I was going through a few old photos and I was not sure if I ever posted this one or not!

I was in Amsterdam for the Reason conference (a gathering of a Libertarian bent).  It was really cool because I got to meet Trey Parker and Matt Stone (creators of Southpark), who were also there at the conference.  Towards the end of one day, we all got on a private boat to take us around the canals of Amsterdam.  I got a chance to talk for a while with the former prime minister of Estonia when they made the transition to the flat tax.  Very interesting to me… economics is one of my hobbies, so it was a kick to hang out with all these think-tank guys and gals.

At some point, I left the conversation to climb on top of the boat to take this photo.

This was shot in Amsterdam an one of their "smaller" churches, not too far from the train station. I remember it being very cold and windy that day, so sneaking into the church to take a break from the weather was a nice break.

Some of the detailed stained glass in central Amsterdam…

It was quite a party and I’m not sure I remember much…

I understand it is difficult to figure out exactly what is happening in this picture. I think it is interesting to watch people look at this picture and either accept it as "cool" or delve deep into layers of understanding to try to figure out exactly what it is. Everyone has different levels of investigative tolerance… but I hope it is fun to look at no matter where you stop in the curiosity chain.

This mall is in the middle of downtown Amsterdam just off the Dam Square.

Here is a cool corner found inside the narrow streets of Amsterdam.

This is one of the coolest organs I have ever seen in a church. I recently found this one in my stack of pictures from Amsterdam. I believe this is from Oude Kerk in the Red Light District.

This was a five-exposure HDR from inside this Holland church at around 12mm.

Every beautiful church in Europe has organs that are somewhere between fantasy and reality, but this one in Amsterdam really grabbed my attention.  Plus, the afternoon light was just right to get the details and the contrast.

This is one of the main canals by the train station. All the little homes lean in different directions, with most of them leaning out over the canal from a slow sink over the years.

Right in the middle is a tiny pot shop, where you can hang out and not care so much about your home leaning over the canal.

I found this fella in a back alley in Amsterdam.

I thought this was a very cool shopping mall, so I got up in the middle and took a vertical HDR.  The security guard came over and asked what I was doing. I told him that I was an American doing HDR, and then he just walked away.

I found this in an old church in Amsterdam. I thought it was very strange but cool, and I new the HDR technique would add a very interesting and surreal touch to this unique find. I don’t know… maybe people will hate this one, but I find it a mesmerizing take on the old “puddle reflection” shot.

Oude Kerk is a huge and beautiful church that is right in the middle of Amsterdam’s red light district.  The entire floor of the church is lined with graves, covered with heavy and stone engraved slabs over the last several hundred years.  It’s hard to describe exactly how many graves line the floor, but I have tried to do so with this angle and lens.

Here is the grandiose altar of the same church I featured a few days ago in a different photograph. There are some really nice details throughout the little bits and pieces in this shot. If you have a big monitor and a fast connection, click here to see the original size.