Adam Nowek

A couple of months ago, I started an internship at Golfstromen here in Amsterdam. Amongst other fabulous things (including writing for the internationally-adored Pop-Up City), I was asked to shoot an event: Pecha Kucha Amsterdam.

On 24 April, Trouw Amsterdam hosted the 21st edition of the event. It was an enlightening little evening of creative and inspiring chats. And, best of all, I managed to put together a little gallery of the images. You can take a look at the slideshow on my Flickr. Enjoy!

Hot off the presses! One of my photographs, 120216.001, was recently published in Rooilijn, a Dutch-language urbanism journal. The photograph accompanies Koen Raats' article on conversions of former church buildings in the Netherlands, "Lege kerkgebouwen: slopen of omdopen?" This, of course, means that I get the great honour of being able to refer to myself as an internationally-published photographer. Awesome!

Check out the original version of the photograph. And, while you're at it, go take a look at the journal's website. If you want to get your hands on a copy of this issue, look for Rooilijn 45, no. 2 (2012), page 92.

Part of my programme here in Amsterdam involves the sLIM Lecture Series, where internationally-renowned academics and urban planners present lectures to masters students in metropolitan studies and urban planning. This year's lecture series is on modernism, and, fittingly, the lectures take place at the Garage Notweg, a creative studio and workshop housed in a decidedly modernist-looking garage.

The building itself is located in the Osdorp neighbourhood of Amsterdam. The neighbourhood is significant in the sense that most of the buildings in the neighbourhood are modernist mass housing developments that are largely populated by immigrants to the Netherlands.

After last week's lecture, I decided to go for a walk and check out the neighbourhood's architecture.

You can view all of the photographs from this collection in a set that I've posted on Flickr.

How cool is this? One of my photographs was featured on Vancouver Is Awesome as part of their Daily Flickr Pickr series yesterday! Head on over and take a look at their thoughts on the photograph. What do you think about it?

A brief update to note that I've finally added a pricing scheme to the website, accessible from the menu above. Despite the packages with listed prices, please keep in mind that I am always open to discussing a project that is suited to your needs!

Not long before I left Vancouver, a friend and I met up for dinner and a little touristy excursion. What was to be a tutorial for my friend in how to use a digital SLR turned into an opportunity to play around with my new body and my new lens. Our destination was the lookout at the Harbour Centre tower, from which you get a lovely (if cheesy, and slightly expensive) view of the Downtown/Gastown areas from above.

I took it upon myself to capture intersections:

I also strove to capture some mostly silhouette portraits of my friend, Alina:

For me, the collection is apt considering my recent change in my life's trajectory. The lookout at Harbour Centre represents an isolated point from which the individual (generally a non-local) experiences the city: not through interaction and integration, but through voyeurism. By including photographs of a friend taking pictures of the city from many metres above the streets, I hoped to create an intersection, reminding the viewer that the individual must, at some point, return to the very same streets that they are watching from above. This will remain a critical issue for those of us involved in urban and metropolitan studies and design: how do monolithic structures, such as megatowers and apartment blocks, ultimately intersect with the city, the neighbourhood, and the individual resident or visitor?

You can view the complete set of photographs on my Flickr account.

Last month, Eric Newby hauled me down to the almost freshly renovated Burrard Inn (now known as The Burrard) to assist him for a series of twelve commercial photoshoots as part of their re-branding campaign. The results were pretty incredible. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself:

In all, the shoots were both challenging and exciting. The final shots, as doctored by the fine gentlemen at Dead Famous, definitely achieved the Hollywood vibe that we were aiming for (not to mention the fact that the weather during the shoots made it feel like we actually were in Hollywood!). It was a complex operation that incorporated scores of models, make-up artists, stylists, and designers.

You can head over to The Burrard's brand-spankin' new website to check out the shots in action. Bonus points to whomever can locate the easter egg that is my head in one of the shots!

This is a good summer for life and career upgrades. Thanks to Karmen Abrahams for the steamin' deal (also, don't hesitate to check out her work)!

I'm beyond excited to announce that I've been accepted to the University of Amsterdam, where I will be studying towards a Research Master's in Urban Studies! This means that I will be leaving Vancouver permanently before the end of July. I will update my contact information accordingly once I arrive in the Netherlands.

For those disappointed by the lack of updates here recently, you're in luck! I have one in the pipelines from a series of shoots done a few weeks ago with Eric Newby. I also plan on putting together a photo retrospective on Vancouver. As excited as I am, I'm certainly going to miss this town!

This may be a little on the late side, but it's worth sharing anyway.

Last month, I scored some tickets to see Vancouver Whitecaps FC take on Seattle Sounders FC in Seattle. The location in the stadium was amazing, as I was standing with about 500 other Whitecaps supporters, including the Southsiders, that made the journey down the I-5 that day.

The game was incredibly entertaining. Hassli fired a penalty kick in during the first half, and Vancouver ended up leading for most of the match. After a weird collapse between the 81st and 84th minutes, Seattle ended up 2:1, and it got a little tense for those of us that had travelled from Vancouver. But we weren't done yet! Cue epic comeback:

Yeah. Not bad. I hear that Hassli guy can play.

In all, a great experience, despite the draw. The travelling group was mildly provocative, perhaps due to our many taunts that incorporated health care, education, gun control, and the Supersonics. It's certainly something I'll do again soon.

You can go see the rest of my photos from the match on my Flickr account.

A dear friend of mine came up with an interesting idea for her birthday shindig on a recent Friday evening: arts and crafts. I was mildly skeptical, seeing as I'm not particularly adept with a paintbrush, glue gun, knitting needle, or crayon, so I elected to just bring along my camera.

It was a great idea for a couple of reasons. First, it was my first chance to really test out my brand new 35mm f/2.0 lens. I can't get over how well it performs! Wonderful in low light, great depth of field, and fantastic bokeh on wider aperture. That said, at one point I tried to get a shot of two friends; the focus is so sharp that my two friends, whom were standing about six inches from each other, couldn't get in focus simultaneously. Ah well, I think the shots made a lovely diptych.

It also just gave me a chance to see what other people see. At one point, I just started passing the camera around and letting other people take photos of all sorts of artsy creations, people, and, well, me. As a photographer, I think it's crucial to keep in mind that what we think looks aesthetically pleasing might not be perceived the same way by someone who doesn't have the same grasp of the technical and compositional aspects of our craft. And that's both humbling and valuable.

The rest of the shots can be viewed mostly in this Flickr set, with a couple of shots of paper lanterns here.

Also, a quick plug for my friends! My good friend Rob Lutener (@robitosmilin), who blogs about the Canadian political scene over at The Mace (and getting Andrew Coyne's attention in the process), is in this rad punkrockviolinfuckyeah band called The AK-747s. They just put some new tunes up on their band page on CBC Radio 3. Go have a listen!

Over the past couple of months, I've certainly done my fair share of shooting around dancers from Simon Fraser University's Woodward's campus. It's been an unexpected development, but I've covered the rehearsals for Endosymbionts (both in-studio and dress), done headshots for a recent graduate of the programme, and, as of Friday night, the first performance of Arriving, a show featuring work by the outgoing graduating students from the campus's BFA programme.

Highlights included more creative incorporation of props (in this case, chairs, not suitcases) from Karissa, a couple of dazzling solo performances, and a fantastic array of music, including the Black Keys and Animal Collective. Oh, and this gem that my mom listened to almost excessively during my childhood:

Needless to say, it was a great evening for all involved. It was exciting to see this group of students finish up the last major showcase of their work from their young careers in front of their friends and family before heading out into the big and scary world.

View the entire set on Flickr.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of working with newly-found friend Karissa Fyrrar. We first met when I collaborated on a project with The Peak, Simon Fraser University's student newspaper, in which we shot both the studio rehearsals and the final dress rehearsal for their recent showcase, Endosymbionts. The inimitable Andy Fang even put together a great little video featuring the work of all seven photographers involved in the project, as well as interviews with Karissa and a few of the other dancers involved. All of us we're pretty excited about the way the entire project turned out.

Needless to say, I was chomping at the bit when Karissa told me she needed some head shots done. I'm still working at my awkwardness with models, but it definitely helps when you're working with a friend. I think the results speak for themselves. If you want to take a look at the rest of the set, head on over to my Flickr account for a greater look. Thanks, Karissa!

In other news, today is election day in this little country of ours. Some people that I know are predicing big things from the results tonight, so get out there and vote if you haven't already! And once you do, we can all celebrate that my obligation as a student of Political Science has been fulfilled by inspiring your inner democratic desires. Or something.

And this weather is getting old. Can someone tell Mother Nature to give Vancouver a break?