Three windmills on a dike in North-Holland
Three windmills on the Noordschermerdijk, Oterleek, Rustenburg. Windmills of the peat polders and reclaimed land of the Schermer-Beemster region. A "stijk...
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Three windmills on the Noordschermerdijk, Oterleek, Rustenburg. Windmills of the peat polders and reclaimed land of the Schermer-Beemster region. A "stijkmolen" (sweeping mill) is a water mill with a very low depth, which, as it were, "sweeps" the water from one body of water to the other; the mill itself has no function as a polder mill, although its construction is the same. In fact, it is a waterbody pumping station. The term "strijkmolen" was only used in North Holland.
When the water management was changed in 1941, the sweeping mills still in existence at that time lost their function. Eight of these still exist. West-Friesland, North-Holland, the Netherlands.
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When the water management was changed in 1941, the sweeping mills still in existence at that time lost their function. Eight of these still exist. West-Friesland, North-Holland, the Netherlands.
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SONY ILCE-6300
Aperture f/18 ISO 200 Shutter 1/80 Focal Length 1000/10 
Oterleek, Noord-Holland, NL
Aug, 2021Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
My sister and I were on our way back home from a round tour by car in North Holland, after a long day of photographing this under-sea-level polder area of the Netherlands where we live. Tired and close to home, we passed these three windmills at Rustenburg, Otterleek. It struck me how nicely their profiles were sticking out above the dike, so I begged my sister to make a stop one more time, which she always happily agrees with.Time
The weather had turned from lovely sunny spring weather in the morning to hazy, windy and shivery cold now in the late afternoon.Lighting
The sun was gone now and the sky was hazy. Very pale and uninteresting light to work with, but it did give these three 'old gentlemen' a kind of heavyweight dignity, as they stood there steadfast and undisturbed.Equipment
My sister had to stay in the car parked at the side of a busy road, so I grabbed my Sony ILCE-6300a camera and my FE 100-400 mm telelens. I had to work quickly and run back a few 100 meters down the road, so I didn't carry my tripod but worked out of hand. Also, I had to balance at the edge of a ditch to find the right viewpoint, in order to make sure the blades of the first and second mills were not touching one another, so a tripod wouldn't have been of much use here.Inspiration
I always love to photograph windmills, they are a favourite subject for me. It always strikes me how many windmills there are in this part of the Netherlands. Other than in Flanders, where we originate from, windmills were not only used to grind grane but also, like these three, to scoop and drain the water from lower parts of the land to the higher situated streams and waterbodies. It's amazing how cunning people in the Netherlands were to regain the older land from the sea and lakes. these windmills are the silent witnesses to the hard work and struggle of settlers and farmers in days long gone. I love to document that!Editing
Yes, since I photograph in Raw, I always post-process my work in Lightroom. I had to bring up the shadows and the contrast a bit. Then I also brought down the highlights and worked the dehaze slider and some local adjustments to make the faint clouds come out a bit more.In my camera bag
I use to always carry a lot more than I actually use, afraid to miss something when I am out there in the field. Next to my Sony camera and telelens I also carry my 16-50mm standard lens, two macro-adapter rings, a NISI filter set, some lens cleaning tissues, a rain cover for the camera, lens cleaning materials and some small equipment like a pocket lamp, whistle, tape, cords. Of course I try to never forget extra batteries and memory cards!Feedback
If you would like to scout for windmills in this area, Google and google maps are great guides. Quite a lot of the traditional windmills in the Netherlands are still functioning and open for visitors, kept open and working by volunteers. Check before your journey for openings hours etc! And when you visit, do not hesitate to start a conversation if the miller or any of the volunteers are around. They usually are very enthusiastic and may have lots of interesting stories about 'their' mill.
