Canadutch
This weekend I went on my first outing with my new photo club. I was a bit nervous as I didn’t know anyone other than my friend Heather, but I liked the fact that it was a smaller gathering. I’m more comfortable in those kinds of situations and thought it would give me a good chance to meet some of the other members. Also, I was really keen to visit the location they had in mind – The village of Doel in Belgium.
Heather and I drove down together with two of the men from the club. It was very relaxed and I enjoyed chatting with them and getting to know them a bit. We also learned some about Doel and how it came to be in the state it is in today.
The village of Doel is 700 years old and due to the need to expand the harbour, it had been chosen to be demolished in 2007 and was supposed to be completed by 2009. In mid 2008 the residents of the village were given notice that they had to be out of their homes by September 1, 2009.
Many have left already and their houses are in various stages of decay. It was so interesting exploring this village because you never knew what was behind every door. Some of the houses I went into felt like they had been abandoned for decades, with moss and ferns growing in the middle of their livingroom. Others had an eerie feeling, as though the occupants were rushed out in some sort of evacuation, leaving evidence of their day to day lives laying around everywhere.
As far as the photography goes, it was an interesting day. I tried to learn what I could about exposure, but I usually found myself confused while trying to balance aperture, shutter speed etc. Granted, nowadays the camera does a lot of it for you but it was a good time to experiment a little as most of the houses were quite dim and didn’t have the best lighting available.
Overall it was a really great day. It helped me feel a little less intimidated by the level of photography the other members were doing and learn a bit while I was there. A day out in the sunshine certainly didn’t hurt either!
If you live in the area and are interested in this kind of Urban Exploring, you should definitely check out Doel. Do it soon though, there’s no way to know how long it will still be around!
Photo’s are amazing! The ones with the red hearts, just do something for me :( It’s like a community is gone… sorta reminds me of that Will Smith movie :)
♥ yes, Doel Blijft! ♥
~<|:-)x
♥
yes, Doel Blijft!
~<|:-)x
Very cool to stumble across this! I’m a Canadian recently landed in Belgium, and I don’t believe my Belgian boyfriend even knows about this (or perhaps he’s afraid to mention it to me because he knows I have a love for exploring and photographing abandoned structures.)
Cheers and hello!
Jessicas last blog post… Quickish Update:
I’m glad you joined a club! Especially to check out abandoned buildings, because they can be very hazardous and there’s definitely safety in numbers.
Tanya learned it as WISE, I learned it as WIFE (white balance, ISO, focus, exposure). WISE makes much more sense to remember, maybe, since focus is generally a given — not something to try and remember.
Gail at Larges last blog post… Pastafarian Dinner
Wow, what an eerie, yet interesting place to visit! I always wonder why these places are left the way they are, like who went to the trouble of moving the bathtub then left it in the middle of the room half on its side? And the half torn apart kitchens… presumably there is a lot of vandalism, judging by the graffiti (some of which were amazing pieces of art!), but it’s still odd that people would leave their own houses with other, more portable things still inside. Great pics, glad you had fun :-)
Nicolas last blog post… Theme is a theme is a theme
When I took a photo course, they guy told me before every picture to make sure I was WISE – which meant to check 4 things:
White Balance
ISO
Size
Exposure
That might help a little.