Tournai, Hainaut, Belgium. A dog jumps for his drink. by Scott Jarvie. http://www.jarviedigital.com/

To learn more about this area click: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournai,_Belgium

HOW I GOT STARTED

I was studying languages at BYU (Utah)
I was on my way to Europe, Belgium in Particular.
(To work in a Supermarket.)
I was at Walmart and made the decision to pick up a digital camera.
(My first)… A Casio

While in Europe (this particular time) I traveled to 6 different countries.

I’ll say a word about that first trip to Belgium
and some of the pictures/memories of the places and events in Belgium.

A Few Pictures and Stories of Belgium

The Capitol of Belgium is Brussels
And the heart of Brussels is the La Grand-Place.

In the grand place the tourists stream in and admire the old historic square.
At nights in the summer they’ll enjoy light shows and music and from time to time performers like this one.
I was still learning about photography and playing with my new toy so at this time a long exposure like this (handhelp) was a big deal… and I think it was a sign of things to come.

La Grand Place is a world heritage site as of 1998 UNESCO
Also see an interactive 360degree panorama of the square

This fountain is just a short walk from the Grand-Place in Brussels.

I passed by it several times and caught it once at sunset.
As a beginning photographer back in 2004 there was so much for me to know on the technology field… if one this I could say that I regretted was that I shot almost all of my pictures on the low setting. Needless to say I don’t do that any more… but I was poor and memory cards were expensive in those days.
I say that because this picture is one of the few I took at a high resolution (4mp)

Random church off the beaten path in the historic district of Tournai, Belgium

This has to be one of my favorites (most memorable) pictures… and experiences of my whole stay in Belgium that summer.
I was traveling with a friend to a historic town on the border with France.
We had already gotten to the point where my college friends touring with me knew that I loved taking pictures and they didn’t have to take very many because I was always snapping away.
I took this shot and then one second later with my slow responsive point and shoot I tried again because there were birds flying about.

I Never expected it to happen like this…. This was shear luck, something I’d be proud to reproduce now as a professional photographer. But I must admit I could probably try and try and try and still not have it work out this perfectly (i’d probably overthink it)
What a nice kind bird to appear in the picture… not only that, but to be situated perfectly with his wings spread out and facing the camera so perfectly.
Truely an unforgettable experience that even with it’s luck factor made me think I might have something.

Another picture in Tournai… The fountains in the middle of town

Tournai : Wikipedia information
The cathedral there is also a UNESCO world heritage site

It’s always nice to point out the places you suggest to travel to.
Though it’s well visited, I would still consider this town more or less a hidden treasure in Belgium.

One of the primary focus of any old historic country/city is the architecture.

Old historic church building in middle of Antwerp

On the other hand the house i lived in… countryside of Walloon Brabant

Since then I’ve been back to Belgium and have taken many more pictures.
At that point in time I thought I was prolific because I took 3000 pictures in 3 months and over 1000 of belgium alone. Which is a lot for back then and for many folks now… but nothing compared to my more recent trips.

Just a little of my take on my first trip to Belgium and some views of the country.