Portrait head-shots are more important than ever before in the age of social media, LinkedIn and ubiquitous visualization of everything. This one of Ben Crabbe – a pastor with our local Church – grabbed me and is typical of my style.
Technical details; Nikon D700. AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm, f/3.2, ISO 3200 @ 1/25th s
“St.Paul at the Rijksmuseum”
Rembrandt’s masterful self-portrait “Self-portrait as the Apostle Paul” which hangs in the Honor gallery in the Rijksmuseum, became the focus of this shot, which I took during the Pritzker Architecture Prize Dinner over the summer … an event where I was the official photographer.
I was inspired by the shot of President Obama looking at the painting earlier this year. Rembrandt’s gaze can easily be interpreted as pitiless. What did he make of Obama? What, indeed, would he make of this elite dining in fine style in this place?
The picture has one important lesson in it for any aspiring photographer; it is crucial to be aware of your surroundings as you look for an original image. What can you use to construct your shot that other people might not think of? This might look obvious but it only looks that way in retrospect.
If you like this image please send email to [email protected] for rates to hire me for your next party, special event, congress, conference or Christmas festivities.
One of the many extraordinary blessings of living in the neighbourhood that we do in Amsterdam is our local Italian restaurant Cucina Casalinga run by the irrepressible Giovanni – and more than ably assisted by the wonderful Carlo. Recently on Trip Advisor I described Casalinga as delivering “consistently brilliant Italian food & service”. We started going to Giovanni’s 3 years ago for take out pizza. They do fabulous pizza for sure – the best in Amsterdam – but then, one day, one of their regular customers started chatting to us as we awaited our pizza. He told us that we had to dine there “properly”. We did and since then we’ve been devoted regulars. I suggest you read their reviews on trip Advisor and start to do the same. You may find fancier Italian food in Amsterdam but you won’t find a better atmosphere or homier cooking or tastier.
When Giovanni called me one day and said he wanted some new photos well, of course, I was thrilled. I hope I did justice to some of his and Carlo’s amazing food!
Cucina Casalinga is on Stadionweg 271, 1076 NZ Amsterdam. To make a reservation and find out contact details visit http://casalinga.nl/
Italian Restaurants in Amsterdam
Technical details; Nikon D700. AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm, f/5.6, ISO 400 @ 6 seconds
“Bike Light Trail, Amsterdam “
There’s no secret to this but so much of photography is the angle you choose to compose from.
So often when I see people taking pictures in the street, I wonder whether they have put any thought into their angles.
This is a great example of being able to create a more striking image by changing the angle.
Normally I’d have had my camera at eye (hand held) or chest (tripod) level for shooting this bridge. On this occasion I’ve just rested the camera on the ground and seen what transpired. Then I got this really interesting light trail from the bike through having the shutter open for a longer time.
I hope you like the image and let me know if you are interested in purchasing it or spending some time shooting in Amsterdam with a one on one lesson to improve your photography skills.
Please send email to [email protected]
Technical details; Nikon D700. AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm, f/3.2, ISO 1250 @1/10s.
“The Legend of the Holy Drinker”*
Summer . Amsterdam . 2014
This photograph feels timeless to me. A friend and I were out shooting late and we’d been trying to capture the atmosphere in this bar on a summer’s night in the Canal district. The trouble is, we were on our tripods and I felt that was inhibiting me. So I took the camera off the stand and hand held. Immediately I felt more likely to get the shot I was looking for. This guy – the Holy Drinker – was nice but I decided that I wanted to have some motion to create interest both inside & outside the bar. So I set my focus point to the doorway, cranked the ISO to 1250, stopped up to f/3.2 and set the shutter to fire at a really slow 1/10th of a second. The reason for the slow slow shutter speed was simple; to capture the motion blur of the cyclist. Finally I set my Nikon to “continuous” mode so I would have been taking 2/3 images in a half second. That way, what seems like a coincidence – the Holy Drinker supping on his beer with the cyclist being perfectly placed at exactly the right moment – suddenly feels like less of a coincidence.
If you are interested in having a street photography lesson or purchasing a framed or mounted fine art print of this photograph for your home, please send me an email to [email protected].
*With apologies to Joseph Roth
I skipped the D800 for the simple reason that I’d just bought myself a D700. The D700 has been a remarkable camera and is the business for a full time professional like myself. However, this Nikon D810 has had great reviews and now it is time to invest in one. Take this glowing praise from the Rockwell review; “The Nikon D810 astounds me with how well it can handle multiple assignments, from ultra-high resolution gallery and fine art production, botanical field work and scientific record-keeping, military reconnaissance and industrial espionage to family, portraits and fast action — and it works astounding well down into the dark with autofocus that’s fast and sure in dimmer light than I can see. Of course it’s super-clean at insanely high ISOs.” I am diverse photographer with a range of interests in a number of fields. That sounds like the camera for me! Thanks Nikon ;)
As always happens during the glorious long weeks of early June we are having some fabulous blue evenings in Amsterdam right now. This is when the canals look their very very best and when I am not busy editing, I like to hit the streets with my tripod. Here are a few I took during this most recent full moon last week. Thanks for looking and, as ever, feel free to share the link! There was very little cloud cover this night so it was difficult to get any dynamism from the sky. This shot taken looking towards the Westerkerk on the Prinsengracht was the exception.
One of many fun events that I cover as the official photographer of the British Society in Amsterdam is their Blind Date Night. Whilst not always successful on the romantic front, its always a huge amount of fun for everyone who takes part.
During the preparations for last week’s Pritzker Architecture Prize ceremony, honoring the extraordinary work of Shigeru Ban I found myself alone, for just a few moments, in the NightWatch Gallery of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. That. Never. Happens! Because I was on an important job of course I had my camera with me so I couldn’t resist taking it out and taking a few shots. Two of which are below. What a privilege .. I only wish I’d had a bit longer with these stunning pictures.
This is the rather less well known “Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis” by Rembrandt. It stands alone in its own gallery space and gives one a sense of how extremely alone we were.
The ridiculously brilliant “NightWatch” by Rembrandt van Rijn. One of my favourite paintings by my favourite painter bar none. Do I live in Amsterdam because I love Rembrandt? No. But it certainly helps to love him and live here!
During a recent portrait photography shoot just outside Amsterdam, in the family home I came across this incredible looking feline! Have you ever seen anything like it?
