Photo Friday: Difficult shot

here's my plan: i'll be collecting my posts about my vacation in europe, if ever i finish writing it all down, and have the links in one post. i may be posting them not in chronological order as i luv remembering things as they strike me

i lost track of the holy week. we chose the perfect season for a vacation. we based it all on when the cure will have their concert, then reserved the first weekend flight to Amsterdam.

Prior to the flight, i wanted a day to day journal, i even bought a small scrap notebook, but i had no step by step plans, no schedule to strictly follow, nothing but pure adventure and unconditional trust to my tour guide *.*

Thus, i let each day pass with spontaneity. i lost track of my plan to write down a diary, but thats the least of my worries. in fact, i had no worries at all.

so, this will be my first entry.
maundy thursday, march 20, 2008, franeker.

After our afternoon walk (dont forget the fotoshoots - lol) in the streets of Franeker, and an early dinner of dutch food, he said he has a surprise for me. we rode his bike to a park. you have to cross a short footbridge to enter and a tall iron arch gate awaits at the other end. the park has a pond in the middle with about three species of ducks glazing by.

We were surrounded by trees waiting for spring, awaiting to bloom. the branches of the trees reflect their intricate details thru the water's pond, which in turn mirrors the faint dark hue of the sky. it was a beautiful scenery and i cant stop taking photos. wow it is a surprise! ..but that's not the surprise, he said.

sunset. he said i'll be seeing something that i may not have seen before at any moment. so i stood still, waiting. i felt the cool breeze pierce my layers and layers of coat, jacket and blouse. i smiled and closed my eyes raising my head up to feel the soft wind sliding thru my scarf, tickling my neck. the crisp air with the lingering smell of acorns and pine almost hypnotized me. then i heard something weird.

a distant growl of hisses chirping from afar, echoing in my ear. but as the echoes fade, i hear them coming closer by the second. so i opened my eyes and saw such an amazing sight.



and there they were. hundreds of swallows... no, thousands of them! floating in the air, flying over us.



they circled the park and went from tree to tree. they would settle on branches for a few seconds then fly away again.

later on, a new flock of birds from the opposite direction came flying towards them, like waves of the sea, only looking up, i saw how the groups merged into one. in a few seconds they fly going further like little black holes in the clear aqua blue sky. then, they separated again, in grace.

a ballet in the sky, as they dance with the wind. floating over us mortals who couldnt do anything but just look up, admire and be mesmerized. i was simply blown away, wide eyed and and bewildered! i have never seen so many birds fly so freely..



and yeah, it was difficult to take photos of them as more than half the time i was frozen on my toes in amazement.

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note: all photos best viewed in large. especially the last one. this is my entry for photofriday's topic difficult shot.