Wednesday 30 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Whitey Ford Was Here!

Unedited mobile phone shot of a guy in front of the Magna Plaza in Amsterdam, reflected in a puddle. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

The guy looks a bit like his name is Whitey Ford, he might even be a Rapper...if this is you in the picture, and you are a Rapper, don't cap my Ass if you see me in the mean streets of the best city in the world, lol ;-D

Next weekend, Sunday the 4th of October a new Art exhibition will start at the 'ABC Treehouse' in Amsterdam, featuring 10 of my wicked puddle reflections :D


The theme is "AMS * NYC * AMS an artistic look at a 400 year affair"Exhibition and Special Events, 4 October – 29 November 2009. "

At the ABC Treehouse, Voetboogstraat 11, 1012XK Amsterdam
" (the link goes to Google Maps!)

You can purchase my wicked reflections for a reasonable price, all nicely framed up and stuff...go there, you know you want to, hehe :-))



More wicked reflections

www.amstersam.com

Tuesday 29 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Floating

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a tourist boat floating in the Amstel in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

It's Wednesday, the week is almost over and I am busy preparing for the wicked cool art exhibition at the 'ABC Treehouse', more details below :)

Sunday the 4th of October a new Art exhibition will start at the 'ABC Treehouse' in Amsterdam, featuring 10 of my wicked puddle reflections :D

The theme is "AMS * NYC * AMS an artistic look at a 400 year affair
"Exhibition and Special Events, 4 October – 29 November 2009. "

At the ABC Treehouse, Voetboogstraat 11, 1012XK Amsterdam
" (the link goes to Google Maps!)

Tell all your (rich) friends about this, I'm young and need the money, hahaha ;-D


More wicked reflections

www.amstersam.com

Monday 28 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Exhibit This!

Unedited mobile phone shot of the Magna Plaza in Amsterdam, reflected in a puddle. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

Next weekend, Sunday the 4th of October a new Art exhibition will start at the 'ABC Treehouse' in Amsterdam, featuring 10 of my wicked puddle reflections :D


The theme is "AMS * NYC * AMS an artistic look at a 400 year affair"Exhibition and Special Events, 4 October – 29 November 2009. "

At the ABC Treehouse, Voetboogstraat 11, 1012XK Amsterdam
" (the link goes to Google Maps!)

Be there or be square!



More wicked reflections

www.amstersam.com

Sunday 27 September 2009

AmsterS@m The Exhibition!

Unedited mobile phone shot of a guy looking at me, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

Next weekend, Sunday the 4th of October, a new Art exhibition will start at the 'ABC Treehouse' in Amsterdam, featuring for the first time ever in public, 10 very wicked puddle reflections shot by me, AmsterS@m the wicked Reflectah, yay :D

Just a few days ago the crazycool 'grijsmeisje' suggested that I'll do an exhibition of my photos and she'll come with her rich father and friends, et voila, the next day I was contacted by the ABC Treehouse, asking me if I'd like to participate in the 'AMS * NYC * AMS' project :D

I always knew and experienced that Amsterdam is build and based on Karma, you give something, you get something back (good or bad!) but sometimes life is just so scarily well timed that it makes me scratch my eggy head, lol ;-P



Here is more information about the exhibition:

The theme is "AMS * NYC * AMS an artistic look at a 400 year affair"Exhibition and Special Events, 4 October – 29 November 2009. "

At the ABC Treehouse, Voetboogstraat 11, 1012XK Amsterdam" (the link goes to Google Maps!)

Come one, come all, bring your best friends and your checkbook, the photos are for sale (I've learned after agreeing to be part of this whole thing) and this could be your last chance to get a real 'AmsterS@m' for an affordable price, once I'm famous even I won't be able to pay for my pictures anymore, hahaha ;-D

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Uphill Battle

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a lady on a bike, some buildings and a bus, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no magic tricks, no Photoshop :)

Sometimes life feels like an Uphill Battle, everything seems to go wrong and disproportional efforts are required to overcome the obstacles...but then the sun pops through the clouds or a good friend calls just to say what a nice person you are or you get a smile from a stranger or, if you're the more materialistic oriented type, you might just find a suitcase full of money in the street...it can be so easy to turn that frown upside down into a smile :)

I always try to focus on those happy moments and forget about the stoopid things in life, I don't always succeed but I keep trying...everybody can make their own life as good or as bad as they want, it's not written down in a big book somewhere that you have to suffer from life, it's up to you to make it one big ball with lots of love, fun&laughter :)

Have a nice relaxed Sunday :)

Saturday 26 September 2009

Heyday


Heyday, originally uploaded by AmsterS@m - The Wicked Reflectah.

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of the Dam square in Amsterdam.

This is one of my favorite Amsterdam shots of all times, I took it when we left the Krasnapolsky Hotel after the Reception for the 'In Love With Amsterdam' photo contest where this wicked reflection of mine made the 2nd place :)

Have a nice weekend!

Grayday


Grayday, originally uploaded by AmsterS@m - The Wicked Reflectah.

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of the Sloterdijk train station in Amsterdam.

Even though I (almost) never take the train or any other form of public transportation, I do appreciate the feel and look that the stations add to the general flavor of the best city in the world, I mean, have you ever seen the Amsterdam Central station?! It's so beautiful :)

Enjoy the weekend!

Mayday


Mayday, originally uploaded by AmsterS@m - The Wicked Reflectah.

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a guy walking towards the Rembrandttower, the highest building in the World Amsterdam.

The man looks determined, I hope not determined to walk into the tower and do a crazy kamikaze act like the guy who went in there exactly 6 months after 9/11, armed with bombs&guns, demanding from the Philips headquarter to remove the black stripes on the top&bottom of his Philips widescreen TV because they contain hidden messages (the stripes, not the headquarter)...

"A very strange case about a man John R. (59 years) who on the 11th of march 2002 kidnapped about 100 employees of electronics manufacturer Philips at the main office in Amsterdam. He was a well known protester against the broad-image tv’s made by Philips, saying that Philips mislead people because with many broadcasts there were black bars on the left and right of the screen."

Thursday 24 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Twins Seperated At Birth

Unedited mobile phone shot of a guy going for a walk in the Westerpark in Amsterdam, reflected in a canal. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

Thank God it's Friday!! Luckily I have mostly recovered from my Killer-cold/Ear-infection experience and I'm really looking forward to 2 days of rest and severe chilling out in La Casa AmsterS@m. I was so sick and tired in the last week that I didn't manage to snap a singel wicked reflection shot (or any other pics worth mentioning for that matter!) and I sure hope that I'll come across some puddles soon, or you'll have to look at the dusty contents of my wicked archive for weeks to come...actually you've been doing that already for days and days now, I hope you didn't notice lol ;-)

Have a great day, enjoy your start of the weekend, I'll try to get seriously drunk tonight to kill off the remaining Killer-cold germs with some good Dutch beer :-P

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Hear the Drummer Get Wicked!

Slightly edited mobile phone shot of a cool Dude on his bike, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. I've added a bit of contrast&saturation, otherwise no tricks, no Photoshop :)

The dude looks like he's just cruisin' around the best city in the world with his smoke, searching for other cool dudes to hang out with...I'm right heeeere dude, here, by the puddle, look down!

Darn, he didn't see me, I guess I'll have to try harder the next time ;-)

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - I Believe I Can Fly...

Slightly edited mobile phone shot of a lady, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. I've played around with lightness and contrast a bit but no other tricks, no Photoshop :)

This girl clearly does not know how to react to a man sitting next to a puddle in the downtown area of the best city in the world, seemingly taking a picture of her, but then again, not...so she decided to turn on her two side-winged head propellers and rotate up and away into the sky, I caught her in this shot just as she's about to ignite them, see how she's jumpstarting them by moving them in circular motions?!

She could have asked me to stop and I would have, I'm not that kind of guy, you know...maybe the next time I'll see her, I'll just cling to her legs if she tries to fly away, ha! ;-D

Monday 21 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Partially Present

Unedited mobile phone cam picture of a biker outside the Amstel Hotel, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. As always, no editing, no magic tricks, no Photoshop :)

It seems that I am slowly overcoming my Killer-Cold and most annoying Ear-infection, I can partially hear again today and I'm only coughing every time I take a breath, a major improvement to yesterday where even the thought of breathing would bring on a coughing-fit that scared the birds off the roofs in my Hood...

I'm sure my neighbors are strolling through the dark streets every night with torches and long sticks, trying to find that punk that is costing everybody in the area his/her well deserved night rest with his booming barking...it's my luck that the typical backyard acoustics in good old Amsterdam make it near impossible to identify the source of sounds but I better stay inside for another day or two and keep a low profile ;-P

Reflections of Amsterdam - Oops Upside My Head

Unedited mobile phone cam picture of buildings reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. As always, no editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

I'm siiiiiick! I have this Killer-Cold and an Ear-infection since last week and I'm so done with feeling like something the cat dragged in, my head is about to explode and the freakin' ear drops I'm using, in comination with the actual infection, are completely clogging up one side of my head, can't hear anymore and it hurts like hell...too bad that I live in the Netherlands, because when I'll go to the doctor later today, I know exactly what he's going to tell me:

"So, what do you think it is? Which medication would you like? Do you want some Aspirin?"

This is the standard reply of any Dutch doctor when you come to their office, regardless of what you're suffering from, you can actually walk into their office with flames shooting out of your skull and they will do the same Spiel with you, not sure if they are simply annoyingly incompetent or, and that's my favorite theory, maybe they're instructed by the State to get rid of anybody who is not clearly in danger of losing limbs&life while hanging out in their office (nasty stains, etc.) but I can tell you, it is no fun to have some D***head pour his years and years of University education over you in the form of pure manure, i.e. recommending taking Aspirin when clearly you're in need of some serious medical attention!

I'd actually make a fine doctor, I always have a stash of the various flavors of Aspirin in my house, maybe I should consider a career change, hahaha ;-D

Oh my....

P.s. The title is not referring to an 80s Smash hit, it's the movement I make every few moments in the vain attempts to shake all that puss out of my eggy head, I was even rolling around on the floor last night, yelling at my ear (couldn't hear it though, lol) ;-P

Saturday 19 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - B There Or B Square!

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a biker outside the Amstel Hotel, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. As always, no editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

I love the colors&movement in this picture even though it's not as crystal clear as my other reflections...but you can sense that the guy is looking at me and he's confused, why would somebody hunch next to a puddle with a mobile phone, taking a photo of him swooshing by in his bike :-)

Have a relaxed Sunday, take it easy :)

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Levitation

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a biker, a lady opening her car door and some buildings, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no magic tricks, no Photoshop :)

It seems that the lady opening her car door is levitating above the ground but of course it's just an optical illusion created by the wickedness of the puddle...or maybe she is one of those famous 'Flying Yogis', that tried making the world a better, safer place by jumping up and down repeatedly ;-P

I am still sick, probably it's the Bird-, Mexican or some new, unknown Killer-brand of Flu and I got an ear infection (yes, I go that extra-mile, if I get sick, I do it right, haha ;), I can only hear on my left side, so if you have an urgent message for me, make sure to speak into my 'good' ear, thank you, lol ;-D

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, I want to be the healthy, happy (tired) S@m again that I was just a few days ago, so please send some herbal medicine and some good vibes to:

AmsterS@m
c/o
Amsterdam, the best city in the world

to help with my speedy recovery, thank you, you're the best :))

Have a nice weekend!

Thursday 17 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - On The Right Path

Unedited mobile phone shot of a biking lady, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

As you can see, this lady is doing pretty much everything right, she's riding a bike, she's riding the bike on the designated bike path and she's dressed appropriately for this ever-changing windy/rainy/sunny wicked weather we're blessed with this month ;-))

Unlike this lady, I did everything wrong (besides biking) and now I'm sick like a Dog, and I can't even stay home and get it out of my system, because Life isn't fair and I can't always get what I want, boohoo ;-P

Thank God it's Friday!!!

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - How It All Began...

Unedited mobile phone shot of one of all-time favorite buildings in Amsterdam, reflected in a puddle. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

Yesterday was my 3rd Flickr Birthday and I think this calls for a little trip down wicked reflection memory lane, I've been shooting this lovely building regularly, below are the highlights plus the first wicked reflection I've ever posted :)

Tuesday 15 September 2009

*** Happy 3rd Flickr Birthday To Me :))) ***

Mobile phone cam shot of me showing you the magic number because today is my 3rd Flickr Birthday, yay :D

*** Happy 3rd Flickr Birthday To Me :))) ***

Thank you all very much for the continued support, fun and laughter, it's been 3 wonderful years and I hope there are many more to come :)

Unfortunately I don't have much time for fun things like Flickr lately, but I try to post a picture a day and visit&comment on as many streams of my contacts&friends as possible, be patient if you haven't seen me pass by in a while, it just takes me a bit longer these days :)

Enough with the whining, here, have some cake, chill out, put your feet up, enjoy this special day with me :)

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Blue Tuesday

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a biker and buildings, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. As always, no editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

I feel a bit blue today, I got an email last night that I didn't make it into the 2nd round of a Photo contest from the Stadsarchief, the Amsterdam City Archive, that I reallyreally wanted to win, not just because of the financial reward, but also because my puddle pictures would have become a permanent part of the official city archive photo database and therefor part of Amsterdam's official history, surely one of the highest levels of appreciation that the best city in the world can show to one (of the best, lol ;) of its manymany Lovers&Photographers...

Luckily I am currently working with another department of the Stadsarchief on a different project that might turn out even more interesting (not in a financial way, but oh well, everything for art, lol ;) and that I will tell you more about when the time is right :)

Almost weekend, haha ;-D

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Generation XXX

Unedited mobile phone photo of a girl on her bike, a tram and some buildings, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no magic tricks, no Photoshop :)

I've noticed in the last years that the younger Generation seems to mostly consist of really pretty, premature girls that are struttin' their stuff all over the streets of the best city in the world, sometimes making me wish I was 16 again for a day...does that make me a bad person?! Probably! Is it wrong that Nature lately thinks that 14 year old girls should have the fully developed bodies of 24 year old women?! You bet!

So where did it all go wrong?! Some say it's all that Milk that the Dutch are drinking, some say it's the polluted air, some say nothing because they're too busy hiding their shame at desiring their Neighbor's (underaged) daughter ;-P

One thing is for sure though, this is not (just) me being a dirty old man, it's an internationally noted fact that there is a 'Sharp increase in pre-teen signs of puberty' all over the planet, probably caused by all the toxic things that are added to our consumer goods...weird!

Sunday 13 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Beep Beep!

Unedited mobile phone shot of a biker outside the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam, reflected in a puddle. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

This guy clearly is in a hurry like the Roadrunner himself, maybe he was just speeding up to avoid having to find his reflection back on the Interwebs, hehe...whatever his reason, I wish I could speed up the week like he sped up his bike, and then, when it's Friday, sloooow down and stretch&enjoy those few hours of free time, fun&laughter we call weekend...sigh ;-)

Have a good start into the new week, take care but take it easy!

Reflections Of Amsterdam - The Cocky Couple

Slightly edited mobile phone cam photo of bikers and buildings, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. I've added a bit of saturation&contrast but no other editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

I found a puddle yesterday in a spot where I've never noticed one before, it was outside this Barber shop (at least I think it was one, I didn't really pay attention, as usual ;) and there was this Barber (I think...lol) standing outside, watching me doing my wicked puddle play, and the more time I spent shooting, the more Barbers (?!) seemed to gather behind my back, observing me, in hushed tones discussing among themselves if they should call the cops or an ambulance to take me away (OK, maybe they were talking about something different, again, I wasn't paying any attention to them :), but I was so intrigued by the events inside the puddle that I didn't even bother to nipple-pinch the Barber-bunch to divert their observational skills from my wicked wrong-doings...that's just me :)

As you can see, it was worth it, I caught the Cocky Couple in the puddle, they were looking at me all cocky&snotty and that's why they're on the Interwebs now, haha ;-D

Have a relaxed Sunday!

Saturday 12 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Cutting Corners

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a girl and a church, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No Photoshop, no tricks, no editing :)

I like how the girl cuts through the corner in a very dynamic way...or it just seemed like that because it was so early in the morning :)

In the background you see the church 'De Krijtberg, one of my favorite churches in the best city in the world, check out my previous shots and movies of this lovely building :)

It's weekend and I'm planning on doing some serious chilling out, eating and sleeping, I'm soooo tired....

Have a wonderful weekend, take care :)

Friday 11 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Wet Walkers

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of Runners reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no Photoshop :)


This photo is dedicated to all the Victims of September 11 2001...

Thursday 10 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Memories...

Slightly edited mobile phone shot of the Amsterdam City Archive, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. I've played around with contrast&saturation but no other tricks, no Photoshop were used to create the wickedness :)

I really like the building of the Stadsarchief, the Amsterdam City Archive, it looks impressive and it's huge plus it always makes me think of Batman when I bike by :)

The Stadsarchief is the collective memory of the citizens of the best city in the world, they house Image databases, a Library, tons of educational material and manymany more things...if it's in there, it matters!

If you have some time, go and visit the Memory of Amsterdam, it's good for you :)

I can hear the weekend banging on the door, yay :D

Reflections Of Amsterdam - A (Wo)Man's Best Friend

Slightly edited mobile phone shot of a lady and her dog, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. I've added a bit of contrast&saturation but no other tricks, no Photoshop :)

I came across this nice couple while I was shooting the Munt tower and I think that they look much nicer than an inanimate object like a stoopid old tower. Besides that, I've posted billions of wicked reflections of the Munt already, but only three of the buildings on the other side of the street, so here are some much deserved props, Big Up to the buildings opposite of the Munt :-))

Hey, somebody cut the week in half, haha ;-D

Enjoy your day!

Reflections Of Amsterdam - The AmsterS@m FanBoi

Slightly edited mobile phone shot of a guy taking a photo of a photo I took, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. I've played with contrast&saturation but no other tricks, no Photoshop :)

I was out hunting puddles last weekend and at a certain point I looked up and saw this guy taking pictures outside the Agency that has put up GIANT versions of the now infamous Queensday postcards (including the picture I took during last year's Queensday, that has caused an International scandal), read more about it here!

I couldn't resist shooting him shooting my picture and calling him 'The AmsterS@m FanBoi', probably not the nicest title to gain for liking my photos, but there you have it...thanks for liking my shizzle FanBoi, hehe ;-)

Below you see what the FanBoi took a picture of, naturally I had to add a wicked reflection :)

Have a great day, almost weekend!

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Double Butt

Unedited mobile phone cam picture of people and buildings, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

So, it's Monday again...I don't really feel like going to work today, how about you? Maybe we should all sign a Petition to change the rhythm of the week from 5/2 to 2/5, 5 days of weekend instead of 2 and 2 days of work instead of 5...if we all want it bad enough 'the Man' will have to give it to us, we all just stay home from now on and only work 2 days per week...deal?

Stay home today, don't go to work, you know you want to, hahaha ;-D

Have a nice day!

Sunday 6 September 2009

Happy Birthday Miss Monyart :)))

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a biker behind the royal palace, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :))

Today is the Birthday of the lovely Miss Monyart! Make sure to head over to her Flickr stream and wish her all the best for this special day :))

Happy Birthday girl, all the best wishes, enjoy the day and let Amsterdam spoil you today :))

Saturday 5 September 2009

Reflections Of Amsterdam - The Belgium Beamer

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a Belgium BMW and typical Amsterdam buildings, reflected in a puddle. No editing at all, no magic tricks, no Photoshop :)

Usually I don't shoot cars in my puddles, as I think that they are the worst possible waste of resources to support individual laziness, and I don't want to promote this sick system, but I couldn't resist posting this one... :)

It just looks too wicked how the driver seems to be aiming at me with his metal cage, that poisons him with its fumes&gases on the inside, while killing the outside world with exhaust emissions and oil dripping out of its various orifices, once the car has aged a couple of years and harmed this planet and its people in many unpleasant ways...it just seems so stoopid!

So think again before you come to the best city in the world in a car, you might just find yourself on the Interwebs, being described in a not-so-nice way...by me that is, hehe ;-)

Have a great weekend, enjoy!

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Duck&Cover!

Slightly edited mobile phone shot of a guy&his van outside the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam, reflected in a puddle. I've added a tiny bit of contrast&saturation but no other magic tricks or Photoshop were used to create the wickedness in this picture :)

I saved this dude&his van's lifes! He was just doing his thing with the van and the paint buckets and all that, when I saw this GIANT raindrop falling his way while I was shooting them, so I yelled out 'Duck&Cover Dude!' and he did, the GIANT raindrop missing him by just a few inches...of course he got all splashy-wet, but he survived, thanks to both our lightning-quick reactions, a very close call, pheeeww ;-D

This is the first time that I have saved a human life, usually I limit myself to the helpless tiny creatures that can't stand up for themselves in this (sometimes) cruel world, check the links below for more details of the ongoing saga of 'AmsterS@m, Savior of the Insects!' (did I mention that I have awesome powers when engaged in Lifesafing acts?!)...to be continued :)

My first time!
Oops, I did it again!
I just can't get enough...of lifesaving that is, hehe :)


THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!! YAY :D

Reflections Of Amsterdam - The Skull Cracker

Unedited mobile phone shot of a biker reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

This poor biker will crack his skull open and get crushed by the stones surrounding him in just a second, watch closely...I guess that's what he gets for crossing my puddle, mhuahaha ;-D

Of course no biker or puddle was harmed during the creation of this wicked reflection, it's all just fun&games, luckily :)

The clouds look nice and puffy, just the way I like them...of course a clear blue sky isn't so bad either and I'm glad that in the last days we've had some serious sunshine again, mixed with some heavy rain, excellent conditions for my puddle pictures, yay :))

The approaching weekend makes my skin tingle already, I'm so looking forward to chilling out for 2 relaxed, nice and hopefully warm days...why can't it be weekend for 5 days combined with 2 days of labour?! It would just make so much more sense, don't you think?! Or am I being silly here? ;-P

Have a nice day...and if you're in the best city in the world today, be careful, maybe tie yourself to your bike with a rope, it's veeery windy outside :)

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Future Boy

Unedited mobile phone cam photo of a boy and my bike, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no magic tricks, no Photoshop :)

Why did I call this shot 'Future Boy' you ask? Well, for one reason, because I can, and second, because kids are the future...which means that you&me are the past (unless you're a kid ;), haha ;-D

Be nice to kids, they will be in charge of your Government when you're old and if you don't treat them nicely now, they might decide not to pay you a Pension when you're really old and tired and want to curl up in front of the fireplace instead of going to work every bloody day, hehe :-))

Almost weekend!

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Yo!

Mobile phone cam photo of a biker, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. I've fiddled around with contrast&saturation a bit, but no other tricks, no Photoshop :)

It seems as if the guy is yelling at me, and the whole situation somehow reminds me of that one scene from the movie 'Do the right thing' by Spike Lee, where the white guy moves into the black Neighborhood and one day steps on the brand new, shiny sneakers of Buggin' Out who yells at him 'YO!'...a great movie, watch it if you haven't done so yet :)

Enjoy your day!

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Stylish Biking

Unedited mobile phone cam photo of a lady with lots of stylish bags on her bike, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

Aaaand it's Monday again...I don't know why, but those 2 days of weekend just seem to fly by while the 5 days of work stretch into an endless, eternal slur. somehow that doesn't seem right! Anyway, to make our start into the new week a bit easier, here's my latest wicked reflection shot, as always done with a mobile phone, no editing at all, pure puddle madness :))

Have a great day, almost weekend, haha ;-D

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Red Star Belgrade

Slightly edited mobile phone shot of a biking lady, reflected in a puddle in the Westerpark in Amsterdam. I've added a bit of contrast and saturation, but no other tricks, no Photoshop :)

The bag the lady is carrying is probably from 'Converse' but the star reminded me of the logo of the football club 'Red Star Belgrade', Serbia's most popular football club, also famous for its violent Hooligans with "close links to Arkan and his murderous paramilitaries"...scary shizzle, I sure hope she's a supporter of Chuck and not Arkan, lol ;-P

Have a relaxed Sunday :)

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Rubber Boy

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a biker reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no magic tricks, no Photoshop :))

I love this picture, it's a got all the required elements for an extra wicked reflection, there are leafs, there's lots of water, an 'Amsterdammertje' and some dude on a bike, all combining into one mind-blowing image that seems utterly photoshopped but is all natural, just an obviously obsessed mobile phone and a wet patch somewhere in the best city in the world, making your brain go 'WTF?!'...hehe :))

Luckily it's weekend now, I've slept 10 hours after a wonderful evening with some lovely friends during which I've played 'Grand Theft Auto IV' on a Playstation 3 (my spellchecker suggested that I replace 'Playstation' with 'Molestation'...wicked ;) for the first time ever (I'm not much of a gamer, obviously :) in a drunken, smoky haze of an evening, laughing my head off every time the cool cat Mr.K shot or beat up somebody...I know I shouldn't tell you that, being amused by senseless violence surely won't help my 'Safety' situation here on Flickr, but yeah, it was freakin' hilarious, you should try it the next time you're drunk, it's good for you, haha :D

On the way home (yes, on my bike, of course :) I had the great luck to find a dry'ish window between the horrible rainstorms that occupied the sky above good old Amsterdam most of last night and today, pouring out incredible amounts of water on the city, causing all bikes to suffer an instantaneous rash of rust on their surfaces...it was wild, I can tell you :))

P.s. No Heineken, no Hangover, yay!

Have a great weekend, enjoy :)

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Panorama I

Unedited mobile phone cam photo of buildings reflected in a puddle on the roof of a house boat in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

It's a rare occasion to find a puddle on the roof of a house boat and being able to access it without too much danger of falling into the smelly canal, so you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when I biked by this beautiful specimen just sitting there within hand reach, smiling at me :)

I had to lean against a metal bar and stretch out my arms to their maximum size, seriously worrying that I'd drop Mobie into the Amstel, to make this shot happen...I do hope that you appreciate the dangerous situations I put myself in just to please you! Not to mention the 'Cuckoo' looks I get all the time when I hang out next to a puddle, holding my mobile phone into it...anything for 'art', haha ;-D

I liked the outcome so much, that I could not decide which one of these 2 pictures to post, so I chose to bore you with an 'almost identical' picture right next to this one, I hope you don't mind :)

Thank God it's Friday again, have a relaxed day and enjoy your beginning of the weekend!

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Panorama II

Unedited mobile phone cam photo of buildings reflected in a puddle on the roof of a house boat in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

It's a rare occasion to find a puddle on the roof of a house boat and being able to access it without too much danger of falling into the smelly canal, so you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when I biked by this beautiful specimen just sitting there within hand reach, smiling at me :)

I had to lean against a metal bar and stretch out my arms to their maximum size, seriously worrying that I'd drop Mobie into the Amstel, to make this shot happen...I do hope that you appreciate the dangerous situations I put myself in just to please you! Not to mention the 'Cuckoo' looks I get all the time when I hang out next to a puddle, holding my mobile phone into it...anything for 'art', haha ;-D

I liked the outcome so much, that I could not decide which one of these 2 pictures to post, so I chose to bore you with an 'almost identical' picture right next to this one, I hope you don't mind :)

Thank God it's Friday again, have a relaxed day and enjoy your beginning of the weekend!

Reflections Of AmsterS@m - The Cheapsk8 Reprise

Slightly edited mobile phone cam photo of the S@mster himself wearing one of the stylishcool T-shirts from the new 'AmsterS@m' collection (check it out here!), reflected on the side window of a car.

I've posted a similar shot 2 weeks ago, same shirt, different color, urging&stimulating you to rush to my online shop and buy tons of t-shirts, but clearly I was not convincing enough, so here we go again, mhuahahaha ;-P

They're durable, they're cute, they're cheap as hell and your friends will laugh at you if you don't have one, they might even question your man/womanhood, and that's the last thing we'd want to happen, don't we?!

And last but not least, here's my Killer-argument for these credit-crunched, tight times...the one in this picture is only 13,90 euros! That's insanely cheap! I should really go and see a Head-doctor soon, lol :D

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Good Lookin' Out

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of bikers&buildings, reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No Photoshop, no magic tricks, no editing :)

The lady in the front seems a bit concerned, probably for my well-being, being so close to the bikes rushing by and all...in other words, she's good lookin' out for me...or maybe she was aiming at me and this is her 'Focus' face, hehehe :)

Almost weekend, yay :D

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Just Do It!

Mobile phone cam shot of a runner reflected in a puddle in the Westerpark in Amsterdam. I've played around a bit with contrast and saturation but no Photoshop was used to add the wickedness :)

The guy looks so dynamic and dedicated to his running that I've chosen for an appropriate title, I hope Nike won't sue me, hehe :)

I like to imagine that he's running towards the weekend, that is now only 2 tiny days away, I can almost smell it...Mmmhhhh, weekend ;-P

Have a wonderful Wednesday, don't do anything I wouldn't do!

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Darth Granny

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a biking granny reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

I really like this one, the biker looks like some dark presence peeling out of the puddle, coming to crush me under her giant wheels...maybe it's the anonymous buttmunch coward fartface concerned citizen who almost had my Flickr account deleted, mhuahaha ;-D

I'm still so excited and happy that this ugly situation resolved itself so easily and quickly, I can't even imagine what it would be like not to log on every morning and check your lovely comments on my stream while having the first coffee of the day...I think I'm addicted, hehe :)

Reflections Of Amsterdam - Safe&Happy Again :)))

Unedited mobile phone cam shot of a biker on a bridge outside the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam, reflected in a puddle. No editing, no tricks, no Photoshop :)

Yesterday I shared my shock&horror with you guys about being reported to the Flickr staff as some sort of smut peddler and I'm happy to let you know that things have sorted themselves out, I've received another message from Flickr telling me I'm safe again and the public can see my pictures again, yay :D

Thank you all for the support, it's been a few scary hours there, I really thought they might delete my account with all your lovely comments and the years and years of friendship and fun build up by all of us together :))

To the person who caused all these bad vibrations by reporting me to Big Brother: Your Karma is going to bite you in your behind, hahahaha :D

Have a good start into the new week!

So Long Flickr, And Thanks For All The Fish!

This is it...somebody has reported my account to Flickr as 'unsafe' and they have followed up on this anonymous tip by putting my pictures on a 'moderate' level, warning me that if they'll receive another report, they will terminate my Flickr stream :((((((((

My photos are not visible to anybody anymore, unless they're signed into Flickr and have set their own account to be able to view moderate content, that means I can not show my pictures to anybody outside that small group anymore, this is so sad and unnecessary.
It seems rather unfair that some puritan soul, that feels offended by my puddle reflections or my occasional girl-shot, can just pop a message to the Flickr staff and make me look like a dirty old man, but it seems that there is not much I can do about this, I've sent Flickr a mail but didn't get a response yet :(((

I am not sure what is going to happen now, but all my pictures have already been blocked by default for anybody not signed in and set up to view unsafe things, I guess it won't be long before Flickr decides that I am a menace to the rest of the world at large and will kick me out...it's been 3 really fun, exciting years where I've met tons of cool people, made some real life friends and had a very wicked time interacting with all of you good folks, I will surely miss this a lot, thank you all so much for the good vibes, it's been a fun ride :)))

All that's left to say is "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish!", have a good time with the anonymous nay-sayers who'll spoil it for everybody else, keep your head low and your 'nasty' pictures away from the poor kids&feeble-minded grown ups, hehe ;-)

Take care, have a good one!

If you want to keep in touch with me, visit www.amstersam.com often!

Update @ 21:00 CET time: Flickr has mailed me that my account is considered 'Safe' again...let the good times roll (again)! :D
Thank you all for your support!!!

Say Yes To Summer!

The lovely Miss D and the lovely Miss N, chilling out in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, enjoying a perfect summer day :)

I really like the colors and the happy vibe in this shot...on days like this one, when life seems so perfect, easy-going and pretty, we usually sigh to each other 'Why can't Amsterdam always be like that?!'...well, why can't it?!

Anyway, have a great day and a wicked weekend :))