Shortlist GCCA Concrete in Life Competition

This fabulous photo of Grand Hotel Neum's concrete gateway to the beach in Neum, Bosnia Herzegovina made the shortlist of the GCCA's Concrete in Life photo competition 2019. 

10 October the winners will be announced, fingers crossed!

When we booked our trip to Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina last summer we did not know much about the countries. Our students in photography said "you should go there, it is so beautiful" over and over again. 

Croatia and Bosnia did surprise us in many ways.

From the busy cities to the fabulous national parks, OMG all over. One of the best moments was when we arrived in Grand Hotel Neum in Bosnia. We were told there was a tunnel to the sea side, as we wanted to take a walk like we do every evening.

For some reason we took the stairs.

10 floors down to the beach, Grand Hotel Neum © Melanie E. Rijkers

We walked 10 floors down, and back up again as well, we missed the lifts that first time. Lights that automaticly switch on when you descent from floor to floor, silence, moist air, passing an occasional puddle of water and some white outdoor chairs.

We finally made it, wondering if it was really okay to go there, not seeing any other people at that time. After two turns and by accessing a big, steel door we entered the tunnel. Apperently the hotel once was a hospital, built on a hill side.

The way down, this deep tunnel to the beach felt like a movie adventure. Exploration and discovery, safe but yet exciting. Admiration because of the old structure of the tunnel, still safe and in one piece.

Admiring the builders, for creating such a wonderful walkway even though its original use most likely wasn't as jolly. Respect to all who design, create and inspire to make the world a better place.

Going to the beach  - Grand Hotel Neum, Bosnia Herzegovina

Concrete in Life, 2019 © Eyespiration.com

Melanie E. Rijkers, the Netherlands

Grand Hotel Neum, roof terrace and infinity pool

Shortlist GCCA Concrete in Life 2019

Instagram.com/the.gcca

The Bereavement Cruise 2020

 In 2020 Melanie will be one of the presenters onboard The Grief Cruise.

The Bereavement Cruise proudly presents Melanie Rijkers, international professional photographer and life coach. Melanie uses Eyespiration to help you see life from a new perspective.

The Bereavement Cruise a special trip that brings together grievers and grief professionals for a week of healing and community on board a five-star cruise. 

There are two upcoming Bereavement Cruises:

SPRING 2020: April 19 - 26 | Eastern Caribbean - sails to St. Maarten, San Juan, & the Bahamas on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas

FALL 2020: November 30 - December 4 | Sails to the Bahamas on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas

APPLY FOR MORE INFORMATION

Activities include healing seminars and workshops during each day at sea, evening small groups called "Circles of Hope" that are specific to different types of losses (loss of a child, loss of a spouse, loss of a parent, loss to suicide, etc.), group activities and art projects, scheduled remembrance walks under the stars, mindfulness and meditation sessions, yoga, and the option to scatter a loved one's cremains at sea.

Melanie will lead photo walks to See the sun rise - Greet the Day - or watch the sun set. By Being in the Moment we use our senses to connect to the here and now, creating innerpeace and positivity.

Check MelanieRijkers.com and Journeys of Hope, Healing & Health for more information.

© Melanie E. Rijkers

With special thanks to Glenn Lord for creating this video.

Polaroids by Melanie E. Rijkers on Amazon now

40 Polaroids by Melanie E. Rijkers #Eyespiration

When fine art photographer Melanie E. Rijkers rediscovered her original Polaroid camera in January 2010 she experimented with instant photography for two years. This book contains the best 40 instant moments taken 2010-2012.

You can follow Melanie on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest voor more #Eyespiration.

No Photoshop was used, only one photo of all these images were made, and are for sale.
Author: Melanie E. Rijkers © Eyespiration.com

Picasso Tribute

Guerra © Melanie E. Rijkers

There was a Dutch tv show about Picasso on last month and I accidently stumbled upon the art contest Krabbé zoekt Picasso. I wanted to enter, but never finished the above photo collage in time. 

Anyway, this is my (unfinished) try.

Photo Poem ~ Love & Light by © Eyespiration.com  

Photo Poem ~ Love & Light by © Eyespiration.com  

SFWC 2017 Eyespiration Photo Walk

Way cool pic of my Eyespiration Photo Walk for Writers at the San Francisco Writers Conference February 2017, taken by Marjoleine van Nunen, thnx! 

#Eyespiration: backlight through bride's veil 

I am explaining how to See the Light coming through the bride's veil (top photo). Bottom photo shows a quick phone pic of the situation. The backlight is so beautiful, creating a light silhouette of the bride - white wedding dress and veil work very well.

I was leading a writers inspiration walk at the San Francisco Writers Conference, when we encounterd this wedding couple on the steps of St. Grace Catherdral on top of Nob Hill. With an open mind and perception you can really See the Beauty of the World.

#Eyespiration is mindfulness with your camera, using even phones to capture the beauty of the world around us. You can join my photo walks all over the world, or book me for private sessions and masterclasses. 

www.MelanieRijkers.com 

To Kim, who died of bowel cancer at age 49 today...

Gold is the colour of this day

Grey 

Skies dark, streets wet 

Let the Light guide you

And brighten your Soul 

Spirit 

Alive at this Longest Day

21 June 2016 Photo Poem ~ Love & Light by © Eyespiration.com  

Last night, I spent another lonely Christmas
Darlin', darlin', you should've been there
'Cuz, all the ones I dream about
You are the one that makes my love shout
You see, you are the only one I care for

Remember the time we swam naked
In your father's pool?
Boy, he was upset that night
But boy, was that ever cool

Remember that night we played pokeno for money
And you robbed me blind?
Remember how you used to scream so loud
'Cuz, you, you hated that number 9?

Hey, I saw your sister skatin' on the lake
This afternoon
Good heaven, how she's grown
She swoons the boy skaters, she's so tall

But of all your father's children
All your father's children, baby
You know, you are the finest of them all
You are brighter than the northern star

And I, last night, I spent another lonely Christmas
Darlin', darlin', you, you should've been there
You see, of all the ones I dream about
You are the one that makes my love shout
You see, you are the only one I care for, yeah

My mummy used to say, always trust your lover
But now, I guess that only applies to her
'Cuz, baby, you promised me
Baby, you promised me, you'd never leave
Then you died on the 25th day of December, oh, baby

Last night, oh, I spent another lonely, lonely Christmas
Darlin', baby, you, you should've been there, oh, oh
'Cuz all the ones I dream about
You are the one that makes my love shout
You see, you are the only one I care for, yeah

Your father said it was pneumonia
Your mother said it was stress
But the doctor said you were dead

And I, I say it's senseless

Every Christmas night for 7 years now
I drink banana daiquiris till I'm blind
As long as I can hear you smilin', baby

You won't hear my tears
Another lonely Christmas is mine
Yeah, mine, yeah
Another lonely Christmas is mine

Last night, yeah, I spent another lonely, lonely Christmas
Darlin', darlin', you should've been there, yeah
'Cuz all the ones I dream about
You are the one that makes my love shout
You see, you are the only one one care for

...I have always loved his lyrics, it's like poetry ♥ RIP my Prince, superfunkycalifragisexy you are!

Prince, 1987 pencil drawing by me

Prince: Another Lonely Christmas, B-side of I Would Die 4 U (12" vinyl Purple Rain album, for sale)

More lyrics via Metro Lyrics 

#Eyespiration: How to get blue sky in photos

When you are on holiday you want your photos to show the local beauty of the place you're staying at. But sometimes on a sunny day it seems you can't take a photo of the blue sky, the sky turns out pale, white.

How to take photos with blue sky:

- Position of the sun. The most important advice is to make sure to have the sun behind you when you take a photo. The more you are facing the sun, the paler the sky will be

- Contrast. Put e.g. a white or light colored object like a building in the front of the composition. Your camera will automaticly adjust the sky into a darker blue

- Morning or evening light. All colors are more intense at this time of day

- Polarizing filter. With using a polarization filter on a mirror-less or an dslr camera lens, the blue and other colors deepen

- Instagram. Photo editing apps and other retouching software will make colors come out better

If you turn your camera in the direction of the sun, you'll see a change of the colour of the sky. The more you turn towards the sun, the paler the sky. Buildings turn out sallow and grey. Especially in the middle of the day, when the sun's at her highest point, the light is very bright. Try to take photos early morning or later in the day, when the light is softer.

Blue sky: sun in my back, building in front creating more contrast

Blue sky: turning towards the sun the blue gets paler

Blue Sky: opposite of photo 1, the sky is pale, white and buildings grey and dark

We all want to take photos showing the best of our holiday. What's more beautiful than walking through a town and take photos of little, white houses against a dark blue sky? Blue sky is the ultimate holiday image, like a photo of the sea, feet in the sand or a selfie with a cocktail in our hand.

With your smartphone you can always adjust photos in an easy way. There are a lot of apps and even when posting a photo on Facebook or Twitter you can adjust the photo before posting with just one click. My favorite is Instagram. Ofcourse you can always use professional software afterwards, but wanting to retouch all 500 holiday pics might be a bit much.

Polarizing filter

With using a polarization filter on a mirror-less or an dslr camera lens, the blue and other colors deepen. Disadvantage: when bringing more than one lens, you'll need to buy more filters, as often lenses don't have the same diameter. Advantage: all colors look better, e.g. green is greener and especially a blue sky with white clouds will look dramaticly darker, a special effect coming out great with landscape pictures. Another advantage is the reflection in windows will dissapear when you use it, though I do like using this reflection in my photos. 

Backlight

Though sometimes using the sun in the back can create a beautiful photo. Backlight photos, photos taken towards the sun showing mostly shade of the subject, are fun too!

Clouds will enhance the dramatic appearance of blue sky over a landscape

Published in Dutch on Vakantieboulevard.nl 

7 Photo tips how to increase website traffic

Add an image to bring your post to life.

LinkedIn is spot on. Using images will really help to create more brand awareness. October 2015 I was asked to be City Facebooker for two weeks for the local page of Dutch tourism board (VVV Breda). Being a photo specialist and a writer I kept posting photos about my walks, bike rides and much more. Showing the things I saw, that caught my eye. I combined cultural moments with 'just' outdoor autumn shots of my beautiful city. 

Choose the right image

By choosing the right image I increased the actions of the 4500 community of the Gek op Breda (Crazy about Breda) page with an average of 85%, with 101% being the highest peak during my two week job. Over 21.000 actions, just by adding epic photos.

A good image is always intriguing, and makes people think, feel

How to get that traffic 

1) Make sure you post a good epic photo! Low quality photos never contribute to your brand's name. Invest in buying the best images available.

2) An epic image will make people think, feel, love or hate it. It will draw attention.


3) Therefor: go easy with stock photos. Think twice before buying a (cheap) stock photo. The average price of a good quality stock photo is € 35,- Please keep in mind that when you hire a professional image maker (not necessarily a photographer, also other people with visionary occupations like graphic designers and journalists might be able to do the job) you often can buy photos for the same price.

4) No overkill. Go easy on photos. Twitter: max. 2, Facebook: max 9 (preferably 2, 3 or 4, depending on landscape, portrait or square size) per post. Less is still more.


5) If you really want to share more images, create an album or share an album link to your website. Make sure the album cover photo is an appealing one. This image will pop up when you share the link.


6) Use b&w (black & white) photos now and then. To stand out of the crowd a monochrome picture can really do the trick. This can also be an old historic photo of your brand or company.


7) Respect copyright. If you do not know if you can use that photo, make sure you find out. Always add the correct credits. When unsure, do not use the image.

Open studio Marianne Naerebout's atelier Breda, the Netherlands

Gek op Breda post causing most actions, these two photos of Speelhuislaan Breda in autumn colours:

If you have an old photo of your company's location, building, or area: do share. 

People just love historic photos!

Artstudio23 - Speelhuislaan 173 Breda, the Netherlands

How to choose from a 1000 holiday pics

How to choose the perfect photo series from a trip? When you took a 1000 photos or more, how do you choose the right photo story, e.g. to create a photo book?

Being an analog photographer from the 90's, I know how to work without this luxury problem of the digital era. We used film, 36 exp. max and on most occasions, even weddings, we used only 8 to 10 rolls. We just never made it to the 1000.

Now what can you do cut down the number of photos:

1. Try not to shoot that 1000 photos. Really, limit yourself to a certain number of photos per day or occasion, let's say 25 max. This can be done and will make you more aware of which moment you really want to capture.

2. Delete the bad ones immediately.

3. After the holiday or wedding let the photos simmer for a while. When you look at them with a fresh mind a few days later, choosing will be easier and will go much faster.

4. Divide the photos in topics. Start by sorting the best photos of the places you went to, and choose max. 10-20 per topic. Ofcourse this depends on the trip. A beach holiday has less 'places' by number than a six-week jungle trekking.

5. Not more than 80 pages per album. After 25 pages most of your audience will be bored. The best choice is 40 to 60 pages, with 80 to 100 photos in total. If you're really want to challenge less is more, create an album with only 20 pages/40 photos.

6. Or just pick one. Think of the iconic photos you know, often those single photos tell a complete story. Why do you need more pics to tell yours? Your goal: only to take epic photographs.

7. Learn how to tell a story. Invest in a course or workshop to learn about the tips & tricks of picking the right photo.

Don't go for just postcard landscapes, zoom in, take close-ups of details you noticed

When you do take a landschape photo, try to find something different, like these shades of umbrellas without sunbeds

All these pictures were made by our 11 year old son: look fresh, with pure eyes 

Children look at life in a pure way. The greatest gift is to learn how to see fresh.

Invest in storytelling with Artstudio23. If you still cannot choose, we will be more than happy to create your holiday or wedding album for you. With nearly 20 years of experience, Artstudio23 knows which photo works best and which ones to skip. It's all in the eye. Melanie & Hans know how to see life with pure eyes.

Help Bali school kids

During my last trip to Bali only a week ago, I had the chance to visit some of the local schools of Sudaji, Sekumpul and Lemukih village. 650 Kids age 4-12 go to 6 elementary schools in this district. There's also one secondary school.

Guided by Mr. I Gede Joni Setiawan, I saw a whole bunch of Balinese school kids running around the schools or sitting down nice and quiet in their class room. Outside the boys made funny faces when I took a photo, the girls a little more shy in the back. Boys will be boys and with hard rock being the latest thing in Bali, Indonesia, a lot of the boys kept making the sign of the horns, o my.

We sat down in the offices and talked about the schools, how the system works in Indonesia and how Gede once was a student of this school too. The schools look good, but not great, you know what I mean. Being in the Netherlands, our elementary schools seem to (over)flood with toys, maps on walls and other school materials. Here, in rural Bali, nothing is too much and only the basics are there. I don't think there will be much ADHD/ADD diagnoses here.

There's even a school right next to the rice fields. Wow, tropical nature all around the children, and being off at 14:00 (2 PM) or earlier, they have enough free time to run around in the village. I saw kids chop woods, climb trees, ride motor bikes (2x 8 = also 16) (in age, LOL) and be HAPPY. Even though to Western standards they don't seem to have much, they have it all. They are pure, happy and healthy. Eating 3 rice meals a day, I did not see much obesed people.

The red wood tea ZanZan's wife made was awsome. ZanZan is the founder of Omunity, the retreat where I was staying and taking photos for. The school kids are provided for too, and when I asked, I was told the children never get any school photos, at all. Being a mother of two myself, I buy these photos always, as I think it's so good to see your kids grow when you put these photos in a line from age 4 to 12... Melts my heart to see how they grew up. And I am very happy to have these photos.

But in Sudaji there's no school photography, never. The only photos I saw were an occasional photo of the teachers group and one of the Independance Day games... But no class photos, no portraits. The parents also aren't able to afford the prints, but still, there aren't even digital photos available!

Now I want to go back and teach the local photographer(s) how to do this, how to do class and portrait school photos and make sure the parents will get their copy too. The school would really love bigger copies to put on the wall, and really, what are the costs?!? It's all about making it possible. For a lousy € 2,30 per child we are able to set a school photogaphy system up. We only need € 1500,- in total, this way we can teach a local photographer how to shoot and print all the photos. Next year's costs will be much lower, as then it's only the prints that need to be covered.

Next to school photos the schools need (English) books, so if you are a publisher with books which can't be sold anymore and suitable for age 4-16, please let me know. The libraries are being built as we speak, as the government decided to invest in the schools, but there can never be enough books. For the books we'll need € 6000,- around € 10,- per child. We're especially looking for books about spiritual, social and cultural life.

We'll need € 1500,- to get school photography set up, and € 6000,- for spiritual, cultural and social books, please donate to Stichting PUUR Zien, IBAN NL21INGB0006544911 ING Bank N.V. Foreign Operations PO Box 1800 1000 BV Amsterdam The Netherlands or use Paypal: info@mery.nl, thank you! Our BIC: INGBNL2A (Swift code)


If you are a publisher who would like to donate books, please send 6 of each to:

OMunity
Banjar Dukuh, Desa Sudaji
Kecamatan Sawan
Singaraja Buleleng 81171
Bali, Indonesia


THANK YOU, Namaste ♥

World Wide Photo Walk - Scott Kelby

#wwpw2014 In Breda, the Netherlands it was raining cats and dogs ... But still a nice group of people showed up, so we had a good time walking through the Chassépark. We also passed part of the Bredaphoto exhibition, which is partially outdoors.

11 October 2014:

Rain or shine, we had a good time during the World Wide Photo Walk 2014! Thanx Mr. Scott Kelby, and maybe next time... I can lead one in Paris, France? I am thinking of combining it with my annual ZIEN in Paris workshop, that would be awsome!!

Let me know if you want to join me in Paris in 2015.

Photo walk with us in Paris, France 10 October 2015? Loopt u gratis mee op 10 oktober 2015 in Parijs? 15:30-19:30 (3:30-7:30 PM)

SEE like van Gogh

In the spring and summer of 2015 we will offer photography workshops in the spirit of van Gogh: See like Vincent.

Photography in (Post-)Impressionism style, using nature and (sun)light. Photowalks in our Keukenhof and in our Brabant, the state where Vincent grew up. Beautiful Brabant will inspire you too!

See like Vincent. Light and inspiration in the open air. It won't be easy, but you'll have a lot of fun and you'll learn to love natural light like Vincent did.

Flowers & History - Paris, France - Vincent van Gogh tribute

Keukenhof workshop: 4, 11, 25 April 2015, time: 13.30-15.30, € 35,- p.p.

Brabant workshop: 9 May 2015, time: 13.30-15.30, € 35,- p.p.

Booking info HERE.

Book a workshop for two and you'll get a discount of 10 euro p.p. and pay only € 25,- p.p. Fee does not include travel and Keukenhof ticket.

From 5-6 persons we can put together a See van Gogh workshop in France, summer and fall 2015.

"Sometimes I long so much to do landscape, just as one would for a long walk to refresh oneself, and in all of nature, in trees for instance, I see expression and a soul, as it were" - to his brother Theo, from The Hague City, 1882

Vincent moved to Paris in February 1886, but after two years of hard work, he grew tired of the city. He went to live in the small town of Arles in the south of France, in search of light and peace. [source: van Gogh Museum] Vincent van Gogh died 125 years ago; 29 July 1890, after shooting himself in the chest two days before...

Vincent van Gogh - Korenvelden 

Miksang Paris France

Photos of last time's mindful photography workshop in Paris, France

Miksang Contemplative Photography

4 October 2014 we're back in Paris, France to lead a mindful photography walk, feel free to join us. We're gathering at the steps of the Sacré-Coeur Church 11 AM. 2x 2 Hours workshop in English and Dutch, € 75,- p.p. to be paid on the spot.

A happy photo walk, and you can already participate with your mobile phone.

You don't need a fancy camera to take Miksang photos. Photos with the good, pure eye ('Miksang' in Tibetan) are to be seen mostly. Walk with an empty, unbiased mind and see beautiful images, guided by photographer Melanie E. Rijkers.

More Miksang: www.Artstudio23.com or follow our Pinterest or Miksang Academy Facebook page. We lead #Eyespiration photo walks in Paris, London, San Francisco and many other places in the world.