Whatsup HIVE!
HiveFest was AWESOME! I finally got home and was able to look at all my photographs, but hey... we really need to have a moment, so before I'll be diving into my own experience and share the goodness of my very first HiveFest attendance with you all, I have to share some words about the man himself first.
Behind the scenes, and sometimes in the spotlight, the one and only...
@RoelandP, some would say he's awesome and a great guy. Awesome? for sure, but, define great. I mean, I only knew him from seeing and reading his posts on Hive as a witness, and of course as the host and organizer of previous HiveFest conferences. I was looking forward to meeting him, one of the reasons is because I am Dutch myself. Well, I can assure you Roeland is next-level 'great', whatever your definition of great is. Period. I mean, it was gold seeing him arrange everything and do his thing. He makes organizing events of this scope look easy breezy, lemon squeezy.
Roeland came across as a chill, no-stress, flexible, and funny guy. And this was exactly how I experienced HiveFest in a nutshell. Plus, it was educational.
The smoothness of HiveFest was great. All the tiny details were taken care of, and whenever something was faulty, it was taken care of in a few seconds. This shows that behind Roeland, there is also a great team of individuals who take care of all the technical stuff. Something I think we can applaud for a bit more during these kinds of events.
So Roeland, thank you very much for hosting this awesome event. I had a blast. It was an awesome experience. I have been working in the hospitality industry for a decade when I was younger, so I can see how much time and how much effort you have put into this whole event that lasted four days. Even despite the fact it was pouring 4 days straight, you managed to put smiles on everyone's faces throughout the entire event. Or... it might have been Amsterdam's grass... We will never know, but for me it is definitely the first.
You were rocking the Hive pajamas, so I might as well call you a true Hive rockstar.
Thank you Roeland!
I think I haven't been to Amsterdam for 6-7 years. What made it a tad worse was that I haven't been using my phone as actively as I should. So, there's Celestal, who I met in Estonia and Finland when we had a private group meetup. He had to help me out with getting the public transportation app. The GVB App is such an easy way to travel through Amsterdam. We paid about 25 euros for four full days of travel. This is a convenient way for any person who has to travel around Amsterdam. It was SO easy to use the app, and it was entirely digital so there were no paper cards at hand.
And... before I forget... since I won a HiveFest ticket... let me return you the favor, @roelandp; please, if you find any value or shots that you think you might be able to use, feel free to use -any- photographs that you find in this post and future HiveFest posts free of charge for future promotion, no credits required (but would still be cool, it's up to you), you can contact me for higher resolutions :)).
HiveFest7: Opening Drinks
Felt like a tourist in my own country
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Meetups after meetups
Before I got to Amsterdam, I contacted one of my best friends that used to live in the East. I haven't seen him in 4 years due to covid and his health condition. It was great seeing him again, he's a surgery surgeon, so he's pretty smart. He kind of found a loophole in using the scooters that you could use around Amsterdam almost for free. Ha.. nothing changes eh? We had some lunch and talks. If you stayed long enough in Amsterdam, you might have seen him running the 'Dam to Dam loop' that was hosted this Sunday.
After this Meetup, he dropped me off at my other friend's place where I was staying, @Raz0ulplaysgames (onboarded recently). He was leaving his own house and went to his girlfriend's house so I had some privacy and could do 'as I please', during the time I was here. I just dropped my stuff here, as I thought I would have had "plenty of time" to spend some time with him, as I thought I would be a bit exhausted during the mid-day (thank you for these recovery drinks @roelandp!). After that, he dropped me off at the Volkshotel where I met up with @celestal.
Getting my badge!
I was welcomed by the then, unknown faces, but not much later, very familiar faces of @artakush, @blind-spot, and @minigunner. Oh man, at first, I thought they were just part of the crew of Roeland, but they were Hivers, which I just realized during the opening drinks.
But wait, there is more!
Besides getting my badge, there was also a goodie bag! Which hold all sorts of treasuries. One of them goodies was the very first edition of the @hiq.magazine! Which reminded me that there was going to be a presentation that I was looking forward to hearing more about.
Settling in
So, I had to settle in and observe the crowd as this was my very first time going to HiveFest, and was looking forward to seeing and speaking to a few Hivers. Most of the names that I saw on the badges were completely new to me. But I did see a few names I knew I had to say hi to for sure.
@celestal and I were quite hungry, and as I said before... I felt like a complete tourist in my own country, luckily we bumped into @gtg, and he advised us to go to a pretty good pizzeria just around the corner. While I'm not entirely sure if we were at the right pizzeria, the food was good, and exactly what we needed.
Actually, it was so nice, Celestal had to eat twice.
lol
This guy hadn't even finished his first meal and was most probably already fantasizing about his second. It's my fault tho because I gave him a trap; red or blue pill kind of situation. He had to choose between a Kapsalon or Pizza Calzone.
A Kapsalon is a typical Dutch fast-food dish, invented by a guy from Rotterdam who owns a Hairdresser (Kapsalon in Dutch), he just chose everything he liked and smashed it on one plate, and off he went. The Pizza Calzone I'm not quite sure if it is an Italian dish made-up by the Dutch or if it is a thing... since the Italians are pretty delicate with their meals, right? Oh well, it was quite nice seeing Celestal enjoying the food.
That's ma boi! Brings back memories from Tallinn and Helsinki lol.
Not much later, @elliotjgardner and @anmitsu were joining us as they were visiting Amsterdam for the duration of HiveFest and we ate some more together.
Arrival: Opening Drinks
Around 8 PM we were able to get some drinks together and socialize with each other. Elliot and Anmitsu were coming in later as well. I decided to take some photographs of the atmosphere and the venue, which was a really nice place.
All the drinks were included with the HiveFest ticket, which was awesome. I mean, who doesn't like a free beer? The downside was that in return the bar was very crowded, which made you wait a few minutes before a beverage. Which was perfectly fine by the way.
Anyway, here are some photographs to give you an idea of what you've been missing out on! Shame on you :p
I wanted to sit down and check all my photographs on my big screen before posting any of them. I spend quite some time on color grading and I'm quite happy with the result of these images.
Even though I haven't been talking with most of the people that were attending the opening drinks, I managed to have some small chats with @celestal, @Crimsonclad, @gtg, @rivalzzz, @m31, @lemony-cricket, @elliotjgardner, @anmitsu, and last but certainly not least, @jeffjagoe! He bought me a Dark & Stormy, so I had to return the favor and get him one too, even though we had plenty of beers at that time.
I hope he got the cocktail as I asked the bartender to give it to him. Well, hopefully, I will find out in the comments if he managed to get it.
Calling it a night, and getting ready for the real thing
Around 10'ish, I thought it would be wise to prepare myself for HiveFest and go back to Raz0uls place. I was looking forward to starting the next day fresh as I had to wake up pretty dang early! Also, I had no idea what to expect and was quite excited about it. If I had to look back at it, it was indeed a wise decision as the other days with closing activities and talks with fellow Hivers got quite late.
Cheers,
Ruben
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Of course I got it!
Top notch ser 🫡
Hope to drink one again with ya next year
I'm up for more drinks together, it was great meeting you.
So many I didn't get to speak to and you were one of them 😖
Btw the person with steevc is igormuba who's part of the peakd team
Oh yeah, that is so true! It would've been great to meet and talk! There were so many people, right? I hope you had a great time in Amsterdam.
(I thought it was Igor, but then I re-checked on Telegram and saw he had cut his hair on his profile picture xD)
Hate I couldn't get across the world in a bear market, lol. Looks like a great time.
It was a great adventure. Im a bit introverted, but managed to talk to quite some!
Beautiful photographs Ruben 😍 It was great having you around and happy you enjoyed #Hivefest 🤗 Can't wait to see the pictures of #Coldbeetrootsoup 😁
Thank you thank you kindly Mr. Coldbeetrootsoup! The soup was great, and you guys were definitely an important ingredient what made my HiveFest experience awesome. Great energy!
Beautiful pictures! You are definitely a pro ;)
Thank you so much @lemouth! But you know what they say, some people make my work so much easier! It was really nice seeing and talking to you. You spotted me, before I spotted you!
I think this was a tie ;)
Anyway, I agree with you and it was definitely very nice to meet in person and chat! Feel free to reach me out of you pass by Paris another time.
Absolutely, likewise! I realize now why I missed your conference... I thought it was over after the lunchbreak and chatted with Karin for almost an hour outside!
Oh, that's a pity (from my own very subjective point of view). Luckily, a replay is available from youtube (as every talk was recorded). If by any chance you would watch it, feel free to provide me comments and/or feedback.
Cheers!
I'll definitely will check it!
Thanks!
@celestal always eats twice, at least, I’ve witnessed it many times 😂
Haha! Yes, it's so fun! I was almost afraid this would be my whole HiveFest experience... Celestal eating. XD
Real nice photos!!
What's up @celestal lol
just wow - great shot that grab the atmosphere in a perfect way
Thank you Detlev! I first wanted to make a shitpost, but then I realized I took some photographs :p, just kidding. Thank you for your kind words! I appreciate them!
I have some more coming up! Unfortunately not of BeerSaturday! But that was a blast! We lasted till 2-3 AM or something there and discovered everybody else left. haha!
@rubencress go for it
Nice pictures man ! And thanks for cleaning my lens 👌
Haha! Anytime man, gotta keep it lean and clean! Looking forward for your movie man! It was great meeting you
ah, btw! as I was scrolling through your timeline I noticed you miiighttt enjoy my playlist
Cheers!
I'm super happy you had an excellent time! Looks like it was a lot of fun. Cheers!
Broski! It was great, still kind of recovering as my eyes and head is still a little bit mixed up haha. I failed to photograph the NFTshowroom though!
No worries! I was hoping they were going to present at HiveFest but i didn't catch it if they did. I think i was one of the 22 artists with printed NFT art there... but i'm not sure. hahaha NFT Showroom is supposed to post about it soon. We shall see. =) Cheers bro!
WHAT? If you would told me, I would've made time my friend!
I knew you would be busy so i didn't want to add to your stress and social anxiety! hahaha No worries browski! =)
Ahh, it worked out very well! Must be because of @Celestal since he was my tourguide in Amsterdam.
He's always been a cool dude. I bet he makes a great tour guide too!
I initially wanted to save my picture coz you did amazing making me look good. But now I think I am going to save celestals picture...and zoom into it.
Your work is A1. love the color grading. Wish we could talk more. But hey, you are in NL and so am I. So we could cross paths again.
Haha! You look good man, you should have no worries about that at all! Oh yeah, Celestal always make these kind of things epic... FYI; I have these on 8K resolution. LOL
Appreciate that man, thank you for the kind words. Would be nice man, but just to be sure... I think we saw each other right? Like, on the first day? xD
Credits where its due, you and Celestal LOL
Yes, I think so. I feel like we have met. That is undeniably a very good ice breaker xDD
Nice pictures ! the Opening was fun and so much stuff to talk about - we really need to extend the Hivefest to a Week or smth!
Thanks man! I can't wait to see your brothers'shot with that sick lens of him! It was nice hanging out with the both of you. A week.. haha, poor Roeland! Allll the preparation and work :P
Great picutures and recab of the event dude! I had my cam with me but I bnarely took pictures somehow ^^ I have made a handful touristic photos of the city and will upload them soon. I struggle with "quick editing" since I usually spend 1-2 hours on each photo haha
Was great to meet you! Hope to see you back next time or on a meetup somewhere :)
Thank you thank you! Oh yeah, I saw you with your cam as well. I can share that I took very little photographs of Amsterdam, and plenty of the event, so we accommodate each other, plus, I live in the Netherlands, so its good that you took shots of Amsterdam!
Yeah... quick edits... I took the entire day for these :p
btw; great job on the stop-motion, solid work! I'm just gonna mention it here again.
Great photos and a great HiveFest!
Thanks man! Oh mannn... the photograph that I took of you on stage turned out to be a bit blurry.
I like this photo a lot! The modular is in perfect focus and I'm slightly in the background which is an interesting reflection of something I think about a lot - which is who is really in control of the music - me or the synth? Deep stuff!
Your photos are always so awesome. They make me want to switch over to Sony, but I would hate to buy new lenses
Thanks Wes! It would've been so awesome if you were here bro. I still use my Canon lenses. @Louis88 had some sick units for his sony camera (native lenses), so I'm waiting for his shots :P
Right now im on a Film Job near Frankfurt. Will get some Images from the Camera ready later on when im back at Home :)
Noice! Already saw some. Nice menn! BTW; you guys gonna do the Pinmapple adventure post? It's a epic story!
Yea :D Im about to start writing about it.
haha sweet! can't wait what @martibis has to say xD
It's ready :) Enjoy!
https://peakd.com/hive-106258/@louis88/a-unique-treasure-hunt-during-hivefest7-in-amsterdam
Love the low light pictures in the bar , knowing from experience how hard it can be with low shutterspeed i assume you didn't use a flashlight here , but you managed to capture the atmosphere in the pub.
I should have been there but there was no option to buy a ticket for one day, and the anxiety was also playing up , maybe next time.
Thanks Mick! Oh yeah, the bar photographs turned out nicely. I see what you mean with using a flashlight, there's some cool ways to photograph nightlife ^^
Would've been cool to see you there! Once I arrived and saw some familiar faces, my anxiety vanished!
So many pictures - fantastic write up - twas a most excellent few dsyz!
Thank you thank you! I saw your beard, and my gf did as well on the livestream! HiveFest was great, unfortunately we haven't been able to talk ;(
I'm not sure we spoke, but I hope you had a great time. Even though it was a smaller event I didn't speak to everyone. The socialising is a major part of these events.
My mom taught me to not talk to criminals 🤣🤣 That was hilarious.
I think I flew by like a butterfly haha... I had a great time, was a little bit socially anxious before attending, but it all worked out as I figured it would. I hope you had a great time as well! Great show @ Rising Star!
If music is a crime, then I'm guilty!
Haha wait... that was you right? Running away from the cop? on day 2?
Oh yes!
Haha, I thought so. It was great!
OMG RoelandP's outfit... XD
haha! legendary!
Lovely recap, and it's a shame we didn't actually get to speak, but alas, next time!
Thanks for getting a shot of me too!
Thank you @elmerlin! Yes, I was glad spotting you guys taking a groupie! Love that shot!
Let's hope we have a chance to meet next time, that would be great.