When I saw one of the installation in the Amsterdam Centraal station, I became very interested in the light festival. This particular installation is very visible and it is located at the spot that I walked through frequently. “House of Cards” was the name of this piece. I realized that this was the perfect moment to learn more about my DSLR Camera Canon EOS 500D. The camera was left in Europe by my oldest brother when he visited me in April 2014. The camera was used in one of the automatic settings (landscape, potrait, auto, etc). Like many other beginner, terms such as apperture, shutter speed, and ISO are alien to me.
I started reading and watching tutorials about basic camera settings. It didn’t take me long to understand how to balance my apperture, shutter speed, and when to increase or decrease ISO. I started going to city to take more photos. I then bought one tripod because I used vey long exposure and small shutter speed to get the depth of field of the installation. The lens used was my one and only kit lens Canon 18-55mm (f/3,5-f/22). In total there are 35 installations (please check their website). Here are some pictures for selected installation that I really like.
- Circle of Life by Rob van Houten (Herengracht – Brouwersgracht)
- Effervescence (Herengracht)
- Lightbridge (Amstel-Herengracht)
- Arborescence (Herengracht)
- House of Cards (Centraal Station)
- On the Wings of Freedom (Wertheimpark – Nieuwe Herengracht)
- Ghost Ship (Oosterdok – Het Scheepvaartmuseum)
Overall I really like how the light from the installation bounce into the amsterdam canal. When I said I liked it, I didn’t mean it in artsy way, I meant it looks nice to my eyes how the light combines with the canal. I was a great experience and learning curve for my photography technically speaking.Therefore, I will definitely go again next year!
