Birthday and Off to Holland

Yesterday, August 22, was my 41st birthday. Nothing to celebrate or shout about really—I’ve never been one for making a big deal of it. I’m just happy to see birthdays go by, usually treating them as an excuse to take a day off work and spend some time with my family.

I didn’t do much this year. My wife had a flying experience booked (a gift I gave her for her 40th), so we headed over to Shoreham. This was the only day that worked for both of us—weekends fill up incredibly quickly, so with us both being off from work during the week, it worked well.

It turned out to be a lovely, simple afternoon. I enjoyed a coffee and cake while watching the planes take off and land. While my wife was up in the air, I took the kids for a walk and stumbled across some great little spots I’d like to revisit with my camera soon. Always nice to add new places to the photography list.

I had thought about squeezing in a bit of kayaking, but having a bad knee and been feeling a bit rough and drained lately put me off. Instead, Saturday has mostly been about getting organized for our long drive down to Holland early Monday morning. The plan is a up and out 2am for a 5am train, followed by a four-hour drive from France through Belgium into Holland for a week at Duinrell. It’s a trip I’ve been promising my kids for a while now—it’s somewhere I visited back in 1999, and I remember it fondly.

Of course, the big question for me is: what pinhole camera and film do I take?

Right now, I’m leaning towards the RealitySoSubtle 6x6f, which should be perfect for continuing my theme park pinhole series. I’ll probably load it with Kodak Gold 200, though I might pack some B&W film as well—just in case.

I also want to set myself a little challenge for the way home: 1 day, 1 camera, 4 countries, 4 photos.
That means:

• one photo in Holland before leaving,

• a stop in Belgium for another,

• then France,

• and finally (hopefully!) making it back across the Channel in time to catch a coastal sunset for the last shot.

That last one will be tricky—the evenings are drawing in fast—but if our crossing isn’t too late, it should be possible.

The camera I have in mind for this challenge is the RealitySoSubtle 6x17. Since it only shoots 4 frames, it feels right for a project like this. Still, I’ll keep my 6x6 with me just in case it’s more suitable.


Birthdays come and go, but the adventures we share and the photos we make are what stick.