Lunchtime at the Zuidas

The Zuidas is a pretty new office area in South Amsterdam with lots of high rises. It is an area that combines urban living with working. The VU University, where I work, is right around the corner from there and every now and then I go over there during my lunch break.

row of people on a bench

I don't particularly like the area, it's very much a concrete city and there are not a lot of trees and plants around. In winter the high rises cause a lot of wind so you are lucky if you are not blown away.

guy having a chat

During a hot summer the sun is blazing upon the asphalt and there is hardly any fresh oxygen, not a good place for me to be. 

two women walking

But in the heydays of this summer when it is still pleasantly warm it is a curious place with lots of people enjoying their lunch hour outside, either alone or in company of colleagues or guests.

single man on a bench

The past couple of weeks I have been in the company of Miksang friends a few times and we've have been talking about photographing people and how to go about that. I took the opportunity today to take a few snapshots to see how that worked for me.

single man playing with his cell phone

Well, first of all I am too shy to stand right in front of somebody and to take a photo of that person, I feel I can do that in the company of family and friends but not with complete strangers.

man smoking a cigarette

Photographing people from behind or from the side is obviously a safe strategy and I used that a lot today, just to get me familiarized with this kind of photography.

lovely redhead

What also helped me is sitting down on a bench like I did when I took the picture below. I just sat there for a while and let people walk or bike me by.

shadow of two people

single woman with her lunch

People who are busy doing something else are also pretty easy to shoot as they have their mind and concentration on something else. People talking in a cell phone are even easier than that as they are focused to listening to someone who is not even in the visual area.

three women conversing

two girls on a bicycle

two women waiting around

four people sitting down

I am sure these are not great eye openers for you, but I would just like to share my experience with you. Maybe in the future I become more comfortable with looking at and photographing people. I realize it mostly has to do with my own thoughts and feelings.