NL365 is without doubt one of the most comprehensive photo books ever published about our country. Iconic images of windmills, Amsterdam canals and tulips go hand in hand with contemporary themes such as agricultural innovation, dance festivals, Dutch design and modern architecture. The rich history of the stubborn but tolerant Dutch also appears in the picture. With this, top photographer Frans Lemmens brings together all facets and disciplines in which he excels, and shows the Netherlands with all its beauty and specialness to the world. Lemmens shows us a vibrant Netherlands. This voluminous book is a feast for the eyes and an ode to a beautiful country.
A heavyweight photographic essay: NL 365 – A Year in the Netherlands
With 400 pages, 380 full colour photographs and weighing in at 2.3 kilos, NL 365 A Year in the Netherlands is very much a coffee table book.
The book aims to illustrate some of the most defining aspects of the Netherlands – its history and the struggle to hold back the sea, economy and innovation, its people and its landscapes – and there is at least one photograph to look at for every day of the year.
Most of the traditions are there, from the obvious like the North Sea swim on New Year’s Day or celebrating King’s Day, to the seasonal events that take place away from the public gaze, such as quiet reflection at the Allied forces graves at the Margraten cemetery in August.
Photos from outdoor art events are interspersed with orange clad football supporters gripped by a big game. A price winning tomato grower is pictured next to a geothermal plant. Solar power, urban street art, coots’ nests on the Amsterdam canals and even DJ Martin Garrix get a look in.
Throughout the book, lavish ariel photographs focus in on the distinctive Dutch countryside – from the fragmented polders of Oostzaan in Noord-Holland to river flood plains in the south.
NL 365 A Year in the Netherlands is, in short, a visual treat.
NB.: Previously published on DutchNews.nl
