Amsterdam Street Three

Stealing a kiss on a canal in Amsterdam.

Final installment of Amsterdam street photography. As with the previous two posts canals and bicycles are prominent. Never have I seen the possibilities of street photography as in Amsterdam, The few I’ve shared don’t scratch the surface.

Amsterdam is a young town, with a energy and openness like none other.

Being from a small town I underestimate how fast scenes in cities evolve, many times I should have been using a faster shutter speed.

Bike sharing is incredibly.

Even boats around canals are incredibly popular.

Evening boat rides around canals are incredibly popular.

Some boaters passed a serenade.

Amsterdam Street Part Two

Photography, Street, Travel

Time to look at more pictures from Amsterdam, one of the best spots to people watch I’ve ever encountered.

Public transport in Amsterdam.

Failed focus in this image. So many layers, but the focus in in the wrong spot. Should be on the boater.

Canal boaters frequently fill boats to max capacity.

Kids on bikes in precarious positions are commonplace in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam street part one

Photography, Street, Travel

Above: Houseboats line one of many canals at sunset in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is a thriving city of diversity with immense cultural importance. Spectacular and somber museums, unique window shopping and an openness to marijuana all make Amsterdam a bit mind bending.

Easily one of the most enjoyable aspects of Amsterdam for me was simple people watching. Unfortunately, like much of my street photography, I struggled with sharp images or misplaced focus. I think the city had a certain hustle, — cars, mopeds, bikes and boats — I had never experienced before, and it took me awhile to catch up.

Though Amsterdam could easily become overwhelming it’s someplace I would like to return.

Perhaps my favorite image from Amsterdam. The family feels timeless — mother and children in motion, an impressive bike. The background is strong with of many micro layers.

A determined mother shuttles children in a large basket on a bicycle.

Juxtapose

Baby on bike with rain and blur.

Belgium, briefly

architecture, Photography, Portraits, Street, Travel

Above: A duo poses for a picture in front of Manneken Pis, a tiny bronze statue of a young boy urinating. I like taking pictures of people taking pictures, this one has a quite comical element. August 10, 2014.

Not an awful lot to say in this post, was only briefly in Belgium. I will say that Manneken Pis, a small statue of a young boy urinating, is far too popular.

The amount of people around and photographing the statue in the heart of Brussels is baffling. I almost feel bad contributing to the hysteria by posting three photos of the statue. I’ll admit, it is kind of cute, and the figure is often dressed in different costumes – which is probably charming. But with that said, I still don’t understand the draw of this little character.

A small girl gets a shoulder ride past the small statue Manneken Pis.

Crazy crowds surround this far-too-popular figure.

Gorgeous turquoise ceiling of a Brussels church.

The Atomium – design to resemble an atom – was built for the World Exposition of 1958.

Munich Streets

Photography, Street, Travel

Above: The Marienplatz, “Mary’s Square” in english, in central Munich. Pedestrains gather with New Town Hall in the background.

München is the capitol of the German state of Bavaria, and the third largest city in Germany. The southeastern city carriers old-world charm with churches and town squares while melding touches of modern style.

Bavaria as a whole holds everything from beautiful, culture rich villages, to the Nazis first concentration camp, to lovely landscapes. I will explore them all in future posts.

Todays post will feature some street shots from Munich.

A half-second exposure expresses commotion at Munich main station.

Party goer with a pineapple.

Theatiner Church in the baroque style.

Circles and squares.

Newspaper reading at a cafe.

Street lights reflected after rain, Munich, Aug. 3, 2013.

Travelers at Munich main station.

A walk through Teufen, Switzerland

architecture, Landscapes, Photography, Street, Travel

Above: Rolling hills occupied with farm houses and fields weave toward the Swiss Alps, July 24, 2013.

On the northern edge of the Swiss Alps, Teufen is one of many small villages situated along a rail line and parallel two-lane highway. Quaint sights were common while walking the main road. Farms, fields, flowers and felines, mountains, meteorological stations, clouds and signs all spoke of Switzerland.

Directly off the train a colorful sign post and Lambrecht Polymeter, a hygrometer-thermometer instrument that can measure humidity, dew-point temperature, saturation temperature and partial pressure of water vapor.

Click on any image to view in carousel.

Moderately confusing direction sign at Teufen train station.

Lambrecht’s polymeter station 1

Lambrecht’s polymeter station 2

A short walk was abound with great sights.

A hayfield begins in this backyard, construction cranes visible in the distance.

Swiss facade with flowers and feline.

Luminous and contrasted clouds.

Yukon Quest day one

Alaska, Photography, Sports, Street

Above: Straight down view from the parking garage during the start of the 2014 Yukon Quest international sled dog race.

The Yukon Quest kicked off February 1, a world famous 1,000 mile sled dog race between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon. Dog teams pull sleds and handlers along the namesake Yukon River, up and down summits and through treacherous trails in some of the worst weather imaginable. A true endeavor for dog and man alike.

The race alternates start and finish between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, this year was Fairbanks. The Chena River in downtown Fairbanks is the usual starting spot, but due to unseasonably warm temperatures the ice was deemed unstable and the race started on 2nd Avenue. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people lined the street to send off racers.

I wasn’t on assignment so I casually photographed the race from the top of the parking garage. I love the chance to combine rugged dog mushing with a city scape – particularly from a high perspective.

Looking west a dog team leaves start gate of the 2014 Yukon Quest.

Looking east a dog team works toward the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks.

Town of Adventure – Chamonix, France

Landscapes, Photography, Sports, Street, Travel

Above: View of flower boxes, mountains and the river that runs through the town of Chamonix, France, July 20, 2013.

Following the fantastic bike ride through Burgundy wine country, the adventure town of Chamonix, France, only 190 miles south-east, was a logical next stop. Surrounded by mountain fortresses, Chamonix is situated right on the border with Italy and Switzerland. It is perhaps the most accessible and popular gateway to explore the vast Alps.

Under foot a cold, silty, glacial-fed river bisects town. Overhead clouds veil and expose mountain peaks, gondolas whisk explorers in a web-like maze, climbers tackle treacherous peaks, and dozens of paragliders waft down and around in strong wind-currents.

The town itself is a resort town – crowded, lots of shopping, and lots of people tromping around in mountaineering gear. Needless to say the reason for visiting was not to explore then town – but the surroundings. Those surroundings will be featured in future posts – particularly the Aiguille du Midi, an intense, two-gondola trip that ascends sheer-rock faces to an astounding 12,605 ft. (3,842 m,) in roughly 40 minutes.

Paragliders pepper the sky, cable-car wires hardly be seen stretching from one mountain peak to the other.

Paragliders pepper the sky, cable-car wires can hardly be seen stretching from one mountain peak to the other.

Being pulled on a bicycle through the main square in Chamonix, mountain peaks projecting in the background.

Windows – Piano, Dog, Cat and Abstract

Abstract, Alaska, Black & White, Film, Photography, Portraits, Street, Travel

Above: Piano lessons at night through a window in the University of Washington district. Shot on a Kodak Retine IIIc, 35mm film.

Windows, the current weekly photo challenge, can mean many things. Look in or out a window to see opposites. Eyes are windows. A window of time carries heavy implications. Windows are simultaneous openings and reflections. Insight into others and self.

Throughmylens posted two wonderful windows to look through – one in British Columbia and one in Italy.

Im excited to feature film frames this post. I have been neglecting film recently, so it’s good stimulant to shoot and process more. Two are film, the abstract black and white and the color frames are film.

Abstract frost patterns in a window at Creamers Field – 120mm Illford film.

Cat watches world.

Dog watches world.

Beautiful Burgundy Bike – Sunset Scenery

architecture, Landscapes, Photography, Sports, Street, Travel

Above: A tree silhouetted amongst wheat fields at sunset, Bourgognes region, France.

It’s time for the third and final installment of the bike through Bourgognes region of france. Part One portrayed some of the many small villages and vast vineyards. Part Two took a closer look at some of the facades of rural French architecture. Today we’ll take another look at Rochepot Castle, some dramatic scenery during a stunning sunset, and a few more looks at grape vines.

Unfortunately my Alaskan blood deals poorly with warm temperatures. The three liters of water I took was insufficient for 22 miles, and by the end I didn’t have any fluids to sweat out. The result was a suspected case of heat shock. All in all nothing too serious, does make me glad we waited to start the bike until afternoon when it was cooling off, rather then heating up in the morning.