Renowned photographer spent two years shooting timelapse footage of Amsterdam ‘to make locals proud and tourists desperate to visit’ – and the result is incredible
- The timelapse footage was filmed by Albert Dros, who wanted to show the beauty of his home city
- The 34-year-old took a series of incredible stills during the shoot – over a dozen of which we present here
- The film shows Amsterdam through the seasons, but while the weather changes, the city’s charm is constant
If you didn’t want to visit Amsterdam before – you almost certainly will after watching this mesmerising timelapse footage of it.
The magical video, called ‘Amsterdam – My Home’ and posted to YouTube, has been created by renowned Dutch landscape photographer Albert Dros, who moved to the city a few years ago.
He revealed that he wanted to show off its beauty, make locals proud and spark some wanderlust among tourists. And to bolster his efforts, he also took a set of incredible still photographs during the timelapse shoot – 13 of which we present here.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yu3pvWGnYVs%3Ffeature%3Doembed
Albert Dros created a stunning timelapse video of Amsterdam and took a series of incredible stills during the filming. This is one of them – Canal Reflections
The 34-year-old told MailOnline Travel: ‘I moved to Amsterdam a few years back and was caught by my new home. There is so much beauty in Amsterdam and I occasionally captured it on my photos. But I wanted something more. So I decided to capture the city in a “moving” way – this timelapse.
‘I just want to show the beauty of the city. I want locals to be proud of their city, and tourists to be like – that’s what I want to see!
‘I decided I would capture timelapse footage whenever I had the time and when the conditions in the city were nice. I had no deadline. The film would be done when I felt I had enough beautiful footage captured.
‘As I have a background in multimedia and design and, next to a landscape photographer, am also a motion graphics designer, this project was right up my alley.’
This still that Albert took while filming shows Skinny Bridge, at Kerkstraat. It was built in 1934 and lies about a three-minute walk from Hermitage Amsterdam
Albert said that he found the angles for the shoot simply by biking around the city and noting the parts that ‘had a lot of movement’. This is one of his stills
And how did he find the angles and scenes? Using a bike, naturally.
He continued: ‘I just took my bike and biked around and shot scenes from parts of the city that had a lot of movement – combining them with hotspots. And of course the moon parts. This really comes from my photography.
‘I love planning difficult moon images where you see the moon right on top of a building. I used an app called PhotoPills for this to exactly know how the moon comes up and goes down.’
The Red Light District has never looked cuter. Albert said regarding his timelapse video: ‘I just want to show the beauty of the city. I want locals to be proud of their city, and tourists to be like – that’s what I want to see!’
The Red Light District Part Two: This part of Amsterdam is often regarded as seedy. It looks anything but here
One of his favourite moments is the lunar eclipse above the city skyline, which he got up at 4am to shoot.
He said: ‘I love the transition from the busy part of the film into a bit of a relaxing part. Some of the extreme close-up parts are also just regular footage, no timelapse.
‘I really love the shot where you see the plane in front of the moon. That was obviously luck and not planned, but epic to have that on video. And an eclipse is something you don’t see every day, especially in combination with a clear sky in the Netherlands. I was fortunate to be able to capture this and it’s really a special part of the film for me.’
Albert said that he particularly likes the parts of the timelapse that transition from busy to relaxing
Albert’s amazing project shows Amsterdam through the seasons, but while the weather changes, the city’s charm remains constant
Albert reveals that he ‘probably spent more time in the field taking shots that failed than shots that succeeded’
Albert revealed some fun facts about the shooting of the timelapse video and posted them on his website.
One is that he ‘probably spent more time in the field taking shots that failed than shots that succeeded’.
And some failures had a cost attached.
He writes: ‘The introduction shot was shot from the Hilton Skylounge. I went here over 10 times to get the conditions I wanted. On top of that I wanted to make photos and shoot timelapses during the New Year’s Eve of 2019. I rented a suite for 800 euros for the night, but it was completely fogged up for the whole night, so I had zero usable footage.’
He had a good time celebrating with his girlfriend, though, he adds.
Albert writes on his website: ‘The introduction shot was shot from the Hilton Skylounge. I went here over 10 times to get the conditions I wanted. On top of that I wanted to make photos and shoot timelapses during the New Year’s Eve of 2019. I rented a suite for 800 euros for the night, but it was completely fogged up for the whole night, so I had zero usable footage’
Albert said that the timelapse project was right up his alley, as he has a background in multimedia and design and, next to a landscape photographer, is also a motion graphics designer
The moon shots are among Albert’s favourite in the video. He even, at one point, creates a fake moon, before zooming in on the real thing
One of Amsterdam’s many chocolate box streets, captured in a magical shot here
The weather was a constant irritation for Albert during the shoot – but on occasions he turned the conditions to his advantage
Albert also explains that one of the shots involves some camera trickery.
He continues: ‘At 00:40 seconds into the film, there is a tilting shot that points up to the church where the moon is appearing. This moon is actually “fake”. I put it there using special effects and masking. Of course, it becomes real when the shot zooms in.’
Another star of the video is an old tram, which appears at 2:34.
Albert reveals that this is not a ‘usual’ tram.
He says: ‘It’s a super old tram that is part of a museum that you can check out here. They only drive during some Sundays and during some occasions, like on the last days of the year. The man driving the tram at the time, Mr Carels, showed great passion for the old trams and told me many interesting stories. He was so kind to let me stand next to him while driving a circle through the city. He did not see the footage ever, until the release of this film almost two years later after I recorded it.’
Mr Carels will undoubtedly, along with everyone else, be hugely impressed.
For more on the project visit www.albertdros.com/amsterdam-my-home.
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