So it’s Victory Day (May 9th) in Russia and we’re standing on the corner of Tverskaya and Bolshoi Gruzinsky next to the neighborhood Starbucks waiting for the parade to come by. The parade kicks off with a ceremony at Red Square and then heads down Tverskaya. At about 11:00AM the parade of military hardware (tank, heavy artillery, rocket launchers, mobile ICBMs) starts passing by. In occurs to you as you’re watching that 25 years ago a lot of this stuff, especially the ICBMs, were pointed toward the US. Things sure have changed over the last 50 years…
If you’re interested I’ve put together a brief slideshow of some of the hardware that passed by during the parade. If you like military hardware you’re going to love this one!
The easiest way to see the show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42720731
I’ve also posted the show on my Web site: www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com Click on the “RUSSIA” link. The filename is: victory_day_2012.exe
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
On Light and Dark in Mockva
21 мая 2012
Back in the fall I posted a piece about how the days were getting shorter and shorter here. At that point the sun wasn’t up until a bit before 11:00AM and sunset was about 4:00PM. Well, were on the other side now.
It starts getting light now between 4:30 and 5:00AM and it’s not getting dark until about 10:30PM.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
It starts getting light now between 4:30 and 5:00AM and it’s not getting dark until about 10:30PM.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Sunday, May 20, 2012
On Dubai
18 мая 2012
Nancy had a professional meeting and I was able to accompany her as her entourage. We were there for 5 days leaving at 1:00AM(!) Thursday morning the 9th and returning Monday the 14th.
Dubai is one of the 7 states that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the west side of the Persian Gulf next to Saudi Arabia. The emirates were originally independent kingdoms that merged together in the 70s to form the UAE.
As most of the emirates, Dubai is well endowed with oil residing on a strip of coastline along the Gulf. Twenty kilometers in off the coast the terrain is all hot dry desert. The city is very linear with the main roads running north and south. Along this strip the city has mushroomed into a long parade of amazing buildings, parks, malls and tourist sites. The old city of Dubai is near the coast and along the Dubai Creek. Dubai was originally a trading port and is dotted with souks. Souks are market areas that tend to sell the same goods. There are souks for gold, jewellery, carpets, spices and our goods. They are open-air markets were haggling for a price is common between shoppers and merchants. We spent our first afternoon in the souks in the +100 degree sun.
Cars (big, expensive cars) are one of the major ways people get around in Dubai due to its long, spread-out nature. There is a brand new elevated Metro system that has just opened during the past year or two and is still unfinished. Like almost everything is Dubai it is new, shiny, comfortable and efficient to move around town. In spite of this cars still dominate the landscape and they along with electric plants are causing a significant problem with smog and haze. Add to that 100+ degree weather and you find it’s hard to see even moderately spaced buildings in the distance due to thick smog. Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world (orders of magnitude higher than the Empire State Building in the US and the smog can be so thick that it’s sometimes hard to see the top.
Note to photographers: If you take a look at my outdoor shots you’re not going to see as much smog as I’ve described above. I used polarizing filters on my lenses which eliminates a good bit of the haze and glare off of the smog. If you’ve never been here and are planning to come a polarizer is a must.
Dubai also boasts some of the most interesting modern architecture in the world. High rise buildings of steel, stone, chrome and glass, of every imaginable shape, are everywhere. Most have been built in the last 10-15 years and many within the last 5 years. It’s as if a crop of mushrooms sprouted instantly along the landscape. And, the building has not stopped even during the economic recession the rest of the world has endured lately. There are huge sky-scraping cranes everywhere and land being be staked out for future development.
Another thing that Dubai boasts are incredibly large multi-level shopping malls built of the most exotic materials. The three most well-known malls are the Dubai Mall, the Emirates Mall and the Iban Battutu Mall among many others. The Dubai Mall was one of the original malls built about 15 years ago and sports an indoor ski slope including a chair lift. Shoppers can move from the 100+ degree heat outside to below freezing ski slope within a matter of minutes. Just outside the mall is the world’s largest choreographed fountain that puts on incredible shows of water spouts synched to music in the evening every half hour. One night we sat by the fountain and enjoyed the show while eating dinner outside at a Tai restaurant.
While neither Nancy nor I are big fans of malls (you find the same shops and stores in any mall in the US) the shear size and architecture make it worth the trip even if you don’t buy anything.
One day I went on a desert safari for a morning about an hour outside of town. It wasn’t so much a safari as a NASCAR race up and over some very large sand dunes going as fast as our driver could push our 4 wheel drive Rover. It sported an interior roll bar which once I thought we’d have to use when the car almost went over on its side. It did provide a good firm handhold as we rocked and rolled. We were told to wear our seat belts even in the back seats. If we hadn’t our heads would have banged on the roof more than once. We ended up on the tallest dune in the area and coming down you felt more like you were in a F-16 banking and turning along the dunes rather than a Land Rover. The lady next to me got (sea-) sick as we descended.
The other thing I got to do was dune bashing on a four wheel all-terrain vehicle – basically a 4 wheeled, all drive motorcycle. I have to admit it was a lot of fun. I quickly learned about a technique for navigating the dunes from our driver. As you ascend particularly steep dunes you can’t see over their crests and so you don’t know if the other side slopes down gently or drops off as a shear cliff. To avoid a catastrophe, at the instant you’re ready to go over the crest you swing your bike so that it’s running parallel with the crest. If the other side slopes down you turn 90 degrees down the hill. If the other side drops off to nothing you turn 90 degree in the other direction and motor down the slope you just came up. As I mentioned this was the way our driver attacked the dunes in our F-16.
In the US this kind of dirt biking in the western deserts tears up the terrain and vegetation and there’s an on-going argument between recreation enthusiasts and conservationists. I have to admit this was on my mind when I was asked if as I wanted to go dune bashing until I realized once you get out to this desert there isn’t any vegetation to speak of and the sand dunes are constantly being formed and reshaped by high winds. I figured out I wasn’t doing any more harm to the ecology that nature wasn’t already doing on a daily basis. So, I rationalized (and had a lot of fun) my dune experience was justified – it was.
You come away from Dubai with some words or phrases like: over-the-top, high-end, opulence, opulent opulence, ostentatious, ostentatious opulence and it dawns on you that money is no issue here. And, while I enjoyed my stay for a few days since I’m not a mall shopper, an oil tycoon or high-end businessman I probably won’t be returning any time soon although once was very interesting.
If you’re interested, I’ve put together several slideshows of images from Dubai. One features the spectacular architecture throughout the city. The easiest way to see the show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42485294.
A second is a show from shots of the Dubai Mall Fountain at night. The easiest way to see this show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42256112.
Since the malls are like nothing I’ve ever seen before there is a show made up of images from the Dubai and Iban Battutu Malls. The easiest way to see this show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42387903.
Finally, I put together a short dune bashing show. The easiest way to see this show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42404474
I’ve also posted the shows on my Web site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ then click on the “RUSSIA” link. The filenames are: buildings_dubai.exe, dubai_mall_fountain.exe, dubai_malls.exe and dune_bashing.exe
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Dubai is one of the 7 states that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the west side of the Persian Gulf next to Saudi Arabia. The emirates were originally independent kingdoms that merged together in the 70s to form the UAE.
As most of the emirates, Dubai is well endowed with oil residing on a strip of coastline along the Gulf. Twenty kilometers in off the coast the terrain is all hot dry desert. The city is very linear with the main roads running north and south. Along this strip the city has mushroomed into a long parade of amazing buildings, parks, malls and tourist sites. The old city of Dubai is near the coast and along the Dubai Creek. Dubai was originally a trading port and is dotted with souks. Souks are market areas that tend to sell the same goods. There are souks for gold, jewellery, carpets, spices and our goods. They are open-air markets were haggling for a price is common between shoppers and merchants. We spent our first afternoon in the souks in the +100 degree sun.
Cars (big, expensive cars) are one of the major ways people get around in Dubai due to its long, spread-out nature. There is a brand new elevated Metro system that has just opened during the past year or two and is still unfinished. Like almost everything is Dubai it is new, shiny, comfortable and efficient to move around town. In spite of this cars still dominate the landscape and they along with electric plants are causing a significant problem with smog and haze. Add to that 100+ degree weather and you find it’s hard to see even moderately spaced buildings in the distance due to thick smog. Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world (orders of magnitude higher than the Empire State Building in the US and the smog can be so thick that it’s sometimes hard to see the top.
Note to photographers: If you take a look at my outdoor shots you’re not going to see as much smog as I’ve described above. I used polarizing filters on my lenses which eliminates a good bit of the haze and glare off of the smog. If you’ve never been here and are planning to come a polarizer is a must.
Dubai also boasts some of the most interesting modern architecture in the world. High rise buildings of steel, stone, chrome and glass, of every imaginable shape, are everywhere. Most have been built in the last 10-15 years and many within the last 5 years. It’s as if a crop of mushrooms sprouted instantly along the landscape. And, the building has not stopped even during the economic recession the rest of the world has endured lately. There are huge sky-scraping cranes everywhere and land being be staked out for future development.
Another thing that Dubai boasts are incredibly large multi-level shopping malls built of the most exotic materials. The three most well-known malls are the Dubai Mall, the Emirates Mall and the Iban Battutu Mall among many others. The Dubai Mall was one of the original malls built about 15 years ago and sports an indoor ski slope including a chair lift. Shoppers can move from the 100+ degree heat outside to below freezing ski slope within a matter of minutes. Just outside the mall is the world’s largest choreographed fountain that puts on incredible shows of water spouts synched to music in the evening every half hour. One night we sat by the fountain and enjoyed the show while eating dinner outside at a Tai restaurant.
While neither Nancy nor I are big fans of malls (you find the same shops and stores in any mall in the US) the shear size and architecture make it worth the trip even if you don’t buy anything.
One day I went on a desert safari for a morning about an hour outside of town. It wasn’t so much a safari as a NASCAR race up and over some very large sand dunes going as fast as our driver could push our 4 wheel drive Rover. It sported an interior roll bar which once I thought we’d have to use when the car almost went over on its side. It did provide a good firm handhold as we rocked and rolled. We were told to wear our seat belts even in the back seats. If we hadn’t our heads would have banged on the roof more than once. We ended up on the tallest dune in the area and coming down you felt more like you were in a F-16 banking and turning along the dunes rather than a Land Rover. The lady next to me got (sea-) sick as we descended.
The other thing I got to do was dune bashing on a four wheel all-terrain vehicle – basically a 4 wheeled, all drive motorcycle. I have to admit it was a lot of fun. I quickly learned about a technique for navigating the dunes from our driver. As you ascend particularly steep dunes you can’t see over their crests and so you don’t know if the other side slopes down gently or drops off as a shear cliff. To avoid a catastrophe, at the instant you’re ready to go over the crest you swing your bike so that it’s running parallel with the crest. If the other side slopes down you turn 90 degrees down the hill. If the other side drops off to nothing you turn 90 degree in the other direction and motor down the slope you just came up. As I mentioned this was the way our driver attacked the dunes in our F-16.
In the US this kind of dirt biking in the western deserts tears up the terrain and vegetation and there’s an on-going argument between recreation enthusiasts and conservationists. I have to admit this was on my mind when I was asked if as I wanted to go dune bashing until I realized once you get out to this desert there isn’t any vegetation to speak of and the sand dunes are constantly being formed and reshaped by high winds. I figured out I wasn’t doing any more harm to the ecology that nature wasn’t already doing on a daily basis. So, I rationalized (and had a lot of fun) my dune experience was justified – it was.
You come away from Dubai with some words or phrases like: over-the-top, high-end, opulence, opulent opulence, ostentatious, ostentatious opulence and it dawns on you that money is no issue here. And, while I enjoyed my stay for a few days since I’m not a mall shopper, an oil tycoon or high-end businessman I probably won’t be returning any time soon although once was very interesting.
If you’re interested, I’ve put together several slideshows of images from Dubai. One features the spectacular architecture throughout the city. The easiest way to see the show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42485294.
A second is a show from shots of the Dubai Mall Fountain at night. The easiest way to see this show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42256112.
Since the malls are like nothing I’ve ever seen before there is a show made up of images from the Dubai and Iban Battutu Malls. The easiest way to see this show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42387903.
Finally, I put together a short dune bashing show. The easiest way to see this show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/42404474
I’ve also posted the shows on my Web site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ then click on the “RUSSIA” link. The filenames are: buildings_dubai.exe, dubai_mall_fountain.exe, dubai_malls.exe and dune_bashing.exe
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
On the Current State of Affairs in Russia and Mockva
9мая 2012
One of my friends and colleagues is originally from the Czech Republic and grew up while the Soviet Union was in place. He’s interested in the current political and economic climate in Russia today and especially since Vladimir Putin is returning as president. I wrote him a message and thought this might be of some interest as a posting on my blog. Below is the text of the message to my friend.
Lee-
Putin was very popular during his first term as president but there’s a significant opposition to him this time around – he was sworn in as president Monday the 7th. Russia’s economy and federal budget is heavily based on oil, natural gas and minerals and during the 90s that seemed to satisfy the country. Now the consensus is that oil prices will eventually drop and reserves of oil still in the ground will start decreasing. The consensus of many economists is that Russia has to diversify its economy and encourage foreign investment which Russia and Putin never encouraged in the past. Russia has not been a particularly “foreign industry friendly” environment until recently. It is said there is a stifling bureaucracy, a lot of corruption and resistance to foreign investment from other countries. Also, the Russian people seemed to be alright with a more authoritarian government during Putin’s first terms as President – probably a more comfortable position to take as the country emerged from the Soviet Union. This times there is a large middle-class that is growing (we’ve even noticed a difference since we arrived here last August) and doesn’t want an authoritarian strong-man like Putin. The middle class has also transitioned into Russia’s brand of capitalism and there doesn’t seem to be much interest to going back to the socialist mode except maybe for people in their 70s and 80s who only knew the communist ways. Older people apparently are having a harder time adjusting to the new economy and wouldn’t mind going back to the old ways – this doesn’t seem at all likely – younger people like the new ways and the freedom it brings too much.
Also, the political systems is corrupt and many were unhappy with last year’s parliamentary elections who thought the system was rigged in favor of Putin and his party. There are still many demonstrations by people who were unhappy with the last elections. One major issue is the choice of governors throughout Russia. During his first terms Putin abolished election of governors and started appointing them himself. There is currently legislation before the Duma that would restore elections by the people. Many are waiting to see if Putin will agree.
So it remains to be seen how Putin will do. If he reverts back to us authoritarian style of his first two terms it looks like he will get a lot of resistance. A lot of economists and political scientists feels that that might happen. If so, many are questioning whether Putin would be successful running for another term as president after the end of this term. There are opposition parties and groups popping up in the days leading up to this inauguration last Monday. I was surprised how many people came back to demonstrate since last December when the demonstrations were very large. I was thinking that things would calm down after elections last November but it looks like the opposition is here to stay and Putin may not find things as easy compared with his first two terms.
We’ll have to see. Putin’s inauguration was Monday. Today (Wednesday) is Victory Day so Putin and the Parliament will be getting back to work shortly and we’ll see what happens – I’ll keep you posted.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Lee-
Putin was very popular during his first term as president but there’s a significant opposition to him this time around – he was sworn in as president Monday the 7th. Russia’s economy and federal budget is heavily based on oil, natural gas and minerals and during the 90s that seemed to satisfy the country. Now the consensus is that oil prices will eventually drop and reserves of oil still in the ground will start decreasing. The consensus of many economists is that Russia has to diversify its economy and encourage foreign investment which Russia and Putin never encouraged in the past. Russia has not been a particularly “foreign industry friendly” environment until recently. It is said there is a stifling bureaucracy, a lot of corruption and resistance to foreign investment from other countries. Also, the Russian people seemed to be alright with a more authoritarian government during Putin’s first terms as President – probably a more comfortable position to take as the country emerged from the Soviet Union. This times there is a large middle-class that is growing (we’ve even noticed a difference since we arrived here last August) and doesn’t want an authoritarian strong-man like Putin. The middle class has also transitioned into Russia’s brand of capitalism and there doesn’t seem to be much interest to going back to the socialist mode except maybe for people in their 70s and 80s who only knew the communist ways. Older people apparently are having a harder time adjusting to the new economy and wouldn’t mind going back to the old ways – this doesn’t seem at all likely – younger people like the new ways and the freedom it brings too much.
Also, the political systems is corrupt and many were unhappy with last year’s parliamentary elections who thought the system was rigged in favor of Putin and his party. There are still many demonstrations by people who were unhappy with the last elections. One major issue is the choice of governors throughout Russia. During his first terms Putin abolished election of governors and started appointing them himself. There is currently legislation before the Duma that would restore elections by the people. Many are waiting to see if Putin will agree.
So it remains to be seen how Putin will do. If he reverts back to us authoritarian style of his first two terms it looks like he will get a lot of resistance. A lot of economists and political scientists feels that that might happen. If so, many are questioning whether Putin would be successful running for another term as president after the end of this term. There are opposition parties and groups popping up in the days leading up to this inauguration last Monday. I was surprised how many people came back to demonstrate since last December when the demonstrations were very large. I was thinking that things would calm down after elections last November but it looks like the opposition is here to stay and Putin may not find things as easy compared with his first two terms.
We’ll have to see. Putin’s inauguration was Monday. Today (Wednesday) is Victory Day so Putin and the Parliament will be getting back to work shortly and we’ll see what happens – I’ll keep you posted.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Sunday, May 6, 2012
On Victory Day in Mockva
6 мая 2012
Victory Day is a major event in Russia commemorating the defeat of the Nazis during World War II. It’s a national holiday on May 9th and has been weeks in the making as preparations are made. An estimated 28 million people were killed in the Nazi’s attempt to overtake the Soviet Union.
Among the festivities is a huge military parade displaying tanks, missiles, marching troops, bands and the like. The parade moves through Red Square past a viewing stand overlooking Lenin’s tomb. If are a baby boomer you may remember news programs showing Presidents Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, among other Soviet and Russian dignitaries, reviewing the parade above the tomb. The parade travels up a major street (Tverskaya Street - Тверская улица) leading from the Kremlin past our neighborhood (a 25 minute walk to the Kremlin) and beyond.
The day before yesterday I went down to the Theatre District adjacent to the Kremlin and Red Square to explore and look at preparations being made for the big Day. The area was abuzz with people everywhere touring, painting, cleaning and practicing for the parade and Victory Day in general.
If you’re interested, I’ve put together a slideshow of images from the area. The easiest way to see the show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/41613312
I’ve also posted the show on my Web site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ then click on the “RUSSIA” link. The filename is: before.exe
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Among the festivities is a huge military parade displaying tanks, missiles, marching troops, bands and the like. The parade moves through Red Square past a viewing stand overlooking Lenin’s tomb. If are a baby boomer you may remember news programs showing Presidents Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, among other Soviet and Russian dignitaries, reviewing the parade above the tomb. The parade travels up a major street (Tverskaya Street - Тверская улица) leading from the Kremlin past our neighborhood (a 25 minute walk to the Kremlin) and beyond.
The day before yesterday I went down to the Theatre District adjacent to the Kremlin and Red Square to explore and look at preparations being made for the big Day. The area was abuzz with people everywhere touring, painting, cleaning and practicing for the parade and Victory Day in general.
If you’re interested, I’ve put together a slideshow of images from the area. The easiest way to see the show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/41613312
I’ve also posted the show on my Web site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ then click on the “RUSSIA” link. The filename is: before.exe
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Thursday, May 3, 2012
On Amsterdam
3 мая 2012
We spent a 4 day weekend in Amsterdam last week. Amsterdam is a fabulous city which is easy to navigate and highly walkable. Our hotel was right on one of the many canals and we were several blocks from the town square. Some of the shots I’ve posted in a slideshow are from the hotel.
While we didn’t plan it we were there on the weekend that preceded Queen Beatrice’s birthday which is always celebrated on the following Monday which is a national holiday in the Netherlands. I found out that from someone at the hotel that her birthday is actually in January but it’s always celebrated in the spring to take advantage of the nice weather. We were told that during this particular weekend the population swells to nearly double as people from all over the Netherlands close up their shops and businesses and head for the city. There is a substantial amount of beer consumed and the streets and canals (on boats) are crowded to near gridlock conditions, especially around the town square which offers a carnival with rides, games and other attractions. The color of the day is bright orange – more about that later.
We were also able to travel outside of town to Edam which is a 35 minute bus ride from Amsterdam. It’s a small picturesque town out in the mist of 1000s of acres of green grassy farmland.
A few comments that will help you understand some of the shots in the show and about Amsterdam in general.
Bikes: While there are cars on the road the principle way to get around is either walking or on bicycles. There seem to be more bikes than people which are parked all over the city. Down near the train station there is a 3 story bike parking lot with 2500 bikes with 100s more spilling out all around. We took a cruise along the canals and our captain told us that each year the city dredges the canals for bikes pulling out several thousand each year. Apparently, when the bikes are used up many people toss them into the canals as an easy way to dispose of them. I noticed that most of the bikes were not the typical 10-speed bikes you commonly see other places. That seemed odd until it dawned on me that gears aren’t needed – Amsterdam and the Netherlands in general are flat. There are no hills as the land was originally reclaimed marshland and below sea level.
Coffee Shops vs. Cafes: Usually these terms are synonymous in most cities but not in Amsterdam. If you stop in a café you’ll order coffee and other drinks and bake goods. If you drop into your local coffee shop in addition to coffee you’ll order and smoke pot. As you may know Amsterdam is a very liberal and tolerant town and a number of things you usually think of as illegal in other places are legal or at least tolerated in Amsterdam. Among some of those activities are smoking marijuana and prostitution, both regulated by the government. In fact there are many coffee shops in the red light district – kind of a twofer.
Orange: As I mentioned during the prelude to the Queen’s birthday you will see a lot of bright orange: orange hair, orange skin, orange hats, orange clothes, orange sunglasses, orange blow-up dolls and a lot of orange beer. Orange is all over and is the official color of the city during the celebration. If you’re not fond of the color orange don’t come to Amsterdam during the Queen’s birthday.
Things Leaning: As a photographer one of the things you try to do in setting up your shots is to make sure the horizons are level and your verticals plumb (90 degrees to the horizontal). Since my head is a bit cocked to one side on my neck this is a perpetual problem when I’m taking pictures. Luckily I can easily make these corrections in Photo Shop back at my computer. You’ll notice that many of the buildings in Amsterdam “lean on one another propping themselves up like drunken sailors.” In this case the leaning is for real – it’s not me! All of the original buildings in Amsterdam were built on reclaimed swamp land and the foundations were made of 1000s of wooden pilings pounded into the muck and mire of the swampy land below. Over the centuries some of the pilings were pushed further into the mud causing the building to lean: forward, to the side and backward. In fact, in some neighborhoods it’s hard to find even one building that's standing straight. Of course, after you’ve consumed several liters of orange beer leaning building may seem of no consequence…
Final Thoughts: If you’ve never been to Amsterdam put it on your bucket list. It’s a place you get almost instantly comfortable with. The people are friendly and many languages are spoken including English. You’ll hear very little Russian in Amsterdam – which for us, living in Moscow and taking a break, was a good thing. It’s a place we could see living for a while after our Russian experience is over. Barcelona is another place we’re thinking about (see a previous post)
If you’re interested, I’ve put together a slideshow of images from Amsterdam and Elam. The easiest way to see the show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/41489870
I’ve also posted the show on my Web site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ then click on the “RUSSIA” link. The filename is: amsterdam.exe
До следующего раза ...
Борис
While we didn’t plan it we were there on the weekend that preceded Queen Beatrice’s birthday which is always celebrated on the following Monday which is a national holiday in the Netherlands. I found out that from someone at the hotel that her birthday is actually in January but it’s always celebrated in the spring to take advantage of the nice weather. We were told that during this particular weekend the population swells to nearly double as people from all over the Netherlands close up their shops and businesses and head for the city. There is a substantial amount of beer consumed and the streets and canals (on boats) are crowded to near gridlock conditions, especially around the town square which offers a carnival with rides, games and other attractions. The color of the day is bright orange – more about that later.
We were also able to travel outside of town to Edam which is a 35 minute bus ride from Amsterdam. It’s a small picturesque town out in the mist of 1000s of acres of green grassy farmland.
A few comments that will help you understand some of the shots in the show and about Amsterdam in general.
Bikes: While there are cars on the road the principle way to get around is either walking or on bicycles. There seem to be more bikes than people which are parked all over the city. Down near the train station there is a 3 story bike parking lot with 2500 bikes with 100s more spilling out all around. We took a cruise along the canals and our captain told us that each year the city dredges the canals for bikes pulling out several thousand each year. Apparently, when the bikes are used up many people toss them into the canals as an easy way to dispose of them. I noticed that most of the bikes were not the typical 10-speed bikes you commonly see other places. That seemed odd until it dawned on me that gears aren’t needed – Amsterdam and the Netherlands in general are flat. There are no hills as the land was originally reclaimed marshland and below sea level.
Coffee Shops vs. Cafes: Usually these terms are synonymous in most cities but not in Amsterdam. If you stop in a café you’ll order coffee and other drinks and bake goods. If you drop into your local coffee shop in addition to coffee you’ll order and smoke pot. As you may know Amsterdam is a very liberal and tolerant town and a number of things you usually think of as illegal in other places are legal or at least tolerated in Amsterdam. Among some of those activities are smoking marijuana and prostitution, both regulated by the government. In fact there are many coffee shops in the red light district – kind of a twofer.
Orange: As I mentioned during the prelude to the Queen’s birthday you will see a lot of bright orange: orange hair, orange skin, orange hats, orange clothes, orange sunglasses, orange blow-up dolls and a lot of orange beer. Orange is all over and is the official color of the city during the celebration. If you’re not fond of the color orange don’t come to Amsterdam during the Queen’s birthday.
Things Leaning: As a photographer one of the things you try to do in setting up your shots is to make sure the horizons are level and your verticals plumb (90 degrees to the horizontal). Since my head is a bit cocked to one side on my neck this is a perpetual problem when I’m taking pictures. Luckily I can easily make these corrections in Photo Shop back at my computer. You’ll notice that many of the buildings in Amsterdam “lean on one another propping themselves up like drunken sailors.” In this case the leaning is for real – it’s not me! All of the original buildings in Amsterdam were built on reclaimed swamp land and the foundations were made of 1000s of wooden pilings pounded into the muck and mire of the swampy land below. Over the centuries some of the pilings were pushed further into the mud causing the building to lean: forward, to the side and backward. In fact, in some neighborhoods it’s hard to find even one building that's standing straight. Of course, after you’ve consumed several liters of orange beer leaning building may seem of no consequence…
Final Thoughts: If you’ve never been to Amsterdam put it on your bucket list. It’s a place you get almost instantly comfortable with. The people are friendly and many languages are spoken including English. You’ll hear very little Russian in Amsterdam – which for us, living in Moscow and taking a break, was a good thing. It’s a place we could see living for a while after our Russian experience is over. Barcelona is another place we’re thinking about (see a previous post)
If you’re interested, I’ve put together a slideshow of images from Amsterdam and Elam. The easiest way to see the show is to click on this link: http://vimeo.com/41489870
I’ve also posted the show on my Web site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ then click on the “RUSSIA” link. The filename is: amsterdam.exe
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