Human measure on Potsdamer Platz. During the time of the Berlin Wall people were a spic in a vast open space. Now they are a spic being over towered by high rising.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Brandenburger Gate (Brandenburger Tor) is a much used backdrop for photos in Berlin.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Checkpoint Charlie, symbol of the cold war.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Berlin has a wonderful (and cheap) public transportation infrastructure. One of the building blocks is the U-Bahn.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Another impression of the the Memorial to the murdered Jews in Europe.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max and Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Last September I revisited Berlin after 46 years. One of the reasons to come back was to visit the Memorial to the murdered Jews in Europe. I had read stories and seen photos, and I wondered how I would take photo’s of it. And what it would be like to wonder through it. This visit I had my first experience with the monument. Here is the first impression (and the coming days I will publish some more).
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The Bahntower on the Potsdamer Platz, headoffice of the Deutsche Bahn.
Potsdamer Platz was the vivid heart of Berlin. During World War II, it was almost completely destroyed. Since 1961 Potsdamer Platz was a no man’s land, a death strip as part of the Berlin Wall. After the fall of Berlin Wall this was the biggest property developing area in a major city in Europe.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Brandenburger Gate (Brandenburger Tor) is a symbol of unity for Berlin and Germany. Nowadays the Pariser Platz (Paris Square) is a pedestrian and bicycle area.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
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.
One of the beautiful squares in Berlin: the Gendarmenmarkt. On one side you find the Deutscher Dom a.k.a. Neue Kirche (German Cathedral), and opposite the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral). The top photo reflects the latter in the doors of the Deutscher Dom.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
One of the memorial landmarks of Berlin is the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche. In its simplicity it is a powerful landmark and memorial.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Walking through Berlin was sometimes causing some disorientation. Lots of places that were ‘void and empty’ in November 1989 are now (re)build. In 1989 I just saw a small part of former East Berlin. It was a challenge to figure out what I was looking at. An old building, a refurbished one or a new build? I have a slight preference for old buildings. Lots of them are beautifully restored. This is one of them: the Bundesrat in the former Prussian House of Lords. As seen from the Mall of Berlin.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
September 2025 I visited Berlin for the second time. My first visit was in November 1989. That coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall. After 46 years I wanted to see how Berlin had changed since ‘die Wende’.
In 1989 we just spent one day in East Berlin. This visit the first day we looked around in the former East Berlin area. The television tower still towers over the city at Alexanderplatz. There is still a lot of construction activity, and along the roads you see pipes in blue and pink. First I thought that it was a smart concrete transport system. In reality it is a way to pump out groundwater from construction sites into the Spree river.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
September 2025 I visited Berlin for the second time. My first visit was in November 1989. That coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall. After 46 years I wanted to see how Berlin had changed since ‘die Wende’. The coming days I will publish some photos of this trip.
Friends had ‘warned’ me about the changes I would see. What in 1989 was a vast open space (e.g. the Potzdamer Platz) is now completely filled with modern architecture. But what struck me the most was the vibrant vitality the city breathes now. It is cosmopolitan and a magnet.
One of the landmark squares of Berlin is Alexanderplatz. On a building just a few hunder meters away I saw this text ‘Allesandersplatz’. Everything is different square? German humor? Or the basic conclusion after the first day. A lot changed. At face value.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A more detailed view of the photo I published yesterday of Leiden. Leiden used to be famous for fabrics, and canals provided the infrastructure for the logistics. Some of the canals were filled up in the second half of the 20th century. However, there are debates about opening a few of them again. These discussions focus on sustainability and environmental quality.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
After rain comes sun at Scheveningen beach.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Detail from a front in the Breestraat in Leiden. In den vergulden Turk used to be a restaurant. It moved decades ago to a different spot in town. It then changed its name to Wienerwald. The top of the original front is still there, and recently brought back to its old splendor.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Red and yellow fronts of houses in the Breestraat in Leiden.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The Breestraat in Leiden with the townhall.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
In Spring this field produces either hyacinths, daffodils or tulips. In Summer this year it produces Dahlia.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #359 is ‘Tools of Photo Compositions: Lines, Colors and Patterns’.
Long leading lines, nice shapes etc are pretty obvious to use when building a nice frame. But what about chaos? Can that be appealing too? A field with spiderwebs, wet by the fog. A photo from almost 30 years ago, taken in Brittany at St. Samsom-sur-Rance, near Dinan. To see it at its best, click the photo please.
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
France – Morbihan, Questembert – August 1996
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #359 is ‘Tools of Photo Compositions: Lines, Colors and Patterns’.
The dreamy field with freshly pressed straw rolls offers a nice challenge. It is an opportunity to create something that makes sense in images. The idea that they actually roll. Near Questembert in the Morbihan region of Brittany.
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
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #359 is ‘Tools of Photo Compositions: Lines, Colors and Patterns’.
A local railway track, disappearing in the fog. A photo from almost 30 years ago, taken in Brittany at St. Samsom-sur-Rance, near Dinan.
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
Tram station Prinses Beatrixlaan.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Summer mornings can sometimes welcome you into a warm, joyful and laid back day. This is one of those days filled with ease. The sun also rises, each day, at more or less the same place. And when you catch it early, it is photographer’s gold.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Sun shining through the trees on the start of another warm Summer day.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version,
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a wonderful clever piece of photographic technology. It is the ideal snap instrument, that is always in my pocket. The quality of the images is improved immensely over the years. And to be honest, I shoot most of my photos with it nowadays. Just because I always have my phone with me. What I still do not like is the quality of images when you use the zoom. This shot is on full zoom and the details disappear. Unfortunately I was not able to move closer at that moment. At these moments I wish I had my Nikon Zf at hand, with a nice long lens.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
In the charming streets of Delft, a couple dressed as bride and groom had us questioning whether we’d stumbled upon a wedding or a spontaneous costume party. Either way, love was in the air, or at least some excellent snap photo ops!
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The city hall of of Delft with the steeple of the New Church in the background.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
This part of Katwijk is not much photographed, I guess. The roofs and the tower of the church made a nice composition.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for his week Lens-artists challenge #356 is ‘Quiet Hours’.
Delft has a technical university with a long history in engineering and water management. The plan for Dutch coast defense implemented in the Delta Works originated here. Deltares is a major technological institute for research focusing on water management.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The LAPC challenge for this week (#354) is ‘reflections’. Reflecting can be visual but also in a way of contemplating. On the photo three Dutch government policy departments.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Each time I pass here on the way to or from Calais, I take a picture of the power lines in St. Georges-sur-l’Aa.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Guildford High Street.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Some shops had better days in Guildford High Street.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Uphill Guildford High Street.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The old Posting House in Guildford now the Angel Hotel.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
England, Guildford – April 2025
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #350 (congratulations!) is ‘zooming’. A zoomlens gets you nearer to the subject, and can be used for lots of creative effects. The brief for this LAPC is to be creative, but in this photo I used the zoom just to get closer to a section of the ‘full picture’ of the Surrey Scholar on High Street in Guildford. The zoom puts the statue in a different light, taking the context away.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Coming off the night ferry, breakfast at Starbucks.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
What's (in) the Picture? 