Reeuwijkse Plassen

Waterland just behind Gouda

The Reeuwijkse Plassen are a collection of twenty lakes, large and small, formed by peat extraction during the Middle Ages. The area sits between Gouda and Bodegraven and is managed by Staatsbosbeheer. What you get here as a photographer is a combination that is not easy to find in the Netherlands: open water, reed beds, small islands, and a sky that can do whatever it likes. With no ridge or tall buildings filling the horizon, light is everything.

Mist, autumn and soft mornings

The best moments are early mornings in September and October. When the water temperature is still relatively warm and the air temperature drops, mist drifts across the water. That combination of reed silhouettes and fading lakes works particularly well with a longer shutter speed, think half a second to two seconds, to smooth out the surface. A tripod is not optional but essential.

Sunset has character here too, though the eastern side of the area is less interesting at that time. Drive or cycle to the western side of the lakes, towards the Raadhuisweg or along the Nieuwenbroeksedijk, for an unobstructed view of the setting sun with reeds in the foreground. In summer the light is too harsh and the vegetation too green and dense. Autumn gives the reeds structure and colour, and the low sun helps even during the day.

Composition and focal length

A telephoto lens, somewhere between 100mm and 300mm, helps you compress reed patterns or isolate a reflection from its surroundings. With a wide angle on a still morning you can convey the sense of space well, but you really do need that mist or a dramatic sky to make the image work. Flat water without interesting light gets dull quickly.

What also pays off is getting physically low. The reeds as foreground, the water surface as middle ground, the sky as background. Three layers that keep each other in balance.

Practical

There are several car parks along the Reeuwijkse Hout and at the Elfhoeven recreation area. The area is freely accessible to walkers and cyclists. Some of the banks are privately owned or overgrown and hard to reach on foot, so a folding bike or kayak gives you more options. Be aware that water sports users in the pre-season and summer can disturb the quiet light.

Sources and further reading

• Staatsbosbeheer, Reeuwijkse Plassen
• Gemeente Bodegraven-Reeuwijk
• Wikipedia, Reeuwijkse Plassen