STORY | HAARLEM

A Family Picnic in Haarlem With the Grandparents

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Family picnic on a paisley blanket under a big old tree in the Haarlemmerhout, the baby sitting between his parents

Bruno was almost one when his parents planned a family picnic in Haarlem, the city they have called home since they left Buenos Aires. His grandparents had just flown in from Argentina, so the blanket had to be big enough for everyone.

With a baby, I keep a session simple: one park, one blanket and lots of time to play. Days like this are what I love most about working as a photographer in Haarlem.

A Bench Under the Tall Trees

The Haarlemmerhout, on the south side of the city, is the oldest public park in the Netherlands. We met there just after noon, at a wooden bench in the shade of tall trees. Bruno sat between his parents in a knitted romper with blue waves and studied me very seriously. His mother did up a button, his father laughed, and before long the serious face was gone.

Parents laughing on a wooden bench under tall trees, their serious baby between them as his mother does up his romper

Family of three on a park bench in Haarlem, the little boy on his mother's lap and all three looking at the camera

Standing Tall on the Gravel Path

Next, we followed a gravel path along a wooden fence. Bruno rode in his father’s arms while his mother walked close beside them. When his father kissed his cheek and his mother pressed in close, he squealed with laughter. Then he stood all by himself for a moment between them, their hands ready just in case.

Parents walking along a gravel path beside a wooden fence, the father carrying the baby and the mother's hand on his back

Father kissing his laughing baby's cheek while the mother presses her cheek to his other side, three faces close among green leaves

Baby in a knitted romper standing by himself on a gravel path while his parents crouch close with their hands ready — A gravel path in the Haarlemmerhout, 12:38

Along the way, his mother had found a few blackberries. She held them out in her palm, and Bruno looked from the berries to her and back again.

Mother holding a blackberry in her open palm as her little boy in a wave-striped romper looks down at it, a finger in his mouth

A Family Picnic Under the Big Tree

Under a huge old tree, out came the blanket, red and blue with a paisley print. Wooden toys and a little red and white ball followed. Bruno sat in the middle like a small king. His mother lay down in the grass to play, her chin in her hand. From further back, I framed the three of them past a giant boulder at the edge of the lawn.

Baby boy sitting on a paisley picnic blanket among wooden toys, holding a small red and white ball in a park in Haarlem

Mother lying in the grass with her chin in her hand, smiling at her son, who plays with a ball soft in the foreground

Family picnic small beneath a huge tree in the Haarlemmerhout, seen past a giant sand-colored boulder in the foreground — Under the old tree, just before one

Little Things on a Paisley Blanket

Then came the small things. Bare feet next to a wooden rattle. Blackberries from his mother’s palm, picked one by one. A daisy she held out, which he took very carefully between two fingers. When he turned to look at the trees, I photographed his curls from behind.

Small bare feet beside a wooden rattle and a blue toy animal on a red and blue paisley blanket, seen from above

Tiny hand taking a blackberry from his mother's palm, above a blanket with red and blue flowers during the family picnic

A hand holding out a daisy as the baby watches it closely, the summer trees of the park soft behind him

Dark curls and a wave-striped romper seen from behind, the baby looking out at the sunny trees of the park

Three Generations at the Family Picnic

At three minutes past one, his grandparents arrived. His grandfather crouched down beside him at once, his grandmother looked on, smiling, and Bruno held court among four grown-ups. Soon everyone sat together on the blanket under the old tree, laughing at something his grandfather said in Spanish.

Grandparents arriving at the family picnic, the grandfather crouching by the baby while the grandmother stands smiling by a big boulder

Three generations on the blanket under the old tree, the grandparents beside the parents and the baby in the middle

In the very last frame, three generations sit close together, with Bruno on his grandmother’s lap. It ended a family picnic in Haarlem that nobody wanted to pack up.

Grandparents and parents smiling under the tree with the baby on his grandmother's lap, the last frame of a family picnic in Haarlem — The last frame, just after one

Curious where else a session in this city can go? Here are my photo spots in Haarlem.

Planning a picnic with your little one, grandparents included? Discover how I work as a photographer in Haarlem.