The city of Amsterdam is constructing a new metro line running from Central Station in the north going roughly south to Amsterdam Zuid (South). Hence the name Noord/Zuidlijn (or North/South Line in English). Drilling the metro tunnels under ground is challenging and controversial because the tunnels go straight under Amsterdam’s historic buildings.
To show the general public what is going on under ground a special ‘uitkijkpunt’ (viewpoint) has been made near station Rokin (one of the new metro stations).
Entrance to the Noord/Zuidlijn uitkijkpunt.
This viewpoint is below ground. It gives an overview of what is going to be constructed, and a glimpse of the actual building process. Going down one level you arrive at some sort of exhibition area.
Exhibition area
This level and the one below will be part of an underground parking garage. The actual metro track will be 21.5 meters below NAP (see the end of this post for an explanation of NAP). The metro station will be 270 meters long, deepest point will be at 26.5 meters below NAP. The exhibition area is situated just below the M on the photo below.
When you walk further, you can go down another level. This is the entrance to the working area.
Entrance
The wall at the left (called ‘diepwand’) is the actual wall of the excavation. In the top right and bottom right you can see the ‘stempels’ – T-bars or tubes which run from one wall to the other wall. The ‘stempels’ provide support so the excavation does not collapse.
Going down another level you can see the place where the drilling takes place.
Upper level parking structure
This will be the upper level of the parking structure. Here you can see the many ‘stempels’ which provide support for the outer walls of the excavation. Below this floor the metro tunnel will be drilled. To prevent the tunnel from collapsing during drilling, the earth will be frozen solid first, before drilling starts. In the lower right corner you can see the tubes which cool down the earth. Because the cooling process is already going on for several months ice has formed at the joints.
A close-up:
Unfortunately this is all you can see. You have to look through a metal grid or some perspex sheets in a wooden board to see something. The grid and wooden board limit what you can see.
Some comments on the photos
The exhibition area photo and the entrance photo are HDR photos composed of three photos (-2, 0, +2 stops exposed). The upper level parking structure photo is an HDR photos composed of 11 photos each 1 stop apart. I decided for such a large amount of photos because the sunlight can be seen in the top right of the photo, and it was pitch dark in the area just below. The photos were shot through a clear perspex sheet, so some streaks can be seen.
--- NAP NAP stands for Normaal Amsterdams Peil (‘normal level of Amsterdam’) and is a reference level for all height measurements in the Netherlands. NAP is roughly the sea level at high tide.
Keukenhof is the world’s largest flower garden located near Lisse, The Netherlands. Each year Keukenhof is open for only two months, usually from late March to mid May. This year I visited Keukenhof to take photos of the beautiful flowers. It was a clear, overcast day, perfect for photography. A sunny day is nice, but the contrast can be too high. Taking close-up photos is a challenge. The flower beds are located in lawns and you are not supposed to walk on the grass. Even though, take a look at the first photo I took: I discovered the automatic white balance tends to subdue the bright colours of the flowers. Take a look at the following photos. The first photo is the standard, out-of-the-camera JPEG image. The second photo is a JPEG image, processed with DXO Optics 6.1 from the RAW file with white balance set to daylight.
Photo 1
Photo 2
The actual colours of the flowers are like the ones in photo 2. It turned out to be that the daylight white balance produced the correct colours for the photos taken outside. In the morning, it started to rain just a little bit. Luckily, Keukenhof also has indoor exhibitions. Here are some photos of orchids on display.
After a while it stopped raining, and I could take some photos of the tulips up close and personal.
Here is an experiment with flash photography. The ambient exposure is stopped down –1 stop. Flash exposure is compensated with –2/3 stop.
The colours are really fantastic.
Here is an interesting artwork. It is called 'Looking at bulbs' .
The tulips and other flowers are situated in a beautiful garden.
Keukenhof also has other plants, besides tulips.
You can see all my photos in a slideshow by clicking on this link, or click on the photo below.
In my Gitzo GT1541T tripod review I mentioned the ball head sometimes comes loose. This is because I could not tighten the ball head tight enough on the tripod legs. I considered using Loctite, but did not use it because I would have to clean the threads when I want to unscrew the ball head (to use it on my Gorillapod).
On YouTube I found a tip which seems to work. The trick is to push down on the ball head when you tighten it on the tripod.
Take a look at the video below where it is explained in more detail.
The Gitzo GT1541T tripod and the Gitzo GH1780QR ball head are my trusty companions for long exposure, HDR and panorama photography. I chose this combination because it is very light weight, and can be folded into to a very compact package. First I will describe some details of the tripod and the ball head. Then I will tell about my personal experience while using this combination.
Gitzo GT1541T tripod
The Gitzo GT154T tripod is made from carbon fiber. Six layers of carbon are used to form the legs. Carbon gives the best load bearing to (tripod) weight ratio, but is also the most expensive material compared to aluminum or basalt. The tripod weighs 0.97 kg and can support up to 8 kg, so the tripod can support almost eight times its weight. Maximum height is 113 cm, when you extend the center column it is 140 cm.
The legs can be extended in four sections. Gitzo uses a ‘twist-and-lock’ system. This version comes with a new Anti Leg Rotation System. You can loosen all the twist locks at the same time, pull the leg down and tighten the locks individually. The tripod has rubber feet (non-removable).
The tripod is a member of the Gitzo traveler series. This means you can rotate the tripod legs 180 degrees. This is handy when you want to carry the tripod in a bag or suitcase.
The center column can be removed and the ball head can be attached directly on top of the tripod (ground level set). No tools are needed. Alternatively, the column can be easily inverted. This is handy for macro work when you have to get very close to the ground.
Here is a picture out of the manual to give you an idea what this tripod is capable of:
Gitzo GH1780QR ball head
I use the Gitzo tripod in combination with a Gitzo GH1780QR ball head.
The ball head has the following features:
double quick release safety system
three leveling bubbles
separate pan control
The Gitzo quick release system uses a quick release plate which you attach to the bottom of the camera. When you slide the plate into the ball head you hear a click when the plate is locked into the ball head. You then close a lever and tighten a screw to firmly fix the plate.
Releasing the camera is a two part process:
open the release lever so the camera can slide freely on the ball head.
press a button and slide the plate out of the ball head.
The ball head has three leveling bubbles: two in the quick release plate and one in the stem. You use these leveling bubbles to get perfectly leveled images. No more crooked horizons or strange looking buildings!
The ball head can be rotated (panned) independently of the front-back or lateral movement. This enables you to do easier last minute adjustments.
As a picture tells more than a thousand words, here is a picture from the manual to illustrate the features of the ball head:
My experience
Before I bought this tripod I did some research on the Internet. Thom Hogan wrote a nice article on it. He writes about all the mistakes and the extra money he spent in search of the perfect tripod and ball head. Be aware that a good tripod and ball head costs money. Of course you can buy a cheaper tripod and ball head. But then you may have to deal with ball heads which ‘sag’ when you load them, tripods which do not work (still blurry images) or are too heavy so you never take them with you.
The heaviest load I would use is a Canon 50D with 70-200mm zoom lens. Another setup would be a Canon 50D, 17-55mm zoom lens and a Nodal Ninja panorama head. I decided to go for something which I can carry with me on holidays. It should be light and portable. A friend of mine could get the Gitzo stuff at discounted prices for me. So it was easy to decide what to buy.
The traveler version is easy to carry around. To take photos on eye level I have to extend the center column. To make the tripod more rigid you can attach a weight (I use my camera bag) to the hook provided at the end bottom part of the center column. When the center column is extended, it can be very hard to reach the hook of the center column. I use a bungee cord to make it easier. Just loop the bungee cord through the camera bag and connect the hooks of the bungee cord to the hook of the tripod.
TIP: When it is windy, let the camera bag rest on the ground when it is attached to the tripod. When your camera bag is suspended in the air, it might act as a sort of pendulum and will introduce even more vibrations.
I selected a ball head with a quick release system. I used to screw/unscrew my camera to the tripod. But in low light situations or when you are in a hurry it is very easy to make a mistake and not fully tighten the bolt into the camera. It happened to me several times that I discovered the bolt was about to get unscrewed from the camera and that everything would fall on the floor.
I like the two step process of releasing the plate from the ball head. With other systems you only need to press a button to slide out the plate. When your camera is attached at an angle, pressing the button could mean the camera slides out of the ball head by itself and falls on the ground. With the Gitzo system the camera will also start to slide when you open the release lever. But the camera will still be attached to the ball head – it is prevented from sliding out! You can only slide the camera from the ball head when the lever is opened and you press the release button.
Click on the photo above to get into the Flickr page where you can see in more detail where everything is located. The release button can be seen on this photo. Unfortunately the Gitzo quick release plates are not compatible with quick release plates of other brands. You have to buy the expensive Gitzo plates.
Everything considered, I can recommend the tripod and the ball head. The tripod is rigid, there is no play and the finish is solid. The mechanism to adjust the ball head works smooth. The leveling bubbles enable you to level the camera very fast. Gitzo has thought of all kinds of small details. An example: the position lever for the panning motion can be adjusted any way you like. On the photo above you can see it is in the horizontal position when it is tightened. If you want another position (like vertical) just pull the lever, rotate it into the position you want and release it!
The entire combination is light enough to carry around all day. I used the tripod in Dubai, French Polynesia, the Netherlands, The UK and many other places. The only gripe I have is that sometimes the ball head comes loose from the tripod bolt. This especially happens when I forget to use the panning lever on the ball head. I am considering to use Loctite for a more permanent fit, but I am also using the ball head on my Gorillapod. Make sure you use the right version – Loctite 243 – so you can remove the ball head when you want to.
Sunday May 2 was the day the New York Times asked people all over the world to take a photo and send it to them to form a global mosaic. This Sunday it was raining and I decided to upload the photo above. This is the caption I entered: “Rain in Holland gives us two valuable gifts: drinking water and a green environment”.
Aiyanar houses at Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam Canon 350D | Canon 17-55mm | 1/25 @ f/2.8 | ISO 400
Aiyanar is a Hindu Village god worshipped in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Tamil villages in Sri Lanka. Near the temples of Aiyanar there are usually colourful statues of riding horses.
This picture was taken during Wiki Loves Art/NL, hand held (no tripod or flash allowed). I focused on the eye of the second horse from the right. The picture was selected by one of the jurors of the competition. I like this photo because of the wonderful colours of the horses.
It took quite some shots to reach the final result. You can see the various shots I made, here:
