STORY | ROTTERDAM

Digital and Portra 400 in Rotterdam, by the Euromast

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Couple sitting on the rim of a round fountain with bronze dancing figures in Het Park, a dark wooden chalet and willows behind them

One July evening in Rotterdam, Clara and Jun from Singapore had two cameras on them: my digital camera and a film camera loaded with Portra 400. They had married that spring, and Clara wanted a few frames like the ones in her parents’ wedding album.

We spent most of the evening in Het Park, at the foot of the Euromast, and ended on the Maas. Evenings like this one are what my photoshoots in Rotterdam are about.

A Fountain in Het Park

We met at a round fountain in Het Park, where bronze figures dance in a circle. Behind it stand dark wooden buildings with a café terrace, and tall purple flowers grow all around. Clara wore a cream jacket over a yellow top, while Jun wore a denim jacket. Her bouquet was a wild mix of red, orange and pink.

Couple standing among tall purple flowers in Het Park, dark wooden buildings and café umbrellas behind them on a July evening — Het Park, just after eight in the evening

Next, each of them had a few minutes alone among the flowers. Clara rested her chin on her hand and looked away. Jun, meanwhile, laughed at a joke I made and forgot all about the camera.

Woman in a cream jacket resting her chin on her hand beside a bouquet of red and orange flowers, purple blooms soft behind her

Man in a denim jacket and white T-shirt laughing and looking to the side, sitting in front of purple flowers and dark trees

One Roll of Portra 400

Film asks for a slower pace, so I take one frame at a time, never a burst. On the roll of Portra 400, the evening in Rotterdam looks warmer, with real grain in the shadows. The sun came through the leaves, and an ice cream cart stood under the trees. Of course, Jun soon came back with two cones.

Man eating an ice cream cone while she smiles with her bouquet and a rolled plaid blanket, a frame on Kodak Portra 400 — Kodak Portra 400, by the ice cream cart

After that, they stood back to back in the sun. Along a pond with weeping willows, Clara reached up to touch his face.

Couple standing back to back in warm sun under the leaves, her ponytail catching the light, on Kodak Portra 400

Couple embracing on a path beside a pond with weeping willows, a Kodak Portra 400 frame in the evening sun

Trying to choose between the two for your own session? My guide on digital or film puts them side by side.

Portra 400 on a Plaid Blanket

Clara had brought a plaid blanket, rolled up under her arm. First they sat close together on a bench. Then we spread the blanket on the grass, and they lay down with the bouquet between them. I shot that frame from above, so the checks fill the whole picture. Their rings made it onto the roll too, against the mossy bark of a tree.

Couple smiling close together on a park bench, her yellow top under a cream jacket, on Kodak Portra 400 color film

Couple lying head to head on a gray plaid blanket in the grass with their bouquet, seen from above on Kodak Portra 400

Woman touching her partner's cheek as they sit on a plaid blanket with the bouquet, a quiet Kodak Portra 400 frame

Two hands with gold rings resting on mossy bark, a denim cuff and a two-tone watch at the edges, on Kodak Portra 400

Under the Euromast

With the digital camera, we crossed a wide lawn with the Euromast above the trees and a red-brick villa beside it. Jun stole a kiss on the way, and Clara kicked up one heel. A little later, they leaned on the white railing of a footbridge. Below them, the pond was as still as a mirror.

Man kissing his partner's cheek as they walk across a lawn in Het Park, the Euromast rising above the trees behind them

Couple walking hand in hand across a wide lawn, purple flowers blurred in front and the Euromast above a red-brick villa

Couple leaning on the white railing of a footbridge in Het Park, the pond below mirroring the trees and the bridge

On our way out of the park, we stopped at the stone steps of a red-brick mansion. Clara wrapped her arms around Jun from behind, and both of them grinned.

Couple on the white stone steps of a red-brick mansion, her arm around his shoulders and an arched black door behind them — A red-brick mansion by the park, 20:39

Evening on the Maas

We ended on the Maas quay, a few minutes’ walk from the park. Across the river stood the Erasmusbrug and the towers of the Kop van Zuid. Clara lifted her bouquet high while Jun spread his arms wide. Then they sat on a white bollard as tugboats passed behind them.

Couple cheering with arms raised on the Maas quay, the Erasmusbrug and the towers of the Kop van Zuid across the river — The Erasmusbrug from the Maas quay, a quarter to nine

Couple cuddling on a white bollard by the Maas, a tugboat and two red apartment towers on the far bank behind them

Close frame of the couple facing each other and smiling, her bouquet between them and the river soft in the background

The last frames are close ones, on a jetty by the water. First came a kiss against the pale sky, then their hands side by side with matching gold rings. Together with the roll of Portra 400 from Rotterdam, these frames will sit right next to her parents’ album.

Couple kissing on a jetty with white railings by the Maas, a pale evening sky above the river and the far bank

Two raised hands with matching gold rings against a pale sky, a two-tone watch on her wrist and the bouquet in the corner — Matching rings, just before nine

Would you like your own evening on two cameras? Discover how my photoshoots in Rotterdam work.