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Holland is famous for a number of things, but windmills are perhaps the most iconic of all. Used to pump water out of low lying land, windmills played a vital role in a country of which two fifths lies below sea level. The name “Nederland” literally means “low land”.

No wonder that water has been such an influential force in so many aspects of every day life. After all, this is the country with dykes everywhere and is a nation that plays a dominant role in many water-related sports such as speed skating and swimming.

Today, modern engineering takes care of keeping land dry, but the Dutch are immensely proud of their wind-powered water management legacy. Windmills are a nostalgic icon of those early days and are enthusiastically preserved whenever possible. Nowhere is this more evident that in a place called Kinderdijk, where no less than 17 windmills are clustered together and present just about the most classic view of Dutch country side one can imagine. Needless to say it is a popular tourist spot and a great place to go for a day of photography.

I am hoping to take Linda there in May when we will be in the Netherlands so here is a shot to “get in the mood”. This is one of those 17 windmills at Kinderdijk and is a 3-shot HDR. It was a rainy day (as you can see from the clouds), but I was lucky to get this shot with some great reflections during a break in the rain.

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