The House on the Water

Blue hour settles over a canal in Amsterdam, a tall brick house standing at the water's edge with its windows lit warm gold against a deep blue sky. Gabled houses line the canal behind it, and the long exposure has stilled the water into a dark mirror that carries every window down into the foreground. I had spent hours that afternoon working golden hour, then wandered down through the old center and stopped at a bar for a beer. Sitting there, I noticed the house and the canal in front of it, the light just turning. I set the tripod up beside my table and left the shutter open for thirty seconds, long enough to smooth the canal and pull the warm interiors into long reflections. Some of the best frames find you after you have stopped looking.