Autumn in Amsterdam. A nocturnal paradise
In early 2020, I planned a holiday for an upcoming milestone birthday. A trip away to capture the city where I spent my honeymoon. A city that is a nocturnal photography paradise - Amsterdam
Of course, a global pandemic threatened the original May booking date of the trip and this was understandably cancelled. I rebooked for early October. Thankfully, KLM was regularly flying out of Belfast City Airport and travel rules were relaxed enough for me to proceed with my 50th birthday present. I had been to Amsterdam twice before with my wife and so hadn’t taken too many photos and I was armed with more capable kit this time (Canon EOS RP and 24-70mm L series lens) and determined to blast through memory cards aplenty! I arrived in the Netherlands in the evening and Schipol airport was bathed in a myriad of lights. It had been raining and the wet tarmac was reflecting multi-coloured terminal and runway lights, creating a taster of what was to come. I was getting excited already!
I arrived at one of Amsterdam’s dancing houses, The Amstelzicht Hotel, hurriedly dumped my clothes and headed out straight away with camera and tripod. The hotel is situated on the Amstel river and made my first night’s location choice easy. I took many photos of the Magere Brug (skinny bridge), Carre theatre and the Amstel intercontinental hotel. Even the moon greeted me that night and I gladly included it in the first shot of the evening! Side streets and bicycles under streetlights made for interesting subjects too and time flew by. I returned to my hotel that night a happy man.
Over the next three days, I visited my intended Amsterdam locations and carried out reccies of areas that may have included unknown subjects I was unaware of. New architecture to explore at Oosterdoksieland, the Van Gogh museum entrance hall and generally unknown locations provided me with a cross-section of subjects and I revelled in the image capture and exploration of this fascinating city. The weather was on my side too. Autumn in Amsterdam was unseasonably mild and any heavy rain fell in the daylight hours, leaving me with dry evenings and wet cobbled streets. Street and architecture snappers love these conditions as it offers reflections and puddles. These aid in the setup and inclusion of foreground interest. Cool tools to add interest in images.
After taking shots along the Damrak and many canals, the Rijks museum, maritime Scheepvaartmuseum, famous hotels and streets, the time to return home had arrived all too soon. Amsterdam had proven to be a superb host as usual and the pandemic’s travel restrictions had greatly reduced the tourist population resulting in empty streets and the freedom to roam without crowds and packed shops etc. I gladly took advantage of the situation and even felt guilty that I was having such an enjoyable vacation in a time of great uncertainty and grief for others. Looking back, it was an inspirational, liberating and greatly enjoyable time for me and I am hugely thankful to my family for allowing me to travel and to the people of Amsterdam for their exceptional hospitality. It’s truly a fantastic city with great architecture, people and photographic opportunities.
