Windmill

What do you do with a cliche? At the Kinderdijk near Rotterdam, nineteen windmills survive within view of each other. They are a reminder of the ongoing battle between the residents of the Netherlands and the relentless sea. Standing in the golden light of late afternoon, with cows grazing to my right and ducks bobbing in the canal to my left, it felt as if I was in the middle of a 17th century Dutch painting. In the quiet, I thought about how and why something important and iconic becomes a cliche. Perhaps it is because something can be such a part of life (or the landscape) that it is not really "seen" any more. I made my photo and captured what may seem like a cliche. But for me it also represents a perfect moment.