Author Archives: mail@johnriper.nl

Zebra crossing discussion

This is on Westplein square, in the shipping district of Rotterdam. The square was closed for throught traffic because of the World Port event. The traffic warden right on the photo is supervising and discussing with an interested citizen.

Three colorful dancers and a police woman

Also at the World Port Days in Rotterdam: performances of the Dutch Police Steelband! Special guests were these three beautiful lady dancers in tropical outfit. A photo like this is, of course, much more attractive in colour than in black and white. The most interesting of this picture is, in my opinion, the expression of the police woman.

A lady and the Euromast

The Euromast observation tower is with its 185 mtrs. the best known landmark of the Rotterdam skyline. It was built in 1959-1960 till a heigth of 104 mtrs. In 1970 the so called “space tower” was put on top of it.

Doggyride

The World Port Days were great again. More than 400 thousand visitors, which was an all-time record. I went there on Saturday, mainly to photograph people. I walked from metro station Beurs, along Leuvehaven harbour and Nieuwe Maas river, had a quick lunch on the terrace of restaurant “De Ballentent”, famous for its best meat-ball of Holland, and walked the same way back. This is one of the pictures I took.

Beursplein sand sculpture

This weekend are the annual World Port Days in the port of Rotterdam. It is one of the most important festivities, visited by many thousands of people from Rotterdam and far outside the city. On the Thursday before this weekend artists are building a sand sculpture on the occasion of this festivity in the heart of Rotterdam city: the Beursplein. This picure was taken through a window of Vroom & Dreesmann department store.

“Don’t I impress you at all?”

Every day I try to post one of my square and black&white street photo’s, either freshly shooten or an oldie. Sometimes, however, I feel the need to do something in colour, for instance when my wife Karin and I have visited the beautiful Rotterdam zoo “Diergaarde Blijdorp”. We do that so now and then, let’s say twice a year. I make lots of photographs then, most of which turn out not to be worth posting, in my opinion. This picture of two cormorants – a macho one trying to impress a lady – is one of the few exceptions. Every man remembers how it felt trying to impress a girl in his teenager years, not seldom in a clumsy way, gaining nothing more than that lovely girl (often with her friends) giggling and leaving you behind with your frustrations. This picture reminds me of this, in a funny way, of course.