Amsterdam Canal Houses

Afternoon light falls across a row of Amsterdam canal houses, each one a little different from the next. Brick fronts, tall windows and shaped gables run behind young trees, while bicycles gather along the railing near the water. A low houseboat sits in the canal, and its pale curtains repeat in the broken reflections below.

Begin with the black and cream facades, then use the window grids to separate one house from another. The trees need a closer look because branches cross several buildings, but their leaves also keep the sky from becoming too plain. Later, the houseboat, bicycles and rippled water give the lower half enough small landmarks to stay readable.