Amsterdam
We took a long weekend in Amsterdam two weekends ago and had a grand time. It's just over an hour's flight and we arrived to a beautiful sunny day. The area where we were staying was a mere hop from the central train station and very close to the sprawling residential area that hugs the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengrach. The canal houses were beautiful, inside and out, and I just loved the canals. Cafes and restaurants were dotted around (we tried for sometime to find an outside table, but it was pretty difficult) - it was charming and relaxing and it felt a million zillion miles from Dublin.
The "direct marketing" in the red light area was unexpected and really quite unique but not necessarily seedy. In fact you have to hand it to the Dutch: it a city with more legal vices than most, there was virtually no Police presence and everyone seemed to be behaving themselves. I think they might be on to something.
On Monday we visited the Anne Frank museum which was interesting but not in a shocking way. For sure the saddest part is they were dobbed in so very closed to the end of the war; the plan had nearly worked. On that note I bought the first of two volumes Victor Klemperer's WWII diaries, but I haven't started it yet.
Some photos here, nothing amazing. I shot some transparency film and it was a bit experimental. The beautiful dappled colours on the canals didn't come out like I'd hoped, and the scans I had made were both expensive and not good. But this one, and maybe this one, show the potential. Lovely crisp lines and colours and much much less grain that regular film. I'm thinking of buying a negative scanner for myself for Christmas - there is one company that makes some really affordable ones.
The "direct marketing" in the red light area was unexpected and really quite unique but not necessarily seedy. In fact you have to hand it to the Dutch: it a city with more legal vices than most, there was virtually no Police presence and everyone seemed to be behaving themselves. I think they might be on to something.
On Monday we visited the Anne Frank museum which was interesting but not in a shocking way. For sure the saddest part is they were dobbed in so very closed to the end of the war; the plan had nearly worked. On that note I bought the first of two volumes Victor Klemperer's WWII diaries, but I haven't started it yet.
Some photos here, nothing amazing. I shot some transparency film and it was a bit experimental. The beautiful dappled colours on the canals didn't come out like I'd hoped, and the scans I had made were both expensive and not good. But this one, and maybe this one, show the potential. Lovely crisp lines and colours and much much less grain that regular film. I'm thinking of buying a negative scanner for myself for Christmas - there is one company that makes some really affordable ones.
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