STORY | HAARLEM

Matching Black Outfits Along the Spaarne

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Couple in matching black fleece jackets and shorts walking hand in hand toward the camera, Molen De Adriaan across the Spaarne behind them

Noor and Stijn showed up in matching black outfits, as they do for almost everything. They met at a running club along the Spaarne. So for their Lovestory session in early July, we walked the river they know by heart.

Haarlem is their home, and it is a city I love to walk with couples as a photographer in Haarlem. Along the Spaarne, the windmill, the quays and the old streets are only minutes apart.

Matching Black by Molen De Adriaan

We met at a quarter past twelve on the quay across the water from Molen De Adriaan. Both wore black fleece jackets, black shorts, white socks and white sneakers. Even the windmill behind them was black. First Noor took a run-up and jumped into Stijn’s arms, and then they simply walked toward me hand in hand.

She jumps into his arms on the quay across from Molen De Adriaan, the windmill framed by a leafy tree and a pale summer sky — Molen De Adriaan across the Spaarne, 12:15

Close Under the Trees

A few steps away, a wall of dark green leaves gave us a quiet corner. Here I asked them to hold each other and tell me about their very first run together. Stijn’s answer made Noor laugh out loud, and then she pulled him in for a kiss.

Man with a ginger beard and woman with long dark curls hugging under dark green leaves, both smiling at the camera in matching black

Laughing woman with dark curls looking up at her partner as he smiles away from the camera, in a quiet green corner by the river

Kiss under a big tree by the water, the couple in dark fleece jackets holding hands among deep green leaves on a cloudy day

A Bench by the Houseboats

Next, we followed the quay past houseboats and planters full of red geraniums. Halfway, a long concrete bench invited them to sit down. Noor dropped her black backpack beside them and kissed Stijn on the cheek. Meanwhile, I moved behind the geraniums, so their red would drift across the front of the frame.

Couple walking hand in hand along a brick quay past moored boats and lamp posts, red and pink geraniums soft in the foreground — Along the quays of the Spaarne, 12:30

Woman kissing her partner on the cheek on a concrete bench by the Spaarne, a black backpack beside their matching white sneakers

Couple laughing close together on a stone bench, her legs over his and their hands joined, in matching black outfits by the quay

Red geraniums blurred in front of the couple on a bench by a houseboat, new brick apartment blocks rising behind them

Jackets Off, Still in Matching Black

By a quarter to one, the day had warmed up, so the jackets came off. Underneath, of course, they wore black again, now without sleeves. A white railing curved along the water toward the windmill and a bridge. Stijn lifted Noor up, and she threw one arm in the air as if she had just crossed a finish line.

Couple in matching black sleeveless outfits standing by a curved white railing, Molen De Adriaan and a bridge behind them

Man lifting his partner by a white railing as she throws one arm in the air, the windmill on the Spaarne behind them

Then Noor sat down on the railing. The kiss that followed became my favorite frame of the day.

Woman sitting on a white railing to kiss her partner, both in sleeveless tops, with the windmill and a bridge across the water

Molen De Adriaan rising behind a low bridge over the Spaarne, its dark cap and sails against a white, cloudy sky — De Adriaan behind a bridge over the Spaarne, 12:52

Last Frames at an Old Wooden Door

On the way back, we found a dark wooden door with deep panels. The jackets went back on, and the black fleece almost melted into the wood. So I came in close: foreheads together, a kiss on her hair, a quiet smile at the camera.

Cheek to cheek in front of a dark wooden door, the couple smiling at the camera in matching black fleece jackets

Foreheads touching and eyes closed in a smile, a close portrait in front of a panelled wooden door in Haarlem

He kisses her forehead as she smiles with her eyes shut, dark wooden panels behind their fleece jackets

In the last frame, Noor rests her cheek on Stijn’s chest, and both look straight at me. It was just after one, and their matching black outfits had done what they always do: they made two people look like one team.

Woman resting her cheek on her partner's chest and smiling at the camera, the last frame of their walk in matching black outfits — The last frame, just after one

Looking for more corners like these? See my favorite photo spots in Haarlem.

Planning a walk through your own city, in matching outfits or not? Discover how I work as a photographer in Haarlem.