Bouw

Heiloo, Zuiderloo in aanbouw

 Heiloo

Blad

 Sloten.

Dutch Comic Con, the pictures

We visited Heroes Dutch Comic Con this weekend. In the Jaarbeurshallen in Utrecht.

It was a surprisingly beautiful, even endearing gathering of geeks and nerds being completely themselves. Wonderful how everyone was themselves, no matter how you walked or what you did. What I also found surprising was the diversity of the populations attending the event. All colors of people were represented, and they were from different age groups (I was a bit on the old side myself).

The atmosphere was fantastic. Everyone did their thing. No whining.

Next time again.

The Naval Base by Rob Hornstra

Den Helder and its Naval Base

The Naval Base photobook cover by Rob Hornstra

The book The Naval Base (De Marinebasis in Dutch) is a photobook that is part of a project and exhibition by Rob Hornstra. The book’s subject is Den Helder, the city in the north-west of the Netherlands that has hosted the largest Dutch naval base since 1947.   

A Declining City in Pictures

The city’s economy and social structures became dependent on the naval base. Still, in the past decades, defense budget cuts and technical development in defense have led to a sharp decrease in defense-related jobs in the small city of Den Helder.

The book documents the city in 2021. The pictures by Rob Hornstra and the accompanying texts by Arnold van Bruggen breathe the atmosphere of a declining town and a city with an aging population. The deadpan and unadorned pictures of the city and its inhabitants are tastefully combined with the texts. There is also some positive news: the city’s fresh air is unique, and the opportunities for tourism are largely unexplored.

Den Helder naval base photography by Rob Hornstra