I had a dream! Get to know Amsterdam! I had the honor of visiting this beautiful city and spending a few days doing what I love most, photographing. Even though it wasn't a leisure trip, I could feel some of its magic! Amsterdam is a city with a striking and charming architecture, here harmony is not by chance, it was built to be so. It is no coincidence that it is one of the cities with the highest accessibility in the world. On every street I've been through, I saw the possibility of anyone being able to come and go. Whether it's a wheelchair user, or someone on a bicycle, it is possible to get around without any kind of problem. That alone would be enough, but she manages to be better than all this. Amsterdam reveals even more! Its channels are designed so that they can serve not only as attractions for sports and leisure tours, but as efficient means of housing and locomotion for everyday life!
This image is a good example of what I have been reporting. In the left corner we see a construction of a houseboat, on the right side, a boat that has been adapted to be a villa! That's fantastic, they use all the available space they have with extraordinary efficiency! And besides, they are so detailed that the city does not lose its charm.
This is a beautiful example of a vessel whose function is to transport residents to various parts of the city! Many here don't have a car, but a small boat in front of the house, along with their bicycle! You can go by boat to almost anywhere in Amsterdam. I don't think I even need to report on bicycles, which is the most popular means of transport here. I had the experience of riding a bike in the city, I've never felt so safe walking in the middle of cars and buses, they have incredible respect for cyclists and pedestrians, the lanes are well organized, and traffic flows very easily. You feel free.
This was one of the few moments I was lucky enough to be portrayed. A photo taken by Pedro, my brother friend! I don't really like to appear in photographs, I'm more behind the scenes! But it's always good to have a record, by the way this photograph will be printed! I always want to remember this very special moment in my life!
This is another image that I have a lot of affection for, I was on my way to the other side of this channel to take a picture of the hotel. I put it in low capture speed mode, to create this trail of the cyclist! This bridge in the background resembles one we have in the city of Recife in Pernambuco.
This image was captured on a sunny day, a rarity here, since this was the autumn time here in Amsterdam. Most of the days were a lot of rain and very cold! But the sun decided to contemplate this beautiful morning with a soft and sensitive light. I took the opportunity to take as many photographs as possible for the hotel.
Here, I was on my way to Anne Frank's House, I saw this beautiful corner, and I couldn't resist, I stopped my bike and started making some images. This one is a tour boat, it makes an itinerary around the city showing points of interest to tourists.
This is another transport boat, as if it were a bus, I thought it was really cool, and of course it's worth a record. I was imagining this in my city, but I believe we are still very far from this reality. Public neglect is an epidemic in some parts of Brazil, the lack of investment in infrastructure and tourism is another major problem we face. There is only one company that takes a short walk in Recife. What makes this city what its people are, people who elect those who are committed to what they do, who value honesty and commitment. People here are educated, live in society and think about each other.
Can you imagine being able to walk around and contemplate the view in this way? When are we going to have something like this? I was wondering what's going on in this lady's mind, strolling on an autumn morning, making beautiful images, contemplating a clean and organized city, basically without visual pollution. One of the features that make Amsterdam so beautiful is its visual pattern. Here you can't just build anyway, and this collective consciousness has brought a beauty that we only understand when we get here! This would undoubtedly be a city that would spend the rest of my life!
The autumn colors further highlight the context of this place, bringing a palette of brown and yellow tones, I don't know what it would be like in the summer, but I can imagine a little of the landscape being punctuated subtly by the sun's rays, revealing a special color with the blue of the sky.
A must-have coffee break! When I was strolling around the city, I had a coffee contemplating the city's canals! I was delighted, the coffee was delicious, the intense cold made that cappuccino something special, at that moment I felt the cozy warmth of the drink with every sip. Losing that moment was not in my plans. I didn't make any images, I didn't want to lose the essence of that moment, I made a mental record, the retina was responsible for capturing where I was. It didn't make sense to lose a second, sometimes we just need a beautiful memory. Since I was a child I dreamed of being able to contemplate that city, and in my own way I did it. Doing the two things I love the most in life, photographing and having coffee, but at that moment the photograph was mental. Life goes by so fast that in the blink of an eye everything becomes a memory. This one I'm going to carry with me in my heart. I wanted next to me the people I love the most next to me, I wanted them to be there with me. It was such a special moment that I get emotional just remembering. I have plans to return, to experience all that once again, but together with those I love. It was here that I had a remarkable memory in my career. In this city, at the foot of a beautiful canal, sitting in a cafe, I remembered the day I told a great friend that photography would take me to the four corners of the world. In fact, he is a great brother that life has given me, and reaffirmed in great moments provided by the Great Architect of the Universe. I was with him having a coffee at a gas station, his name is Nilton Costa, today he lives in Orlando, Florida. You won't believe it, but while writing about him here on the blog, he called me from Orlando. I miss you, my brother! One day I'll write about it here on my blog. A special about life! I also talked to my mother about these adventures, about this passion for traveling, getting to know places I glimpsed on television, I remembered the day she presented me with my first camera, and that she was the person who supported me the most in the decision to be a photographer. Tears were inevitable, not of sadness but of joy, nostalgia, of having finally made a dream come true. It sounds silly, but I celebrate every little achievement of life, because when we put it all together, we see that we do something great!
This was my first photograph in Amsterdam. This one sitting on the bench is Pedrinho, general marketing manager of the Pestana Group. He is one of those responsible for this great adventure. In another post it was to report this incredible story of friendship, which resulted in an incredible journey through Europe. He was even one of the people who forced me to go far in photography studies. I owe him a lot for all this encouragement. These are the colors at dusk, this brown tone, this golden yellow that sprouts from the poles and windows through the streets! It looks like a fairy tale scenario. Amsterdam is beautiful. We don't always need to go that far to know that things are possible in our lives! Perhaps, because I dreamed so much of traveling and getting to know other places I needed to be here, to actually feel what I had conquered and where I had arrived. I'm very happy for the choices I made, for everything I've made! I was afraid, yes, I was very afraid, fear is part of it, when we feel afraid we are sure what we are going to do is something of greatness. It's not impossible, everyone can try, they don't try to take long steps at once, but start with small victories, and when they least expect it they will be where they always wanted to be. Remember, it will take a long time or not, it will depend on your commitment, and your willingness to accomplish what is needed. Amsterdam, I'm going back! I'll be back soon! Thank you for welcoming me so well! I know that one day I will be in that cafe writing about you once again!
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