Autumn on 'Schier'

Last week, we spent a few days on the West Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog, often just referred to as ‘Schier’ by the Dutch. It was over 12 years ago since we last visited the island, for an assignment for which I had to write about walking routes in several different nature areas throughout the country. Back then, we got up really early, with some of my first shots of the sunrise taken through some bright orange sea buckthorn bushes at six in the morning. As I had some fond memories of that quiet morning walk and the early hours usually deliver the best light for some landscape photography anyway, this October Saturday needed to be an early one as well.

Our initial ‘grumbling’ changed when we walked up the dyke and saw the gorgeous sunrise over the Wadden Sea—as did a few other early birds, both human and avian… Some lovely views of the bright red lighthouse on the other side of the island were the icing on the cake, as well as some unexpected flowering Parnassia palustris, a plant that’s on the Dutch Red List of Threatened Species. And, of course, plenty of those bright orange-berried sea buckthorns....