It’s been a little quiet around here lately, but for good reason. Due to new job developments and new projects I am involved with I rarely had time to write stuff. However, I’ve been spending some time experimenting with different ways to present my images and the blog, and I think I have found a sweetspot I like.
I always liked the approach from the Low-tech Magazine1, so I’ve decided to change the theme to a simple basic site with custom css and using dithered2 images for the site’s visuals. Specifically, I’ve paired it with the Polaroid Duochrome Yellow color scheme that gives my images a unique look. The original image can still be seen by clicking on it. The site should now load a little bit faster.
The days around New Year’s Eve are usually a time for me to review the past year and reflect on things. Last year, I tried something different - an experiment, really - where I journaled everything I did for a whole year. To my surprise, I was astonished to see that I reached more goals than I thought (though, of course, there were plenty I missed as well). Journaling helped me focus on new goals and resolutions, and also to re-evaluate some things along the way.
Woke up in the middle of the night to heavy rain and thunder. Spontaneously, I decided to try my luck again at catching some lightning bolts on Polaroid. This time, I had the distinct feeling the gods were mocking me. There were some really beautiful lightning strikes - just barely out of frame - or so many at once that the picture ended up completely overexposed.
When the rain finally stopped and the silence returned, with only some distant sheet lightning flickering on the horizon, I decided to put my camera away. And of course, just then, a truly spectacular lightning bolt appeared - wide, branching, and dramatic. I just stood there, feeling a bit cheated by the timing.
With the recent storms, I tried to catch a lightning bolt on film - something I’ve always wanted to attempt. There was no real plan or guide behind it, just a lot of trial and error to get a feel for what works with a Polaroid and what doesn’t (and to be fair, I don’t plan on becoming a full-time Polaroid storm chaser). It’s a bit of a dance with exposure settings and timing, thanks to the unpredictability of both the storm and the camera.
A new year is here, and I hope it will be a better one than the last. At least it feels like a good moment to pick up the plans I made at the end of 2019 (and 2021 ).
Last year, I added three new cameras to my small collection: a Soviet AGAT-18, a FED2, and the new Kodak Ektar H35. All of them should be helpful for some of my upcoming projects. In the spring, I want to try out my Pentacon K-16 with some expired film—maybe I’ll get lucky and it will still work. It would be nice to give the camera a bit of new life, even if just for a short time.
Every evening when the sun goes down, I see the spotlights and bright glow of the Christmas market near Frankfurter Allee. It feels like a foreign object that’s suddenly materialized, distorting the whole area. I wonder if they chose extra spotlights just because cultural events and folk festivals have an exemption in the EnSikuMaV1. I can totally understand why people living directly in front of the market might be upset2 - especially on cold, foggy nights when the light is just eerie and overwhelmingly bright.
Why are we here?” was written on a street note, and in a way, it summed up my feelings during the umverteilen! demo1 two weeks ago. I had hoped that enough people would show up to a demonstration that wasn’t organized by the far right.2 However, the turnout was disappointing - whether you take the official police number of 3,000 or the activists’ number of 7,000, both are just too low given the ongoing crisis. It showed me that the mood and support for leftist politics are dwindling. It feels a bit like lying to yourself to call this demonstration a success. For me, it was a small who’s who of the left scene, but the original target group was missing. Despite widespread concerns about inflation, the rent crisis, and especially the energy price shock, I didn’t get the feeling that those most affected showed up. In my eyes, that’s really sad.
The last few days, I’ve had a lot of discussions about AI image generators and art. With tools like DALL-E, Midjourney, or Stable Diffusion, you can create images from just a short description and some parameters - though I think “AI” is a misleading term here. These algorithms aren’t intelligent or sentient; they’re more like remix generators, fed with existing knowledge (the training data). Since the beginning of the month, I’ve had a Midjourney subscription to test one of the generators. I’ve used it often to get a feel for the process and its potential. The surreal images and the open, social nature of Midjourney are really interesting and feel unique, but after a while, I’m not sure what to think about these image generators if I want to have a sophisticated opinion. One thing is for sure: they are a gamechanger.
Sometimes, there are advantages to getting your analog film results weeks after an event is over. In the case of “Rave the Planet,” the wait gave me time to read the news, look up some of the artists,1 and reflect on the whole experience. Around 200,000 people are said to have attended, though the police reported about 45,000 participants. Whatever the real number, it definitely felt like a lot of people.
It was nice to visit the CSD again after such a long time, and I wanted to take some photos with Revolog Kolor film to add a bit of rainbow flair. Interestingly, this time I mostly got blues, but I actually like the soft tone and mood the color hue gives the pictures.
As for the CSD itself: the atmosphere was good, but it really felt like a Fortune 500 / DAX event. There were almost no cars from community associations, clubs, or bars - just dozens from large corporations that, honestly, have no place at CSD. The worst part was the food stalls and commercial stands stretching from the Siegessäule to the Brandenburger Tor, just like during the World Cup. There was only one car with actual political speeches. One.
In times of climate catastrophe, the phrase “faster than expected” has become a meme - one that’s not even funny anymore. I wanted to be optimistic, to believe that humanity would finally find a way to prevent further crisis and destruction of our environment. Honestly, I give up. This isn’t just doomsaying from doomscrolling; it’s the harsh reality. I think we’re beyond fucked, and I don’t even know what to do anymore. It makes me sad and depressed to watch, in real time, as everything goes to shit:
It was nice to visit the Fête de la Musique again during the summer solstice after such a long time. This year, the planetarium was a host for the first time, and I thought it would be a good place to check out—even if the music wasn’t quite my taste.1 It’s probably been over ten years since I last visited a planetarium, so this was a great opportunity to return.
Last year I was invited by a friend to visit the Buchstabenmuseum1 in the S-Bahn arches of Bellevue. I only knew that it exists but never got the chance to see it for myself - so I was excited to finally experience the museum with my own eyes. We even got lucky and had a small tour with Barbara Dechant, one of the founders of the Buchstabenmuseum e. V. And yes, there are letters everywhere.
I still have some memories of the old Narva tower near Warschauer Straße, but I never really explored that area as a child. It was interesting to walk around and see how much the area has changed.
The VEB Narva Kombinat Berlin bulb factory was the central manufacturer of light sources, especially light bulbs, in the GDR. In 1992, production stopped, and HypoVereinsbank converted the buildings into office spaces. During the renovation of Building IV in 1998, four ‘tuff’1 fountains, designed by Prof. Gustav Lange2 and sent over from Slovenia,3 were placed in the inner courtyards. The idea was to connect elements of nature with the urban environment.
Yesterday i visited the Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof in the Chausseestraße1. Besides the graves of famous people like Bertolt Brecht, Borsig, Hegel or Christa Wolf, the cemetery features an interesting chapel. Built between 1927 and 1928, the chapel was destroyed during the Second World War and later reconstructed in the GDR, based on the testimonies of contemporary witnesses. In 2013, the chapel was renovated, and the opportunity was taken to contact the light artist James Turrell - one of the key figures of the Light and Space Movement.2 Together with the Berlin-based architecture bureau Nedelykov Moreira,3 the interior was redesigned to support Turrell’s site-specific vision.
Near Arena Berlin, there are two photo booths. Since the pandemic, they’ve barely been used - at least whenever I’ve passed by. The one right in front of the Badeschiff gate feels especially strange when it’s empty; you only hear the wind and the distant sounds of the city. Still, I always get the feeling that something might happen if I step inside. It reminds me of the concept of liminal spaces: places that were once full of life but now feel empty, evoking nostalgia, lostness, and uncertainty1. They seem to exist outside of time, suspended between what was and whatever comes next. The pandemic created many of these uncomfortable liminal spaces, as transitions are always stressful - especially when we don’t know what’s ahead.
I ’ve always liked the atmosphere of Arena Berlin at night. Recently, I took two Polaroids - one in color, one in black and white - to see how the mood of the place would change. It’s interesting how the absence of color shifts the focus to light and shadow, giving the area a different feel.
A wordplay: “Ora” is not only the name of this bar in Kreuzberg, but also the Latin imperative for “pray!”. The name pays homage to the former Oranien-Apotheke (pharmacy) that once occupied this space. The ORA has really elaborate wood paneling and even the stucco are original, dating back to the 1860s and 1920s. Also you can get some fancy cocktails there.
Shot on Polaroid i-type Metallic Nights with Polaroid OneStep+
