Canals of Amsterdam by Night
The world-famous and the World Heritage Site canals of Amsterdam are perfect for night time photography. The colorful lights and the beautiful old buildings re...
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The world-famous and the World Heritage Site canals of Amsterdam are perfect for night time photography. The colorful lights and the beautiful old buildings reflect in the calm waters of the canals with many of the churches and other architectural buildings in the background all lit up.
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Jun, 2016Views
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Peer Award
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Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
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kamalavenkatesh
November 16, 2016
Thank you Viewbug and the community for this honor! I don't know how I missed this back in July! Thanks to all who voted for this picture!
kamalavenkatesh
December 09, 2016
Thank you Viewbug community for the Member Selection Award, feel truly honored since there are soooo many wonderful photographers and photographs on Viewbug!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken near the Red Light District of Amsterdam along one of the many canals. The canal of Amsterdam have been declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Apartments line the canals and the water reflects the beautiful lights in the houses as well as the buildings themselves.Time
I took a tour of the canals with my camera with the intention of photographing the buildings by night. They are gorgeous and a sight to behold during the day time, but at night, they take on a very different look and the canal acts as a mirror and the lights appear like jewels shining brightly. I think this is the best way to see the canals, during the night time! The canals were built in the 17th century and many are in the river Amstel which runs through the city.Lighting
This was a long exposure due to the dark surroundings. However, the long exposure not only captured the light and the reflection in the water, but captured the beautiful buildings which are 350-400 years old. In addition to the apartments, many of the bars and cafes line the canals and offers a great place to dine late into the night.Equipment
I took these with a crop sensor, Nikon D3300 camera. The lens used was a kit lens 18-55 mm. at F22 and an exposure of 20 seconds. I definitely used a tripod and a shutter release. No flash was used. The time I took this picture was close to 9:30 p.m.Inspiration
Amsterdam is a charming city nothing like any I had seen. This was my first visit to Nederlands and I was intrigued by the old buildings, the unique architecture, and most certainly by the beautiful canals. These are working canals and a lot of commerce goes on during the day time. Many bridges cross over the canals and open up to let a large boat go through. In addition, some of the bridges are low and at night, lit with the most beautiful lights showing off the arches of the bridges. In the day time, one can take a canal cruise complete with commentary and most of the churches, museums, and famous buildings can be seen on a cruise of the canals. i am sure that a night canal ride will be spectacular.Editing
I did very minimal processing in my iPhoto app. I wanted to preserve the look of the scenery that I was lucky to see in person and so this depicts exactly what I saw in person. I did shoot in RAW, but as I said, none to very little post-processing was applied.In my camera bag
I was just beginning to photograph seriously. I now own a full frame Nikon D750 and have an assortment of FX lenses. My go to lens is the 24-70 mm F2.8. I also own a prime lens 50 mm F1.8, a 10-24 mm F3.5-4.5 as well as a 70-200 mm F2.8 lens.Feedback
I would, if I had another chance, shoot this exact same frame during the day, perhaps early morning to capture the sky-which is full of beautiful fluffy clouds and then capture it at night, preferably as late as possible to avoid vibrations from vehicle traffic. If the opportunity presents itself, it might be interesting to include bikes in the foreground. But my feeling is, you cannot go wrong photographing in Amsterdam at night, particularly in the Red Light District with all those colorful lights! One wonders what's going on behind those lights in the windows! A very intriguing and mysterious time of the night!
