STORY | LEIDEN

Her First Autumn in Leiden, by a Gate and a Mill

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Father with his laughing baby daughter on his shoulders and the mother smiling beside them under a willow on an autumn day in Leiden

Lily was not yet walking on her own. Her parents booked an afternoon in November, her first autumn in Leiden. They live a short walk from the Morspoort, so we met there, at the old city gate.

I planned a small loop from the gate to the windmill and the water. There was grass to sit on and there were trees for shade. That is how I like to work as a photographer in Leiden: one green corner, at a baby’s pace.

A Drawbridge at the Morspoort

The Morspoort is one of the two old city gates of Leiden still standing. It has white bands of stone and an eight-sided dome. We began on the white drawbridge in front of it, in a low November sun. Lily sat on her mother’s arm and laughed at everything, and that set the tone for the whole hour.

Parents and their baby daughter laughing on the white drawbridge in front of the Morspoort in Leiden, autumn sun on its dome

White wooden drawbridge over dark water on a sunny autumn afternoon in Leiden, the family small at its railing between golden trees — The drawbridge by the Morspoort, 13:14

A Blanket Below Molen De Put

A few minutes away, Molen De Put stands on an old bastion next to the gate. It is a wooden post mill, rebuilt on its original spot. We spread a white blanket on the grass right below it. Lily sat in the middle. Her mother dangled a soft toy just above my lens, so the biggest laughs went straight to the camera.

Baby girl in an olive dress laughing on a white blanket in the grass, the wooden post mill De Put rising behind her

A hand dangles a knitted toy above the lens while the baby on the blanket laughs up at it, the windmill and autumn trees behind

Then the sun came out from behind the mill and lit the fallen leaves around them. Both parents sat down on the blanket, and for a minute, nobody had to do anything at all.

Family sitting on the grass below Molen De Put as the low sun breaks past the mill, fallen autumn leaves around their blanket — Molen De Put, 13:21

Lily had brought her own company: a knitted doll in a cream dress, almost as big as she was. She hugged it and chewed on its ear. Later, she lay next to it on the blanket while I photographed them from above. When her father took both her hands, she stood up and shouted with joy.

Baby girl holding a knitted doll in a cream dress on a white blanket, the dark wooden body of the windmill behind her

Seen from above, a smiling baby lies on a white knitted blanket next to her doll, her olive dress and white tights on the wool

Baby girl standing with her father's help on the blanket, both laughing with open mouths below the mill in the autumn sun

Parents crouching in the grass in Leiden while their baby stands between them, holding their hands on a bright autumn day

Autumn in Leiden, Seen From the Water

Next, we crossed the Rembrandtbrug, a long white wooden drawbridge over the Galgewater. Halfway, we stopped with the sun behind the family.

Family of three in the middle of the Rembrandtbrug in Leiden, the white wooden drawbridge backlit by the low autumn sun — The Rembrandtbrug, 13:31

On the far bank, we found a spot among tall grasses, with the mill right across the water. Her parents kissed both of Lily’s cheeks at the same time. After that, each of them lifted her high into the sky.

Parents kissing their baby's cheeks at the same time among tall autumn grasses, Molen De Put across the water behind them

Father lifting his baby high toward the sky among the reeds, the windmill and its sails across the water in Leiden in autumn

Mother holding her daughter up above her head by the water, the post mill and a row of white houses on the far bank

Shoulder Rides Under an Autumn Willow in Leiden

Our last stop was a big weeping willow on the bank, its leaves turning yellow. First, all three of them stood close together against a wall of ivy. Under the willow, I then took a portrait of each parent alone, something they had never had.

Family of three smiling in front of a dense wall of dark green ivy, the baby on her mother's hip and the father hugging them both

Close portrait of a smiling woman with long dark hair in a peach sweater, the yellowing branches of a willow glowing behind her

Portrait of a smiling man in a grey striped sweater with his hands in his pockets under a weeping willow in autumn in Leiden

To finish, Lily rode on her father’s shoulders. He held her hands up high, her mother looked up at her, and all three of them were laughing. Meanwhile, the low sun slipped through the branches and left a small rainbow in the corner of one frame.

Father carrying his daughter on his shoulders beside the mother under a willow in Leiden, a small rainbow of autumn sunlight in the corner — Under the willow, 13:54

When I think of this afternoon, I see that last minute. Lily is on top of the world, in the middle of her first autumn in Leiden.

Baby on her father's shoulders holding his hands up high while her mother looks up at her, both parents laughing by a willow

Looking for more corners like these? My guide to photo spots in Leiden has them.

Planning an afternoon with your own little one? Discover how I work as a photographer in Leiden.