{"id":1945,"date":"2026-07-08T12:41:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/?p=1945"},"modified":"2026-07-08T14:04:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:04:02","slug":"haarlem-door-mijn-lens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/haarlem-door-mijn-lens\/","title":{"rendered":"Haarlem through my lens. 22 years between the canals and the windmill."},"content":{"rendered":"

Haarlem photography doesn't start for me with a camera, but with 22 years of living in this city. I've lived, cycled, walked and looked here for 22 years. Along the Spaarne, across the Grote Markt, time and again past De Adriaan. When at some point in those years I started using my camera seriously, Haarlem was my first subject. And honestly, also the most patient one, because the city didn't give itself away easily.<\/p>\n

Good cityscapes don't happen in five minutes. You only really learn to photograph a city once you know how the light falls in December, where the water is calmest on a Wednesday morning, and which bridge to avoid when it's windy. That's what I learned in Haarlem.<\/p>\n

De Adriaan. My most beloved spot in the city.<\/h2>\n

The De Adriaan windmill on the Spaarne is the image that defines Haarlem for me. Not the touristy daytime picture, with tourists and little boats, but early in the morning, before sunrise, when the water is completely still and the windmill reflects perfectly in the Spaarne.<\/p>\n

I've been there dozens of times. Sometimes with perfect conditions, sometimes with a dull, cloudless sky that sent me home empty-handed. But when the light and the water find each other, when the first warm tones glow above the rooftops and the windmill stands doubled in the mirror-smooth water, this is one of the most beautiful spots I know.<\/p>\n

My photo \"The Golden Breath of Haarlem\" is exactly one of those moments. Early, quiet, golden light. It's a wide panorama that captures the entire surroundings of De Adriaan, from the facades across the water to the mirror-smooth water in the foreground.<\/p>\n

A special detail: a pen drawing was made of this image, which hangs large on the wall at Spaarne Hospital, South location. To me, one of the finest compliments a photo can receive.<\/p>\n

\"Molen<\/figure>\n

Order this print on Werk aan de Muur<\/a><\/p>\n

Haarlem. My best-selling photo.<\/h2>\n

This panorama has since become my best-selling work. It shows Haarlem as it looks in the evening from the Spaarne, with the Sint-Bavokerk as a recognizable centerpiece and, in the foreground, the Waag and the Teylers Museum, the oldest museum in the Netherlands. For anyone who knows Haarlem, these are the spots you recognize immediately. I waited a long time for the perfect combination of light, stillness and cloud cover. This was that evening.<\/p>\n

The format speaks for itself: wide, panoramic, made to hang large on the wall. Above a sofa or dining table at home, but equally suited to an office. A panorama like this instantly gives a space both character and calm.<\/p>\n

\"Haarlem<\/figure>\n

Order this print on Werk aan de Muur<\/a><\/p>\n

De Spaarnwoudestraat. The street where I lived.<\/h2>\n

This might be the most personal photo in the entire Haarlem collection. The Spaarnwoudestraat, the street where I lived myself. At the end of the street stands the well-known Amsterdamse Poort, one of the best-preserved medieval city gates in the Netherlands. A calming image I knew from my own neighborhood.<\/p>\n

I don't walk there every day anymore, but when I see this photo, I'm instantly back. To me, that's the power of street photography: not just a beautiful image, but a moment that takes you back to a place that mattered.<\/p>\n

\"Haarlem<\/figure>\n

Order this print on Werk aan de Muur<\/a><\/p>\n

De Vissersbocht. My favorite spot in Haarlem.<\/h2>\n

The Vissersbocht is my favorite spot in all of Haarlem. There's a bench there, and on the right evening you can watch the sun sink behind the rooftops and facades of the city. The light turns warm, the water takes on its colour, and the city seems to stand still for a moment. I've sat there many times.<\/p>\n

It's one of those spots you only know if you've actually lived there. No tourists, no crowds. Just Haarlem as it is.<\/p>\n

\"Oud<\/figure>\n

Order this print on Werk aan de Muur<\/a><\/p>\n

What Haarlem has taught me as a photographer.<\/h2>\n

Every city I've photographed since, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, San Francisco, has been shaped by what I learned in Haarlem. Patience. Learning to read a place. Knowing when to wait and when to go. You only truly know a city once you're still cycling out to it in the middle of the night because the weather conditions are exactly right.<\/p>\n

My Haarlem collection is the most personal one I have. Not because these are the most beautiful images, but because they were made by someone who knows the city from the inside. Every photo has an address, a time, and a story.<\/p>\n

View the full Haarlem collection on Werk aan de Muur<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fotograaf Reinier Snijders woonde 22 jaar in Haarlem. In dit blog neemt hij je mee langs zijn favoriete fotoplekken: De Adriaan, het Spaarne en de stille kades bij avond.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1945"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1962,"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1945\/revisions\/1962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beeldaandemuur.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}