Urban Photo Race...

In early June, Jimmy and Veronica participated in the Urban Photo Race in Amsterdam. They were given a theme and a location where they had to check in by a certain time in order to continue onto the next theme for a total of 6 themes over 12 hours. While Jimmy did participate...

 ...he seemed to be more serious about taking photos of Veronica.

They didn’t win, but they had a great time!

Food Festivals in Leiden...

We jumped ashore in Leiden and met up with Ashlynn to visit two food festivals. The Food & Lifestyle Festival took place at the abandoned factory. With low attendance, it lacked energy. Jimmy was impressed with one of the food vendors who offered stew made in these giant cast iron pots.

Much more interesting was the Food Truck Festival near the Pieterskerk. There weren’t a lot of vegetarian options, but we did manage to find the perfect food...

...a veggie dog slathered with hummus sitting on top of some lettuce inside a pretzel and topped with popcorn. Might sound weird, but it was delicious!

In fact, we loved it so much that we went back the next day for more!

This photo was taken nearby; it’s hard to tell, but those are Jimmy and Ashlynn’s reflections in the middle.

Nests in Leiden...

We saw some unusual bird’s nests during our boat ride, including this coot’s nest alongside a houseboat...

...and a giant nest perched high on an abandoned factory.

Suspect that it’s actually a piece of artwork, but fun to imagine the huge birds that might live in it.

Boating in Leiden...

We were thrilled when our neighbors asked if we wanted to join them on their boat into Leiden on a sunny Saturday in late May. We enjoyed chatting with them and seeing Leiden from the water.

While many of the views were familiar, I couldn’t resist taking a bunch of photos.

Going through this particular tunnel is always especially entertaining.

Was surprised to see just how precariously some of the vehicles are parked at the Saturday farmer’s market.

Swimsuits and Wings...

Throwing this funky fabric into the air in just the right way created the illusion of butterfly wings.

The last shoot was back at the lake, but this time at the nude beach, where we saw a few male visitors that we’d all rather forget seeing. The water was very chilly, but Ashlynn was willing to walk further out than anyone expected.

Ashlynn got some more experience and nice photos for her portfolio as well as having a lot of fun.

A Mystical Place...

We went back to the apartment for lunch and a change of hair and make-up, this time featuring some white hair dye and false eyelashes.

We walked to a different part of the park to give a more mystical feel to the photos with ferns instead of swamp.

The strangest bit was when Quirine placed a real butterfly, dead of course, in Ashlynn’s mouth.

A Golden Princess...

I was a bit confused when stylist Quirine put Ashlynn in a bathing suit and then draped a gold silk dress over her shoulder...

 ...and then had her walk out onto a walkway over the lake.

The result, however, was absolutely stunning! And you’d never guess she was in Rotterdam.

I saw this cool tree and suggested they consider using it. At this point, Ashlynn was wearing the gold silk dress. Since Quirine wanted to return the dress, they placed a plastic bag on the tree to protect the material.

I love the result!