!!!Tulip Fields

by Stas Sedov
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

One month ago, Sergey Shandin and I went to Holland to photograph tulip
fields, among other things. However, the unusually warm spring almost
ruined our plans. When we arrived at the famous Keukenhof Park, featured
in practically every travel guidebook, we realized that there were
almost no tulips left to shoot: park workers were cutting the remaining
flower fields right in front of us. Needless to say, we immediately flew
our helicopter and took some pictures, but the result was rather
disappointing.

[{Image src='01_Tulip fields.jpg' caption='Tulip fields' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='617'}]

We spent the entire day driving through the neighboring areas, where we
found several fields of tulips, but they were rather small. Besides,
almost all of them were heavily fenced off from nosy tourists.

[{Image src='02_Tulip fields.jpg' caption='Tulip fields' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='565'}]

In the evening, Sergey googled up pretty decent aerial photographs of a
tulip field. The location of these photos was unclear, however, I
managed to find its precise coordinates with the help of satellite maps.
The downside was that the field was located on the other side of the
country. The good part was that the "other side of the country" was only
about 100 kilometers away from our hotel. So, we decided to give it a
try on the following day.

[{Image src='03_Tulip fields.jpg' caption='Tulip fields' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='577'}]

It was clear after our first flight that we were right about this place.
The tulips had not yet been cut completely, and there were practically
no tourists around. We worked with all the gusto we had, trying to
capture the most interesting angles that were impossible to shoot from a
regular plane.

And here are few facts about country of tulips.

Despite the fact that the tulips are the most famous symbol of
Netherlands, the people of Holland have not been familiar with these
amazing flowers until the middle of the 16th century. The first few
bulbs were brought to the country by the professor of botany, Carolus
Clusius (also known as Charles de l'Écluse) from Austria, where the
bulbs, in turn, had arrived from Turkey.

[{Image src='04_Tulip fields.jpg' caption='Tulip fields' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='573'}]

With great enthusiasm, professor Clusius dove into a cultivation of
tulips and soon received impressive results. With additional help from
favorable climate conditions and soil structure, the entire Holland soon
was swept away by "tulipmania." The demand for the flowers was so big
that people, regardless of their social status, spent a fortune just to
possess a rare bulb, which at times could cost more than gold. The
history knows of a buyer who exchanged his beer bar that cost 30,000
florins, for one bulb of a tulip.

[{Image src='05_Tulip fields.jpg' caption='Tulip fields' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='621'}]

Soon, this tulip craze reached such an enormous scale that the
government had to interfere and put an end to the trade. In 1637, they
passed a law prohibiting all business operations with tulips. Bulb
prices dropped at the speed of lightning, and the entire tulip market
crashed. It took the country a long time to recover after such a large
"flower crisis". But, then, business oriented Hollanders figured out a
new profitable way to make money: exporting tulips abroad.

[{Image src='06_Tulip fields.jpg' caption='Tulip fields' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='701'}]

Today, Holland grows about three fourths of the world market supply of
tulips. The Keukenhof Park, mentioned above, is not the only place to
see tulips. During their short blooming period, (no more than 2 weeks in
the spring) the entire country turns into a bright "tapestry" full of
colors, and also — when looking from above — an amazing geometry of
beautiful lines.

\\ \\
[11 Panoramas of Holland the Country of Tulips|Geography/Europe/Netherlands/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Holland_the_country_of_tulips]










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