Dutch Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans, who has figured in this blog before, receives a commemorative plate depicting the Collège néerlandais by architect Willem Marinus Dudok. Yesterday the official website was launched to raise funds for the dearly needed restauration of this wonderful building. If you want a room named after yourself or want to see more of my images of it, you can visit the site by clicking here.

Yesterday evening at eleven o’clock I passed the Louvre and went berserk with my new 24mm tilt-shift lens. This is a four second exposure of the glass pyramid in front of the old and vast museum that once housed the royal family. It’s not that hard to understand the French revolution when you see what royals built for themselves back in the days.

Finally I’ve found some time to look at images I shot during a trip to the south a month ago. This photo of reflections of trees in the Dordogne river was taken on March 14 in the Auvergne region, right after I found a snake and just before I found a bat and nearly squashed a scorpion with my car. France resembles Africa in more ways than meet the eye.

This is the only shot I got of the Olympic flame on the Champs Elysees. Because of protests against China’s interference in Tibet, everyone got an exhilarating view of… nothing. Well, actually: of police in all it’s varieties. Plus one glimpse, one second, of the flame. I can’t really blame the protesters for seizing the moment but I just want sports to be what it’s all about, and politics ain’t on the list. As I’ve said before: I’m a barbarian…