PORTFOLIO / A TALENTED PRO MUSICIAN TAKES UP TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY

Captions are posted at end of the article.

MUSIC FOR THE EYES 

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER: CRAIG, SAN DIEGO CA

Meet Craig, a retired professional musician (piano}, who lives in North Park, a historic Arts & Crafts neighborhood in San Diego. After a career in music, he was able to live and travel comfortably around the world. Recently, Craig gave us access to his portfolio of travel photography. PillartoPost.org online magazine found his photography first rate. 

Craig (left), says a musician must be perfect for every performance--no bad notes allowed. He discovered photography is music for the eyes, plus it's much more forgiving (no one boos if you miss an image). Both his camera and piano are instruments that can be demanding. So far, he's found tremendous joy making each photo session an artistic "performance." For this post, PillartoPost.org thanks Craig for graciously lending his 2026 European images from the Low Countries.  Next time Craig will take us to India from 2025.

PORTFOLIO: LOW COUNTRIES: THE NETHERLANDS & BELGIUM

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CAPTIONS

1. The white building at the left is The Dylan Amsterdam hotel, at Keizersgracht 384. The picture was taken from the nearby bridge at Runstraat, looking along the canal. 

 

2. Diners enjoy the intimate lounge of Bar Brasserie OCCO, inside The Dylan Amsterdam at Keizersgracht 384, along the city’s Nine Streets. The historic canal-house setting pairs old plank floors, dark wooden paneling, and warm ochre walls with contemporary globe lamps and upholstered seating. A towering arrangement of red and orange flowers provides the photograph’s focal point, while the low available light creates a rich amber atmosphere. 

 

3. Burgundy-covered tables belonging to Restaurant ’t Hofke line the cobblestones of the Vlaeykensgang, Antwerp’s secluded passageway dating from 1591. Potted plants, hanging ferns, and candle lanterns lend the restaurant’s centuries-old brick courtyard its intimate atmosphere. 

 

4. A cyclist crosses the sunlit Grote Markt, with the Brabo Fountain and Antwerp’s ornate guild houses behind him. 

5. Here, Craig has moved close and filled nearly the entire frame with the pair. The mother’s dark, bulky coat creates a large visual mass, while the child’s lighter clothing and face draw the eye to the right. The coffee cup, bread, and purple drinking cup add small domestic details that make this feel like an observed Amsterdam moment rather than a planned portrait. 

6 Rain-beaded tulips create a vivid study in magenta and green found at the Keukenhof gardens near Lisse. 

7. This was taken at the Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, South Holland, the Netherlands—about 25 miles southwest of Amsterdam. The landmark is Keukenhof's historic windmill, built in 1892 and moved from Groningen to the gardens. 

8. What would you name a restaurant that sets its marble-topped café tables along Spaarne Street, between the passing city traffic and the Spaarne River? Cane-backed chairs face both the water and the street, giving diners a choice of river views or Haarlem people-watching. In the distance is the historic Melkbrug swing bridge. Answer: Spaarne66, of course. 

9. The ornate Zuiderkerkstoren, the tower of Amsterdam’s 17th-century Zuiderkerk, rises between Flemish-outlined brick gables. Designed by Hendrick de Keyser and completed in 1614, the Renaissance tower is crowned by an elaborate dark lantern and a golden weathercock. 

10. Jef Lambeaux’s 1887 Brabo Fountain commands Antwerp’s Grote Markt, before the ornate City Hall. The bronze captures the legendary Roman soldier Silvius Brabo hurling the severed hand of the defeated giant Antigoon into the River Scheldt—an act folklore credits with inspiring the city’s name: hand werpen, or “hand throwing.” Get it? 

11. A residential canal in central Amsterdam, identifiable by the narrow brick houses, bicycles, and small moored boats. 

12. Afternoon sunlight burnishes the varnished oak, glazed brick, and wrought iron of Haarlem railway station, the Netherlands’ only station designed in the Art Nouveau style. Architect Dirk Margadant’s landmark was completed in 1908 and is now a protected national monument. 

13. From the bow of a sightseeing boat, the image looks along the Plantage Muidergracht, a quiet canal bordering Amsterdam’s Plantage neighborhood. 

14. Craig stands farther back in this photo and allows the setting to become part of the design. The cat is placed off-center, toward the right, while the windows, blinds, and dark-green frames organize the picture into geometric sections. 

15. The image of the Cathedral of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) in Antwerp, Belgium, was taken from Antwerp's Grote Markt, the historic central square. The magnificent Gothic tower rises about 123 meters. The morning sun peers through the UNESCO-listed belfry. 

16. Sunlight pours through the yellow steel ribs of a covered access bridge at the Antwerp Cruise Terminal. The 70-meter pedestrian passage descends from Steenplein to a floating pontoon on the River Scheldt, where passengers board visiting cruise ships. ###