Aruba Today likes to show their readers, followers, friends the beauty of our island in all its aspects. We support individuals, foundations and organization that protect the island’s flora, fauna and culture. We know that these are the treasures we must preserve and the reason why our tourists visit One Happy Island. With words and images we share the wonders of Mother Nature, this time translated into the amazing pictures by photographer Erik Neuteboom.
About the artist.
“I was born in 1960 in the Dutch city The Hague. My late father was very much into photography and nature, I have inherited this from him. In the early Eighties I bought my first camera. During the years I had many hobbies but the last 10 years I focused on photography, combined with a start as ‘birdwatcher’. Now I am retired as psychiatric nurse and live since late 2017 on Aruba (with my wife Hetty), photography has become my main hobby. I love to show people how wonderful the Aruban nature is, especially on my Facebook sub-page Dushi Aruba.”
American kestrel in heavy weather.
“I was inside when I heard heavy weather, I ran to my porch, and saw an American kestrel sitting on a branch of a small tree. He was wet and moving from left to right by the strong wind. I succeeded to get my camera sharp, pretty unusual to see a bird of prey in heavy rain.”
Burrowed owl during sunrise.
“During my regular visits to a burrowed owl site I noticed that at sunrise a very short moment the contra light of the rising sun delivers a spectacular effect. I decided to use that in combination of the owls sitting on a wall, it took a few sessions but in the end I had my ‘dream picture’.”
Flight of the Merlin.
“The Spanish Lagoon is a small but very lush piece of nature, hosting many animals, including a wide range of birds. When I was walking back from my usual trip suddenly I heard a sound above my head, it was a Merlin, not very often seen on Aruba. Quickly I took my camera and was able to get a sharp shot, before it disappeared behind the trees.”
A Blue-tail hummingbird in full action.
“Since a few years I am fascinated by this ‘mini-helicopter’, and was determined to get good close shots. This needed a lot of time, caused many frustrations, but in the end I had found my ways to get those shots. Important are sunlight but not too sharp (early morning), a place with flowers, a lot of patience, and silent movements. I have used a speedy shuttertime (1/3200) in order to ‘freeze’ his breathtaking actions.”
A ‘Jean-Jacques Cousteau moment’ with a green sea turtle.
“I grew up with the jaw dropping footage of this Frenchman in the Seventies. At about 30 years later I was snorkeling at my favorite spot Boca Catalina and suddenly I noticed an eating green sea turtle under me, only a few meters away. Then he moved upwards and swum close besides me, a ‘wow’ moment. My only ‘problem’ was taking pictures or making a video, I choose for the first option.”
A school of Blue tang.
“The underwater world is something special, so beautiful, relaxing, varied and colorful. One of my most memorable moments was meeting a school of Blue tang fish, swimming over a wonderful piece of coral, with the sun shining, perfect circumstances, and I loved it. I succeeded to follow the school without disturbing them so I could make this colorful underwater world picture, blue is the color!”
