Temporary Amsterdam

[iamback]

Today exactly two weeks ago I went for a walk in Amsterdam with my friend Carla, who's recovering from an operation. The plan was to go to the Music building which has a nice terrace on the IJ for coffee, and then see how far she felt she could walk. The weather was absolutely perfect, and she didn't feel like stopping. Our walk mostly took us through areas where Amsterdam is working (or has recently finished) daring new projects, and it was all a happy clash of old, new and temporary, all brightly lit by the clear early fall sunshine. I wanted to take pictures of that Amsterdam - I love it! the city continously reinventing itself - and promised myself I'd go back the very next day with the same kind of light.

That was the very next day, except the clouds came out soon, about the same time both my batteries had run out. Back again for more on Wednesday, and by then I'd caught about all I'd seen that Sunday. But there's more... a big street and bridges renovation nearby, building activities all over the place for the new subway line... more on Friday, and then yesterday it was the same glorious weather again and I spent another 3.5 hours walking around and taking lots of pictures.

To edit the photos I wanted to use Helicon Filter. I'd downloaded the trial version some time ago and loved its workflow and easy way to do a lot of edits (some of them actually better than what my versions of paint Shop Pro have to offer): it's fast, efficient and powerful. After the trial period ends, it simply reverts to the free version - still quite handy, but the more advanced option (some of which I found I used a lot) just disappear. I continued to use it, but less, missing those advanced features. So... I finally sprung for a registration now: a "home" version, with lifetime upgrades (which soon will pay for itself if you keep it up, which I expect I will do). There's a "Pro" version too, but mostly that means you can also use it as a plugin - but during the trial I found I was always using it as a stand-alone program anyway. I'll post a more detailed review if anyone's interested.

Eventually, I'll put it all (well, the best) into an album, but, being poor, I decided to see if I can at least recoup the cost of the software by setting up a little shop with products based on these photographs. So that's what I'm working on now: mousepads, coasters, mugs, bags, greeting cards, and more... and it's fun to set it up, too. There's more to come, but the first sections are open now: Temporary Amsterdam. Feedback is very welcome but please keep in mind there's little to nothing I can do about the design (let alone HTML) of the site itself: that's all run by the company that produces the goods - I just "design" the products and put it all together.

Hope you have as much fun looking at my stuff (or doing more than looking ) as I'm having taking the pictures and putting it all together! (There's a link in my sig, too, in case you want to find it back later.)