Tag Archives: berlin

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Behind The Wall

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Behind The Wall
The “backside” of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery

Behind The Wall. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The “backside” of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery.

A possible alternative title for this photograph could be “Back Side Gallery.” Get it? OK, I’ll explain. The wall is The Wall, a remnant of the old Berlin Wall. This section is now known as the East Side Gallery, and on the other side (the “front side”) it features a wonderful array of street art that memorializes and comments on the Wall, its history, and a range of related subjects.

The East Side Gallery is, among many other things (most of which are likely more significant than what I’m about to write) a powerful example of how art claims out attention and can, at least temporarily, distract our vision from the mundane. The location of this section of the wall is unremarkable. One one side (where most probably don’t look) is this empty field, a plain wall covered with graffiti, and not much else. On the other side, as you stand looking at the “Gallery” portion, behind you is a busy roadway and an area filled with architecture that is not exactly eye-catching. But if you stop and take in the street-art side of the wall and the impromptu street theater produced by visitors, all of the rest of that temporarily disappears.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Green Building, Berlin

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Green Building, Berlin
A street scene in Berlin with a green building

Green Building, Berlin. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A street scene in Berlin with a green building.

Since I’m not an expert in architecture I probably don’t have the correct description terms at my fingertips, but this area of Berlin that lies just on the “East German” side of the old Berlin wall still seems to be characterized by what I’ve heard described as Soviet-Style architecture… but with a few interesting exceptions. Many of the large buildings here have, at least to my eye, that functional, modern, practical look of the 1950s and 196 0s — a kind of modernism that no longer looks all that modern

This green structure — whose purpose I did not investigate — is striking against this background and in this location literally across the street from The Wall. It appears to have been conglomerated from shipping containers, creating an ad hoc and temporary quality. (It isn’t the only example of such things I saw in Europe and the UK.) It sits at an odd angle, out of sync with both the surrounding grid of roadways and the backdrop of more “square” buildings. And that color!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Urban/Street

A Dog’s Life

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A Dog's Life
A dog naps beneath the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery

A Dog’s Life. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dog naps beneath the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery.

There is a very good chance that this is the first photograph of a dog that I have shared. I’m positive that it is the first sleeping dog photo. Who knows? Maybe it will become a thing. Or not. As always, I’m impressed by the extent to which dogs can simply ignore the tumult going on around them. There was a constant stream of people walking past and the sidewalk fronts a busy street.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about this. I photographed the critter at the base of the Berlin wall, at the section called the East Side Gallery where the remnants have been painted. (Perhaps “Dogs Sleeping At The Berlin Wall” will be a genre?)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Nature

Berlin Sky

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Berlin Sky
Bubbles and clouds above Berlin

Berlin Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bubbles and clouds above Berlin.

Bubbles. Yes, bubbles. In almost any central area of European cities that is popular with tourists you won’t have to look too hard to find someone making gigantic soap bubbles… and hoping for a tip or two. I don’t usually photograph them — I do have a photograph from London of one bubble person — but I gave in this time.

For what it is worth, this is an example of how the ability to think and act quickly is useful in street and travel photography. I wasn’t going to photograph the person making the bubbles — not that exciting, honestly — but when I looked up and saw them drifting off into this cloud-filled sky I made a few quick adjustments to the camera settings, pointed upwards, and found ways to photograph the bubbles against the sky.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.