Oranje.

The Dutch love football (soccer). They also love their national team. They don't have national pride in a whole lot else, but Orange Fever sweeps the nation when the European championships creep nearer. Entire streets become orange as houses are covered in orange tarps for the occasion. Dutch flags fly, face paint abounds, and everyone whips out those orange clothes they keep stashed away especially for Queen's Day and important football matches (I have an Isaac Mizrahi dress in a very patriotic shade of orange hanging in my own closet). Even food gets dressed up for the occasion, and bakeries are stocked with orange-frosted goodies. So what's my favorite Orange treat?

Perhaps we'll find orange Oreos on the shelves soon...

Lost.

Ok, so some of you may have noticed my little-used 'Lost' blog. If you don't know what Lost is, go crawl back under your rock. For the rest of you, I'm not going to go on about it - I just want to gripe about the state of television in Holland.

I'm a huge Lost fan. It's a fantastic show - although it has become considerably less fantastic than it was at the beginning. Season three was really when it started to collapse, but I'm glad to see the writers taking their time this season trying to reclaim some of their former glory. The flash-forwards this season are a welcome addition - but who is the sixth? And does the baby count as one?

I digress. My complaint - Holland is one of the few countries that doesn't broadcast the new episodes within about 24 hours of their original broadcast stateside. We not only get it on Sunday, but we're also several episodes behind. It's absolutely heinous. And they're still showing season 2 of Ugly Betty and trying to pass that off as new! As far as I know, even the insular media of China is doing better. What is wrong with television here? Hell, we're still watching Malcolm in the Middle every night on our weird, twisted version of Comedy Central. When was that show on? Last century, I think.

The bottom line: TV in Europe sucks.

Portraiture.

I have opinions about a lot of things. One of my favorite things to have an opinion about is art, especially when it comes to people. There are most certainly good and bad ways to go about creating a portrait, but there aren't really any concrete rules about it. Yes, there are definitely guidelines - but there are plenty of good portraits that throw those rules out the window. At the end of the day, all I care about is that I like it, and it doesn't look like something some schmuck in a bowtie at Sears took.

To anyone who takes photos at department stores for a living - you need to quit doing that. They're bad.

This one's a favorite of mine. One of the things I really love about it is all the color. Taken in Bedford, England, with a crappy HP Photosmart. But you know, often enough bad cameras take really good pictures. It depends more on the person behind it. So for anyone who doesn't have a big fancy camera, remember that.

Babies are tough subjects. You can't pose them (although I think that very few portraits should be posed - candids are so much more compelling), and you never know what kind of face they'll be making when the shutter clicks. Staying tight helps - you want to be close to them to get the most interesting photos, and strange angles don't hurt, either. This was taken of my little Dutch baby today - she's one month old now!

More little Dutch babies... Lots of great portraits happen when the subject deosn't know you have a camera. I snuck this one of my friend and her baby; I think she still has no idea I took it.

Little kids are almost as tough as babies - in fact, sometimes tougher, since they run around more. Again, candid shots are great. The best advice: get a big lens and stay far away from them. Knowing they're having their picture taken is usually a recipe for photographic disaster. My little muffin goes nuts in front of the camera, striking poses and making ridiculous faces. At this particular moment she was just mad about leaving the petting zoo.

Like I said - get a big lens and stay far away. Just make sure no one thinks you're a stalker or pedophile. Best to do with your own children, or one you've borrowed from his/her parents for the day.

What happens in Holland stays in Holland.

I make an exception for crazy escaped birds. This one was pillaging our quiet street a while back, tearing blossoms off the trees. Why? Because he could, I assume. He had scary demonic red eyes - and no, it was not from a flash. I hate flashes (though I do concede that they have their uses).

Commitment.

I've decided I need to make a commitment to this blog - I have hundreds of photos squirreled away that no one ever sees, so I promise to post at least once a week (hopefully more, but you never know with a newborn around).

Hold me to it, faithful reader(s).