Imaging The Netherlands 039: Cargo Bike in Groningen (GR)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

039: Bakfiets, a cargo bike.

With little over 200 thousand inhabitants, Groningen is the major city in the northern region of the Netherlands. The presence of a university attracts thousands of students to Groningen. The easiest way of transport in the city is by bike. Bike are found anywhere in the city, and are parked literally anywhere. Therefore, many residents have attached an announcement behind the window with a request not to park the bike against the window. You can imagine that students might lose the eye on their bikes, because of too many bikes of similar brands, shapes and colors. In order to recognize the two-wheeled vehicle with more ease, many students decorate their bikes in different colors and color combinations. But the three-wheeled cargo bike in the photograph won’t need any additional identification mark. The cargo space, most probably to carry children, is quite unique, easy to recognize.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017

Imaging Brazil 309: Dark Clouds over Faculty Building in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

309: Dark clouds over Economics Faculty

From 2005 to 2014, I was regularly found in the campus of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Belo Horizonte. I had my space at the Faculty of Biological Sciences, and I was a frequent visitor of the Faculty of Information Sciences. Since I was invited to join a student travel to Salvador in 2006, I have made many friends there, and have joined various gatherings and parties. I have played numerous matches of Braziliaan pool billiard (sinuca) in the early evening hours. The UFMG campus is really large, it more resembles a little town. Large faculty complexes are spread across the campus, only few faculties – among them the Faculty of Medicine –  remain outside this Pampulha Campus. One of the newer faculties is the Economics Faculty as seen on the photo. At that hour, really dark clouds hovered above bright colored complex.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017

Imaging Brazil 305: Bus Mirror in Minas Gerais, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

305: Bus mirror

Between 2006 and 2011, I made a number of long bus trips with various groups of university students. These students attended annual meetings, spread across the immense country. Especially the coastal cities in the northeast were very popular for these meetings. The students attended workshops, presentations and discussions, and in the evening they participated in various parties and music programs. I didn’t have to attend these meetings, but I gratefully took advantage of their invitation to get to know the country better. My final bus trip with these students was in November 2011: a meeting in Campo Grande, capital of Mato Grosso do Sul, near the border with Bolivia. A journey that lasted over seventeen hours. The picture shows a side mirror of our bus.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 303: Pre-Carnival Percussion in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

303: Praia da Estação

In contrast to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Recife and Salvador, Belo Horizonte has no carnival tradition. For a long time, the time has been known as the place to go when you want to escape from carnival activities. More recently, the city has invested a lot in the development of carnival, including carnival parades. In 2010, a pre-carnival activity was created with the intention of better use of public areas in Belo Horizonte. The large, refurbished square in front of the railway station, Praça (square) da Estação, was renamed into Praia (beach) da Estação. Mainly students gathered during some Saturdays to enjoy the warm and sunny January days. They brought their beach towels, sunburn cream, and beer. A number of street carnival groups (‘blocos’) played there too. Some members of a percussion group are seen on the photo.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 295: Sunset at Gunga Beach, AL (2010)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

295: Gunga Beach sunset

When I was accompanying a group of students on their way to João Pessoa, a day was spent on the beach of Gunga in the state of Alagoas. Following my visits in 2008 and 2009, it was the third time I stayed at this  beach paradise. Just like the first time, the bus driver had to use all his experience and agility to guide the bus over the bumpy and paved secondary road. Most students immediately searched for the nearby beach pavilion and ordered a large amount of beer right away. This was not my intention, I preferred a long beach walk, with a camera in my hand. Late afternoon, we enjoyed a breathtaking sunset.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017

Imaging Brazil 185: Bridge on the São Francisco River, PE (2008)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

185. Bridge 

JANUARY 2008: Bridge

It was a long and adventurous bus trip from Belo Horizonte to Fortaleza, capital of the state Ceará. On the way to Fortaleza, which lasted no less than four days, we visited the beach resorts of Porto de Galinhas, Praia de Pipa, and Canoa Quebrada. The return trip was much shorter, only two days. From the capital, the highway across the arid landscape of the state of Ceará was followed. The bus drivers insisted to leave early in the morning, in order to reach the border with the state of Pernambuco before sunset. The highway Ceará was known to have frequent raids happening, especially at night. It was very hot that day, we had put all the windows wide open for some ventilation. The landscape was surprisingly interesting and varied, and I shot hundreds of photos of it. The sun was about to set, when we finally reached the São Francisco River that formed the border with Pernambuco. There was a bridge under construction, but the bus was – like the cars and even trucks – transported by ferry across the wide river. We had to wait patiently for the arrival of the ferry, before we could continue our way home.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2008, 2016

Travel in Brazil: Salvador (BA)

SALVADOR (BA)

July 2006. I suddenly received an invitation to join students to their annual meeting, in Salvador that year.  We went by bus, the bus ride took more than 24 hours.  Before we arrived in Salvador, we spent a day on the beach in Olivença, a coastal city south of Salvador.
Almost all students spoke no English, and I did not speak Portuguese by then. Despite this language problem, I was very well accepted by them, and long-lasting friendships were started with some of them. Most of the time I was accompanied by a student named Carol. She guided me during my stay in Salvador. Initially, some students were wondering why I was taking so many photographs, and writing down some data. They joked that I must be spying for my native country, to prepare the second Dutch invasion. I quickly corrected them that there already had been two Dutch invasions at least. They suddenly went silent. For me this travel became the start of another two dozen bus travels with students to various locations throughout Brazil.

The Lacerda Elevator connects the lower city of Salvador (close to Mercado Modelo) to the upper city (close to Palácio Rio Branco), giving access to the historic center of Salvador: Pelourinho. This 72 meter high elevator was inaugurated in 1873 and transports about 30 thousand passengers daily.

Camera:  SONY DSC-P73
f/8,  1/320 sec. ISO-100

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