Reflection in an Amsterdam canal

Since you all know how fond I am of reflections in water, you will not be surprised by today's picture: reflection in an Amsterdam canal.

I was walking with my sister and her kids in town (they are staying with me for a few nights) and the sun was out. It felt like Spring. The kids wanted to shop, and I wanted to enjoy the weather. So when they were busy in H&M I wandered over to the side of a canal and saw this wonderful reflection of a typical Amsterdam building in the water. I looked at how the water moved and how the image was changing every second with the movement of the water. This sort of motion keeps me entranced. Next time I'll try to make a little film of it.

Sunrise

This is how the sky looked earlier this week. I love it that it gets lighter earlier so that I can finally wake up in day light and not in the night. It gives me a lot more energy and umpf to start the day!

Packing up photos for my show

Last weekend I spent some time preparing for my show. At the end of this week I can hang up all the photographs and since I don't have an overall view of the place, I decided to sort the photographs by theme and wrap them with bubble plastic. In this way I can decide on the spot where I will hang them.

So I spread all my photos out on the floor and selected them per theme (reflection, animals, blossoms, etc.).

I had one 40 x 50 cm print, all the other prints are 30 x 45 cm. That makes quite a difference in size and impact. I will hang the large print at a well chosen spot.

Sorted, wrapped and ready to go!

Sleeping swan

Last Saturday as I was rushing to make it to my yoga class (so much for mindfulness) I spotted this beautiful swan which had just tucked its beak between its feathers and closed its eyes for a nap in one of the canals of Amsterdam. It floated quite near me, but wasn't aware of me in the least. I was struck by the way he or she had folded his/her long neck across the body. It looked very comfortable.

Swans usually come in pairs, but in this case I saw only one swan.

My second exhibition is coming up!

Next Friday I can install my photographs at the Naarderheem nursing home. I shared earlier on the blog what the place looks like, the long corridor that is where I will exhibit.

I had a meeting with the organizer of the show last month and he told me that the artists sells about one piece. There was one painter who sold eight pieces. After asking him what sells, he told me that the people at the nursing home would really like to see images that they recognize.

So, I went through my pictures again with this knowledge in mind to choose a selection that would brighten up the place. I didn't go out with my camera to shoot what other people wanted to see. These four pictures give you a sneak preview to my show.

And this picture above might be a little too abstract on its own, but I'll show it with some other photographs of reflections.

My pictures are about everyday life. It's all there, I just have to see it and connect with what I see. Like the cat for example. It was just sitting there in the window, it was looking directly at me when I slowed my pace. And that is hopefully what the people in the nursing home will experience when they look at my images.

Reflections on October, 2013

To continue my Reflections on 2013 series: here is what happened in October 2013:

At the university we moved offices; we went from the dark rooms on the 10th floor to the lighter and completely renovated rooms on the 12th. See more on daybreak over here.

I wrote about the first colors of Autumn

and the colors around the campus.

I saw a spectacular sunset on one of these evenings.

Since there are two florists in the neighborhood, I pass their shops frequently to see what there is to see on their sidewalk.

Mr. H. and I went an afternoon to the beach for a walk and a talk. This picture is for sale at my Society6 shop.

I posted an item on yellow and red leaves.

And I experimented with juices and smoothies, the smoothie above is made with mango and bananas.

A walk in the woods

Yesterday was a beautiful day and H. and I went for a walk in the woods. He practically lives in the forest, so it was a matter of walking out of the door and there we were.

The weather was lovely: the sun was out, a few birds were singing and it almost felt like Spring. That was kind of weird since the day and night before a storm had been raging over our country like there was no before!
We followed this winding bike lane for a short while and continued walking on the smaller paths.

The walk made us quite thirsty, so when we came home we took a large glass of tea. The afternoon sun gave a lovely reflection of the glass on the kitchen counter.

The pink hyacinth was sitting on the porch and obviously has seen better days, I don't know what H. has in mind with it.

When I got up from my chair, I saw these lovely light holes on my new pillowcase. I ordered it from my own Society6 collection to see what the actual product would be. See more of my collection over here.

Sunday was a lovely day indeed.

Reflections on September, 2013

I forgot a while to continue my Reflections on series, so it's time to pick it up again.

I remember this misty morning very well; it doesn't happen often that I cycle through the mist and see a layer of fog hanging over the ground. It's somehow a little eerie.

I posted a motiv: big skies. It was one of the views from the University of Amsterdam. I worked there for 3 months and enjoyed it immensly.

I posted an article on reflections in one of the canals of Amsterdam. I could just stare at the water for hours, it changes every second. Fascinating.

Our offices were moved in October and in the time before that there was a lot of clearing and cleaning up. I hadn't posted this picture yet, just came across it when I was going through my pictures of September 2013.

I went to a Miksang Contemplative practise day in Amsterdam. It was about simplicity. We found out it was not an easy thing to focus our intention on.

It is always fun taking photos of people that you know, because they let you come closer to them. 

There were walks around the neighborhood, and I passed the flower shop a couple of times where there is usually something that attracts my attention.

I went to a yoga shop to buy some supplies for my yoga classes. I started teaching in September.

I wrote about office stuff and the preparations we were making for moving our offices.

My friend H. and I took some walks and visited the local farms for their produce. At one farm I saw this enormous heap of pumpkins. So colorful!
That was September for me, lots of different experiences.

A branch here and there

Earlier this week I went to see a friend, I was a littler earlier than the set time and I walked around her house. There was this big tree with Christmas balls and I was fascinated by the branch and the balls against a blue sky with the moon (little white dot on the right).

Rippled sky

Here is a sky I saw earlier this week. This winter has been quite warm and that's weird because in the US it's too cold, in the south of Europe and in England it is too wet and in Russia it is also too warm for the time of year. Has this sky something to do with it?

A little goodbye

This afternoon my parents came by. They wanted to see my little exhibition over at the Slotervaartverpleeghuis, see my post in December on this subject. I combined their visit with removing the pictures I hung there and taking them home for my next exhibition which starts at the end of this month in Naarden.

I felt joy when I entered again and saw at my pictures there all together. My parents appreciated the opportunity of seeing some of my work and helped me to wrap and pack them. I said goodbye to the lady who helped me. She said many people stopped to look at my pictures and even their own photographer had a good look and a good word about them. But, I sold nothing.

So, with a little sadness I left and brought my babies home. Looking forward to the next exhibition though, I will tell you more about it at a later stage.

Bachelor Information Day

Last Saturday was the Bachelor Information Day for upcoming students at my university. Lots of future students and their parents came by to inform themselves about the Bachelors of all the faculties. It was a buzzing day with lots with interested people, teachers and current students. Here is an impression.

registration and information desk

Information stand of the faculty of Theology

Space for self study

Visitors of information round BA Buddhism and Hinduism

Design chairs by Republic of Fritz Hansen

Reflections in water

Earlier this week I took a walk around the block during lunch break. I didn't have a goal, except for clearing my head and forgetting about work. I saw these apartment buildings reflected in the water and I was totally stopped. Intrigued by the shades, patterns and movement of the water.

Food and drinks

During the Miksang & Meditation workshop a while ago we had lots of drinks and food. After breakfast at the hotel, we started with coffee and tea at the teacher's place. She doesn't drink coffee herself and has a Nespresso machine for her guests.

We had lunch at the Haven van Zandvoort; it's a pavilion on the beach and open year round.The first day I took a goat cheese and honey sandwich. Delicious!

And I took a cappuccino for dessert. The cup and sugar stick had pictures of Venice on it. It made me think of our time there February last year.

The second day I first drank a hot chocolate with whipped cream. That is so comforting when you are coming out of the cold. At the coast it's always a few degrees colder than further inland.

After that followed a tuna salad sandwich, also very good. The way the plate was made up made me smile.

I had the tuna salad sandwich with a glass of fresh mint tea to quench my thirst.

When I left the place on the second dayI noticed all the piled up glasses.

Comfortable food and drinks, two things that makes life pleasurable.