Zaanse Schans

Windmills and green timber along the Zaan

The Zaanse Schans is one of the most photographed places in the Netherlands, and for good reason. Dark green wooden houses, working windmills reflected in the Zaan, and an open sky that you simply do not find anywhere else in Noord-Holland. The risk is equally obvious: during the day the place fills up with tour groups, coaches and selfie sticks. The location itself is beautiful. Timing is what separates a postcard from a photograph that actually says something.

Early morning is not a cliché, it is a necessity

Come before sunrise. Seriously. In summer that sometimes means getting up at five, but you will have the site almost entirely to yourself. The first light hits the windmills low and warm, the water of the Zaan lies still, and all you hear is creaking wood and birdsong. That is the hour you come here for. Later in the morning, especially in the summer months, the quiet does not last long.

In autumn and winter you have more flexibility. The light is often more interesting and the crowds are considerably smaller. Mist over the Zaan in November, or frost on the grass around the windmills in January, these produce images you simply cannot make in summer.

Compositions and focal lengths

A wide-angle lens gives you the space to bring windmills, water and sky together in one frame. A 16 to 24mm on a full-frame body works well for broad overviews. But the location also lends itself well to a longer focal length. Use an 85mm or 135mm to isolate details from the windmills: the sails, the wooden structure, a window with peeling paint. The green facades reward attention to texture and colour.

The bank on the opposite side of the Zaan offers a different perspective from the one most visitors choose. Walk a little further along the water and you escape the most predictable viewpoints.

Practical

You can park at the visitor centre on the Schansend. Outside the high season this is free or inexpensive; in summer you pay more. The site itself is freely accessible, but entrance fees apply for the interiors of the windmills. Photographing from outside is always permitted. There is no permit requirement for ordinary photographers, only for commercial productions involving large crews.

More information about the location and the windmills can be found at the official Zaanse Schans website, at het Zaansmuseum located next to the schans, and at de Molenadviesraad for background on the windmills themselves.

Sources and further reading

• Zaanse Schans (officieel)
• Zaansmuseum
• Molenadviesraad