We have been in Amsterdam for 4 weeks now and the majority of our time has been spent trying to get jobs and find an apartment. It has been harder than we thought, especially on the apartment side of things. It’s been pretty full on. I’ve been suppressing all my creative ideas and projects because I wanted to stay focused on getting a job because I need the money!
So we decided to take the day off and head out into the city and see what the north (Noord) had to offer. It was time to finally get shooting again and let the creative juices flow! It felt so good. The lack of creative release over the last few weeks made me come up with all these crazy ideas and plans for new projects for the future (all of which are time consuming, don’t produce any form of income and way too far fetched. But I still really want to do themmm….why?)
Anyway, this has made me want to re-design my blog and make it more appealing and easier to interact with readers/ viewers. I’m gonna spend more time on my blog this year and if all goes well, hopefully it will lead to bigger and way better things. It’s top secret, but here’s a hint; a magazine…
So welcome to my new Photo Blog. Issue No.1! New design, new concept and new layout! I hope you like!
All the photos that you’ve seen so far were taken from our spontaneous day out in the Noord. It began with the happiest dog I’ve ever seen enjoying a free ferry ride (it’s free for humans too not just dogs) from Amsterdam Central Station to Amsterdam NDSM (14min). While we came into dock in the Noord we passed the ‘Greenpeace’ fleet and offices. It was actually so cool to see it all in person. I’ve only ever seen them on TV and media reports so it was special to see it in person.
Then as we swung around, to the right of the Greenpeace fleet, we saw a retired Submarine! I’ve also never seen a submarine before! I was very star struck at this point and we hadn’t even stepped off the ferry yet!
The North of Amsterdam used to be an old ship building yard. Back in the day, it was very significant to Amsterdam and the rest of the world. Unfortunately, it fell into disrepair and closed its doors in 1984 and now it has been converted, and in my opinion improved, into a start-up/expo center for young creative companies in Amsterdam and man is it cool!
Inside the actual walls of the massive hangers (is that what they are called?) they have built incredible offices and an expo center to encourage people to still visit and use the area. It is an incredible mash up of history and modern technology. You can see how new businesses are using the space while trying to preserve the wealth of history it contains!
The way that they have managed to build offices around the existing structure is pretty incredible. If you are an engineer or an architect I highly recommend a visit here!
While we walked around this incredible place we stumbled into a film set! AGAIN, I’ve never seen a film set in person!! What a day to see things in person!
It was so so cool to see the whole production side of things with the make up and the camera crew and the actors, so cool!
I was so mesmerised by the whole thing, I just started snapping photos and perspectives and I ended walking right into frame by accident and the director yelled out to me and I quote: “Don’t look at the camera!”.
I just looked straight down at the floor and got out of there as fast as possible!
But hey who knows I might appear in a Dutch movie sometime soon! Weird day…
Don’t look at the camera!
Laura’s on camera look. Blue steel…
So we got straight outta there and headed out past the ship yard a bit! Scary but so cool to get shouted at by a director! Very surreal day.
Next we found a really cool make shift beach bar on the shore of the river next to the ship building yard. How cool is that?! People just chilling out and enjoying their Friday afternoon on a makeshift beach in Amsterdam. I love their innovation!
We finally ended the day at a green house that had been converted into a jazz bar…I think I’m gonna love this city!
I know one thing for sure I’m definitely going to spend way more time in Amsterdam Noord!
Thus ends the first installment of a new blog project that I’m doing. I hope it’s more engaging and easier to read for you. Please let me know if you liked it, if any of it was helpful or even if the photos turned out alright.
Your support is hopefully what will one day turn my hobby into a career. It would mean the world to me if you would share this, or any of my work with a friend or a colleague to help spread the word. It will help me to make more photo stories and help me improve my story telling.
At the end of the day I want to be able to tell real stories to help showcase the incredible places and people of this world.
Thank you so much and I hope you enjoyed the read. Till next time!
Endatheroad 