I had the pleasure of photographing my very good friend Robert's wedding in Stuttgart two weeks ago. We met in Portland a few years ago during his internship with Daimler USA (Mercedes-Benz), and became fast friends and photography companions for the summer. Shortly after returning to Stuttgart, he met the woman of his dreams and the rest is history! Here are some of my favorite moments from Robert and Caro's wedding.
Brauhaus, ohne Brau
I visited the old, abandoned Brömiches Brauhaus (brewery) near S-bahn Schoneweide with my cousin John a couple weeks ago. He and I had to climb and feel our way through some dark, creepy, gorgeous spaces in order to make our way to an observation tower 6 or 7 stories up. Staircases had collapsed in certain parts of the building, we hit many dead-ends, and it was definitely a disturbing space to be in. While there, we even have had to hide from police and firefighters for some time because a few punks thought it a good idea to set old tires on fire. We made it home safely with plenty of good stories to tell, and without my aunt disowning me for getting my young cousin arrested and/or deported!
Cycling the Oder Neisse
I had much-needed nature day a couple weeks ago while biking the Oder Neisse Cycle Path with a Berlin photography group. After taking the train to Guben, with an "e," we biked across the Polish border for lunch in Gubin, with an "i," then cycled an easy 25km along quiet, open, incredibly lush country roads. We passed marshlands and farms growing bright yellow fields of canola and cozy little German villages with small, cookie-cutter houses (and very well-tended, perfectly-manicured lawns). I couldn't resist stopping to make a few photos at this abandoned house along the bike routeIt felt absolutely wonderful to be surrounded by so much GREEN on this trip. This was my first time out of the city in almost two months! No graffiti in sight. No traffic. Just quiet, all around. I felt my whole body relax the second I arrived in nature. More trips like this, please!
Visa in the bag, baby.
I'm not sure which of these I'm most excited about: the fact that yesterday I was hired to help build a magazine from the ground up focusing on women in art and fashion in Berlin (launch date Sept. 21 – stay tuned for updates!); or that because of this and two other photo gigs, I was granted permission to live and work as a freelance photographer, producer AND journalist for the next year+ in Germany; or that tonight is the first night in weeks that I am able to shut my brain off, slip into something more comfortable (ie: yoga pants), and curl up in my lovely new apartment's sun-room with a copy of "The Great Gatsby" for the rest of the night. The future is looking bright in Berlin.
Ana visits the Tiergarten Zoo
Last week my friend Ana asked me to visit the zoo with her, as she wanted to sightsee as much as possible in Berlin before moving to Paris. Known for keeping the largest number of species out of any zoo in the world, I was curious about the Tiergarten Zoo but a little hesitant: Zoos make me sad! My experiences in the past have involved watching obnoxious tourists shout at the animals trying to get their attention, or witnessing a polar bear or giraffe on display at a smaller zoo without a partner. What a lonely existence. So I agreed to go with Ana to the zoo, but asked her to dress up for me as an animal to visit the animals. It's just a different, more interesting way to see the zoo – and we certainly got a few strange looks from the zoo-goers!
Photos: Ana tries to eat the animals, Tiergarten Zoo, Berlin, 2013
Iraqi Embassy, Berlin
I photographed the old, abandoned Iraqi Embassy on Saturday, a 5-story building located in the quiet, residential neighborhood of Pankow. The embassy closed soon after the wall came down, and it feels as though the employees just stood up from whatever they were doing and walked out the front door, never to return. The building was left completely intact, with piles of books, papers, files, typewriters, furniture scattered throughout all the rooms. Curtains still on the (now broken) windows. A gorgeous mosaic in the main stairwell. Add twenty years of squatters and taggers to the mix, and you're left with this incredibly photogenic scene.
Analog Voids
In one of those random, wonderful moments when you strike up a conversation with a stranger on the street, I chatted with choreographer and performance artist Matteo Graziano last weekend about life and travel and dance – and it just so happens that he needed a photographer for the piece he just choreographed, Analog Voids. I really enjoyed photographing his dress rehearsal yesterday, and the show premiered last night. Check out his website for more info. Exciting stuff!
Berlin KA-Pow!
I had the most wonderful weekend collaborating with photographer and model Pierre-Luc Dubois (and a few friends of ours as assistants), in an abandoned warehouse complex in East Berlin. As I worked, a father and son (in full bike gear) cycled by the warehouse and noticed us, walked inside to look around, and then the father takes a can of black spray paint from his bag and hands it to his son, who goes to town on the one blank wall left in the warehouse. How funny Berlin is! How bizarre to imagine my own father handing me a can of spray paint...
Props used: Flour, black paint, beet juice and maple syrup, lamb hearts, an octopus, and LOTS of broken glass and graffiti. (No hearts were broken in the making of these photos!)
Photos: Karlshorst warehouse complex, Berlin, Germany, 2013
Catching up with Guatemala
I spent four weeks in a Spanish language intensive in Queztaltenango, Guatemala last November, which was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. I lived with a host family, who provided three-square meals a day and endless conversations in Spanish only. And five days a week for five hours a day I had one-on-one Spanish lessons with a different teacher each week. My brain felt like it might explode at any point, but my Spanish improved so much in that month and helped me prepare for moving to Spain for the winter. Here are photos taken from that month in Guatemala.
Punk Berlin, coming at you!
Das RAW-Gelände in Friedrichshain, Berlin. This huge complex near the rail yard is full of abandoned buildings now used for skate parks, rock climbing, dance theatre, music performances and children's circus, all covered with incredible graffiti art pieces. Amazing!
Photos: RAW-Gelände, Berlin, 2013
BEFORE and AFTER
I woke up yesterday in sunny, warm Barcelona and fell asleep last night during a snow storm in Berlin! And between the two cities, I was on a metro, two trains, one plane, three airport shuttles, a bus, and walked probably 4km carrying everything I own. Reward? An absolutely delicious plate of spaetzel a mug of piping hot Gluewein spiced wine. Helloooo, Berlin!
Picasso and I...
I made this photograph in January, soon after arriving in Barcelona. I immediately fell in love with the city. It has that very old, European feel to it, where there is incredible history around every corner. All the streets in my barrio were just narrow alleyways that link up unique, charming plazas with bars and cafes and outdoor seating, everyone drinking vino in the afternoons, eating tapas and people watching. I love getting lost in that part of town – you're guaranteed to run into something amazing, like a 500-year old basilica now being used as an indoor market. Interesting fact: I learned that Picasso grew up the next street over from my flat in the Gothic Quarter. The brothel he frequented was just a few blocks away as well... uh, so there's that!
Tibidabo Ahoy!
Hello there. In recent weeks the weather has not been ideal in Barcelona (it kind of reminds me of Portland, actually, which I'd hoped to avoid this winter!), but thankfully we had a break in the rain last weekend. I took advantage of that glorious, sunny Sunday to hike up Tibidabo, the highest foothill in the Barcelona area. There is an amusement park, a giant telecommunications tower and a cathedral, the Temple de Sagrat Cor, at the top, which are all visible from most of the city. The cathedral actually looks like a gorgeous castle on the hill, and I happy to finally have made it up the hill after two months living in Barcelona!