What's (in) the Picture?

Chris Breebaart Photography – finding stories

Posts from the ‘Nikon F301’ category

Reichstag Berlin: Dem Deutsche Volke

The front view of the Reichstag building in Berlin, showcasing its grand architecture and flags, with cloudy skies in the background.

The front of the Reichstag. A visit was on the top of my list. In 1989 the Berlin Wall was right next to the building; and since 1989 this area was completely developed. So we booked a visit to the dome. On this photo I left the dome out consciously. I wanted to have an image like the building looked in November 1989 below.

Black and white photograph of the Reichstag building in Berlin, taken in November 1989, featuring two men in the foreground, one holding a sign that reads 'Berlin ist Freiheit'.
Germany, Berlin – November 1989

The history of the Reichstag is connected to my hometown and Leiden. In 1933 Marinus van der Lubbe was accused, tried and sentenced by the Nazi-regime for setting fire to the building. He was born in Leiden en lived in Oegstgeest, as did his family.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version. The monochrome photo of 1989 was shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX.

Both Sides Of History – Berlin Brandenburger Tor

A black and white photo of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, framed by trees and streetlamps, with people walking beneath the iconic structure.
The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, surrounded by a section of the Berlin Wall covered in graffiti, with people and barriers in the foreground.
Black and white photograph of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, featuring a stop sign in the foreground and a foggy atmosphere.
A black and white photograph of a soldier standing on a stone wall near columns, with graffiti visible in the foreground, conveying a sense of historical significance.
Black and white image of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, with a crowd of people gathered in front and historical architecture surrounding it.
Black and white photograph of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, featuring a crowd of people walking through and around the iconic structure on a cloudy day.
Germany, Berlin – September 2025

Brandenburger Gate (Brandenburger Tor) in Berlin was an iconic point at the time of the Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer). The gate then stood in no mans land, and showed the alienating effects of division through the city. Now the Brandenburger Gate is a symbol of unity of Berlin. It was a pleasure to walk through the gates, and enjoy the people and streets around it. And the see the gate back at its splendor.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

The monochrome set of 1989 was shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX. The colorfilm was Fuji, and shot on Pentax Espio 115M. 2025 photos shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the pictures for a larger version.

East and West Border at Moltkebrücke in November 1989

Germany, Berlin – November 1989

The view on the Moltkebrücke over the river Spree on an Autumn morning in November 1989. The world was waiting for the Berlin Wall to open formally. Further upstream the Spree was part of the border between East and West. We are walking towards the transitpoint for foreigners in the Invalidenstrasse (link to interactive map of the former Berlin Wall) to enter East Berlin.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Python

The Netherlands, Efteling Kaatsheuvel – June 1986

The Efteling is a famous theme park in Kaatsheuvel in Brabant. This is one from a dusty archive, with a negative that could have been a lot better in exposure, but at that time you could not look at the back of the camera to see information for improvement! It shows the rollercoaster Python, circling towards the end of the ride. For lens artists challenge #290 Circular Wonders.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Gyantse 2004: Stupa of Universal Compassion

Tibet, Gyantse – April 2004

The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Gyantse.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Fuji Film, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Valley

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley – April 2004

Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Fuji Film, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

From the archive: Famous Neighbor at Père Lachaise 1989

France, Paris – January 1989

One from the archive. Père Lachaise is a famous graveyard in Paris, with lots of celebrities being rested there; another one for this week’s lens artistists challenge #168: seen better days. You can buy a map with the names of the famous on it, to find their graves. One of the youngest to be buried there was Jim Morrisson. Lead singer of The Doors, icon. The first time I visited Père Lachaise was early in 1985. Together with a friend we took a look at his grave; which was not that difficult to find because ‘helpful’ signs on gravestones, with arrows, pointed one in the right direction. At his grave we found a very young girl mourning. I asked her why she was so sad. “Jim is gone!”, she said. She must have been very young when he died in 1971. But her grieve was real. And years later in 2021, on a walk around the local lake, young people were playing The Doors loud on a big ghetto blaster like device. They looked at me as I walked by, smirking at me because they thought I did not like the loudness nor the music. “Great music boys”, I said as I walked by. They were surprised and replied: “Yes, this is great music sir!”. We grinned together, two different generations but the same love for The Doors. Break on through to the other side.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

From the archive: Père Lachaise 1989

France, Paris – January 1989

One from the archive. Père Lachaise is a famous graveyard in Paris, with lots of celebrities being rested there for this week’s lens artistists challenge #168: seen better days.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

From the archive: L’Opera Paris 1989

France, Paris – January 1989

Opéra Bastille.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

From the archive: Les Tuileries Paris

France, Paris – January 1989

Les Tuileries.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

From the archives: Chania Crete 1992

Greece, Chania Crete, August 1992

This week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge (#164) is ‘Looking Up/Looking Down’.

Again one from the archives and hence monochrome. In August 1992 I visited Crete and old town of Chania. The old lighthouse in the old harbour.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

From the archive: Roof Terrace 1992

Greece, Chania Crete – August 1992

This week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge (#164) is ‘Looking Up/Looking Down’.

Again one from the archives and hence monochrome. In August 1992 I visited Crete and old town of Chania. This was the view up to a very appealing roof terrace.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Click the picture for a bigger versionOriginally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Saint Peter Square 1993

Italy, Rome – March 1993

The theme for this week Lens-artists challenge #157 is ‘getting away’.

View on a fountain on the square in front of Saint Peter in Rome.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Rome Wedding 1993

Italy, Rome – March 1993

The theme for this week Lens-artists challenge #157 is ‘getting away’.

View on St. Peter Square in Rome.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Rome Forum Romanum 1993

Italy, Rome – March 1993

The theme for this week Lens-artists challenge #157 is ‘getting away’.

View on the Forum Romanum in Rome through the Arch of Septimius Severus.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

La Défense

France, Paris – January 1989

The theme for this week Lens-artists challenge #157 is ‘getting away’.

La Défense is a big, modern office area in Paris.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version

La Défense (Assurance)

France, Paris – January 1989

The theme for this week Lens-artists challenge #157 is ‘getting away’.

La Défense is a big, modern office area in Paris.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version

La Défense (Blocs)

France, Paris – January 1989

The theme for this week Lens-artists challenge #157 is ‘getting away’.

La Défense is a big, modern office area in Paris. I remember my teacher for French saying she did not like it at all, too modern, on the old axe of the Champs Elysées and Louvre. Years later I was curious about the area and went there on a long weekend trip, hoping for some nice images. Feeling small between the buildings of big companies, rising high up over the skyline of Paris. An alienating place, where human size did not seem to matter.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version

Potala Palace

Tibet, Lhasa – April 2004

The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Fuji Film, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Birds

The Netherlands, Achterhoek – October 1990

The theme of Lens-Artists #124 is ‘Now and then’.

In times of covid things change, some in small ways, some in quite ‘big’ ways. The world is not getting smaller but seems smaller. Going away for a long weekend is more like a logistical planned event than a spontaneous ‘let’s get away’. And even the way I take photo’s is changed. I see less that catches my eye, all is so familiar close by. So I went way back till way then, October 1990, a long weekend with old school mates. The mates are still there, on Whatsapp. But the feeling of this image is different. A swarm of birds against a sunset. Being free, to wander, to roam. Patience my dear heart.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Père Lachaise

France, Paris – January 1989

The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #121 is ‘Focus on the subject’.

One from the archive. Père Lachaise is a famous graveyard in Paris, with lots of celebrities being rested there.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Père Lachaise

Preview(opens in a new tab)

France, Paris – January 1989

The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #121 is ‘Focus on the subject’.

One from the archive. Père Lachaise is a famous graveyard in Paris, with lots of celebrities being rested there.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Cantal France 1993

France, Cantal – August 1993

The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #115 is ‘Inspiration’.

An old travel photo from 1993 in France. The Cantal is a beautiful area with no longer active volcanoes. Landscapes inspire me. This one was amazing.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Rome 1998

Italy, Rome – September 1998

The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #110 is ‘Creativity in a time of Covid’.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Berlin November 1989

Germany, Berlin – November 1989

The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #110 is ‘Creativity in a time of Covid’.

Looking back to our history we have known barriers and borders, preventing us to do what we wanted, or keeping us in. The Berlin Wall in November 1989, just before it ‘fell’.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Göreme Valley 1987

Turkey, Göreme Valley, September 1987

The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #110 is ‘Creativity in a time of Covid’.

Looking back in the archive for another challenge, I dug up some old images. This is Turkey, 1987. It must be Fuji film, and probably Nikon F301 with a long lens, but I am not sure.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish in – an originally – small series. That series caught on a bit more than I thought. All of them are not retouched yet. Scratches, dust and stains are not removed.

Ode To Strawinksy

France, Paris – January 1989

 Strawinksy Fountain at Beaubourg.

The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #89 is ‘river’.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

River

France, St. Rome de Dolan – September 2020

The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #89 is ‘river’.

The canyon of the Tarn River in France at the ‘Point Splendide’.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version

Louvre

France, Paris – January 1989

Paris, Louvre.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Paris

France, Paris – January 1989

Paris La Défense.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

 

French Bubble

France, Paris – January 1989

The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #87 is ‘reflections’.

Paris La Défense.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Reflections

France, Paris – January 1989

The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #87 is ‘reflections’.

Paris La Défense.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Pick the Place: Rome 2

Italy, Rome – March 1993

The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #65 is ‘pick a place’.

Looking at Piazza di Campidoglio, Capitol Hill in Rome.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Pick the Place: Rome

Italy, Rome – March 1993

The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #65 is ‘pick a place’.

The Spanish Steps in Rome, where you are not allowed to sit down any more.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

Scale: Gate 1991

The weekly theme is ‘scale’.

An old photo taken in February 1991 through the gate of De Burcht in Leiden, The Netherlands looking at the Hooglandse Kerk.

About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.

The Netherlands, Leiden – February 1991

Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.

A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link