I got an interesting question from @sukhasanasister below my last post on Dutch roads:
Liane Collot d'Herbois, my veil-painting therapist founder, always claimed there was a special light in Holland - and she ended up setting her watercolour therapy school, Emerald (formerly known as Magenta) there. Have you noticed anything special about it as compared to all the other countries you went to? It is supposed to explain the Golden Age of Painting and the Dutch Masters of the Haagse School especially. Interested in your views on the subject, with your excellent eye for light/darkness (trained up by that Dutch light maybe!?).
I believe it's true: there is a very special light in The Netherlands. I can imagine someone wants to settle here in order to create art in whatever form.
I believe our clouds are extremely interesting (ever heard of / seen 'sheep clouds'?), the coast provides magical light, and the fact we have a uniquely flat landscape also means light carries differently than in many other countries. Last but not least: lots of water in flat landscape means amazing reflections on surfaces, providing extremely nice opportunities for painters and photographers.
However: I've been blown away by the extreme differences in light and shadow I have experiences in Scotland too: because weather changes more quickly there than in the Netherlands I've often seen very interesting mixes in light, shadow, rain, sun, as can be seen in this post.
And then I remember landing by plane in Reykjavik where I would take a flight to New York City. I was struck by the light I saw right before landing: bright and 'low' light, reflecting on black (!) sand! I've not had the chance to visit Iceland yet, but since that moment it's very high on my list. I've been blown away by pictures of Iceland for years now, and I believe I'll find that's because of both light as well as quite unique shapes and colours I haven't yet found elsewhere.
I've not been touched as much by light in any other countries I've traveled to, so this light magic seems to center around North-West Europe.
And did I learn to see it because I've been born and raised here? I don't know. Maybe I'm more aware of subtle differences between countries because I know one so well. Would I have been born in a tropical blue-skies country I would probably have thought the light in The Netherlands, Scotland and Iceland were the same.
[Could this picture be taken in any country or is there something inherently Dutch about the light and/or clouds?]
But what do you all think? Have you been more impressed by light in one country over another? What country should I visit just for the light it provides?
All photography on steemit.com/@soyrosa is created and edited by me, Rosanne Dubbeld, 2005-2018. Contact me if you want to discuss licensing or collaborations on creative projects :-)
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