honorable mention
Julien Coomans belgium
title
Noir Flohay
On a blustery spring morning I headed for Noir Flohay in the High fens, located in the south-East of Belgium, where a pack of contorted dead trees stand tall against bleak surroundings.
From the carpark there is a path that leads you into this wide nature area which straddles the German border. A wooden boardwalk takes you across the untouched barren land and after about 2 km a muddy track must be taken to get to the trees.
After some hail and wind I arrived at the spot just as the sun started to peak through the clouds. It was difficult to pre-plan my shoot due to the conditions constantly changing, but it became very clear the moment I was there. My first composition contains a tree in the middle of my frame with stormy clouds behind while the sun lit up the tree beautifully from behind me.
After bracketing the first shot, I felt these clouds coming closer and I decided to pack up my gear, which turned out to be a good idea as I suddenly stood in the middle of a storm. Heavy wind and hail started hitting the ground really hard. For a moment I was wondering what I was actually doing here and suddenly it made sense why I was the only person out there. The hail gave way to nice thick snow flakes which covered the area and the trees with a white layer. I felt fortunate and I took two more compositions that opened up nicely.
These three shots made me smile on the way back while ironically I struggled hard to find the path again that became invisible.
Due to the artistic side of his main profession, his interest in capturing visual moments has grown stronger over the years and photography is the medium by which he expresses himself the best. It is a way to seek calmness and tranquility which he also tries to capture in his images by using long exposures and minimal settings.
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entry description
5 May 2021.On a blustery spring morning I headed for Noir Flohay in the High fens, located in the south-East of Belgium, where a pack of contorted dead trees stand tall against bleak surroundings.
From the carpark there is a path that leads you into this wide nature area which straddles the German border. A wooden boardwalk takes you across the untouched barren land and after about 2 km a muddy track must be taken to get to the trees.
After some hail and wind I arrived at the spot just as the sun started to peak through the clouds. It was difficult to pre-plan my shoot due to the conditions constantly changing, but it became very clear the moment I was there. My first composition contains a tree in the middle of my frame with stormy clouds behind while the sun lit up the tree beautifully from behind me.
After bracketing the first shot, I felt these clouds coming closer and I decided to pack up my gear, which turned out to be a good idea as I suddenly stood in the middle of a storm. Heavy wind and hail started hitting the ground really hard. For a moment I was wondering what I was actually doing here and suddenly it made sense why I was the only person out there. The hail gave way to nice thick snow flakes which covered the area and the trees with a white layer. I felt fortunate and I took two more compositions that opened up nicely.
These three shots made me smile on the way back while ironically I struggled hard to find the path again that became invisible.
about the photographer
Julien Coomans is an architect that has a specialisation in design and practices photography as an amateur. He is based in Brussels, but travels a lot around which gives him plenty of opportunities to discover new areas as he spends most of his free time shooting landscapes and seascapes.Due to the artistic side of his main profession, his interest in capturing visual moments has grown stronger over the years and photography is the medium by which he expresses himself the best. It is a way to seek calmness and tranquility which he also tries to capture in his images by using long exposures and minimal settings.
back to gallery