Amsterdam's Red Light District presentation

Hey All,

 

I'd like to invite everyone to check out a short photo presentation that I

made of Amsterdam's Red Light District. The Red Light District is much larger

than what's shown.

 

The pics were taken on a DiMAGE 7 so please take that into account!

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation.tcl?presentation_id=321380

 

-Tom

Hi, i don't think that the minolta you used is a problem...I hope this will be not taken as too raw, but i can't see what you talk about in your shots...what I see are some postcards, but no life, no tension in there...I don't know, look like you were distant from the sense of all that..

 

Thank you anyway for having posted it. I'll look forward to some next serie.

It is a short presentation as you said. Thank you for sharing. I have to agree with prior coments, that your photos are illustrative of a scene with no real emotional draw. I am sure this place is fascinating.

What other sights are there too see in Amsterdam? I don't understand why folks fly halfway around the world to take pictures of hookers and their residences.

In America legal prostitutes were legislated out of existence years ago. (There are a few counties in Nevada that brothels are legal but they are not nearly as "romantic" or photogenic as Amsterdam. And cameras are a big no-no.)

 

I think the appeal of Amsterdam is a curiosity thing. Then mix that with the legal pot and you have a big pull.

 

I have not been there myself, but a buddy of mine who just returned from there found it refeshing and enjoyable.

Well said RML, but perhaps, if there is a wife or girlfriend, and she sees the pictures....lots of time on the couch for TOM. ;)

Amsterdam's red light district is more about dark narrow sidestreets and pimps lurking in dark doorways than wide lamplit canals, and this does not show. However, even those night shots are brave; I did not dare to even bring a camera with me in this area. A friend of mine tried to take a secret pic of a prostitute, and had to run to save his ass.

 

Walking around in the district is a mainstream tourist attraction, japanese tourists and elderly businessmen wander around in big groups, it should not require any "couch time" back at home.

"The pics were taken on a DiMAGE 7 so please take that into account!"

 

What in the world does the above statement mean? Are you ashamed of the camera? What???

 

If you can't get good results, it is not the fault of the camera. You work with what you have.

"What other sights are there too see in Amsterdam?" Hardly any, being Dutch myself, I can tell from experience. I think Tom would have been better off if he had just stayed in Seattle, which is without any doubt, a much nicer city.

 

Amsterdam hasn't got anything to offer to people that do not visit it for cheap hookers and/or the drugs. Amsterdam is just a myth. In reality, it's an agressive and dirty place and I would not recommend it to anyone. (As a side note; their football team sucks even harder that the city itself :-)

lol juergen - I hope that's a resident of a beautiful but overcrowded-with-tourists-and-stag/hen-partying-brits talking ; )

oops - insert 'city' where appropriate

Much less tacky in 1970, but you can't go back.

Hi, Tom,

 

I, too, would have enjoyed seeing shots of, well, hookers, crack addicts, and customers. I also realize those kinds of shots are difficult to achieve, if not downright dangerous to attempt in a place like a red light district. <p> I have a method I learned a long time ago from Gordon Wiltsie, now a Nat. Geo. photographer. Gordon would plant himself in one spot for a while, and just watch the world pass by. After a while, he simply became part of the scene and became one with the locals, and they didn't mind him making their portraits.

 

<p>

 

Here's a gallery with some of my own people shots - under admittedly less dangerous conditions - made at the Virgin of Guadalupe Festival in Los Angeles last December. <p>

 

http://www.pbase.com/davewyman/darkvirgin <p>

 

This was no tourist event and frankly, I stuck out a bit with my camera. Employing Gordon's method when I could, I came back with, for me, some satisfying photographs. <p>

 

Good luck, and you did well with your Dimage - I didn't see much grain with those night shots, by the way. (I have a bunch of cameras, including a 7i and A1 which still see service on occasion - the are terrific cameras.) <p><div></div>

"Gordon's method"

 

I would recommend being a little more observant in attributing an age old method to any one person in particular, especially if he's still alive. Many well known and now dead photographers have practiced what you describe long before any "Gordon" came on the scene.

 

Besides, the method you describe has no bearing on the fact that photography is generally not permitted and explicitly banned during business hours in this "red light" district area of Amsterdam, regardless of any "method" you may decide to employ. As someone pointed out above, you'd be lucky to walk away with your camera and your limbs intact if anyone found you taking pictures there. Even if your name is "Gordon".

>Besides, the method you describe has no bearing on the fact that photography is generally not permitted and explicitly banned during business hours in this "red light" district area of Amsterdam, regardless of any "method" you may

decide to employ. <

 

<p>

 

Good point, Nels. I was speaking about making photographs of people in general, not specifically about Amsterdam or other places known to be dangerous to photographers. <p>

 

By the way, "Gordon's" web site is here: </A> <A HREF="http://www.alpenimage.com/"> alpenimage.com <A>

Thanks for the link, Dave. That Gordon dude can take a snap or two, for sure.

Hey All,

 

I appreciate the constructive critique on the photos being lifeless and lacking tension. I needed to weigh getting the shots versus getting my butt kicked for taking pics in a place where cameras are very unwelcome! Yes, they will throw your camera into the canal.

 

I also might add that in a few of those shots my adrenaline was going in over drive!

 

The night shots were taken with a mini tripod using the bridge railing for stability.

 

The "not so pretty" pic was in fact taken on a Sunday morning.

 

I just got a Nikon D70s with a 50mm f1.8 which gives about a 4-5 stop improvement over the DiMAGE 7 with a much faster autofocus.

 

-Tom

Tom, the photos weren't lifeless - they just cried out, given the location, for MORE life! :-)

 

You'll definitely have fun in low light with your new set-up.

RM L. , may 28, 2006; 09:54 a.m. wrote:

<br>> I'm a life long resident of Amsterdam and can tell you

<br>> Amsterdam has more than just the red light district. I think

<br>> the reason why these shots lack the life and vibrancy this

<br>> district undoubtedly has, is because cameras are not wanted

<br>> there. It's not recommended to shoot the girls, the addicts,

<br>> the doormen, the pushers and dealers, the bouncers, the

<br>> Hell's Angels, etc. You risk having your camera ripped from

<br>> your hand/neck/wrist and thrown into the canal. Then you go

<br>> after your camera. Don't let anyone tell that's a fairy

<br>> tale. It has happened, does happen and will happen. The

<br>> police won't do squat about it. This district is regulated

<br>> by the crime scene. Only when it gets out of hand the police

<br>> steps in.

<br>

<br>An acquaintance who is a very talented street photographer did some shooting in the red light district a couple of years ago while he was travelling around Europe. While he was snapping away (trying to be unobtrusive), a big guy and a prostitute confronted him. He gave up his film but they still ended up grappling with him and tried to drag him into a doorway. Fortunately, another man rushed over to pull him free and he got away. Months later, he was still very upset that he had to give up the roll that had, what he thought, were the best shots of the night.

<br>

<br>larsbc