Berlin © Lilly Schwartz 2011
Together with Ezequiel I resumed my habit of going for a walk in the evening to take pictures. We walked along Turmstraße until we reached the court house and the park right next to it. By that time it was already getting dark and we started taking action shots of cars and cyclists going past. That’s something I rarely do, so I was enjoying it quite a bit. Like the night before there was again a nice sunset and I managed to take some nice pictures of the court house and the crossing in front of it in the light of the magic hour.
My favourite shot however, which you can see above, seems almost out of place considering that I’m in a German city. It’s Berlin though, which is not just an ordinary German city. So really, it’s just an expression of what the city really is like. Often you don’t hear much German in the street, especially in the area where I live. It’s a mix of Turkish, English, Spanish and other languages, and my neighbours across also seem to speak Spanish. I like that Berlin is so diverse.
I notice more and more that the area where I live is not a particularly good neighbourhood. Only two days ago there was a police raid with 6 or 7 vans of heavily armed policemen in bullet-proof vests. I was on my way to my driving lesson and was breaking the law by riding my bike on the pavement, but these guys standing around waiting with their bullet-proof vests didn’t care at all. I asked my driving instructor about the police presence since I thought it was some official government type thing. He told me that it actually was the second raid in two weeks. The last raid before was in the house right next to the driving school where they also came with vans and a metal ram to break open the doors. Apparently the area around the Kleiner Tiergarten here in Moabit is known for its drugs. I hadn’t noticed so far.
My own street is quiet and pretty with many trees and two hostels right across from my house, some cafés and bars, and at the end of the street is a school. In Berlin it’s pretty much hit and miss in every neighbourhood where I’ve been. One street can be quiet and peaceful and the next might be just terrible with drug raids every two weeks. Well, that’s how big cities are.
I love the colors in this photo, it is a combination of red, green and amber that for some reason I have always found deeply agreeable. Loving your words and pictures, as always!
Thanks Alissa! I also find that colour combination very pleasing. It somehow also fits to autumn doesn’t it? Something about the warm colours …
As AA has said, the colors are wonderful in this one!
I really like how the shallow d.o.f. causes that line of ornaments to fade off into the distance, too…
very nicely done!
🙂
Thanks! I also especially like the d.o.f. I think the style of it is pretty much inspired by shoot tokyo, a blog that I follow regularly that usually sports really nice night time pictures of tokyo taken with a Leica M9. I wish I had a lens with an even wider aperture, really need to get a prime lens!
I like the warm atmosphere which comes from your photo. And yes, I only was a few days in Berlin a couple of years ago but it seems me a real special city. I’ll have to come back! Nice you show and tell us your feeling about, thanks.
robert
Thanks Robert. Indeed, you should come back, Berlin is too big and special for only a few days. I always liked it and have been here many times before I moved here.
I was forgetting…any correlation with “day 48” ? Just thinking…
robert
Actually, no, mere coincidence. Normally there is hardly any police presence around in Berlin in comparison with for example places in England. And where day 48 was taken was also in a quite good area which makes it more amusing.