Street-photography in Valkenburg

Last weekend (11^th of March) I decided to again to do some street-photography. I went to Valkenburg. Also to see how this small tourist city has overcome the big flood.

July of 2021 a big flood (due to heavy rain) hit the old centre of the city. The small stream called “Geul” became a raging river and flooded a big part of the old city.

Now almost 2 years later most of the old centre is again fully operational. The bars and restaurants are open as usual. Tourist are again visiting this beautiful small town.

The old centre of Valkenburg does give a lot of photographic opportunities. When photographing people the old buildings do serve as an interesting backdrop or frame.

I again shot all images in black & White. All images are shot with the Fujifilm 33mm f1.4 lens. I used the Fujifilm monochrome + R filter film simulation editing the images in Capture One.

Photographing during daytime on the streets causes a lot of different colours, which can be really distracting on the final image. Somehow black & white simplifies the scene captured. It all boils down to interesting light, shadows, lines and forms, and conveys the mood and/or essence of the scene better. Black & white does also give a more timeless feel to the photograph.

I have planned to visit Valkenburg again to do some night photography. In the old centre a lot of the buildings are lit at night. This can create interesting lighting conditions. Then of course shooting in colour can have it’s advantages.

I hope you like the images.