Amsterdam | Explore Travel Series

Amsterdam is known for its murky and unpredictable weather, and the night before, a forecast of rain threatened our photoshoot. But a few days in the city had already taught me not to worry, it would be what it would be. After a morning drizzle the sun broke through just enough to create a perfect diffused glow that couldn’t have been more perfect for outdoor photography. We ditched our jackets soon enough and enjoyed a warm spring day. In fact, the weather seemed to be at our bidding, clouds giving us that perfect moody sky and rain making a comeback only while we switched locations as if we had it on remote control.

In Amsterdam if you’re the friend with a rooftop terrace you’re the host for get-togethers and the envy of your friends. The rooftop is your second living room and your space to unwind. So our first port of call was this most natural of dutch habitats. I loved to capture the classic Amsterdam architecture and rooftops in the background of these images.

Our next location was only a 15 minute drive where the historic still functioning windmill outside of town is a reminder of the battle with the sea that so much defines the dutch. Here along one of the bigger and deeper canals we found a natural refuge to continue the yoga session, walk and enjoy the first bursts of spring flowers so iconic to the region.

One of the aspects of this shoot that I absolutely loved and made sure to retain was the moody natural lighting, that needed no assistance in bringing a sculptural element to each image and the earthy pallet that came about as we allowed the session to evolve in each location.

We ended our shoot with a bike ride and a quick jog along Amsterdam’s scenic canals, in the Jordaan district, notably two blocks from where Anne Frank penned her infamous journals during the war. Amsterdam is a city with few cars and incredibly active pedestrian traffic, so it was fantastic to include this iconic native element of active daily life in the shoot.

Our model Juliette is part dutch, part Indonesian her very existence an outcome the Netherland’s colonial past. I loved the conversation we had about her visiting her grandfather’s grave in Indonesia and coming to an understanding of his role in an oppressive system, a young man who died before the age of twenty in a foreign land for his government’s interests in the region. As the world continues to come to grips with the clash of cultures that globalization creates and the recent history of empire building that, unlike its predecessors in ancient history, has become an element of culture that we wish to confront in real time, it’s amazing to have candid conversations about what values we hope to bring into the future.