Dries Buytaert

Newest photos

This page shows my latest photos, newest first. They offer a glimpse into my personal life. I have over 10,000 photos on my site. For older photos, check out my photo albums. This photo stream is also available as an RSS feed.

Areal view of Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing, capturing the evening commute with pedestrians, traffic and electronic billboards in the early evening light.
Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, one of the world's busiest intersections and epitome of urban hustle.
Geese swimming in a pond with the iconic Boston Public Garden bridge as a backdrop.
The geese are back in Boston. Warm and sunny days are coming!
A traditional French raclette grill with melting cheese, scraped onto a plate in a warm, inviting setting.
Stan has been excited all week for our raclette night in the French Alps. And true to tradition, he ate more raclette than anyone else. Stan, the raclette-champion, strikes again!
A ski resort at dusk with ski lifts, a small wooden cabin, and a sky with shades of purple and blue.
View from our rental apartment in Les Arcs, France. We got up early to prepare breakfast for our family and saw the sky turn purple as the sun came up.
Three people sitting at a dinner table lit by candles, enjoying a glass of wine.
We hosted Owen Lansbury, the current Chair of the Drupal Association, at our house while he was in Belgium for a conference. We talked about Drupal for hours and shared a wonderful dinner together.
A camera monitor show a behind-the-scenes view of a woman being set up with a microphone.
Getting mic'd up for a discussion on the future of digital healthcare with Jeff Walpole (CEO of Phase2) and Deanna Ballew (SVP of DXP & AI at Acquia) at our Boston headquarters.
People in Scottish kilts gather around a well-stocked table in a candlelit room, toasting together after enjoying a bagpiper's performance.
Enjoyed my first Burns Night with friends dressed in kilts, haggis, authentic bagpipe music, toasts, and thoughtful poetry.
A smiling elderly woman wearing a paper crown.
Feeling fortunate to have shared yet another Christmas with my 95-year-old Oma!
A table decorated with candles, pine branches and Christmas holiday ornaments.
This Christmas is really special for us because it's the first time we're celebrating in our new home in Belgium. The table is ready and waiting to welcome our family.
A family hanging the lights on a Christmas tree.
Hanging lights on the Christmas tree.
A UPS driver as seen in the side mirror of his delivery truck.
Marshall, the best UPS driver we ever had.
Two people in a kitchen preparing a turkey on a wooden cutting board.
Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday, mostly because it's focused on spending time together and enjoying food, rather than being centered around gifts or materialism. The tradition of preparing a turkey together captures the true spirit of Thanksgiving.
A a large, empty picture frame in a room with ornate wallpaper, candles, old paintings, and antique furniture.
I finally visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum after living in Boston for more than 12 years. The museum is famous for its art, but also for the 1990 theft of 13 artworks. The empty frame in my photo once displayed a Rembrandt valued at tens of millions of dollars.
Two adults preparing a pizza while a young boy watches.
Enjoyed a weekend in the Belgian Ardennes with my family. Since I'll be in Boston on my birthday, we had a very early celebration. For my birthday meal, I asked for a family pizza-making contest. The photo shows my parents making their pizzas with Stan observing. The highlight? My pizza won! A nice birthday present.
Cozy living room with a lit fireplace, candles, and a coffee table displaying a book.
Welcoming the colder weather with a fire. Cold outside, cozy inside.
A glowing light bulb hanging in an underground tunnel.
25 meters underground in a champagne tunnel, which often stretches for miles/kilometers.
Champagne bottles upside down.
Bottles of Reinart champagne stored upside-down. This collects the sediment at the bottle's neck. After the sediment is consolidated in the neck of the bottle, that part of the bottle is frozen. The crown cap is removed, and the built-up pressure pushes out the frozen plug of sediment. This process is called "disgorgement".
An open bottle of Collard-Picard champagne in focus, with a man drinking champagne in the background.
We were fortunate to visit Collard-Picard, a renwowned champagne producer, in the heart of France's champagne region. The owner, Olivier Collard, took the time to give us a private tour. The picture captures Olivier drinking his own champagne.
A vineyard leading to a picturesque village next to a river, set against a backdrop of fields and hills.
The Champagne region in France.
Socked feet next to a laptop on a table, alongside a projector.
The weekend before each DrupalCon, the Drupal Association's Board of Directors typically convenes for a two-day meeting. Occasionally, shoes come off ...
A hiker trekking on a ridge towards a mountain peak.
Klaas hikes from Mount Lafayette to Mount Lincoln along Franconia Ridge, with one of our next peaks looming behind Mount Lincoln.
A wooden signpost indicating various trail directions.
At the summit of Mount Lafayette after 6.6 miles of hiking. Just 3.8 miles to Liberty Spring Tentsite.
A hiker seated on the ground, looking deflated, eating some food to regain energy.
On the edge of giving up, just half a mile shy of Mount Lafayette's peak (shown in background).
A hiker filling a water bottle from a small stream.
Refilling our water supplies at a stream on Garfield Ridge Trail. On many stretches, you won't find fresh water for miles, so you have to plan ahead and carry 2 or 3 liters of water (4-6 pounds).
A hiker with a large backpack ascending a trail with large rocks in between trees.
Making our way up to Garfield Ridge Trail toward Garfield Mountain. Because the trail can be steep and requires careful footing, it slowed down our pace.
A person filtering water and pouring it into a pot on a camp stove.
Waking up to a gourmet meal: boiled creek water meets dried delicacies!
A hiker on top of a cliff, raising his trekking poles in triumph.
At the top of Mount Bondcliff, known for its dramatic cliffs.
Vanessa hiking down what is a ski slope in winter.
We hiked up and down Killington Peak in Vermont. In winter, Killington is a bustling ski resort. Parts of our hike were on the slopes. Another 4,000-footer in the books!
A close-up of the aluminum exterior of an Airstream basking in a warm sunset glow.
We spent a few nights in an Airstream, an iconic American trailer recognized for its rounded aluminum exterior.
A percolator viewed through an Airstream window, evoking nostalgia and cozy camping vibes.
Of course, we brought our trusty percolator along for our Airstream "glamping" experience.
A wooden table with flowers in front, with a woman sitting in a chair in the background.
We've finally moved into our new home after 2 years of renovations. Vanessa is taking a break after a day of unpacking, organizing and setting up.
A boy uses a ladder to climb onto a dock from the water.
Summer vibes! Swimming in Turkey's Ulugüney River with the locals to beat the heat.
A person leans over to blow out a candle on top of a slice of cheesecake.
Axl turned 16! I'm filled with pride seeing the young man he is becoming. We celebrated this milestone with a beer, a moment we both looked forward to. (In Belgium, the legal drinking age is 16.)
My mom eating fries from a nostalgia-filled blue platter.
When we were kids, we would sometimes eat fries on the couch as we watched TV. We ate them on blue platters. Recently, my mom shared these memories with my sister and expressed her sadness that we can't return to those days. In response, my sister planned a surprise "Blue platter fries night". Those blue platters hadn't been used for 20 years and were hidden away on a forgotten shelf. But last night, the five of us – my parents, my brother, my sister, and I – enjoyed fries on our blue platters again, just like we used to. Organizing it was a bit of a challenge since I live in the US now, but I'm so glad we did!
In a dark forest, tree silhouettes stand out sharply as bright car lights cut through, also revealing heavy rainfall.
Due to the heavy rain, lightning, and thunderstorms, various campers jumped in their cars and left. We caught glimpses of their car lights through the trees. There is something special about listening to the rain pattering on your tent, so we chose to stay and enjoy the experience.
A candle on top a cooler, gently casting a warm glow on a person peacefully asleep in a camping chair.
We went camping in Maine for the weekend. On the first night, it started raining heavily with lightning and thunderstorms. Luckily, we had made a fairly last-minute decision to buy a tarp, which helped us stay dry and comfortable throughout the evening and night.
A meal in an aluminum container on the beach beside a hiking boot.
We had a great time hiking 6 miles near Crane Beach in Massachusetts. The trail took us through beautiful dunes and out to the beach. The loose sand made it feel more like a 9-mile hike though. Halfway through, we had a delicious lunch made by Vanessa - orzo with vegetables, served right on the beach. Great day!
People laughing while sitting at a table and eating food.
Evening BBQ with friends visiting Boston. We chatted about life and family while enjoying G&Ts, wine, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, and steak tips.
A person laughing, holding a cork in each hand after solving the party trick.
First, enjoy two bottles of wine with friends. Second, utilize the corks for party tricks.
A red lighthouse standing tall in the dunes.
A lighthouse nestled in the dunes of Julianadorp, The Netherlands.
Vanessa standing on a step, with one leg raised in the air, as she climbs over an electric fence.
Certain sections of the Schoorl Dunes are home to free roaming cattle. These areas are fenced off, requiring us to climb over an electric fence to continue our journey through the dunes.
Dries sitting on top of a dune with his backpack next to him.
We packed sandwiches and water, and set off on a 12 km (7.5 mi) hike through the Schoorl Dunes in the Netherlands. The trail had lots of ups and downs on the sandy dunes, making it twice as challenging. It was a nice workout and a beautiful hike. Photo taken by Vanessa.
Dries and Vanessa laughing while looking at a beautiful sunset.
We decided to escape to the Wadden Islands for a few days. We're enjoying beautiful sunsets, bike rides through amazing dunes, and scenic hiking trails.
A woman stands in front of a massive window, overlooking office buildings in the city of Pittsburgh.
Ash, who helps me design my presentations, staring out the windows at the Pittsburgh Convention Center.
Two women sit in a large ballroom, laughing, while all the other chairs around them are empty.
Baddy and Vanessa at the A/V check before my DrupalCon Pittsburgh keynote. The room was really cold, but that didn't ruin their fun. I captured this photo from the main stage.
Dries sitting at a dinner table, laughing.
The weekend before a DrupalCon we always have a 2-day meeting with the Drupal Association Board of Directors. Saturday evening we hold a casual dinner. During dinner, Ryan Szrama used my camera to capture this photo without adjusting any settings. My camera is completely manual and lacks auto-focus, so it was either sheer luck or Ryan is secretly a camera genius!
An older man in a gray suit reading a newspaper at an outdoor restaurant table.
A New Yorker engrossed in his morning paper. I bet he could smell the pages of the Wall Street Journal.
A door with posters, one of which is partially torn in half.
Split face
The silhouette of a man walking through sunlit interior of the Oculus building.
The Oculus transportation hub at the World Trade Center in NYC.
A man holding a camera standing in a beam of light.
I had a personal photography workshop with Phil Penman. He taught me how to use natural light to my advantage and even volunteered to be a model for me.