Photographing Berlin Summer 2007

I have learned a lot from this class not only about taking picture but also about the multi-cultural city that is Berlin. Because our class was very international and diverse I also learned about many different countries and through the eyes of students my age. It was really a great experience and something that I will remember forever.

I found out my weaknesses and strengths throughout doing this assignment. I realized that I am not shy to talk to people briefly and take their picture but I am more reserved and do not talk long. My brain is scattered sometimes and it is hard to focus but when I do I can take pretty good pictures. Unlike others in the class I am not that great with taking pictures of people so this assignment was pretty difficult. I am better at taking pictures of still objects and places. I took many photographs of workers around Berlin but narrowed all of them to just nine which I believe to be the best and most diverse. I picked different occupations and people representing different countries in order to show how diverse and multicultural Berlin really is. I realized that I took a lot of portrait shots so I also tried to diversify my pictures with some perspective shots as well. Even though I do not know these people on a personal level, I remember my journey throughout this past month and I will remember the stories that go along with each photo.

Silver Bride and Groom

For the past month and a half I have seen this couple along Unter den Linden with many other street performers dressed in similar attire but these two always attract more attention that the others. It is quite possible because people are suckers for romance and they are dressed as a bride and groom however it is also because you can see the sweetness they both have. I was Lucky enough to catch them on break, touching up their make before going back to work. They are a couple from Poland who need a little extra money to help finance their vacation here in Berlin. They arrived the begging of July and will stay until the end of August. They stand outside until about two or three o'clock in the afternoon and then quickly become walking tourist after their shift. They knew they had competition on the streets especially around Unter den Linden and were very picky in which costume they chose, "well we knew we wanted to do this but we knew we had to be different than all of the other performers," he said, "it does help that there are two of us."

I took many picture of the two but I like this one because it is slightly towards the side. I photographed head on but I didn't like the taxi behind them. I like this one as well because you can see the street behind and the trash can on the side. They work on the city street and I believe that is portrayed well here. I like the silver compared to the environment around them. They look out of place but I am sure that is purely because they are all silver. While I was talking with them many picture were being taken by people walking along the street. Unlike the others who took their picture, I showed them the ones that I took and thanked them very much for their help and wished them a safe trip back to Poland.

Decorating People

This jeweler and his wife are from Estonia and proudly wave an Estonian flag in the window of their shop. On this particular day he was making jewelry in their shop while his wife was selling the finished products outside. I talked with her the most because his German and English were limited. They both moved here a few years ago and like living in Berlin. They work in a very touristy part of town so there are plenty of people walking by their shop. They like making a living designing jewelry because it is something they both like to do and they can do it together.

When I first saw this jeweler in the window I knew it would be an interesting picture because he was inside and I was outside. If I could take this picture again I would have moved a little to the left so his face would have more space between the little statues. I like how you can see the window and the jewelry inside. His hands are divided by the table leg but you can tell that he is working and doing something. I like how he is standing between the two white window frames. Those little statues are a bit of a distraction but I like that they are there because that is exactly how he looks when you walk by his shop.

Keeping the Faith

Most of my pictures thus far have been portrait shot. I did take a portrait shot of this Pastor but I agree with most of my classmates and prefer the perspective shot the most. My roommate Birgit and I attended the Sunday mass at the Berliner Dom. The interior was breath taking and gorgeous especially the enormous organ on the second story. After services both pastors stood outside of the doors in the foyer, shook visitors hands and thanked them for coming. It took a while to get a shot like this because there was a line of people who wanted to shake his hand and people were constantly moving around him. This picture works well because he is in focus and he is the person that I wanted to highlight while the others are blurry from being in motion. I have just enough of the pastor's uniform that you can tell what is going on in the picture without it being too obvious. I did talk to him and told him that I enjoyed the service very much. I shook his hand and asked if I could take his picture. He was very nice and also very happy to help. This church is visited by many tourist and I have a feeling he gets asked that question a lot all in all it was a fun experience. What a vast contrast in work environments from break dancing along Unter den Linden and preaching in the Berliner Dom!

Bringing India to Berlin

Indian and other ethnic foods are really popular here in Berlin and for good reasons. Most of the restaurants are privately own by immigrants from various countries. The food is authentic and delicious. After one of our class excursions we ate at Yogi Ashram Indian restaurant. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and the bright colors of the place. The kitchen as you can see was open and the aromas filled the entire restaurant. This was around the time that we were discussing possible project topics and I was leaning towards workers in Berlin. After looking around and seeing a possible picture I knew I had a topic. I waited until our group was there for a while and the owners were comfortable with us before I asked if I could take their picture. I talked with the guy on the left and our server but everyone was willing to help. I took many pictures of the man on the left but I prefer the group picture. Each one is a different distance from the camera and is engaged in a different activity but all work together as one. By the way they are all standing you can tell that they are pretty comfortable with being photographed.

I framed the picture with the two men on both sides and the wine glasses in the upper left corner. I also tried to capture the sign above the entrance way of the kitchen. The light it coming from the back of the room and highlights the man's face up front. I never had a chance to go back to this restaurant because of time restraints but this picture really captures the feeling that I felt that night in the restaurant.

Dancing for Money and Entertaining the Public

I have walked along Unter den Linden many
times but I have never seen these break dancers
so I was really lucky to come a cross them. I was walking to the S-bahn and saw a crowd and heard music so naturally I had to check it out. They were a group of three guys dancing to a boom box that they brought. They were really talented and you could tell they really liked break dancing and performing for a crowd. I knew I had to take pictures of them because they were all over the place. I set my camera on continuous so I could get pictures like these because one second they were up in the air and the other second on the ground so I had to be quick.


The picture above is interesting because the dancer is still in the air and his body is curving around the frame of the picture. The sidewalk and the on lookers give the picture depth and are lined up diagonally towards the upper right of the picture. There is open space in this picture but I think it helps the picture breath and shows the area where he is. This picture is not symmetrical but it feels balanced.

The second picture is one of my favorites because there are a lot of different elements in it. The lines of the sidewalk create a vanishing point and line up nicely in the bottom corner of the picture. I like how he is actually pointing towards the vanishing point and creates a flow for the photo, reading it left to right. I have just enough onlookers to get the feel of the environment but still keeping the dancer the center of attention. There are a lot of vertical lines in the picture, with the people, light posts, buildings and scaffolding. After their performance they went around and asked for, "a little money for the dancers." They were actually really good so I couldn't resist. What a fun way to make some money!

Keeping the Streets Safe

These Police officers were actually really cool and some of the youngest I've seen. The one thing that I've noticed about the German police is that they are so diverse; young, old, short, tall, man, woman, fat or skinny. I was talking with older Policemen for a while but neither one of them wanted to be photographed. One even told me that he was too ugly to have his photograph taken because it would break the camera. These guys were just hanging out while also keeping the streets safe. They were two young police officers and I was a young girl, I wasn't intimidated. It might have been the few beers at lunch but I was pretty laid back around them and explained the situation. I told them that I was talking to other Police officers but they wouldn't help me out with this project that I had to do for my photography class however, I was happy that I ran a cross them because they were much cuter and younger than the other men. Which of course made them relax a bit. I showed them a few pictures that I'd taken a few days prier and the pictures that I've been taking throughout that day. They agreed but they were at work so I had to hurry and I took a few photos. There was nothing more to work with except the two of them and the wall behind them. I tried to use the small pillars near their heads to add variety and texture to the picture. I moved around the area and set my camera to continuous so I could take multiple pictures. Out of all of the pictures I like this one because neither one is looking directly at the camera and they are trying so hard to look serious but both have a softness in their face and it looks like they are fighting a slight smile (which they were because I told them both how cute they were) I thanked them both for helping me out. They were good sports and I'm sure I made their day a little more exciting.

I Feed the People

This Doner Imbiss is right by the Studentenwohnheim (student housing) and many students walk a cross the street for a quick lunch. This Turkish man and his wife run the shop and are both really sweet. His wife even gives returning customers nicknames (mainly the boys). Last term she gave one of my friends the nickname Suesse Mause, which literally means sweet mouse but actually means sweetie or sweetheart. You can see that they both try and make some form of personal connection with their customers. This man remembers how to make my donner just the I like it every time and I don't even have to tell him. Last term my friend Mickey spoke much better German than I did and talked with them a lot more than me. My approach in asking them if I could photograph them was simple. I mentioned Mickey's name and they immediately said yes because he also took a picture with them for a class project. Sometimes you have to work with what you have and I knew that I could connect with them if I mentioned his name. I also talked to them about working here in Berlin and they said that they really like to work in this area because their customers are people who live in the area and business is good. Most times when I'm waiting at the bus stop I see the same people hanging out in the shop and outside at the tables, so the owners are at work but they are also always surrounded by friends.

I tried to capture a lot of elements of the shop but keep the Donner Man as the main focus of the picture. The knobs of the microwave are placed in the bottom left corner which I believes help anchor the photo. It looks as though the vanishing point is towards the upper left hand corner so the picture reads from right to left starting with the donner man. It also helps that he is wearing a bright yellow t-shirt which is the only burst of color in the picture.

My Savior

This sweet Turkish seamstress saved my old crippled bag from the grave. I needed to find someone to fix my book bag which is on the bottom right hand side of the picture and Bruce suggested this seamstress who works in her own shop near Rathaus Steglitz. We talked for a long time and surprisingly all in German. She has been working in this same shop for about twenty years and has a very loyal clientele. During our conversation at least two other people came in to have something fixed and she had everything ready by the end of the afternoon.
This Thursday my approach was a bit different than the other days because by now I've already taken some pictures and printed them out. I talked to her for awhile before even bringing out my camera. We talked about her daughters, her shop and her life here in Berlin. After I felt that she was comfortable with me I showed her the pictures that I've taken and explained my project. At first she was still a little hesitant but I told her she would be the most beautiful woman on my blog, she laughed and then warmed up to the idea of being photographed and had fun. During our photo shoot I repeatedly said "sehr schoen, sehr sehr schoen" which means really beautiful and pretty. I took a lot of pictures of her but this one was my favorite and one of the last ones that I took. At first I got a lot of scared pictures but this one really shows the sweet motherly person that she is. I tried to frame the picture with her surrounding and capture the feel of the shop without having too many distractions. I placed the sewing machine on the left, her work table flowing across the bottom and just enough of her message board on the right. I really like the touches of color that the thread board adds to the picture and the yellow tape measurer around her neck is part of her uniform.
At 16.00 I went back to pick up my bag and was so excited that it was fixed and good for another nine years :) I took over 300 pictures during the day and when I went back to see her she asked about them and I was able to show her not only her pictures but also my favorite ones from the day. When I left I thanked her very much for all of her help and she wished me good luck on my project.

Hotel Adlon, Bellman

Hotel Adlon Kempinski just celebrated their 100th anniversary and with luxury suits ranging from a few hundred - 12,000 Euros a night, there are many good reasons to work for such a respected establishment. I've passed by this Hotel many times while walking along Unter den Linden. The hotel screamed high class, too rich for my blood. The Bellmen wear traditional attire and carry themselves like gentlemen. Roy Hawkins a Bellman at the Hotel Adlon was very friendly and was happy to help me with my project. When I first went up to talk with him I asked him how he was doing and he was very surprised. We were first conversing in German but quickly switched to English. He reminds me of the staff who worked on the R.M.S Titanic in his uniform and the way he is standing. He has been working at Hotel Adlon for a few years now. He told me "work is work, but for now I'd rather work here." I asked him if he was American because of his accent and he informed me that his Father is an African American who was stationed in Germany while serving in the military. During that time he met his mother who is German. Roy has traveled to America but has always lived Europe.

I really like this picture with Roy positioned on the right. He is looking right at the camera which is a really powerful shot but his body opens up the picture and is inviting. My approach for this assignment was to photograph workers and the environment in which they work because the work place also says a lot about the their personalities. By Positioning Roy to the side I was able to capture the red carpet which leeds you toward the door which frames his head nicely and the gold accents around the hotel capture the luxury that Hotel Adlon Kempinski is known for.