The Author – Bart Busschots
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May
13
Another Option for Flanders?
Filed Under Polemics & Politics on May 13, 2008 | 1 Comment
While I was on holidays in Belguim last Christmas I wrote a long essay on the state of Belgium and tried to give some insight into the on-going political crisis there. I concluded that Belgium would probably continue to exist but as a very loose federal state with Flanders having a lot of autonomy. I had been thinking in terms of just two options for Flanders, remain in some form of Belgium state, or go it alone as an independent state within the EU. It turns out there may be a third option which I hadn’t considered at all, become part of the Netherlands. In many ways it makes sense, Flanders and the Netherlands share a common language and they are also culturally very different. The biggest difference between them is religion with Flanders being predominantly Catholic and the Netherlands predominantly Protestant. However, judging by church attendances, religion doesn’t have a very prominent place in the hearts and minds of either the Flemish or the Dutch. Fifty years ago such a merger would have been un-thinkable, what about now?
[tags]Belgium, Flanders, Netherlands, politics[/tags]
May
10
Photo of the Week 12 – Autumn in Maynooth Castle
Filed Under Photography on May 10, 2008 | 1 Comment
This is a shot I came across by complete accident when having my lunch outside with a friend. I’m not even sure why I had my camera with me but I did. This shot was taken with a zoom lens from the back of The Mill Shopping Centre in Maynooth and looks through the grounds of Maynooth Castle up towards the front gate.
For those of you interested in such things here are some of the technical details of the shot:
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 1/50 sec
- Focal Length: 55mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 400
- Camera Mode: Auto
- Exposure Compensation: 0.0
[tags]Photography, Maynooth, Ireland, Castle, Autumn[/tags]
May
10
More Photos Uploaded
Filed Under Photography on | Leave a Comment
I’m now completely up-to-date with my gallery. With all this amazing good weather of late I’ve managed to get loads of shots I’m really happy with. Lots of nice shots of the area around Maynooth and loads of lovely shots of flowers and butterflies. If you’re interested you can see all my May shots in this gallery.
May
9
April Photos Added to Gallery
Filed Under Photography on May 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’d gotten very behind in getting my images posted to my gallery so I spent the afternoon today getting my April images up. I already have loads and loads of images taken so far this month to upload but at least I’m less far behind now! You can check out my April Photos on this gallery page.
May
4
Photo of the Week 11 – A Lunar Reflection
Filed Under Photography on May 4, 2008 | 2 Comments
Although planning and preparation are very important in photography, some of the best shots are still happy coincidences. This is the perfect example of such a shot. I thought I’d figured out the exact shot I wanted so I was making my way to the spot I’d chosen very carefully when I glint of reflected moonlight hit my eye. I stopped my bike immediately and managed to get this shot after a few attempts.
I took this shot not long after sunset on an evening early last month from the edge of the playing fields on the campus of St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth, Ireland.
For those of you interested in such things here are some of the technical details of the shot:
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 6 Sec
- Focal Length: 28mm
- Focal Ratio: F4.2
- ISO: 800
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Compensation: 0.0
[tags]Maynooth, Ireland, Moon, Reflection[/tags]