Thoughts on surviving winter blues

Autumn in The Netherlands, when it shifts from a festival of colors to a festival of a color grey, is a time for me when instead of exploring the surroundings, I hide away at home.

Supposedly without guilt or regret, because there are no greater reasons to leave the house when I could be reading books and watching films instead.
Yet, I can’t ignore the voice that’s somewhere in the back of my head and whispers: you know that bad weather makes for good photography.

And I know leaving the house for photos in this weather is exactly like going for a run. When it feels like the last thing you want to do, you end up coming back with a personal best - or the best photos of the season.

I haven’t actually come back even once with my best shots, but I think that’s more a reflection of the fact that I’m going through a bit of a creative slump lately.
I decided to give myself some time to breathe - no pressure, no high expectations, just a chance to rest, take in some fresh air, and see where to go from here.

But, well. They say that an unused muscle withers away. So I had to exercise my index finger a little, if only to make sure it doesn’t forget the way to the shutter button.

Since my favorite place for both photography and getting some fresh air is the coast, the photos below come from two walks. They weren’t planned as dedicated photography walks, still, I had my camera with me as usual - and I’m glad I did.

Along the way, I managed to document the arrival of heavy machinery on the Zandmotor beach, nearby The Hague. Conservation work on the dunes has just begun there.
The photos are an addition to the body of work documenting the ongoing erosion of the coastline.