Photographing Kinderdijk, The Netherlands

I have had the opportunity to visit The Netherlands this past spring and what more traditional than capturing some windmills and tulips?

This post will describe the Kinderdijk Windmills a UNESCO world heritage site since 1997. In total 19 windmills, which have been built in the year of 1740 rest in a row for photographers delight. It is the largest group of windmills in The Netherdlands, not to mention the well-preserved condition. Nowadays, power-driven turbines have replaced the function of the windmills.

Kinderdiijk is a small village about 20 km from Rottertam, the access is easy when driving. The other option is to book a bus tour from Amsterdam or Rotterdam. The downfall is that there will be too many people around and the images might not be as the ones envisioned.

When driving, the best location to photograph is the very first small side road of the village. As soon as he windmills are visible on the right side of the road, the first available entrance to the right will take the car all the way to the row of windmills. Tourist buses stop further down the main road closer to the souvenir stores.

I drove from Rotterdam for sunrise, arriving just a couple of minutes before the sun appeared. The best time to photograph the windmills is early morning or during the day, for sunset, the windmills are in the opposite side and the colours in the sky do not translate well. The earlier the better, so not only the sky will provide astonishing tonalities, but also there will not be people around to run into your images.

Image 1 - Silhoettes, reflection and mist in Kinderdijk

I took full advantage of the mist and reflections on the dikes. To accentuate the colour of the sky, I registered the windmills as silhouettes. Their shape is well recognized that there was no need to present details of their structure.

Image 2 - Kinderdijk windmills with surrounding environment

Image 3 - Row of windmills

Even after the sun had come out, I was able to register the beauty of the place and silhouettes of the windmills by placing the sun behind the structures. The vegetation foreground will became more illuminated allowing inclusion on the composition.

Image 4 - Sun peaking from behind the windmill silhouette. 

Image 5 - Recognizable forground with row of windmills in the background

Image 6 - Using the windmill to block the direct sun creating silhouette and nice colour in the sky

Once the sun had come up, I kept shooting, this time registering the details of the windmills architecture and their surroundings. On the opposite side of the row of windmills, there is an atypical shaped one.

Image 7 - After sunrise the full details of the windmills could be captured

Image 8 - Surrounding vegetation complement the windmills in the background

Image 9 - The only different windmill is located opposite to the row of similar windmills

There are plenty of windmills in The Netherlands, so if Rotterdam is far from your trip plans, I can reassure you that you will not be disappointed in not encountering windmills. However, if you have the opportunity to take a small detour to Kinderdijk, it is well worth it.