Frugal Film Project 2024 - March

I travelled to Lake Naarden (Naardermeer) for the March edition of the Frugal Film Project. For those new to the project, the aim is to show that you don't need fancy photo gear to get great photos so in order to participate you select a camera-lens combo under $ 75, some cheap, well, make that less expensive film and shoot a roll every month for a year. I've opted for a Canon EOS 1000N with a 24-85mm lens and Agfaphoto APX 100/36. I also develop the film at home using Adonal developer.

Wind mill De Onrust at the edge of Lake Naarden

Lake Naarden is a nature reserve in the 't Gooi area of the Netherlands. These former marshlands are the first nature reserve in the Netherlands, established in 1905. Before that, there were several attempts to convert the marshlands into dry land. This was almost managed in 1629 but to stop the advancing Spanish Army from reaching Amsterdam the whole area was inundated. During the reign of Louis Napoleon  in the early 1800s another attempt was made, this time by building three wind mills to pump away the waters. These three mills together however did not have the capacity to pump away all the water. In 1883 a third attempt was made and a steam mill built. The costs to dry the entire area were deemed to high however and the area remained wet marshlands. In the early 1900s the city of Amsterdam then planned to use the area as a waste disposal area but local opposition was fierce, resulting in the creation of the preservation foundation Vereniging tot Behoud van Natuurmomenten. It was this foundation that bought Lake Naarden for 160,000 guilders and made it a nature reserve.

Of the mills, the steam mill building and one of the original three wind mills still exist. Wind Mill De Onrust (the Unrest) was built in 1809 and is still used to regulate the water level in Lake Naarden. It is this mill that I went to see.