car:
Offers or Requests for car sharing can be published on the conversation below.

By Public transport:
Charleroi-Sud train station,
then take bus 70 or 71 or 170 (get out at 'Mont-sur-Marchienne place').

Questions
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

Photoresk is invited to come to the HALLOWEEN SWING BAL and do some event shooting (we will share the photos with everybody).

Here is some info about the event: http://www.centrogalego.be/agenda/05-11-16-halloween-swing-bal/ 

https://www.facebook.com/events/663946530447313/

This will not be a "classical" Photoresk group event - but I post it here for those who are interested.

Important: To arrange for free entrance, I need your name and e-mail.

Beautiful and mystical...

It's a place close to Brussels, easily accessible for everybody.

Greenhouse and park (92 hectares and[masked] kinds of plants and trees)...

Outside, there are many different types of trees nicely arranged and in wide color range! Not enough? The large greenhouse with its amazing variety of plants is also worth a visit. http://www.br.fgov.be/index.php

If the weather is nice, it's beautiful... if not, it can be even mystical, especially in autumn! Surprisingly it's not very well known among the expat scene; it is the National Botanic Garden of Belgium in Meise (a bit - ca. 3km - north of the Atomium). 
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How to get  there:
<a>http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/howtoreach.php

Jardin botanique national de Belgique
Nieuwelaan 38
1860 Meise

By Car: We can also do some car-sharing. Start the discussion.
By Bus to Meise: Stop is "Nationale Plantentuin".

You can use the planner: http://www.delijn.be/en/index.htm with the street address above. In practical terms, we may form two groups. One is coming by bus from Brussels, the others go directly.

Questions:
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

Links:
General http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/index.php

There is a fantastic exposition of Saul Leiter - Retrospective (thank you Jelena for the excellent hint). The Photography Museum of FOMU in itself is already a must-see, so join us!

"Saul Leiter's work in both disciplines is linked by a common visual style: abstraction and flatness. He mainly photographed the streets of New York, where he lived for over sixty years. The compositions depict mirrors, windows, road signs, buildings and passers-by. The urban elements blur into amorphous colours that form an important feature of each image."

Learn more about the Retrospective Expo on their website (on the menu right, you can change the language).

We will meet at 14:00, stroll around the museum and have a drink somewhere in Antwerp afterwords. You can either take a train or suggest/ask for carpooling (several seats available from Schaerbeek).

For your info, entrance for the expo/museum is 8 euros, but group discount may apply.

Photoresk International MeetUp!

Medieval Christmas Market and Photo Exhibition 

Alexandra, a long-time-member of Photoresk Brussels, moved to Germany a while ago and has now invited the group:  

"Come to the Medieval Christmas Market (http://www.mittelalterlicher-markt-siegburg.de/web/mittelalterlicher_markt/01121/) in Siegburg, near Cologne, and also come enjoy my photo exhibition on 'diversity'."

What a wonderful idea! There are a lot of great opportunities for photos around the place... the market stalls are mostly lit by candlelight at night, and there are jugglers and singers and a blacksmith... The Christmas market is very popular; we will go on the first weekend - Saturday 3rd December.

It will not only be the Christmas market, but we will also see portraits in an exhibition (http://bosbeerphotos.com/ausstellung-vielfalt/) and perhaps take some more portraits to build on the theme.

Here are OPTIONS for you:

ICE trains are going from Brussels directly to Siegburg, but also a stopover in Cologne is possible.   

Day-trip on Saturday:  

Leaving Brussels in the morning, going directly to Siegburg to see the expo and the market, and returning at around 21:00 to Brussels.

Weekend in Siegburg and Cologne:

Overnight stay in Cologne after Siegburg, having some time there for sightseeing, market, dinner, and returning Sunday.  Hotels tend to have good rates on weekends.

The fare starts at only 38 euro for the round-trip on the ICE train, but also car-sharing could be an option. 

For those going by train, the group will leave at 10:25 from Midi arriving in Siegburg at 12:45. For return, there is a direct ICE train from Siegburg to Midi at 19.22. You can also check the various Thalys options.

William Klein is one of the spiritual fathers of “street photography”. His framing and his grainy or blurred images inspired subsequent generations. His iconic photographs offer a candid, uncensored look at life in the street in all its aspect. This exhibition presents series from cities such as New York, Moscow, Tokyo, Rome, and Paris. (source: agenda)

We should not miss this opportunity to see parts of the world!

Let's start the new year with some fresh activities!

We will meet up and  - depending on the weather -

have a stroll through Brussels and/or find some protected place where we learn to know our cameras better.

We will touch questions like how to influence the depth of field or what advantages does a flash have?

Of course we will put everything directly into practice and share the results later on our website.

Please, take your RSVP serious and update if your plans change to free your space. Remember that not doing so is unfair towards others in the group who are interested to join, but don't get a space.

Let's end the old week or start the new one (as you see it) with a night light walk along the canal!

Brussels region's lights are on this weekend: https://visit.brussels/en/sites/bright/listpage/bright-festival

Get your camera (if you have, bring your tripod) and be ready for night light exposure experiments, and learn how to handle those often tricky light situations.

We will walk along the most beautiful light installations, take stunning photos, and finally meet for a photo chat and warm up in a brasserie.

The meeting point will be announced later.

The Photoresk Photo Trip

We almost don't know what to say! 

It's nearly impossible to describe our enthusiasm about the coming Photoresk Photo Trip to Lesvos, Greece. It's simply going to be amazing! And it's happening soon! The flights need to be booked, hotels reserved and local guides engaged. We are doing this info evening for you to tell more about the trip, what we are going to do and see on the amazing island of Lesvos.

Future of Photoresk - Photography with Impact

Within Photoresk, we believe that powerful photographs are created through learning and sharing and should have a positive impact. As many of you already know, we are working hard to transform Photoresk into a non-profit organization with broader and sustainable social goals - even beyond photography. By participating this trip, you are taking the first steps with us on this exciting journey.

Trip Details

Check out the trip description, details and prices: https://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/events/236335271/

Info Evening Location

The location for this info session will be announced when we know how big the group will be. In any case, it will be somewhere in the center and easily accessible.

What:

2 in 1: Collecting “old” cameras for a good cause and enjoying 'The World of Steve McCurry'

Following our learning-and-sharing methodology, Photoresk will be donating “old” cameras for creative projects to empower the refugee youth in Lesvos, Greece, the coming May. We are looking for digital cameras that are not older than 5 years; any type of functional digital camera is suitable. Please, also check battery and charger. Memory cards of any type are also welcome!

We are also inviting you to join us for a famous exhibition in Brussels. 'The world of Steve McCurry' showcases more than 200 large (amazing) photos from around the world. I believe there's no need to say much more to sell this expo, but you can check out the teaser and more information at: http://www.quefaire.be/exposition-the-world-of-764205.shtml and http://stevemccurryexpo.be/

Price for adults: 12€ ; students: 6€

As always, we will get together in the end for a drink and nice (photography related) talks.

When:

April fool's day it is, yet we have no intention to fool you. We will meet you on 1st of April for a joyful day!

Where:
We will meet by the expo at Place de la Bourse 1

We look forward to seeing you there (with or without donations)!

Update 28/04/2016 

The weather forecast is promising, finally, it will be spring-ish on Sunday, picknick-time in the park just after the greenhouse visit, but there is also the info that back-packs may not be authorized inside the royal domain (thank you Jackie). Easy solution: I will come with our little expedition truck 🙂 where you can store your picknick stuff while we are in the greenhouse (as always for public parkings in Belgium, no valuables, I can't take any responsibility). I will be at the parking just opposite the entry early, easily spotted, the truck has Photoresk stickers on the doors.

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Royal Greenhouses of LaekenIt's the flower time again! This spring we will visit the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken. Open only for three weeks, once a year, one needs to be careful not to miss it.

What:
"An excellent opportunity to see the wonderful architecture of Alphonse Balat, the mentor of Victor Horta, and the many plants in the greenhouses. You can also visit:
the studio of Queen Elizabeth."

After the visit, we will gather all together for a picnic and nice talks. So bring some food and happy thoughts to share. May the weather be with us!

When:
We will go on Sunday morning at the opening time to avoid the crowds. The gardens are popular and taking photos can get difficult during the day. Meeting time 9:15am! We will get the group together and line up for the 9:30am opening.

Where:
Entrance and exit through the main gate of the Castle of Laeken. This is where we will meet!

The tickets are 2,50 euro and can only be bought at the entrance.

More info: http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm?id=4843&agendaid=369
https://www.monarchie.be/fr/agenda/ouverture-des-serres-royales-de-laeken-2017

See you there! 🙂

This season, FOMU Antwerp is showing a retrospective of American photojournalist Alec Soth. This Magnum photographer has been roaming the vastness of America's heartland for many years, documenting the life of its denizens in a dreamy, intriguing, sometimes disturbing style.

The museum will also be screening the documentary Somewhere to Disappear by two Belgian/French filmmakers which I absolutely recommend seeing. I don't want to spoil too much about it, but you can watch a trailer here : http://www.somewheretodisappearthefilm.com/

FOMU tickets are 8€, but if 15 are coming we can get a group discount at 6€.

The museum also has a couple of other exhibitions running, so definitely join us if you're interested in this artist and/or want to discover the place !

https://www.fotomuseum.be/en/exhibitions/alec-soth.html

We just got this great hint for the exhibition called Eleven Women Facing War (Thanks Stefania)

It's the last chance to see it this Sunday 14th, so join us if you have no other plans!

What:

Very interesting and likely influential women's temporary exhibition is taking place in Brussels: Eleven Women Facing War. Featuring 32 powerful photographs and 11 films by award-winning photographer and filmmaker Nick Danziger, the exhibition tells the story of the often hidden world of women caught up in vicious conflict from eight zones, such as Afghanistan, Colombia and Sierra Leone.

More info here: http://www.europarl.be/fr/%E2%80%9Celeven-women-facing-war%E2%80%9D-l%E2%80%99expo-photo-captivante-du-parlamentarium?webaction=view.acceptCookies

After the exhibition we will take a little walk, weather permitting, and have a drink together as usual. If the participants are interested, I would also be happy to lead the group to another exhibition: Brussels Inspiration by the Brussels Circle of Diplomatic Artists where I'm also showcasing some of my photographs.

More info here: http://brucoda.expat.brussels/

Where:

The exhibition "Eleven Women Facing War" is showcased at the EU Parlamentarium, we may go for a walk afterwards in the EU quarter to the expo at Atelier29.

When:

We will see the expo on 14th March, the last day it's exhibited.

Hope to see you there!

UPDATE: The RSVP is closed now but we may have some space left.  Contact Claus for more information.

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Photography, learning and sharing with positive impact

Here you can read the full event description (PDF/1.8MB) including the exciting daily plan: http://www.photoresk.com/Announcement-Lesvos.pdf

Important: To apply for this Photoresk Photo Trip, please, e-mail us at [masked], we will then get in touch with you about the details and next steps to attend and fully enjoy the trip. By RSVP to this meetup event, you only indicate that you are interested to apply. 

Get ready for the spring

8 day Photoresk Photo Trip and workshops from May 21st to 28th 2017 for up to 12 participants on the beautiful island of Lesvos, Greece. Covering different genres of photography ranging from Street, Rural Life Photography in the towns and villages, to Nature and Landscapes around this picturesque island. This trip will give you countless opportunities for extraordinary pictures. The weather can be dramatic and the changing colors and light conditions during the day are almost guaranteed every day.

Lesvos is the third largest Greek island, yet it has been unaffected by the mass tourism and is therefore a perfect place to experience the real Greece. The varying landscapes and the numerous activities on the island ensure inspiration for creative work. You can read below the tentative workshop schedule and trip plan.

Learning and sharing

The Photoresk experience is about learning and sharing. Everybody is encouraged to contribute, but we will also give guidance on specific topics. In addition to the day’s photoshoots, there will be sessions with photo reviews as well as conversations on different subjects such as optimal image quality, composition and efficient shooting techniques. To make your pictures stand out, post processing can make a difference, so we will also cover some of different methods and techniques – including HDR.

Is this workshop for me?

There are no specific expectations for the skill level of participants of the Photoresk Photo Trip except that you are passionate about photography.
The Photoresk Photo Trip will include conversations about composition, scene selection, technique, post processing, photo reviews, as well as talks about the pictures taken during the day. This is your opportunity to learn from and get inspired by Photoresk Photo Trip photographer companions.

Pricing, accommodation and travel

The estimated total cost (which requires an early flight booking) of the Photoresk Photo Trip is around 1295€ for the 8 days which will include:

•  flights from/to Brussels

• all transportation on the island

• daily activities and workshops

• hotels (chosen by our local Photoresk guide)

• boat excursion

• donation to support the local projects

Please note that food and drinks are not included in this estimate.

Photoresk will coordinate the trip and guide you through necessary bookings. Of course, neither Photoresk or any of our organisers can be held responsible for any kind of accident or damage occurring during the trip. We recommend that participants are covered by their own travel insurance.

Update: those who are taking the train from Brussels:

We meet from 10:30 in front of Starbucks at Gare Central, taking the train at 11:00.

The most economic option is the Belgium rail pass 76,00€  for 10 rides to any station in Belgium (=5 persons for the return). It can be used by multiple persons. Additionally, we need tickets from the Belgium Border to Aachen and back.  

We will get one or more passes, use the discussion below if you want to use this offer. 

The trains: 
Bru.-Centraal / Brux.-Central to Welkenraedt  11:00 departure 12:37 arrival 

Welkenraedt - Aachen  12:42 departure 12:56 arrival 

Aachen - Welkenraedt departure 18:04  arrival 18:18 

Welkenraedt to Bru.-Centraal / Brux.-Central 19:09 departure 20:55 arrival  

In Aachen, the Photoresk groups from Cologne and Aachen will join us - it will be an truly international meetup!
------------------------------ end of update -----------------
Let's explore Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle / Aken) together with some Photoresk Cologne members. Aachen has a wonderful old centre, as well as some odd more recent architecture. Street shots, architecture, portraits, photos of each other - let's see what we can shoot.

Here's the link to the Cologne MeetUp page: https://www.meetup.com/photoreskcologne/events/240176994/

We make the train ride part of our journey, but we have to book the train tickets in two sections  - a very convenient and affordable way to visit Germany! 

Brussels -> Welkenraedt which is the last stop before the German border, would allow people to use either

a) rail pass which has 10 rides making each journey (anywhere in Belgium) 7,60€ 
b) the multi-trip Belgian national tickets or the Belgian internet - special, 22€ return, 
c) Aachen weekend ticket of Belgian Rail

Welkenraedt -> Aachen, crossing the border (YOU MAY NEED YOUR ID, SCHENGEN VISA) 8,40€ return 

The trains in detail:  

From Bru.-Centraal / Brux.-Central to Welkenraedt 

11:00 dep 12:37 arr duration 1:37  

From Welkenraedt to Bru.-Centraal / Brux.-Central
19:09 dep 20:55 arr duration 1:46

Welkenraedt - Aachen 

Departure 12:42 Arrival 12:56 (duration 0:14)

Aachen - Welkenraedt 
Aachen 18:04 > Welkenraedt 18:18 / Welkenraedt 19:06 > Brussels 20:55.

We will gather together in a cafe in the afternoon to look at pictures and to refresh ourselves. Looking forward to seeing you all then!  

It happens every 1st Thursday of the month 

Our NEW monthly photography related Photoresk get-together is now scheduled for every 1st Thursday of the month, starting on 3rd of August.

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in the friendly atmosphere of Atelier-29 where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talking over a glass of wine.

We will start by discussing event wishes and topic suggestions, as well as touch the topic of a new photo publishing website: photostories.international

At Atelier-29

A former artist atelier which has been transformed into an event center, located in the EU quarter, just 5 minutes walk from Maelbeek or Place Lux.

GPS WGS 84:[masked] |[masked]

See you there!

Update:

It's amazing, only our second monthly Photoresk get-together here in Brussels and we are already almost 50 Happy Shuttercounts - which is, honestly, wonderful and a lot more than I expected, and we have a lot of 1st-timers too, a very warm welcome to Photoresk!    

Those who regularly join our Photoresk meetups know that there is no "big master of the universe" in our group who knows everything - it is all about sharing knowledge and learning from each other.

Looking at the attendance list for tonight, I see we have a wonderful mix of photography knowledge from technique to composition and from artistic colouring to time-lapse and astro (and sure a lot more). 

For our relaxed meetup tonight, some will bring prints as suggested and ask opinions and feedback, I will bring a few things with me as well and can illustrate some photography basics, and others may form groups to talk about HDR or whatever topics chosen… See you tonight!

------------------------------ end of update 

It happens every 1st Thursday of the month 

Our NEW monthly photography related Photoresk get-together is now scheduled for every 1st Thursday of the month, starting on 3rd of August.

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere  where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

Spacious Location

A former artist atelier which has been transformed into an art and event center, located in the EU quarter, just 5 minutes walk from Maelbeek or Place Lux.

GPS WGS 84:[masked] |[masked]

See you there!

Photo exhibit at Bozar about an institution in the city, Plaizier, which is a shop specialized in photo productions on Brussels. Since a long time they create wonderful books and have a large collection of pictures showing how Brussels evolves through the time.
Visiting this expo was highly recommended by other Happy Shuttercounts who have already seen it, so we will go and have a look!
More info here: http://www.bozar.be/en/activities/124394-brussels-is-a-plaizier.

MX , Extreme Unicycle, Highline, Jump It, Longboard, Mountainboard, Parkour, Roller, Skateboard, Slackline, Streetsoccer

Great opportunities for action-shots in the middle of the city. There are plenty cool activities - it's Zot-Day! 

The highlight: Highline at the level of the 13th floor between 10:00h and 19:00h.
(we have a limited number of special entrance passes for a few Happy Shuttercounts who would like to photograph the crazy daredevils high above Ansbach laan).

Probably we will not manage to stay together as a group, but we will reunite throughout the day (location and times TBD).

Check-out the photos and report from last year: https://www.photoresk.com/zot-day-2016/

Space for this event is limited, we only have a small amount of special access passes for the high-line building. 

Please, note that Happy Shuttercounts with a clean no-show history will advance on the waiting list.  

P.S. If you are getting an access pass to the building where the highline starts, you also agree to share a few photos taken with the association organising it (for their promotion).

Planned for the October meeting:

What is your most burning photography related question? Our group is here to help you and we enjoy engaging in interesting discussions - so bring it on!

Also, feel free to bring some photos/prints you'd like to talk about and get feedback on - we are kind, but also encourage growth 😉

Finally, we may have some initial talks about the large exhibition Photoresk will be doing next spring, and we can try to refine the subject "Europe" together.

______________________________________________________________
It happens every 1st Thursday of the month 

Our NEW monthly photography related Photoresk get-together is now scheduled for every 1st Thursday of the month, starting on 3rd of August.

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere  where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

Spacious Location

A former artist atelier which has been transformed into an art and event center, located in the EU quarter, just 5 minutes walk from Maelbeek or Place Lux.

GPS WGS 84:[masked] |[masked]

See you there!

What: 

This time we will visit the Nuit Blanche 2017 edition. An evening with 19 different performances and art installations. Info here:

Where:

We will meet at 19h00 at the meeting point in the Parc. The host Margot will hold a banner with the Photoresk logo.  
The performances take place in the Parc de Bruxelles / Warandepark and a couple of venues north of the Parc. They take place multiple times and the first acts start at 19h00. We could decide beforehand which acts to visit, suggestions are welcome by sending them in the conversation box below. For sure we can also decide on the spot. 

Details: 

To get an idea of the programme and the different performances take a look at the online brochure on the website: http://nuitblanche.brussels/en/ 

Performances take place both in- and outside so do not forget to bring your rain coat and/or umbrellas in case of rainy weather forecasts, and your camera/mobile phones/tripods of course!

It happens every 1st Thursday of the month 

Our NEW monthly photography related Photoresk get-together is now scheduled for every 1st Thursday of the month, starting on 3rd of August.

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere  where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

Spacious Location

A former artist atelier which has been transformed into an art and event center, located in the EU quarter, just 5 minutes walk from Maelbeek or Place Lux.

GPS WGS 84:[masked] |[masked]

See you there!

Photoresk is invited to come to the HALLOWEEN SWING BAL and do some event shooting (we will share the photos with everybody).

Here is some info about the event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1866953563620765/

This will not be a "classical" Photoresk group event but an excellent opportunity to do a lot of scary portraits 🙂

To get an idea, have a look at the pictures from last year: https://www.photoresk.com/halloween-swing-bal-preview/

Space is limited. If you are interested, please contact me and/or join the waiting list. We can't effort to have any "no-shows", members who regularly sing up for the meetup, but don't come.

Important: To arrange for free entrance, I need your name and e-mail address.

What: 

Let's go and check out an exhibition at The S.M.A.K. in Gent: The Photographic I - Other Pictures!

They say: "The Photographic is a group exhibition that gauges the present significance of photography." 

Following the exhibition, we will find a nice place where we can have a discussion & a drink 🙂 

Where: 

We will meet at the entrance of The S.M.A.K. in Gent at the given time. Feel free to use the discussion for co-ordinating joint train/car rides.  

Details: http://smak.be/en/exhibition/10987

Unprecedented in Belgium, the retrospective exhibition dedicated to the famous French photographer Robert Doisneau is a must.

The Museum of Ixelles and the Robert Doisneau Studio present the opportunity to reconnect with everyday life in all its candour, malice and beauty through the artist’s most famous vintage photographs as well as those less known. As a committed artist and visceral humanist, Robert Doisneau inhabits a singular universe offering a poetic and topical viewpoint that remains true today. [museum ixelles]

Special at this event:

At this meetup, our member of Photoresk Brussels, Suresh Pattabhiraman will share with us some impressions from India:
"Capturing the scene in and out of a south Indian family pilgrimage to their ancestor temple"

It happens every 1st Thursday of the month

Our NEW monthly photography related Photoresk get-together is now scheduled for every 1st Thursday of the month, starting on 3rd of August.

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

Spacious Location

A former artist atelier which has been transformed into an art and event center, located in the EU quarter, just 5 minutes walk from Maelbeek or Place Lux.

GPS WGS 84:[masked] |[masked]

See you there!

Update: This time we have Daniel as guest speaker for the
Photoresk Focus Talk,
giving us an insight in
HDR processing with live demo!
_____________________________________________________________________

It happens every 1st Thursday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk.

There is no charge for our monthly meeting, however as we get the space for free from the owners of Atelier29, please buy a drink or food from them (pick it up from downstairs)

If you like to practice portraits and vintage dresses this may be for you!

Photoresk Brussels will do another fun-shoot with a small group at a swing-dance event.

The dancers (at least most of them) will be dressed up in style. There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. Sorry, it's very limited and you should not be famous for your no-shows.
Please contact me if you are interested in participating.
It's a no money involved meetup.

• We will see the expo:
Joel Meyerowitz has always seen himself as a street photographer in the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank but he transformed the mode with his pioneering use of color.
The expo of the writer of the standard book "Bystander: A History of Street Photography, 1994" should not be missed! We will have a drink / discussion afterwards.
• Important to know
Details about the expo: http://botanique.be/en/exposition/joel-meyerowitz-where-i-find-myself

UPDATE
For those coming from Brussels: We will meet at Gare Central, Brussels at 11:00 taking the S1 at 11:11 to Mechelen, arriving 11:39 in Mechelen.
For those coming directly to Mechelen: We will meet you at 11:45 at or near the ticket counter at Mechelen Station.
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➔ A DAY IN MECHELEN

➝ A discovery walk through the pittoresque parts of Mechelen

We will see the Grote Markt, the Schepenhuis, the Vismarkt, crossing some (old) bridges, see the House of the Fishermans' Guild and try to find the remaining of the 12th–13th century wall and ditch protecting Mechelen in the past.

--- a light lunch --- -

we will find a place to have a light lunch

➝ An exhibition of the Jewish Museum of Belgium

At the Kazerne Dossin Museum in Mechelen we will see photographs by André Goldberg, photographing Holocaust witnesses. There will be 37 portraits in the exhibition. The website says "This work remains the only one of its kind to date in Belgium and has been accompanied by testimonials collected by Dominique Rozenberg, sociologist and photographer's companion".
Optional: visit to the permanent exhibition
There will be the option to see the permanent exhibition of the museum. Depending on the time it will take, the group may split here and perhaps meet later for the "after math" at a local brasserie.
Entrance fees
Temporary Exhibition € 9, Permanent Exhibition € 10, Combi € 16

➝ "after math" at a local brasserie.

➝ return

We will speak about Light!

We will speak about this wide subject in a way that any part related to it will be interesting for a broad audience, also about portraiture and studio lights.
For sure, it will be an interesting evening!

_____________________________________________________
It happens every 1st Thursday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

There is no charge for our monthly meeting, however as we get the space for free from the owners of Atelier29, please buy a drink or food from them (pick it up from downstairs)

Details:
Let's explore the 'upper part' of Brussels, starting at the Palais de Justice. There are a lot of possibilities, depending on the weather. We will generally go down to Sablon towards Marollen, the workers area, two part of Brussels in which lot discoveries can be made, though which are generally safe. We can try out street photography, urban portraits, etc. (If it rains - not currently forecast - the meetup will still take place and we will explore taking photos of rain - just bring plastic covers or plastic bags to keep your gear safe!)

The theme this time is perspective - let's see how thinking about using perspective in our compositions, does to improve our shots!

Do ignore the end time (MeetUp puts it in automatically). We will wander and photograph for a couple of hours or so, and then we will gather in a cafe to have (warm) drinks and share our photographs.

Sunset is at 18.04, so we might be back to Place Poeleart from where we have a nice view over the city and have some golden hour and blue hour shooting opportunities.

Update: At this monthly, we don't have a long presentation (Focus-Talk) on a single subject but we will discuss about pictures and have some interesting general talks and share ideas over a glass. Do you want some friendly, yet constructive feedback on one of your photos? How to improve or just hear other's opinions? Bring it - either as print or on a memory stick!
We also will have some general talks - feel free to raise your questions 🙂 __________________________________________________________________

It happens every 1st Thursday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

There is no charge for our monthly meeting, however as we get the space for free from the owners of Atelier29, please buy a drink or food from them (pick it up from downstairs)

• What we'll do
Photo Days 2018 is the exhibition dedicated to the photography, video and image sector.

• Important to know
Depending on the number of attendees we will probably NOT see the exhibition as a group but we can meet after for some discussions / a drink somewhere nearby. But where? Suggestions please in the comments.

More info on www.photodays.be. Entrance fee is 8€ . Tickets here: https://tickets.brussels-expo.be/uk/photo-days

If you like to practice portraits and vintage dresses this may be for you!
The is a series of events in Liege that weekend.
Photoresk Brussels will do another fun-shoot with a small group at a swing-dance event.

The dancers (at least most of them) will be dressed up in style. There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. There is also a marked and workshops ongoing.
Details here: https://ardentswingfestival.com

Sorry, it's very limited (3 max) and you should not be famous for your no-shows.
Please contact Claus if you are interested in participating, you need tis to get on the list.
It's a no money involved meetup -of course, we get fee entrance and some catering.

If you like to practice portraits and vintage dresses this may be for you!
The is a series of events in Liege that weekend.
Photoresk Brussels will do another fun-shoot with a small group at a swing-dance event.

The dancers (at least most of them) will be dressed up in style. There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. There is also a marked and workshops ongoing.
Details here: https://ardentswingfestival.com

Sorry, it's very limited and you should not be famous for your no-shows.
Please contact me if you are interested in participating, you need tis to get on the list.
It's a no money involved meetup -of course, we get fee entrance and some catering.

If you like to practice portraits and vintage dresses this may be for you!
The is a series of events in Liege that weekend.
Photoresk Brussels will do another fun-shoot with a small group at a swing-dance event.

The dancers (at least most of them) will be dressed up in style. There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. There is also a marked and workshops ongoing.
Details here: https://ardentswingfestival.com

Sorry, it's very limited and you should not be famous for your no-shows.
Please contact Claus if you are interested in participating, you need tis to get on the list.
It's a no money involved meetup -of course, we get fee entrance and some catering.

• What we'll do
A visit to Ghent and the Dr. Guislain museum

Meeting at 13:15 in - People from Brussels by train or car use the discussion to set up meeting point/time! Details:
Let's visit the museum that used to be the oldest psychiatric hospital in Belgium.
It's an impressive building with a permanent international art brut exhibition, an exhibition about the history of psychiatry but also some temporary art exhibitions.

http://www.museumdrguislain.be/en

It is not a photography museum but it's certainly worth paying a visit and it seems like a location that can offer taking some interesting photos. The museum opens at 13.00 thus we could aim to start our visit there at 13.30 sharp.
After the visit we can go for a stroll and a drink somewhere in the center of Ghent (late lunch or early dinner are also an option). Important to know: The museum is not close to the train station, and those coming by train can gather at the station and take a tram together. It takes around 20 minutes tram ride to get there.

People that are coming from Brussels can also try to group and come by car.

• What to bring

• Important to know

It happens every 1st Thursday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

There is no charge for our monthly meeting, however as we get the space for free from the owners of Atelier29, please buy a drink or food from them (pick it up from downstairs)

• What we'll do
We will see works of the Belgian photographer Lara Gasparotto and have a stroll & drink later.

Lara Gasparotto (Liège, 1989) quickly developed a spontaneous style in which she documents her own life, the young people around her. It has an incomparable capacity to distil the atmosphere of landscapes and interiors. Her images reveal her love of the countryside in which she grew up, and her many travels to places like Kyrgyzstan, Ethiopia, Mexico and Andalusia. His photographs are imbued with beauty and intimacy.

• What to bring

• Important to know

• What we'll do
Join us for an unforgettable experience during the spring flower exhibition Floralia at the Grand Bigard castle, with a highlight of Venetian costumes parade on Sunday, April 15th.

As the castle is located outside Brussels, car pooling would be great for those not having a car. Please post in the comments below if you can drive and how many people you can take with you. For those coming directly, we meet at the entrance of the park at 11h.

The entrance ticket is 14€ but groups of more than 20 can benefit from a reduced price of 12€/person. Please have the right amount prepared, should we enter as a group.

Pack a picnic basket with you for the lunch break, or get something from the small cafeteria by the castle (choice is limited).

• What to bring

• Important to know

Lets have a spontaneous meet-up on Saturday. Bring your camera and all questions you may have 🙂 We can experiment a bit.
The Happy Shuttercounts will start this meet-up with another walk but afterwards we meet for a chat and a drink and of course photography related talks.

At the meet-up we will see also some hidden treasures, Parc Josaphat and one of the the most beautiful Avenues, the Avenue Louis Bertrand. Here is also the beer museum (entrance 3€) where we can have a refreshing drink (not only the local beer).

We will meet at the entrance of Parc Josaphat at the corner Avenue Louis Bertrand / Boulevard Lambermont (Tram Nr. 7 Stop Louis Bertrand, Bus 66 Crossing, walking 35 min from the center, by car - parking is easy) Please be on time!

Update: We will try a new location!
A nice quiet place at the edge of Parc Josapath, easily reached by bike/car/tram 7/bus 66.
It is the little grey building on the map!

-----------------------------------------------

It happens every 1st Wednesday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

There is no charge for our monthly meeting, however as we get the space for free from the owners of Atelier29, please buy a drink or food from them (pick it up from downstairs)

For those who are in Brussels during the long weekend, we have something special. In the afternoon, we will meet at Atelier29 to see the exhibition "Life on the move" where also some Photoresk members show their work. This expo is not only about photography, all types of artwork are represented. Info: https://brucoda.expat.brussels
When Atelier29 closes at 17:00 we will go for a photowalk through the almost deserted EU quarter and catch some nice shots. Later we may meet for a wash-up for a drink somewhere there.

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have a good opportunity for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

This time Karina will speak about Africa, her photo salaries and she will show some of her beautiful animal photos!

The weather forecast is good, we are already close to the longest days of the year, sunset will be at 21:54. Before starting the new week, let's go for a photo walk / stroll. Let's meet at a place that is easily accessible, either at park Cinquantenaire (if the sky is clear, we could observe sunset through the arc at around 20:00) or a walk to La maison du Meunier, starting for a tram-stop at Tervuren laan. Pls. use the comments

If you like to practice portraits and vintage dresses this may be for you!

Photoresk Brussels will do another fun-shoot with a small group at a swing-dance event.

The dancers (at least some of them) will be dressed up in style. There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. Sorry, it's very limited and you should not be famous for your no-shows.
Please contact me if you are interested in participating.
It's a no money involved meetup.

The summer is the perfect time for our new, nice meeting place just inside Parc Josapath.
We don't have a specific subject for this meetup (yet), bring your camera - we will do some experiments 🙂
and/or
Suggest topics! (use the discussion)
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It happens every 1st Wednesday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

UPDATE

Hi all and a very warm welcome to all newcomers!

You already may have noticed that the location changed.

After some scouting to possible places - realising, there are not many options in Brussels because he moon will be at a low angle throughout the whole event.

There were a few options but most of them did not offer a good foreground or are not easy accessible or simply not suitable for such a big group.

The new location is at the Canal, details are e-mailed to you.

Tram/bus stops and a night bus stops are nearby.

From our location we should have a view to the moon when it is above around 5° with some Brussels skyline in the frame.Bring a tripod and the longest lens you have available. Of course, we will exchange some tips and hints at location 🙂

Don't forget your tripod and have the batteries fully charged.

Here is a schedule of what we will see on the 27th:
19:14
Not directly visible Penumbral Eclipse begins
Below horizon
Map direction East 97°
-20.0°

20:24
Fri, 27 Jul
Not directly visible Partial Eclipse begins
Below horizon
Map direction East-southeast 109°
-9.7°

21:28
Fri, 27 Jul
Not directly visible Moonrise
Below horizon
Map direction East-southeast 121°
-0.2°

21:30
Fri, 27 Jul
Total Eclipse begins
Total moon eclipse starts - completely red moon.
Since the Moon is near the horizon at this time, we recommend going to a high point or finding an unobstructed area with free sight to East-southeast for the best view of the eclipse.
Map direction East-southeast 121°
0.0°

22:21
Fri, 27 Jul
Maximum Eclipse
Moon is closest to the center of the shadow.
Moon close to horizon, so make sure you have free sight to Southeast.
Map direction Southeast 131°
6.0°

23:13
Fri, 27 Jul
Total Eclipse ends
Total moon eclipse ends.
Map direction Southeast 142°
11.4°

00:19
Sat, 28 Jul
Partial Eclipse ends
Partial moon eclipse ends.
Map direction South-southeast 156°
16.5°

01:28
Sat, 28 Jul
Penumbral Eclipse ends
The Earth's penumbra ends.
Map direction South 173°
19.4°

more and also an visualisation here:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/belgium/brussels

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2018Jul27T.pdf
and here another article with some nice photos http://www.mreclipse.com/LEphoto/LEphoto.html

This month: Improve your photography skills -
where are your strength, what to do better?

Photo critique!

Getting feedback is easy in an friendly atmosphere - just bring some photos (print or on USB) and get feedback!

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It happens every 1st Wednesday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine and some snacks.

Fireworks will light up the sky of the capital city. The Laeken Firework will be held on the Heysel Plateau at the foot of the Palais 5.
https://visit.brussels/en/article/laeken-fireworks
We will try to get some nice shots from the event and the fireworks.

This is not our 'usual' location but very close. We meet in the bar of the local football club - please consume something - we don't have to pay for the space.
_______________________________

It happens every 1st Wednesday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects:

This time 3D photography
Iulian Virtejanu will introduce us to the world of 3D photography - we will see photos in 3D and learn how they were taken!

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

It’s the car free Sunday. Places and streets will be accessible and without car traffic. We will have a stroll along some main axes of Brussels, also trying some special photography techniques.

It happens every 1st Wednesday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

The OCTOBER meeting will be dedicated to a session of friendly photo reviews. If you would like to get feedback on any of your pictures please don't hesitate to bring them along, either in print or digital form (on a tablet or laptop as phone displays are too small to review properly).
If you can't bring a tablet/laptop you can send your pics to me ([masked]).

Autumn leaves & greenhouse at Meise

Beautiful and mystical...

It's a place close to Brussels, easily accessible for everybody.

Greenhouse and park (92 hectares and[masked] kinds of plants and trees)...

Outside, there are many different types of trees nicely arranged and in wide color range! Not enough? The large greenhouse with its amazing variety of plants is also worth a visit. http://www.br.fgov.be/index.php

If the weather is nice, it's beautiful... if not, it can be even mystical, especially in autumn! Surprisingly it's not very well known among the expat scene; it is the National Botanic Garden of Belgium in Meise (a bit - ca. 3km - north of the Atomium).
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What to bring:

So, bring of course your camera, if you have, your macro and zoom equipment and whatever you may need for landscape AND close-ups. We will as usual discuss, ask and explain as we go. Don't worry if you don't have a special photo gear, I have seen stunning pictures which were taken with an instamatic.

We will also have a pick-nick, so bring something tasty! 😉

What we will do:
As usual, we will be a good mix of experts and beginners sharing the same passion, and don't forget, there is always someone who knows something the others don't know. We will also have a small challenge for the excitement 😀

What if:
We expect the weather conditions to be perfect for that day... but in case it's raining heavily, there is also the greenhouse and some shelters in the park.

Autumn pick-nick:
Bring some cheese/sausage/etc. and something to drink. We will try to have a pick-nick, probably in one of those tiny weather shelters.

How to get there:
<a>http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/howtoreach.php

Jardin botanique national de Belgique
Nieuwelaan 38
1860 Meise

By Car: We can also do some car-sharing. Start the discussion.
By Bus to Meise: Stop is "Nationale Plantentuin".

You can use the planner: http://www.delijn.be/en/index.htm with the street address above. In practical terms, we may form two groups. One is coming by bus from Brussels, the others go directly.

Questions:
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

Links:
General http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/index.php

Let's explore Maastricht in the Netherlands! Beautiful, historic, busy, with the Photoresk Aachen (and even some from Cologne) group.
https://www.meetup.com/Photography-Meetup-Aachen/events/255590391/
On our trip, we will change trains in Liege-Guillemins, the famous designer station.
All this the giving us endless photo opportunities.
Cost: we don't charge for the meetup but you need around 11.50€ x 2 for the train tickets.
The Plan:
Departure Brussels Central 12:00
Arrival Liege-Guillemins 13:02
In and around Liege-Guillemins
Train to Maastricht: 14:09
Arrival Maastricht: 14:42 and joining the Aachen / Cologne Photoresk

If you like to practice portraits and party / event shooting this is for you! But - you should not be afraid of scary halloween make-ups. 🙂

Photoresk Brussels will do another fun-shoot with a small group at a halloween event.

There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. We will have the freedom to experiment but also do some souvenir shots which we will make available to the participants.

Sorry, space at this meetup is very limited.
Please contact the event organiser if you are interested in participating (you should not be famous for your no-shows).
It's a no "money involved" meetup.

Update: We have no specific subject defined yet but we definitely can talk about photos 🙂 Take the opportunity and ask for opinions on yours or help others to improve. Bring yours in print or on a stick. No photo critique for photos on the phone/web!

It happens every 1st Wednesday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

Photoshoot at a dog training club. Dogs, dogs and owners in a valley in the park of Woluwe St Pierre.
We will be at a for training and have the opportunity to rehearse dog shooting for a few hours. Later we will have a snack / drink in the club house. The deal is to give the pictures to the club.
The appointment is at 9.45 am in front of the club house. http://www.brusselscanine.be/index.php/localisation/
if you come later go down to the valley just beside you will see the dogs and owners. There will be several groups according to the age and size of dogs you will choose a group.
Hi we can see the stars in the sky this night ( Orion constellation) it's a sign of good weather to come. Anyway it 's going to be cold and there will be mud so bring warm, wind proof and waterproof clothing and boots.See you tomorrow.

DATE CHANGED to[masked]

No special topic for this last meetup of the year,
bring some of your photos on a memory stick - we will do some review and talk about photography and tell some stories over a drink!

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

Let's have a stroll along the xmas market and play with the lights 😊. If you have - bring your tripod and flash!

Let's start a new year together improving our photography skills at a new meeting location. The place is close to Madou and easily accessible by Tram, Bus and Metro. We will have open talks, feel free to bring photos to ask feedback and/or share some stories.
We also will talk about using (vintage) prime lenses on modern cameras, which can be really charming (quality AND budget wise)
---------------

It happens every 1st Wednesday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

See http://www.mjb-jmb.org/expositions/expositions-presentes/

If you like to practice portraits and event shooting this may be for you!

Photoresk Brussels will do another fun-shoot with a small group at a swing-dance event.

There is some space set-up at the venue decorated for some portrait shooting. Sorry, it's very limited and you should not be famous for your no-shows.
Please contact me if you are interested in participating.
It's a no money involved meetup.

It happens every 1st Wednesday of the month

Photoresk get-together

Meet interesting photography minded Happy Shuttercounts in a friendly atmosphere where we have plenty of space available for talks, photography activities and experiments, as well as workshops.

Changing subjects

Each month we will have a different topic: planning excursions, experimenting with cameras or just talk over a glass of wine.

"Carte de Visite" is an annual free exhibition in a former shopping mall in the center on Brussels. All kinds of art are shown - some of them are photography and at least one member of Photoresk is exhibiting there. We will meet somewhere nearby and go for a really little walk, see the exhibition (maybe we can't stay together as group) and meet for a drink later and discuss what we've seen. https://www.brussels.be/exhibition-carte-de-visite-artopenkunst

watch out not only for beautiful art nouveau buildings but also to find traces of Carnival in Brussels.

The weather forecast for Sunday changed to the better - the opportunity to go for a Photoresk photo walk.

What:
Have a photo walk in the lively Saint Gilles with it's art nouveau treasures for about 2 hours.

Option:
with the option to go to "The Carnival of Tarkham's witches" https://www.fantastic-museum.be/en/events/191_carnival-tarkhams-witches afterwards.

What else: We may have some rain showers - wear appropriate clothes

• What we'll do
Photo Days 2019 is the exhibition dedicated to the photography, video and image sector.

• Important to know
Some companies may offer FREE SENSOR cleaning (you can wait for it) - something to consider ...

Depending on the number of attendees we will probably NOT see the exhibition as a group but we can meet after for some discussions / a drink somewhere nearby. But where? Suggestions please in the comments.

More info on www.photodays.be.

Soooo... Erstmal danke, dass ihr beigetreten seid und uns unterstützt. Wir wollen uns nun ein erstes Mal treffen und uns alle mal kennen lernen. Bringt dazu bitte eure Kamera mit - und natürlich viel Gute Laune.

Wir werden uns zusammen über bereits gemachte Bilder austauschen und über evtl. Wunschmotive.

Zudem werden wir eine Liste mit möglichen Themen für die nächsten Meetups mit hoffentlich vielen Ideen füllen.

Wir treffen uns um 17:30 vor Photo Preim am Elisenbrunnen.

Invitation to an international photography meet-up!
We are building an international community of photography enthusiasts and Photography Meetup Aachen will be part of it. 
Come and join our first international meetup where also groups from the Cologne and Brussels Photoresk groups will come next Sunday to Aachen!

Einladung nach einen MeetUp in Aachen - wir sprechen Englisch, Deutsch, und vielleicht noch andere Sprache.

This could be a great opportunity to get to know more photographers. Brussels group: https://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/events/240661643/ Cologne group: https://www.meetup.com/photoreskcologne/events/240176994/

In the late afternoon, we will gather in a cafe to share our photos and refresh ourselves. Schliesslich, treffen wir uns im Cafe oder Kneippe, dass wir quatschen können.

PS If you have already RSVP'd with one of the other groups, there is no need to RSVP again. Look forward to seeing you!

Suggested route:
here a suggestion for a possible route we could take:
- Hbf
- Marschiertor
- Aachen-Münchener
- Kapuziner Karree
- Theater Aachen
- Elisenbrunnen
- Aachener Dom
- Krämerstraße
- Rathaus/Markt
- RWTH Zentrum (e.g. via Augustinerplatz, Karmanstraße) Hauptgebäude, SuperC
- Pontstraße mit Ponttor (here we may stop for a coffee)
from here we may return by bus to Hbf or by taking the train from Aachen West

Let's get together for a wander through the woods where some old tanks have been abandoned. This is part of the 'Westwall' or Siegfried Line from the second world war. We will make a loop (medium walk), taking our time to get lots of excellent images.

We will meet at 15.00 - waiting about 10 minutes to anyone coming from the bus stop to find us - at the spot marked 'A' on the map. https://www.komoot.de/smarttour/28231#

To get to the meeting point by public transport there are the bus Lines 25 and 125 (https://www.aseag.de/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/Linienfahrplaene/025_avv.pdf). They go from Vaals to Stolberg, stopping at Aachen Schanz Bf (RE4 from Düsseldorf), Aachen Bushof and Aachen Rothe Erde Bf (RE1 and RE9 from Köln).

The weather should be a little less hot than this week, but still warm. Please bring water to drink along the way. And don't forget your photo equipment!

About the Siegfried Line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Line

Let's meet up just before sunset and during the blue hour in the Stadtgarten, and see what interesting images we can create!

Think about bringing fast lenses and playing with bokeh (the appearance of the out-of-focus parts of your photo). Tripods could be useful. Let's explore!

Let's explore Maastricht in the Netherlands! Beautiful, historic, busy, and only an hour by Arriva bus 350 from Aachen!

We will meet in the afternoon, explore a bit, and perhaps take the time for a photo exhibition in one of the museums. Sunset should be a little after 5pm, so we also have time for the Golden Hour and hopefully a bit of Blue Hour.

Although 1 November is a holiday in Germany, it is not a holiday in the Netherlands, meaning the city will be bustling as usual.

At the end of the day, we will gather for a coffee or drink and to see what photos we managed to create.

Looking forward to it!

PS. Anyone coming by bus (or train, which is less direct) could use the Euregio ticket for 1 or two people: https://avv.de/de/tickets/tickets-fuer-bus-bahn/euregioticket

Let's get together and take some pictures of the blue hour, lights, and people setting up for the Christmas market. (The market itself is only open from 18.00 till 21.00 on that first Sunday.) https://www.aachen-tourismus.de/erleben-entdecken/eventsundveranstaltungen/aachenerweihnachtsmarkt/
Sunset is at 4.40pm, so the blue hour will be directly after.

We will meet at the Torburg Eigelstein at 6:30PM.

Our final stop will be Roonstraße, Köln. This is where one of the biggest events this night will happen. The Nubbelverbrennung. Be part of a great tradition and lets capture these great moments.

We will bring some drinks to warum up on our way towards the southern part of the city.

Starting at <a>Textilcafe</a> near Eigelstein Torburg, going to Hauptbahnhof and Dom, accross Appelhoplatz towards Friesenplatz and ending the Tour at Brüsslerplatz at a Cafe called <a>Hallmackenreuther</a>.

HERE you can find the complete tour. Of course this is just a suggestion, we can reschedule while walking and discovering new cool places 😉

Really looking forward to Monday! And if the weather turns out to be bad, I would be up for one or two drinks at the Textilcafe just to Meetup 🙂

Please try to be on time and tell us when you won't be able to make it.

You can reach me at

[masked]

or

[masked]

Cheers

Olli

Hi my Photography friends. This week I will organize a BBQ event in Köln Poll. It is right on the Rhein and we will be able to host about 20 people.

I organized a tent, a BBQ grill, torches, a heater in case it gets cold and 30L of beer. I thought this is the a great opportunity to get this season started. It is also great to take photos, so please bring your cameras if you like.

We will use the location of the local "Jugendzentrum" and therefore donate 5€ each to them. This way they can give something back to their community.

So bring your steaks or whatever you want to put on our BBQ grill and feel free to bring along a friend or two. It is for a good purpose and loads of fun!

Auf der Suche nach dem Frühling die Natur in Köln neu entdecken.

Vorschlag Route: Beginn am Stadtgarten und entlang des Inneren Gürtels in Richtung Süden.

Vorschlag Datum: Unter der Woche Mittags (Mittagspausen) oder Samstag 20. April, Sonntag 5. Mai

Ihr dürft gerne selbst ein Datum eintragen!

Freue mich auf euer Mitwirken.

VG

Olli

Ok Sam, just for in English 🙂

What about a small tour through MediaPark towards Eherenfeld with a nice view over the city?
The views are great on top of the hills, walking distance is nit more than 2km roundtrip from Hansaring and the weather seems to be great for sunset/dawn shots.
http://goo.gl/5VRgY

It is great to test some new techniques like HDR, Panorama and low light shots.

Sunset will be 8:39PM

After that some drinks and maybe BBQ at my place. Right at MediaPark, have a projector installed in case some folks want to watch the Köln soccer game tonight.
I will record the game, so we will not miss anything 🙂

Start 7PM
Meeting at UBahn Hansaring

Einen ganzen Tag lang gibt es fotografische Aufgaben und Rallyefragen zwischen Dom und Rheinauhafen. Anschließend eine After-Rallye-Party.

Zu gewinnen gibt es unter anderem Objektive von Tamron.

Wenn sich genug Leute finden könnten wir als Team teilnehmen, es zählen dann sowohl die Einzel-, als auch die Teamleistung.

Veranstaltet wird das ganze von Tamron und einigen Partnern, die Teilnahmegebühr beträgt 25 Euro.

Alle Infos gibt es auf http://tamron-fotorallye.de/

Wir wollen einen unterhaltsamen Sommertag im Juni zusammen verbringen und setzten uns alle ins gleiche Boot. Das Boot ist über Yelp angemeldet und besteht aus Usern der Yelp Community, der Ü30 Neu-in-Köln Facebook Gruppe und unserem Meetup!

Es ist ein Rennen das viel Spaß machen und das leckere Essen und Trinken nicht zu kurz geraten soll.

(1) Ein Team muss aus 16 - 20 Paddler, davon mindestens 6 Frauen + 1 TommlerIn bestehen.

(2) jedes Team bestreitet 4 Läufe

(3) Zeitplan
08.00 Uhr Teamkapitänbesprechung
09.00 Uhr Regattabeginn
16:00 Uhr Finalläufe
17.30 Uhr Siegerehrung

Der genaue Zeitplan wird nach Anzahl der Teammeldungen einige Tage vor dem Festival bekannt gegeben

(4) Teilnahmegebühr 20€ p.P.
Inklusive Teilnahmegebühr, Grillgut und Getränke

(5) Ich werde von Yelp versuchen ein Teamoutfit zu stellen. Vermutlich T-Shirt und Sonnenbrille o.ä.

ANMELDUNG

Bitte bis Freitag 10.5. anmelden, da die Plätze begrenzt sind.

Wir freuen uns auf fleißige Paddler die sich auf einen unterhaltsamen Samstag freuen 🙂

VG

Olli

Unsere Chance mit Langzeitbelichtung etwas Tolles zu schaffen. Wir machen es uns am Rhein gemütlich, machen ein kleines Picknick und genießen das Feuerwerk über dem Rhein bei Kölsch und Fotografie. Der genaue Ort wird vorab noch bekanntgegeben. Aber Rheinpark eignet sich dazu wohl am besten.

---UPDATE---

wir treffen uns bereits morgens ab 11Uhr an der Bastei zum Grillen und gemeinsamen Picknick. Es wird einer der beliebtesten und besten Plätze am Rheinunfer sein. Daher so früh 🙂

Ich freue mich auf eure Teilnahme!

VG

Olli

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/4/9/5/4/event_255558772.jpegHi people,

we just got an offer to get a private Brauhaustour and visit 3 breweries in the city. As I am the Community Manager of Yelp, I will also throw a round of bers that night. Minimum 😀

As a small Thank You, we send FF Event one or two of our best of photos, that they can use to promote their Brauhaustours. Usually these tours cost around 15€, so I think it will be a fun night and it is a great deal! Looking forward meeting all the new ones in this group.

The tour will be in German, but the beer will taste as usual 🙂 The group is mixed as always.

German/English native spakers. So everyone is welcome to join!

Cheers
Olli

Diese Woche treffen wir uns weil der Dom so hübsch ist. Ja ihr habt richtig gehört. Denn er hat ein Gerüst weniger, und damit einen Grund mehr ihn von seiner schönsten Seite abzulichten.

TIPP: JEder der keine Kamera hat, aber ein neues Profilfoto möchte, hat hier wohl die beste Gelegenheit auf einen guten Fotografen zu treffen, der/die bereit ist vor schönster Kulisse das umzusetzen 😀

Beginn: Unsere Tour beginnt Ecke Maternussstraße und Claudiusstrasse.

1. Friedenspark
2. Südbrücke
3. Drehbrücke
4. Poller Seite am Ufer entlang in Richtung Deutz

Ende: KM689 auf der Schälsick

Dauer: Ca 2.5h

Jeder kann mit. Ob mit oder ohne Kamera. Ob mit Handy oder Spiegelreflex.

Ich freue mich auf euch!!

On September 21st we'd like to gather photo lovers from all over the world! To meet within their community, mix & mingle, discuss great ideas, and go on photo walks.

To attend you don't need to be a professional photographer. You just need to love photography 🙂

Really everyone is welcome, no matter if you are on 500px or not!

More info on the 500px Blog: http://500px.com/blog/760/500px-worldwide-meetup-day

---

Let's meet in front of the big statue on the Heumarkt, then walk a bit through Cologne's old town and then along the Rhine towards the Rheinauhafen.
The route should provide many interesting photo opportunities.

Wer hat Lust, die Kölner Weihnachtsmarktvielfalt fotografisch festzuhalten?
Wir treffen uns am Sonntag,[masked] um 17: 30 am Heumarkt, vor Maredo (dem Steakrestaurant) und gehen von dort aus vohin uns das Auge trägt 🙂 Natürlich werden wir dabei auch den einen oder anderne Glühwein genießen.

Who is up for taking pictures of the Christmas Market in Cologne?
We will meet on sunday at 5:30 pm at the monument with the guy, sitting on his horse. And yes, we will try some of that hot wine punch as well 🙂

looking forward to see you!

Deborah

We will celebrate with our friends from Yelp and the NiK Ü30 group (New in Köln above 30).

I am the organizer, as I work for Yelp in Köln. I would love to invite some of you to join our great party at a really cool location in Köln. It is the perfect start for 2014 to meet people who want to meet new people, are new in Köln, or simply want to party with a great crowed in a private place (will be less than 80 people).

What?All you can Drinks und Fingerfood. With two DJs and great music

Where? In an old tower (near Hansaring train station)

How? Smart Casual. Get your fancy gloths out and lets rock 🙂

We will offer three different cocktails, wine and beer. The catering will be done by a local bistro (Samido Cafe & Art). We will have a professional bartender from Haifisch Club in Köln.

Camera? Hell yeah! If you wwnat some cool shots, bring your camera. At midnight there is a great hill nearby, from where you can overlook the city.

If you want to make sure to get a ticket, sign in as soon as you can.

Here the Link to the event page on Yelp
http://goo.gl/SOJzCF

IMPORTANT:
In order to get the payment details and the ticket, sign in here and write behind your name "(meetup)"
http://goo.gl/kDtMK9

Very much looking forward to a great party with you all!!!

Cheers
Olli

Das Wetter ist genial, die Kölner Instagram Gruppe wird ein Jahr alt, es gibt ein Fotowettbewerb unter dem #1_jahr_koelnergram an dessen Ende die <a>30 besten Foto auf einer Ausstellung gezeigt und für einen guten Zweck</a> (Lebensdurst-Ich e.V.) versteigert werden und daran können wir alle teilnehmen. 

Gibt es noch mehr Gründe dabei zu sein? Hier der Ablauf (von Jana T schön formuliert)

Wir schlendern durch die Altstadt, am Rheinufer entlang und landen dann zum Sonnenuntergang um 17.16 Uhr auf der anderen Rheinseite. (Mit oder ohne Frühlingssonne). Ob Smartphone, Kleinbildkamera oder Profi-Ausrüstung: Wer mitkommen möchte, ist herzlich eingeladen. Donnerstag, 15.30 Uhr Treff am Reiterdenkmal am Heumarkt
Dauer bis max. 19 Uhr Das Ganze wie immer kostenlos! ------

Also anmelden und mitmachen!

Wir freuen uns auf euch spontanen Fotografen!

SYOY
Olli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Acz_PlNUDg&feature=youtu.be

---UPDATE---

The event location has been changed to the following
<a>http://www.yelp.com/biz/colonius-köln</a>;

Hi everyone,

Please find the invite below. If you need a translated version, please email me [masked]

Dieser Termin sollte dringend in euerm Kalender geblockt werden.
Was wir vorhaben? Wir wollen ein Tag erleben wie er in Australien nicht schöner sein könnte.

Kangaroo-Würstchen und Burger, Krokodilfilet Brötchen, dazu ein schönes Fosters und dabei Aussie Rules Football live schauen. Wir haben ein Team in Köln, das an diesem Tag ein Heimspiel gegen Stuttgart in Bocklemünd hat.

Zusammen mit den Jungs schwingen wir den Grill und machen einen tollen BBQ Tag. Unterstützt werden wir dabei von dem Australia Shopping Store in Köln.
http://www.yelp.de/biz/australia-shopping-world-k%C3%B6ln

VIDEO
Hier die Videogrüße aus Australien für uns!
http://goo.gl/Cn6vwl

ANFAHRT
http://www.yelp.com/biz/colonius-köln

ESSEN / GETRÄNKE
1. Menü: 1  australisches Bier, 1 Kangaroo-Wurstbrötchen + Kagaroo-Burger 2. Menü: 1  australisches Bier + 1 Krokodilfilet - Burger

voraussichtlich 9 EUR je Menü

Freue mich auf euch!

Cheers mate,
Olli
Community Manager Yelp Köln

Where would you like to go? What day suits you best? Lets get started with another tour!

Hi photographers,

this year we will celebrate even bigger. It was one of our first photo events last year, now one year later it will be even better.

We start at 10AM with BBQ, boardgames and chilling in the sun. 

We are located at one of the best spots to take photos of the fireworks. 

Bring your food and drinks - we bring some tables, benches and some sponsored drinks and snacks.

We will provide many cool things during the day, just make sure you are also signed in here and have the Yelp app ready on your phone. 

<a>http://www.yelp.de/events/köln-yelp-meets-nik-ü30-die-kölner-lichter-party-2014</a>;

Ping me if you have any questions 😀

Cheers

Olli

Oh Leute, das ist fast ein Pflichtprogramm. Warum?

Schaut selbst http://goo.gl/GA5AOj

------
Unser Sponsor bei dieser Tour "KölnTrianglePanorama"

Der schönste Blick auf Köln

Der KölnTriangle und seine 400 qm große Aussichtsplattform bieten einen einmaligen Ausblick über Köln, den Dom und die Altstadt.

Mit 103,20 m Höhe und einer Fassade aus Glas und Aluminium zieht die markante Silhouette des KölnTriangle am rechten Rheinufer Kölns den Blick jedes Betrachters automatisch an. Der Turm wurde als ein Projekt der Rheinischen Versorgungskassen in Köln-Deutz nach drei Bauphasen Ende 2005 fertig gestellt und dient seit dem vor allem als Bürogebäude.

In der 29. Etage lädt die 400 qm große Aussichtsplattform, das KölnTrianglePanorama, ein, Köln aus luftiger Perspektive zu entdecken. In vier Sekunden bringen hell und freundlich gestaltete Fahrstühle die Besucher in die 28. Etage. Dem Betrachter bietet sich ein faszinierender Rundblick über Köln: der Dom erscheint zum Greifen nah, das linke Rheinufer mit der Altstadt, der Kirche Groß St. Martin, dem Museum Ludwig und zahlreichen weiteren Sehenswürdigkeiten präsentieren sich den Besuchern aus einer ganz neuen Perspektive. Bei passender Witterung sind in der Ferne Düsseldorf sowie das Siebengebirge gut zu sehen, der Blick reicht aber auch weit bis in das Bergische Land.

Jährlich genießen über[masked] Besucher die Aussicht. Dabei ist auch in der kalten Jahreszeit bei klarer Witterung der Besucherandrang oft groß.

Hi everyone,

Coming monday I am hosting a LaserTag event as part of my Yelp Community Events. It is an exclusive event for 24 people and we still need a great photographer! 

http://cl.ly/image/3F0C2l463c0p

All the photos you take can be used wherever you like. Glowing jackets and action movements could make this a fun environment to take some action shots!

Of course you would be granted free entrance!

Please let me know if you like to join us and take some great photos!

[masked] or via the comment function.

Cheers

Olli

Hallo Leute! 

Ich suche für Samstag noch dringend einen Fotografen für ein Event. Wir fahren mit 100 Mann nach Oberhausen in 3 Freizeitparks. Wer fotografiert darf Partner und Kinder gerne auch mitbringen. Es entstehen außer der Verpflegung keine Kosten!Ich zahle auch für den Fotografen eine kleine Entschädigung für den Tag. Abfahrt 9:15 ab Köln HBF und 19Uhr wieder in Köln zurück. (Abfahrt auch ab Düsseldorf möglich)Hauptsächlich Portraitaufnahmen der Teilnehmer die sich im Freizeitpark bewegen! Ist sehr entspannt.

Wer Interesse hat, bitte an [masked] schreiben!

Vielen lieben Dank!Olli

-------

Hi people,

I need a reliable event photographer for this saturday. It is an event in 3 different amusement parks in Oberhausen. Transfer, Tickets and even Lunch is all included. Feel free to bring your partner and/or kids as well! I will also pay a little extra for the photographer. This is negotiable! 

We leave Köln HBF 9:15 AM and return 7PM. Leaving from Düsseldorf is also possible.

It will be mainly portraits of the participants at the event!

Please let me know if you want to join! It will be an amazing event!

write me at [masked]

Cheers

Olli

Night photography session in Cologne. Each one muss think and suggest 5 places and the best choices are the targets for this night. Online vote to get the best 3 pics of the night (No one can vote his own pics)

*Better with bike to go to the places.

Hi @all,

I just wanted to apologize for being gone for such a long time. My regular job keeps me really busy. But now we need some phototours again.

I am the Community Manager for Yelp Köln and organize many events for the review community. So why not share those as well. This one for example is great for action shots! Last years event was a blast.

It is the opening day of the horse racing and we reserved 13 VIP boxes. It is easter monday!

What does it mean? 13 x 4 first row seats with the best view. And you can always go right next to the track to get as close as it gets. How can you join? For this event it is necessary to sign in at the Yelp event page, since this is required by the sponsor. No big deal, but something to keep in mind.

Costs? The ticket is 10EUR (normally 15EUR)

The Ticket needs to be purchased in advance in order to manage signups. Further instructions follow, as soon as you signed in.

Btw - for all girls wearing a hat, we got a little surprise 🙂

Cheers
Olli

I would like to suggest a night-photo or sundown- photo session in Köln. This group has 501 member. However there is no event since April.

Fotos!!![masked]

Yesterday I got the opportunity to share some time with Thomas, Knario and Nicolai and we took some amazing Photos.

Nevertheless I keep asking myself... where were the remaining 10 people??? 🙂

Let's try to push it further, better photos, more colour, more feeling, more places, more people, more ideas, (more battery Kanario) und after ein beer or two coffees.

I gonna propose another meeting![masked]

Meeting point for everyone: The font behind Dom, in front of Louis Vuitton and Romisch-Germanisch museum. Click the link and you gonna see a picture with the meeting point.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3VxoGxhw9RobVVKNUhtZ1RuUjQ/view?usp=sharing

I am: Egoitz

My number:[masked]

Let´s get lost! Here is what it is about:

How about having a trip through Cologne by getting completely lost? The idea is to randomly pick a district and take a small tour without knowing exactly where we end up. If you like this experimental approach, join in!
Meeting point is the right bank of the river. Kennedy-Ufer, at the corner of the RTL building.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5L3b5uxw_eebUlZOHNZd0pqVmc/view

I hope it won't be raining ....

Let´s get lost in Aachen! Here is what it is about:

At this time we are heading to Aachen to take a tour in the historical center of the city and visit the Christmas Market as well. Another option is to visit the Lindt Factory Outlet. 🙂

The day ticket for North Rhine-Westphalia for one person is available for 28,50 euros. The group ticket costs 41,00 euros for up to 5 other people. (SchönerTagTicket NRW 5 Personen)

There are two trains in every hour in both directions. My suggestion would be:

Köln Hbf - Aachen Hbf / Sa,[masked] / Departure at 10:15 / Arrival at 11:07
Aachen Hbf - Köln Hbf / Sa,[masked] / Departure at 15:51 / Arrival at 16:44

Meeting point: Cologne Central Train Station (Hbf) in front of the Douglas shop at 09:45 am.

This meet up will take place in any weather conditions including snow!

Let´s get lost in Deutz! It’s Kirmeszeit …. 🙂

Here is what it is about:

How about having a trip through Cologne by getting completely lost? The idea is to randomly pick a district and take a small tour without knowing exactly where we end up. If you like this experimental approach, join in!

At this time we are heading to Deutz to make some amazing pics from the funfair. Meeting point: at the fountain next to the Dom at 07:00 pm

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5L3b5uxw_eecm1pWnVIejkwQ0E/view?usp=sharing

Don’t forget your tripod!

Let´s get lost in Maastricht! Here is what it is about:

At this time we are heading to Maastricht to discover one of the most beautiful and romantic cities of Holland.

We have to change the train in Liege so we have the opportunity to make some photos of the new train station Gare de Liege-Guillemins as well.

Outward Journey
6. Mai 2016
Departure: Köln Hbf 07:43 – ICE 18
Arrival: Liège-Guillemins 08:44

Departure: Liège-Guillemins 09:40 – IC 5358
Arrival: Maastricht 10:13

Return
6. Mai 2016
Departure: Maastricht 17:48 – IC 5389
Arrival: Liège-Guillemins 18:20

Departure: Liège-Guillemins 19:14 – ICE 19
Arrival: Köln Hbf 20:15

Meeting point: Cologne Central Train Station (Hbf) in front of the Douglas shop at 7:25 am.

Let´s get lost in Cologne! Here is what it is about:

At this time we are heading to the Melaten Cemetery. It is the central cemetery of the town. It is over two centuries old and it has about 55,000 graves. Many famous people are buried there like the Farina family, among which is the creator of “Eau de Cologne”

Meeting point: The entrance of the cemetry at 2:00 pm.
See attached map for directions:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5L3b5uxw_eedlJHY19YdnF2bVU

There are three entrances. Meeting point is the entrance which is close to the Piusstraße and the "Lindenthal Universitätstr." tram stop.

Let´s get lost in Cologne!
Since the weather is really nice, I thought it would be great taking a walk in the downtown and making some photos in low light. Meeting point: at the fountain next to the Dom at 07:00 pm https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5L3b5uxw_eeTEFSLUtZTFVzTFU

We will start the tour at 7:00 pm but I made a map for the latecomers.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5L3b5uxw_eeOXp4UHh6NEE0RUU

Don’t forget your tripod!

- of each other, anyone wanting to model, passers-by (with permission).... with lighting, remote flashes, reflectors, and mutual learning...

An opportunity for a special meet-up. The Christmas markets around Germany are famous - and there is lots of opportunity for taking photos. We could also wander the quieter streets. In addition, we might have some visitors from Photoresk, a club in Brussels - why not have an international meet-up?

NB. Something to be aware of with street photography are the privacy laws in Germany - but there is ample opportuntiy to ask for permission.

Once that the holidays are (will be) over, how about a photo walk in Bonn? We will meet just before sunset (16.45 is sunset), meaning that we will get to try out photography during the blue hour and night. And there's a theme- let's try to take photos with a theme of 'red'. (Thanks to Sina for the suggestion!)

The idea is that each photographer takes images which fit the theme of 'red' - but how, and what it means, is of course up to you. We can share ideas, too, of course.

Let's share tips and tricks about how to use our cameras - and take some photos along the Rhein and the harbour development area. the plan is to form groups where people with Canon or Nikon or Sony, etc., can exchange tips about funny camera settings and shortcuts. If people like, perhaps you can try out each other's filters or other equipment, too. Since it will probably be cold, we will walk for about an hour and then have a nice warm cup of coffee somewhere and see what our experiments have brought us.

All are welcome. Please be sure to update your RSVP if your plans change. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Let's try out taking some portraits and themed photos in cityscapes, and enjoy the blue hour. The idea is to take portraits and street shots (of each other, or bring a friend to model if you like) during the city blue hour using flashes, umbrellas (for lights), soft boxes, tripods, etc. 

Martin (thank you!) has discovered some interesting lighting in tunnels, including one Maybachstr. between Ritterstr. and Krefelder Str - just by Saturn. We might wander a bit around, or check out other tunnels, and we will end as always in a cafe where we can share our photos.

Do bring along suitable equipment -remote triggers (cable or wireless), flashes, soft boxes, tripods, etc. you have, -- also so others can try it out.

As always, please do update your rsvp as your plans change, to allow people on the waitlist to join!

Looking forward to it.

Need a bit of fresh air and nature during Carnival? Let's explore the River Sieg at Siegburg - and take photos which reflect a theme of black-and-white.

There may be a few buds emerging and macro opportunities, or maybe shots of the rather fast-moving river to be made with a tripod and Neutral Density (grey) filter.

Come to Siegburg for something different, on the local train from Cologne past the airport towards Hennef. (Or, from Bonn, at the end of Line 66).

Bring: tripods, macro lenses and extension tubes if you have them, perhaps flashes and filters that might be useful. Also, shoes that can take some muddy corners of rivers and such.

Please check a day or two before for confirmation, as the weather forecast might affect the MeetUp! And please do change your rsvp if your plans change. Thanks.

Saturday Update:

Some suggestions on where to watch are in this article:

http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/ga-english/Where-is-the-best-place-to-watch-article3511396.html

Thursday planning update:

Given that there is no central viewing site and that navigating around might be difficult we have decided that we will give you some suggestions for spots to aim at individually and try to meet after the event and compare photos etc.  The location and time posted are to meet-up after the demolition, so don't go there first, but please do drop by after.

The demolition is expected at 11:00, give yourself plenty of time to get where you want to be.  The time for the meetup is after the demolition so plan accordingly and don't miss it!.  The weather is forecast to be a bit grey and gloomy so bring some rain gear for you and your equipment.

To help you find a good spot to get some photos here are some suggestions and info on public transit to arrive there

1 - Closest will be in the area near the Heussallee/Musuemsmeile U-Bahn stop.  There are not a lot of clear sight lines but you may be able to navigate toward Reuterstr bridge area.  You can get on the U-Bahn at the Central Train Station (downstairs).  This is also near the Bundeskunsthalle  don't know if their roof is sold out but might be worth hanging around there to see if anyone has an extra ticket, or wandering a bit behind it .

2.  Another suggestion is to head to the KennedyBrucke and see from a distance.  You reach it by foot from the U-Bahn Stops on either side of the river.  See Google Maps, this is also quite central and walkable from the Central Station

3. The Marriott hotel is rumored to have space available for a fee of 12Euro on their rooftop bar - limited space but very well placed.  Give them a call to see what the options are - some have rented rooms!

To meet afterwards I suggest the Vapiano that is in the center of town.  I would suggest we plan on meeting there around 11:45 to exchange results and thoughts on what we just saw.    We should look for each other upstairs in the area where the pasta making is done.  Look for people with cameras.

Thurs 16 March 08:40 update - this morning starting at 10 am the Bundeskunsthalle will be selling 200 tickets to view this from their roof.  You have to go in person to purchase the tickets.

Some resources in English and German

http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/ga-english/Detonation-of-Bonn-Center-Viewing-could-be-difficult-article3508026.html

Here is a description of the event from the Bonn city website, the map is in there too - at the end, the second PDF:

http://www.bonn.de/rat_verwaltung_buergerdienste/topthemen/18428/index.html?lang=de

Let's gather at Brühl baroque gardens and woods of Schloss Augustusburg (entrance free) and practice some macro photography. 

Many apologies for the change of location. This is due to the lack of permission to take photos inside the greenhouse at the Cologne Botanical Gardens as originally planned.

Please do keep your RSVP updated and come if you've said you will! Please also check a day or two beforehand, as weather may affect plans.

Bring macro lenses, extension tubes, tripods, external flashes and soft boxes or other useful equipment - let's look for the first signs of spring!

Sorry - for some reason the meeting point will not update for me. Here is a link to travel info to Brühl - the Schloss is near to (and visible from) the train station.

http://www.bruehl.de/tourismus/tourismus/anreise.php#a1

Update: the buds on the cherry trees are small as of[masked], so let's go try to photograph them on 9 April, 16.00. Apparently among the things to see before you die, the cherry trees in Bonner Altstadt are quite famous!

You can see some photos and regular updates on blossom development here http://www.kirschbluete-bonn.de/blog-3/

Do have a look - if you can't make the 9th of April, the trees are starting to flower as of 30.03, so you might be able to take some nice shots this week already!

I propose we meet at 4pm on the 9th and take some photos during the golden hour. We will have a coffee together and look at our pictures, and then, for people who want to stay for the 'blue hour', sunset is a bit after 8pm. (so the blue hour will be from about 8pm - sorry for those who saw my previous proposal in which I thought the blue hour would be before sunset (!)). 

https://www.bonn.de/tourismus_kultur_sport_freizeit/tourist_information_aktuell/tourismus_und_hotels/sehenswuerdigkeiten/02034/index.html?lang=de

It's a big group - everyone is welcome but please do update your RSVP if your plans change and you can not longer join us. It's helpful to know how many people to expect. Thank you!

Let's spend an afternoon in Düsseldorf on 30.04 (Sunday) - there is a lot to photograph and of course cafes for a refreshing drink afterwards. Sumanta has suggested the harbour - and more suggestions are welcome! Altstadt is another possible destination, for example.

There is an RE 10518 train which departs Bonn Hbf at 13.01 and Köln Hbf at 13.31 and arrives in Düsseldorf at 14.01. (So, we will meet a little after 14.00.) 

It seems the marathon will not have completely finished, but it could give us some unexpected subjects. (For those new to Germany, you might want to find out about privacy laws, as these affect street photography. or bring model releases along if you want to publish images in which faces are recognisable.)

All are welcome - as always, please do update your RSVP as the time gets closer, so I know how many to expect. Thanks!

Let's wander around the Bonn botanic gardens with macro lenses - see what we can find in the flowers. In addition to flowers, abstracts, the glasshouse and the garden, we might be able to take portraits and other photos.

Entrance to the botanic gardens is 3euro each on a Sunday, and the gardens are open until 17.30 on a summer Sunday. Please note the meeting point is around the corner from the garden entrance. The meeting point is at the end of the Poppelsdorfer Allee at the gates to the Schloss. From there, we will go into the gardens. More information on the botanical gardens is here: http://www.botgart.uni-bonn.de/o_visit/ueber.php

And, of course, we will gather in a local pub or cafe after our shoot, to share photos and exchange tips.

Do bring equipment if you have it, such as flashes for external lighting, softboxes or other flash modifiers, macro lenses or extension tubes, etc.

The weather forecast is for sunny spells and some cloud.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

CHANGE of PLAN: A visit to the Balloon Festival in Bonn! Thanks to Anastasia for the suggestion. The festival is planned to take place in the Rheinaue Park. I suggest we meet on the city (upper) side of the stonework under the bridge where the 'Rheinaue' U-Bahn station (line 66) is located. Near the stairs to the station.

I have a cherry-red backpack, for those who don't know me already.

Please note also the meeting time is now at 3pm, to accomodate anyone coming from Cologne/further afield who needs to get to Rheinaue, and also because the balloons should be taking off around 18.30.

The weather is forecast to be partially cloudy, with rain later (21.00). Could make for some interesting backdrops!

It sounds very colourful and exciting, and I hope the change doesn't inconvenience anyone.

Let's see what we can find to photograph in the small city of Aachen.

We will meet up with some members of Photoresk Brussels, so this could be a great opportunity to get to know more photographers. https://www.meetup.com/Photoresk/events/240661643/

People can take a train from Cologne at 11:47 and arrive at 12:44 - and don't forget you could form groups and buy group day tickets (2-5 people). From Bonn, you could depart at 11:46, change in Cologne, and arrive a tiny bit late (13:07). (Please let me know if you will be arriving late. Or take an earlier connnection 🙂  !)

In the late afternoon, we will gather in a cafe to share our photos and refresh ourselves.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Let's have a walkabout in Cologne, taking street photos. Black and white can suit street photography really well, so I propose that as a second theme.

If we meet in around 3:30, we might get some nice late afternoon light. Neighbourhood? I found some nice gritty streets around Hansaring, like Gladbacher Wall. Let's wander and see what we can find!

Note to those who met at Hansaring before, this time I suggest outside the main entrance to Saturn, as that is easy to find. See you soon!

Let's take pictures of cyclists, trains, people on skateboards... there is a lot of movement in this area, so bring your ND (grau) filter, perhaps a zoom, an external flash, and let's make some creative shots of motion!

Here are some examples that might get you thinking: https://www.nyip.edu/photo-articles/photography-tutorials/three-techniques-for-capturing-motion-in-photography

We might get some nice golden hour shots if the day is nice.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Let's see what kind of autumn nature shots we can find in the woods and garden in Bruhl.

Think about bringing equipment like macro and long lenses, off-camera flashes, tripods, polarising and ND filters. Let's see what we can find!

Please check here around the 14th or 15th, as the weather might be changeable. However, we will probably have the meet up unless it's very bad weather, as wind and rain are part of autumn!

[Update 12.09: the weather is currently forecast to be light rain - could be excellent for pictures with droplets on plants and moody skies, and it could be no problem under trees or with umbrellas (or camera coats https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Rain-Capes-Covers-Slickers/ci/3313/N/4075788778 🙂 (I'm joking a bit, as it doesn't seem that the forecast is for rain heavy enough to be worth the bother of the camera covers).... I do recommend bringing a small cloth or towel to dry your gear in case it does get damp.]

For those not familiar with how to get to Brühl, there is a train leaving Köln Hbf at 13.56 (arriving 14.12) or Bonn Hbf at 14.01 arriving also 14.12.

Please don't forget to update your RSVP if your plans change.

Looking forward to it!

Theme:
One of the rules of thumb in composing an interesting photo, is that using the diagonal can bring something more to your photo. Let's try it out - in this walkabout, we'll think about good composition, especially using the diagonal.

Here is some more information about composition and diagonals:
https://digital-photography-school.com/using-diagonal-lines-in-photography/
https://petapixel.com/2015/03/16/9-photo-composition-tips-as-seen-in-photographs-by-steve-mccurry/

Let's meet in Linz am Rhein - a pretty small town with a lot going on on the 15th. There is a handicrafts market, a shopping Sunday (so probably many people), and also, from 18.00, the buildings will be illuminated. http://www.linz.de/

From Cologne, a RE train will take you directly to Linz via Bonn Beuel: dep 13:38 arriving 14:34. From Bonn, one can take a bus or bike to Beuel train station and take a train from there.

Let's meetup and practise potraiture, thinking about lights and props, lenses, background, etc.

We will shoot outside and possibly inside - thinking about background and depth of field. It is possible to practise using structures (like bridges, walls that cast shade, etc.) to direct available light, and add more light where you want it by using reflectors and flashes with softboxes. Let's practise thinking about lighting the hair/back of the head and the type of facial lighting (see, for example, here: https://digital-photography-school.com/6-portrait-lighting-patterns-every-photographer-should-know/). What about using props like scarves or something else?

As with all Photoresk outings, the aim is to have fun, but of course we can learn from each other and experiment, too!

Link for more thinking about what you might plan and what gear you might bring: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/technique/portrait_photography/how-to-shoot-outdoor-portraits-331

Hello, folks,
The Christmas market season is upon us, and there have been some suggestions that we try to photograph in several! I suggest the first one might be the Siegburg market, which has a medieval theme. If we are there in the afternoon, we should be able to catch the jugglers, the blue hour, and some of the market by candle light.

Siegburg is about 25 minutes from Cologne HBf on S12 or S19, or the Regional Express to Siegen. It is less than 25 minutes from Bonn HBf on line 66. From there, a 5-minute walk will bring you to the Zeitraum, and a few minutes more to the marketplace.

We can meet at the Zeitraum, where some of my photos will be exhibited that weekend, and then move on to the marketplace where the medieval activities will be taking place. The building is marked 'Diakonie', opposite Zeeman. There will be a 'repair cafe' going on in the space as well, but I think we'll be able to congregate, view the exhibition, and then go out into the cold at the market. Here's a link to the Siegburg Christmas market : http://www.mittelalterlicher-markt-siegburg.de/web/mittelalterlicher_markt/ (scroll down to find a link to an English-language page if you prefer).

See you then!

One more Christmas market outing - let's focus on a theme of  light and dark. This could be lights in the evening, or black-and-white, or something more.

http://www.koeln.de/tourismus/weihnachtliches_koeln/weihnachtsmaerkte/weihnachtsmarkt-in-der-altstadt_87666.html

Sunset should be 16.28, so we should be able to plan our shots to include evening and blue hour.

Consider taking your camera off automatic!

Afterward, we will gather somewhere warm for a cup of coffee and to look at photos.

Looking forward to seeing you then!

Take photos in U-Bahn stations in Cologne - in the winter months, let's take some pictures inside! Bring tripods and wide lenses, or consider whether you'd prefer pictures of motion, portraits with the station background, macros... anything is possible! We will start at Heumarkt and move on from there.

Consider coming with a transport day pass, so we can easily move on to other U-Bahn stations for more photos.

MeetUp automtically puts in an 'ending time' - we are more flexible than that! We will gather in a cafe for a hot drink and to look at each other's photos at around 16.00, depending on how we are getting on.

Let's gather to take some photos in and around the Poppelsdorf Cemetery (thanks for Dörthe for the suggestion!).

Some links to whet your appetite:
http://bonnentdecken.de/bonn-zu-fuss-poppelsdorfer-hang/
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppelsdorfer_Friedhof, We could walk around and up the hill at the cemetery, and there’s a nice view up there towards Cologne (well… the refineries in Wesseling, but with luck we might also see the Cologne cathedral) and there’s also the Kreuzberg church (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreuzbergkirche_(Bonn)) up there. We are meeting in the morning (but not too early!) in the hope it might be misty or damp and add to the atmosphere. Consider wearing walking shoes, so we can explore a bit further. The MeetUp will take place even if it is raining - just bring some covers to protect your camera!

We will later find a place to gather for a drink or lunch and look at our pictures and chat. (Locals tell me that around Poppelsdorfer Platz and Clemens-August-Str. there are some nice restaurants.) Location: https://goo.gl/maps/M7Yze2bGK6P2 - probably best to meet at the lower entrance at the crossing of Servitenweg and Wallfahrtsweg. Should be quite easy to get to, either by public transport (bus to Poppelsdorfer Platz, or a 20 min walk from Bonn central station) or by car, or by bicycle. The cemetery is accessible all the time.

Let's explore the 'other side' of the Rhine, starting at Messe-Deutz. There are a lot of possiblities, depending on the weather. We will generally go south from the Messe-Deutz station: there is the Rhine and some old houses, new architecture, and more. We can try out street photography, urban portraits, etc. (If it rains - not currently forecast - the meetup will still take place and we will explore taking photos of rain - just bring plastic covers or plastic bags to keep your gear safe!)

The theme this time is perspective - let's see how thinking about using perspective in our compositions, does to improve our shots!

Do ignore the end time (MeetUp puts it in automatically). We will wander and photograph for a couple of hours or so, and then we will gather in a cafe to have (warm) drinks and share our photographs.

Sunset is at 17.54, so we might have some golden hour and blue hour shooting opportunities.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Let's have a day trip in Wuppertal, especially to see what we can photograph in and around the Schwebebahn, a hanging tram which is over 100 years old (first opened in 1901) https://www.schwebebahn.de/geschichte-technik/geschichte/ . We will get on and off the tram, so we can also photograph stations, the streets of Wuppertal, and other interesting places.

While we are photographing, let's think especially about composition - here's a explainer which might get you thinking: https://petapixel.com/2016/09/14/20-composition-techniques-will-improve-photos/

We will meet at 1.15pm, to give us lots of time to explore, and then after a few hours, we will gather in a cafe to see photos and have some refreshments.  (Do ignore the end time - we are more flexible than MeetUp allows us to put in the announcement!)

Wupperthal is closer than you might think - for example, a RE leaves Cologne Hbf at 12.21 on the Sunday and arrives in Wuppertal only 35 minutes later.

It might be useful for people to group together and buy day tickets, which could then include the trips on the Schwebebahn.

There's a limit of 25 people on this trip, so please be sure to update your RSVP in good time, should your plans change.

Looking forward to it!

With thanks to Patric for the suggestion, let's meet to capture some blue hour photography at the Cologne Easter Fun Fair. https://www.koeln.de/koeln/was_ist_los/topevents/kirmes-in-deutz-fruehlingsvolksfest_458001.html

PLEASE NOTE: The Kermis is south of the bridge I've mentioned. We will still meet at the top of the steps on the NORTH side of the bridge and hope to be able to go under the bridge on the Rhine promenade. (The map pointer is slightly wrong as it is a bit too far north.)

This is a twin meetup to the fireworks meetup on 13 April. You are welcome to come to one, or both, of these twin MeetUps, as you prefer. However, if you prefer one or another activity, do amend your RSVP, as we do already have a waitlist for the fireworks.

On 5 April, we will just wander in the Kermis and take some photos during the blue hour. Sundown is at 20.13, so we should have good blue hour photos from shortly before 20.00 until close to 20.45. (For those who haven't heard the term, the blue hour is usually after sundown, when the sky is that lovely shade of indigo blue.) Although the quality of the blue hour depends on the weather, we will meet even if it is damp. (Currently, the forecast is for rain earlier in the day but stopping by evening.)

We will meet and share tips about settings to use with night photography. Bring tripods and remote triggers, if you have them, and think about what ISO and shutter speeds you can best use.

There is a competion which has a deadline of the next day, 6 April, so do submit any photos you think are very good! http://volksfest-koeln.de/fotowettbewerb-gks/

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

With thanks to Patric for the suggestion, let's meet to capture some blue hour and evening photography at the Cologne Easter Fun Fair. https://www.koeln.de/koeln/was_ist_los/topevents/kirmes-in-deutz-fruehlingsvolksfest_458001.html
The evening will include a fireworks display, so we might have lots of time to chat while jostling for space along the bridge or Rhine bank.

We will meet, share tips about settings to use with night photography and fireworks, and see what we can find to photograph. Sunset will be at 20.12 and the fireworks will start around 21.00.

Update: Please note new date and time - as the trees are apparently developing their blossoms quickly and are expected to bloom during this week of 9 April.

In any case, there are a few early flowering trees already out!

NOTE: the date of this meetup might change, depending on the blossoms on the cherry trees. On[masked], we found one tree flowering in a small side street, but the others are still tightly wrapped up for winter.

Apparently among the things to see before you die, the cherry trees in Bonner Altstadt are quite famous!

You can see some photos and regular updates on blossom development here http://www.kirschbluete-bonn.de/

We will meet at 2.30pm on the Altstadt side of the Oxford Ring street level with Stadthaus U-bahn stop (corner Breite Str). Although it might be crowded, this gives opportunities to be creative about how to get interesting shots (without infringing on privacy rights in Germany).

If we run out of cherry blossom inspiration, we can always visit the old cemetary which is right nearby and has some old graves (including Beethoven's mother).

Looking forward to it!

Let's see what kinds of portraits (and perhaps other photos) we can capture during the golden hour (evening light). We will find a place along the Rhine where we can pratice planned portraits using the sunlight as backlight (to highlight hair and the shape of the head). Be prepared to model! And bring reflectors, any portable lights, or flashs you have as well.
MeetUp will be hosted by Patric and will start with a short introduction to some techniques, after which we will have a chance to try them out.

Let's go to the woods and see what we can find to photograph. We will meet by the Siegburg train station and then walk along the 'green way' to the forest, looking for inspiring nature subjects.
The 'green way' is about 25 minutes each way to the forest, and then add some time for a loop through the forest - so bring walking shoes. (If it is poor weather, we can explore the Michaelsberg in town.)
Equipment you might bring: macro lenses, wide and long lenses. We can try out the effect of wide angles, that distances look larger, and long lenses bringing distances closes (try for the appearance of crowded flowers or trees....).
If it is sunny, think about bring a reflector or still white paper to cast shade/control the light. If cloudy, think about bringing a flash or other light source to add a bit of 'oomph' to some photos.
No matter what kind of equipment you have, you can participate - the theme is 'rules of composition'. We will talk about the rule of thirds, perspective, diagonals in your design, and using depth of field. Here are some links to get you thinking what you'd like to try:
https://digital-photography-school.com/5-elements-of-composition-in-photography/
http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3372/18-composition-rules-for-photos-that-shine/

Let's wander around the Bonn botanic gardens with macro lenses - see what we can find in the flowers. In addition to flowers, abstracts, the glasshouse and the garden, we might be able to take portraits and other photos.

Entrance to the botanic gardens is 3euro each on a Sunday, and the gardens are open until 18.00 on a summer Sunday. And, of course, we will gather in a local pub or cafe after our shoot, to share photos and exchange tips.

We will meet at the gates and go into the gardens, each paying their own entrance fee. More information on the botanical gardens is here: http://www.botgart.uni-bonn.de/o_visit/visit.php

There is a lot to see outside, as well as some great greenhouses. Look for animals as well as plants!!

Do bring equipment if you have it, such as flashes for external lighting, softboxes or other flash modifiers, macro lenses or extension tubes, etc.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

Hello, folks,
This weekend is a series of street festivals, a parade, and more for gay pride (called CSD for Christopher Street Day in Germany). It provides a lot of colourful opportunities for street photography. (With thanks to Patric for suggesting the meet up).

We will meet to capture part of the parade coming across the Deutzer Bridge to Heumarkt. There's a map of the parade on page 34 in this brochure:
http://www.colognepride.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Programmheft-ColognePride-WEBANSICHT.pdf

Bring long lenses - or wide angles -, a sense of fun.... and also model releases if you plan to take portraits. Please consider the General Data Privacy Regulations before using or uploading photos - for example, photos of individuals should clearly fulfil the objective of 'art'.

Looking forward. Please be sure to come if you rsvp 'yes' - it will help to know how many we need to find in the crowd 😉

The Kölner Lichter fireworks is coming up! In addition to a main fireworks show, there will be a number of smaller shows. Here is a map of the locations of the various parts of the festival https://www.koelner-lichter.de/programm/koelner-lichter-programm-feuerwerke.php .

It seems the fireworks will start in Porz at around 21.50 and work up northwards. One part of the show will be directly opposite where we plan to be, so we will get a good view of some fireworks. The final show, synchronised with music, at around 23.30.

In addition to fireworks, it would be great to include some buildings or landmarks in the photo - to make an interesting composition.

We plan to meet in time to check out the crowd around Südbrücke, and see if we can show photos from there (bring long lenses, and a tripod!) If it is crowded, we will move to the Rheinhafen.

Please note, that as *lots* of people are expected to try to see the fireworks, we are not meeting in the main area.

In addition to equipment for fotos, *bring a picnic or snacks* as we will likely need to stake out a good spot and then wait for nightfall and the fireworks.

What do you need? A tripod or monopod, a long (tele) lens if possible, and a remote shutter release would all be really helpful. Here are some tips on how to creatively photograph fireworks https://www.dpreview.com/articles/7373331645/how-to-photograph-fireworks
https://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks/

Please change your rsvp well in advance beforehand if your plans work out differently so people can join from the waitlist, and so we know how many people to expect.

And thanks to Patric for all the tips and local knowledge!

Looking forward to it!

Let's explore Oberdollendorf - half-timbered houses, a vineyard, and some hills (with trees). Not to mention some (lovely) ramshackle buildings!

The theme is composition using the 'rule of thirds.' Here is a link for background https://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds/

This small settlement (suburb) can be reached by ferry from Bad Godesberg, train, or U-Bahn from Bonn.

The meet-up will entail a fair amount of walking, around the streets and alleys and then uphill through the vineyard.

Photokina is said to the THE largest imaging trade fair in the world, and it is right here in Cologne. Let's get together and see what we can find. Tickets are cheaper on the Saturday, so we will gather then. PLEASE NOTE: each participant must buy their own ticket (online and in advance is cheaper, 12euro). http://www.photokina.com/participation-and-planning/for-visitors/buy-tickets/buy-tickets-4.php

There are five 'themes' (= halls), three of which are likely of most interest (Cameras; lighting and accessories; printing and presentation.) We might separate into smaller groups or plan the itinerary in accordance with interest - please to answer the question about your top two choices when you rsvp 'yes'. It will help a lot with planning!

Not only is this about seeing new gear, but also about being able to try it out. Bring a spare SD card with you - you might be able to try out some of the cameras being exhibited. And consider bringing your own camera if it's not too heavy - there might be models and lighting set-ups available to try out.

Looking forward to it!

Let's explore Maastricht in the Netherlands! Beautiful, historic, busy, and only an hour by Arriva bus 350 from Aachen!

We will meet in the afternoon, explore a bit, and perhaps take the time for a photo exhibition in one of the museums. Sunset should be a little after 5pm, so we also have time for the Golden Hour and hopefully a bit of Blue Hour.

Although 1 November is a holiday in Germany, it is not a holiday in the Netherlands, meaning the city will be bustling as usual.

At the end of the afternoon, we can have a coffee or drink together and look at each other's pictures.

Looking forward to it!

Travel tip: for those coming by train, the Euregio ticket can be a great deal (and, if you have a job ticket, all you need!) https://avv.de/de/tickets/tickets-fuer-bus-bahn/euregioticket

PLEASE NOTE: the fireworks are on Friday 2 November, sadly, rather than 4 nov as advertised. Happily, Reinhard can host the meetup, so anyone who loves fireworks and is free tonight can join! Please change your rsvps for this meetup and also for sunday's, if your plans are altered.

First, we can wander through the Fun Fair (Kirmes) and capture some evening photography at the Cologne Autumn Fun Fair. It is an excellent opportunity to try long-exposure shots and how to creatively capture the strong contrast of lights during dusk and night. (Sunset should be at 17.00, so it will be fully dark by the time we meet.) Here is some info on the Kirmes http://volksfest-koeln.de

We will meet, share tips about settings to use with night photography and fireworks, and see what we can find to photograph. Fireworks are said to be around 9pm or 9.30pm.

Think about bringing tripods and long lenses, and wearing warm clothes (as it will be a November night).

PLEASE NOTE: the fireworks are on Friday 2 November, sadly, rather than 4 nov as advertised.
Let's meet up again to see what interesting photographs we can make of light at night.

First, we can wander through the Fun Fair (Kirmes) and capture some evening photography at the Cologne Autumn Fun Fair. It is an excellent opportunity to try long-exposure shots and how to creatively capture the strong contrast of lights during dusk and night. (Sunset should be at 17.00, so it will be fully dark by the time we meet.) Here is some info on the Kirmes http://volksfest-koeln.de

We will meet, share tips about settings to use with night photography and fireworks, and see what we can find to photograph.

Think about bringing tripods and long lenses, and wearing warm clothes (as it will be a November night).

Update: the weather is predicted to be clear so it will be a good night. But perhaps cold!

Let's get together and take some pictures of the blue hour, lights, and people setting up for the Christmas market. (The market itself is only open from 18.00 till 21.00 on that first Sunday.) https://www.aachen-tourismus.de/erleben-entdecken/eventsundveranstaltungen/aachenerweihnachtsmarkt/
Sunset is at 4.40pm, so the blue hour will be directly after.

*Joint Meetup with the Aachen Photoresk Group*

Outing to Frankfurt Christmas market
A joint outing with the Frankfurt Analog Meetup!

An excursion to Frankfurt for the Christmas market with the theme of ‘being like analog. We will met up with the Frankfurt Analog Photography group (https://www.meetup.com/AnalogPhotography/) – and also use our cameras – even if digital – with the limitations of analog cameras. Try it out – see what your creativity can make in an analog situation!

So, this means:
*Decide how many ‘rolls of 36-exposure film’ you have with you, and limit yourself to 36 or 72 shots for the day (or, if you feel very rich, you might shoot 3 'rolls of film').
*Decide in advance if you are shooting black-and-white or color ‘film’, and stick to that for 36 exposures (so, when you ‘change film’ if you choose a second roll, you could of course change film type and also ISO).
*Use only 1 ISO setting, as if you had a film in your camera. Common ISO settings for film are: 64, 100, 200, 400, and, if you really push it, 800. (If you shoot ‘black and white’ only, you could choose a ‘film ISO’ of 1600 or even 3200, providing you like a lot of grain in your images.)
*Turn off your monitor: shoot through the viewfinder, don’t review the shot after taking it, no deleting photos during the day. (When you get home, you get to see the whole 'roll of film' at once!)

If you want to take the concept of limiting your options and concentrating on the shot, you could also decide to bring only one prime lens (of course, analog cameras also had zoom lenses, so this is an additional limitation just for fun 😉 ).

(Complying with the suggestions is, of course, *completely optional* – the main thing is to have fun and get to know some other photographers!)

We will meet at 14.30 (2.30 pm) outside Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof.
Sunset is at 16.24, so hopefuly there might be some blue hour shots.
We might enjoy some coffee or gluhwein in the Christmas market to warm up between shots! And for those who can stay a bit longer, there may be an opportunity at 19.00 to get onto a roof of a church for some shots from a different vantage point.

It is recommended to book in advance for the ICE trains as the fastest way to get to Frankfurt (about an hour from Cologne Hauptbahnhof) and can be very affordable when booked as long as possible in advance.

Like to improve your skills at taking nice portraits outdoors, especially in evening light? How can you capture good bokeh? And what about when the artificial lights cause funny colours? This MeetUp is an opportunity to practice using flash to light a portrait with nice city lights in the background, and to set your white balance to create interesting portraits.

The bridge near the Saturn has wonderful deep green lights at night, which will make a creative challenge for you! (And, if it is raining, we can still meet....).

Sunset is at 16.40, and the blue hour should be soon after. (The green lights under the bridge should come on only after it is fully dark.)

What to bring:
1 or 2 prime portrait lenses (consider 50mm - 105mm full-frame equivalent) and preferably a flash you can use off-camera.
A tripod, reflectors, flash umbrellas, soft box, and flash stands or remote cables can also be useful.

Check your manual for how to set manual white balance before you come, and we can practice doing this. Here are some photos from our last shooting session under this bridge: https://www.meetup.com/photoreskcologne/events/237450166/

We will hope to gather for a coffee and sharing pictures after the shooting.

All welcome! No previous experience needed, but interest in the theme is required ! 😉
Please note: there is a limit on the number of attendees, so anyone who signs up and then is not able to join, is asked to change your rsvp as soon as you know. Thank you!!

This was so much fun last year for atmosphere-rich photos! So, we will once again explore Poppelsdorf Cemetery in Bonn (thanks for Dörthe for the suggestion!). Here are some photos from last time: https://www.meetup.com/photoreskcologne/events/246069563/

The theme for this MeetUp is composition and mood. Design the photos you are taking, to fit a mood you want to create in the viewer.

Some links to whet your appetite:
http://bonnentdecken.de/bonn-zu-fuss-poppelsdorfer-hang/
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppelsdorfer_Friedhof, We could walk around and up the hill at the cemetery, and there’s a nice view up there towards Cologne (well… the refineries in Wesseling, but with luck we might also see the Cologne cathedral) and there’s also the Kreuzberg church (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreuzbergkirche_(Bonn)) up there. We are meeting in the morning (but not too early!) in the hope it might be misty or damp and add to the atmosphere. Consider wearing walking shoes, so we can explore a bit further. The MeetUp will take place even if it is raining - just bring some covers to protect your camera!

As always, at the end of the MeetUP, we will gather for a coffee or lunch and look at our pictures and chat. (Locals tell me that around Poppelsdorfer Platz and Clemens-August-Str. there are some nice restaurants.) Location: https://goo.gl/maps/M7Yze2bGK6P2 - probably best to meet at the lower entrance at the crossing of Servitenweg and Wallfahrtsweg. Should be quite easy to get to, either by public transport (bus to Poppelsdorfer Platz, or a 20 min walk from Bonn central station) or by car, or by bicycle. The cemetery is accessible all the time.

Don't let anyone think we *only* visit cemeteries, but they can be excellent locations to practice composition, macros, creating a mood.... This second February cemetery outing is with the Düsseldorf Street Photography MeetUp https://www.meetup.com/Dusseldorf-Street-Photography-Meetup/events/258460816/

After a couple hours of exploring and photographing, we hope to gather for a coffee and to share photos.

Here is some information about the cemetery:
https://www.stadt-koeln.de/artikel/06152/index.html

PS. Those who are members of both groups, need only RSVP to one of the groups' MeetUps. The group numbers are limited for this event, so please be sure to take only one spot 😉 and of course to change your rsvp as soon as you know you can't make it.

Let's capture some gritty street shots in Cologne Mülheim. We will start at a Stadtbahn station and wander through some residential streets to the Rhine. Depending what we find in Mülheim, we might then head south along the river towards Deutz. It could be a bit of walking so do bring sturdy shoes.

The weather is predicted to be somewhat cloudy - if it rains, we can capture some nice gritty U-Bahn stations instead!

The themes are: black-and-white, and using perspective in composition.

As perspective is more obvious with wide angle lenses, think about bringing a wide angle.

Looking forward to it!

Beautiful trees and colourful leaves
Interested in photographing the yellows, oranges and reds of the leaves? If yes, you'll have to hurry before the wind blows everything away. Autumn spreads it's decent colors everywhere. But one place is even more special. It is the Späth-Arboretum of Humboldt-University Berlin, the tree collection.

Outside, there are so many different types of trees which you will rarely see arranged like this anywhere in the world!

Not enough, the  greenhouse with its  variety of plants is also worth a visit.

After the visit to the park / greenhouse we will get together for a coffee or drink to discuss what we've seen and other pjtography related issues.

What to know
The entry fee for the garden is only 1€.

What to bring
So, bring of course your camera, if you have, your macro and zoom equipment and whatever you may need for landscape AND close-ups. Of course, we will discuss, ask and explain as we go. Don't worry, if you don't have a special photo gear. I have seen stunning pictures which were taken with an instamatic.

What we will do
Supposably we will be a good mix of experts and beginners sharing the same passion and don't forget: there is always someone who knows something which all the others don't know. We also will have a small challenge for the excitement 😉

What if
We can expect the weather condition will be perfect for that day, we will meet in any case and in case its raining, there is also the greenhouse.

How to get there
By public transport: U7 till Blaschkoallee from there Bus 170 direction Baumschulenweg, get off at Baumschulenweg/ Königsheideweg

By car: use your SatNav / GPS 😉

Questions
If you have any questions, please contact the organizer or start a discussion.

Links
http://www.tkt-berlin.de/arboretum-eng.html

http://www.visitberlin.de/en/spot/spaeth-arboretum

What else
Attending the meetup is free but if you liked it and feel like, you may make a little donation (maybe between one and five euro) after the meetup (pay-as-you-can-and-liked-it). This will help to prepare and run future great Photoresk Meetups, tutorials and Workshops

Street photography , decoration, people pre-celebrating, low and colourful light and what else to spot on a Christmas market?

Everybody seems to be already hyper-busy those days before Christmas.

Calm down this Sunday, grep your camera gear and enjoy the  Happy-Shuttercounts photo-stroll at the at two Christmas-Markets!

Even we are meeting just in front of a very nice marked, we will keep a visit for  for later and have a walk to the Kollwitzplatz first.
We will see the Advents-Ökomarkt, returning for a stroll to the Lucia Weihnachsmarkt later. A nice opportunity for taking beautiful pictures but also for photography related chats and the exchange of knowledge.

For sure we will also have the opportunity to grab one or another glühwein and have some food.

This city has so much to offer beyond the "Cannes for tourists", the glam and the chic. We will have a nice stroll through the old parts of Cannes,  the parts of the local people and local life. As we go we will discover places, people, life and capture moments in the wonderful changing Mediterranean light. Of course, we also will exchange our knowledge to improve our photography skills.

Dear all,
Mougins is famous for its artists and its beautiful village.
I suggest that we visit both Photographic exhibits (Erwan Morere at the Photography museum and the Robert Doisneau exhibit at the Espace Culturel).
We could also walk around, and shoot pictures of windows, home openings to the outside.
For the most advanced Happy Shuttercounts, we could try black-and-white pictures, like Erwan Morere.

Dear all,

Mougins is famous for its artists and its beautiful village. I suggest that we visit two beautiful temporary Photographic exhibits which are ending soon:

• Erwan Morere at the Photography museum, 

• Robert Doisneau exhibit at the Espace Culturel.

We will also walk around, and shoot pictures of windows, home openings to the outside.
For the most advanced Happy Shuttercounts, we could try black-and-white pictures, like Erwan Morere.

Dear all,

Currently there is an interesting Photography festival in Nice (see website here): many small exhibits around Nice. The Festival is at its 15th edition with this year the desire to renew, not to impose a theme nor put a barrier between photographic genres.

Nice is also a beautiful city, so we'll take our camera's with us, and shoot some pictures between exhibits (indeed there will be a good walk around, and obviously one or two drinks to rest as well).

We will either meet in Cannes, and go all together to Nice with my car, or meet directly there. I'll organise this once I will know who will join (you can either post your preference on the forum of this event or private-message me).

Yasemin

Dear all,
With the winter coming, days are shorter and more wet; it is therefore more difficult to organise outdoor shootings.
However, let's have a drink (apéro), so we can meet, chat, exchange our photo experiences, develop ideas for taking pictures/visiting exhibits next year, and enjoy the evening.
See you Tuesday,
Yasemin