The facade of Amsterdam Centraal
Ok, I know - here's another train station, but I can't help myself!
The first step to knowing you have a problem is to admit it. So, I have a problem, folks. I love train stations. I am addicted to shooting them, especially in Europe. I make every effort to shoot whichever ones I pass through on my travels. I can't help it. Aren't they cool?
This is the facade of Amsterdam Centraal Station, which as the name implies is their big central terminal. And it's big! The facade is quite beautiful as you can see, but on my last two visits the interior was under such construction that there is not a grand lobby or central interior space to shoot (yet). I'm not sure, but there might be one and it's just hidden. If anyone knows, please let me know.
So I have had to satisfy my shooting addiction here by concentrating on the exterior. And heck, it's so awesome that's ok with me! I also grabbed quite a few shots from the train platforms, and will have to find some time to work on those. But still this facade is the main draw for me, photographically speaking.
The only downside was that I never made it here at sunrise or sunset, choosing instead to focus (no pun intended) on other spots during those times. So maybe next time I will get there during the edges of the day. I look forward to a return visit - it's a great town to wield a camera in!
A pond in Vondelpark
Do you ever walk in a park when visiting a foreign city?
Walking in a park is not something that normally comes to mind for me when traveling - unless I happen to be in NYC (which is very rare, sadly). I usually travel with a list of spots that I want to go shoot, and parks don't usually make the list, mostly because I don't think of them.
And I think of lots of things that I want to shoot in any given city (and I spend some time looking them up, plotting them on a map, and planning my route): architecture, churches, landmarks, train stations, street scenes, graffiti, rivers and more. So I should think of parks more often, but I don't. Maybe I'm wired to ignore them. I don't know.
But in Amsterdam I made an exception. My hotel was actually pretty close to Vondelpark, and one afternoon I had a little free time and therefore decided I would walk around over there before heading off to my next canal shot (and boy did I get a LOT of those in Amsterdam!).
I'm really glad that I went there. It's beautiful. I fully expected to walk around for a few minutes and then leave, but instead I wandered and wandered, taking a few pictures along the way. At some point I came across this pond and loved the clouds playing overhead and the gentle curve towards the reflected trees.
Night in Rembrandtplein
Some town squares are "plein" - but not this one!
Rembrandtplein is a square in Amsterdam, so named because the artist known as Rembrandt lived nearby many years ago. I have no idea what it was like back then, but I am pretty sure it lacked the plethora of bars, restaurants, and neon signs you can find there today. I also doubt the statue of Rembrandt himself was there back then. :-)
But today it's a nice gathering spot for wayward tourists who need a break, or photographers who like to fire brackets at things like this. I was there with my friend Michiel Buijse, and after meeting up and walking around for a while, we sat in one of those bars and had a couple of beers. It was still bright, and we were waiting on the sun to sink. Finally it started to, so we headed out to shoot.
We didn't really get far though, because there is a great little spot just behind where I was standing while taking this photo. It's perfect to get a shot of the canals, and bridges with lights on them. It was awesome, so we shot there for a while. Of course, being a fan of street scenes and neon signs, I had to fire away at this scene too!
Amsterdam's Bloemenmarkt
The floating flower market in Amsterdam!
The Bloemenmarkt is Amsterdam's floating flower market, and according to a quick web search it is the only one in the world. That's pretty cool. If you are into flowers, it's a great place to visit. If you are NOT into flowers, it's also a great place to visit. While you can buy flower stuff like seeds and bulbs here, there are also lots of other random things for sale.
There's a cheese shop or two. There are myriad shops selling souvenirs, many with naughty themes to them (hey, this IS Amsterdam). There's also a Starbucks in case you need to pep yourself up a bit. The list goes on.
I find the place pretty interesting. While I don't care so much about buying flower bulbs to take home and cultivate, and I am not concerned with a lot of souvenirs, it is a great place to people watch and since there is a canal there (remember, it floats) I am always up for firing some shots that include water (reflections being a favorite of mine).
I caught this one at golden hour one evening from the West end of the Bloemenmarkt. I had shot from the East side on the previous night while out with Michiel Buijse who lives in The Netherlands. We had a great time and I highly recommend you follow his work too!
Light trails in Amsterdam
Blue hour, canals, and light trails in Amsterdam - a great combo! Thank goodness for boat tours!
*** Shot at the intersection of Keizersgracht and Leidsegracht ***
If you have ever been to Amsterdam, you are probably well aware that there are lots of boat tours through the canals, and they are fun to do. But when I was there a few weeks back, I found myself waiting several times for a boat to pass, as I was shooting a canal reflection and wanted still water. That's no big deal - it's a typical situation when out shooting. I am always waiting on something.
But in this case, it was blue hour and the light was fading fast, and I had been standing here shooting for a bit already - I was just waiting for it to get a little darker, as the sunset ended up being a bore. At some point during this shooting, I saw a boat coming and could see a couple of lights on the boat.
I thought I would try a set of brackets while the boat passed, in hopes of getting a nice long light trail from it. As the boat approached and I started my brackets, there were also two cars that passed by on the intersecting roads. Luckily my timing was great, and I got all three light trails! Sometimes, things work out well!
By the way, at the top I listed the location of this shot - the intersection of two canals. I had seen shots from this location online prior to my trip, but NO ONE listed the location. What the hell? I literally could not find it ANYWHERE. Trying to visually locate a particular canal view in Amsterdam is the typical search for a needle in a haystack. So I resigned myself to wandering and wandering, which I actually enjoy anyways.
A bit earlier that day I passed a souvenir shop, and out front was a postcard stand with a shot from here on it. I picked it up, flipped it over, and sure enough it gave the name of the canals. I wasn't actually that far away, so it was a huge win for me!
Oude Kerk, Amsterdam
The Oude Kerk (literally, "old church") really lives up to its name. It's over 800 years old at this point, and is the oldest building in Amsterdam. It's also completely awesome, as you can see in the photo.
Prior to heading to Amsterdam, I made a list of places I wanted to visit there, as I normally do. This one was definitely high on the list. I love visiting churches in Europe, as I always find them so photogenic and beautiful, and this one was no exception.
I love how they mixed the use of stone and wood here, and found out that this is the largest medieval vault roof in Europe. That's pretty cool.
Interestingly, this church sits squarely in the middle of Amsterdam's red light district. Sort of funny if you think about it, but I guess they need it there!
The Rijksmuseum
If you ever go to Amsterdam, be sure and visit the Rijksmuseum. It's hard to miss, considering the size and location. It's a Dutch national museum dedicated to arts and history. It's pretty awesome, actually.
I did not go inside on this visit to Amsterdam, though I have been on previous visits. I just didn't have the time, but of course I did have time to shoot the exterior, which I just love.
I met up with Michiel Buijse, who is a Netherlands-based HDR photographer and all around great guy. We met behind the museum and spent an evening shooting around the canals. But this was our meeting place, and thus our first stop for some brackets.
As you can see, the sun was behind the museum and beginning its descent, so there was still some nice light but it wasn't directly on us. The only challenge here was avoiding all the bicyclists while we set up and fired!
Amsterdam rain
On my visit to Amsterdam last year, I only had a little time to shoot, since I was only there for 2 nights. So being a bit obsessive about this stuff, I squeezed in as much shooting as I could, despite limited free time, frequent rain, and general exhaustion from travel. That’s not usually a formula for productivity.
But despite all that, I actually walked away from that city (ok, technically I hopped on a train to Brussels) with a number of images that I like. This is one of them, and I am sure there will be more as I get to them in the old Aperture library. You see, I process my shots in a completely random order...so random in fact that there is not any order at all. I like it that way. It allows me to relive each trip a little as I go along.
I remember this scene and this moment as clear as if it was yesterday. I had stepped out of the hotel in order to get some cash from a nearby ATM, and of course brought the Nikon along “just in case”. Honestly, in a town like Amsterdam - with so many distractions - you could take a million shots along each block, but I showed some restraint and actually got the cash, even as I gunned a bunch of handheld brackets on the way. It's fun, even when you’re getting wet.
Colorful Amsterdam
Last light in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a very interesting city, and it's famously full of distractions of the questionable kind. But, it also offers the photographer some great shots, if you can find them at the right time. Most of my shots from this lovely city are canal views (and technically, this one is too) but in this case I was able to find a wide open view where the tall row houses were not blocking my shot. It was luck, really. I caught a glimpse of light down a short alley at around sunset, and bolted down it to find this view. Lucky me. It could have been a thug with a flashlight. :)
Technicals: Nikon D700, 14-24 wide angle lens (at 24mm), 7 exposures at f/13
Software: Photomatix to create the HDR, various filters in Color Efex Pro, and minor corrections in Aperture
Technicolor Amsterdam
Sometimes, you just have to push the boundaries of reality in post-processing. I try to keep things in check most of the time, but this photo just needed a little extra boost. It was a fairly overcast, gray day in Amsterdam, but I was not complaining because hey, I was in Amsterdam and wandering the city with my camera. Nothing to complain about there. I saw this wonderful canal, and then noticed this boat coming up and just knew it would add a little more interest to an already interesting scene.
Walking the canal
I enjoyed my visit to Amsterdam, though it was pretty brief. I would like to go back when I have a bit more time, because there really is a lot to see and shoot there. One evening I was back at the hotel and decided that since darkness was near, I had better step out for a few minutes and grab some shots. I left the tripod in the room and just went handheld since I only had a few minutes. The nice thing about Amsterdam is that the canals are literally everywhere, so you can barely turn around without seeing one. I love that. This scene caught my eye because of the lights twinkling in the water. I grabbed some quick brackets and kept walking.
I went a little moody on the processing here, because that's how I remember the scene. It was on the edge of darkness - not light, but not dark - and it was quiet since this was a small canal off of a small side street. But then I walked a couple of blocks, and found all the partiers. ;)
Amsterdam impressions
I really enjoyed Amsterdam, though it was a pretty quick stop for me. I think I was there about 48 hours total. Not nearly enough to really experience it, but enough to make a decision on whether it's a place that I like. Verdict: I like it! It had been over 10 years since my last visit, so my memory was getting a little thin.
There really is a lot to enjoy there, and I am not referring to the stuff it is known for. Sure some folks go there to party, but outside of the well-known and crowded areas there are some beautiful canals, quiet streets, and people going on about their lives. In other words, it's like any other place. Get away from the crowds, explore a little, go down some alleys, and you will get a richer experience.
Having said all that, this photo is actually from a well-known and crowded area of Amsterdam - the floating flower market. It is probably one of the best-known areas of Amsterdam. All these houseboats are tied up (that is the backs of the houseboats you see on the right of the canal), and they face a pedestrian street, with open fronts that sell all sorts of flowers and bulbs. It's very busy, but interesting and as you can imagine it attracts folks from all walks of life. Be sure and bring your camera!
Blue hour in Amsterdam
This was an awesome night in Amsterdam. I had finished dinner and was wandering through the many convoluted side streets and alleys. It's all very fun. I could see that sunset was over and blue hour was looking pretty cool, but being in these winding streets, I had no view of it at all. At the time, I was content to take street scenes and just enjoy all the goings-on there. Anyways, as I was walking, I happened to look down what I thought was a closed-in alley, but in fact it led to a dead-end which opened up to this fabulous view of their little harbor. I sprinted down the alley, set up quickly, and fired off lots of shots. Blue hour is my favorite time to shoot, and when I can find some water and nice reflections, it's a double win!
iPhone fun in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a great city, and if you have read any of my recent posts you may remember that I was in Europe last week, with a quick 2 days in Amsterdam. Although I did get out with my Nikon there, I haven't had time to work on the photos. So, I thought I would share a few iPhone shots I grabbed while there...
If you didn't know it, Amsterdam has more canals than Venice. They're everywhere, and they're awesome.
This lagoon is behind the Rijksmuseum, and has that awesome Iamsterdam sign down there at the end...
Though there are big canals in Amsterdam, each neighborhood has these little tree-lined canals everywhere...they really give the city a calm feel.
Here's another canal shot (lots of those!) but with some bikes in the photo. So many bikes in Amsterdam...
Ok, so this is another canal shot but hey like I said canals are everywhere! You would have to really try hard to NOT get a canal in a shot there! This is one of the bigger ones, near their Centraal Station (that's the Dutch spelling with the double "a") and here you get a good view of those wonderful townhouses that line the canal. A lot of the canal tours dock here as you can see - it's a great way to see the town!
Ok thanks for stopping by today and hope you enjoyed these! I will post more shots from my trip starting next week!