#6,267: Auf wiedersehen, Berlin.
#6,267: Auf wiedersehen, Berlin.
I'm home. Rested, recovered; and... ready to go again. I had an amazing time in Berlin and I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the things I learned and experienced over the last three months. I miss the city, I miss the friends I made, and I miss the routine of seeing something new every single day. I talked with execs at MetaDesign. Toured the BBC. Viewed works by Helmut Newton, Leonard Freed, and Wolfgang Tillmans. Felt like a little kid at Autostadt. Felt speechless at Sachsenhausen. Watched Beethoven's Fidelio performed at the Staatsoper. Drank lots of beer. Learned to cook a hearty German meal at Koch Box. Got lost. Got drunk. Got sick. Got better. Grew a beard. Spent too much money.
And I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Don't worry, Flickr buds. I'm glad to be back home—I missed you all. There were so many times that I wished you could have been there. And not just because I wanted to borrow your lens or a battery, although that would have been nice on a few certain occasions. I've learned everything I know by shooting with other talented people. In fact, you're probably one of them ;)
-Leonard Freed's last words.
While I'm not planning on putting down the camera anytime soon, I'm done shooting Berlin whether I like it or not. Looking at the 6,267 pictures I took on this trip, I know that I didn't capture enough. Maybe one of the most important lessons I learned is to stop being a pretentious twat and just take some snapshots now and then. For example, I didn't take any pictures of the hotel where we stayed in Berlin. My mother was disappointed by that; and, well, I'm indifferent. It was a place to sleep—it wasn't an important part of the experience to me. I do see her point, though, and now I'm starting to wish that I had a few simple shots of the places we stayed and spent time in. Oh well, lesson learned.
In any case, I'm sure at least one of my classmates has a picture of each thing I didn't take the time to capture. That's the beauty of the photography community—everyone sees something different. For everything I've uploaded so far, and everything that's going to come for the next few weeks (you'd better believe I'm not done uploading pics from the trip yet!): This is my trip. This is how I saw Berlin. This is everything that was beautiful, interesting, and important to me.
This is the last photo I took on the trip. I snapped this one, walked back to the hotel, and packed the camera back into my suitcase. I had already been packing up some clothes, books, and papers, but only when I closed my camera bag did it feel like the trip was really over.
I will be going back someday. I don't know how soon, or for how long, but the city itself and people of Berlin left an impression on me that's feeling incomplete until I return. In the meantime, I'm gonna sit back and figure out what I've learned and how I've changed. Off the top of my head, I think there's something about not procrastinating anymore. And, yeah, not being a pretentious twat :)
Oh, and PS: If I know you in real life and you're wondering where I've been since I got back Sunday night... Well, after living with the same thirteen people for three months, I needed a just few days to myself. That's all. I'll talk to you shortly!
#6,267: Auf wiedersehen, Berlin.
#6,267: Auf wiedersehen, Berlin.
I'm home. Rested, recovered; and... ready to go again. I had an amazing time in Berlin and I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the things I learned and experienced over the last three months. I miss the city, I miss the friends I made, and I miss the routine of seeing something new every single day. I talked with execs at MetaDesign. Toured the BBC. Viewed works by Helmut Newton, Leonard Freed, and Wolfgang Tillmans. Felt like a little kid at Autostadt. Felt speechless at Sachsenhausen. Watched Beethoven's Fidelio performed at the Staatsoper. Drank lots of beer. Learned to cook a hearty German meal at Koch Box. Got lost. Got drunk. Got sick. Got better. Grew a beard. Spent too much money.
And I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Don't worry, Flickr buds. I'm glad to be back home—I missed you all. There were so many times that I wished you could have been there. And not just because I wanted to borrow your lens or a battery, although that would have been nice on a few certain occasions. I've learned everything I know by shooting with other talented people. In fact, you're probably one of them ;)
-Leonard Freed's last words.
While I'm not planning on putting down the camera anytime soon, I'm done shooting Berlin whether I like it or not. Looking at the 6,267 pictures I took on this trip, I know that I didn't capture enough. Maybe one of the most important lessons I learned is to stop being a pretentious twat and just take some snapshots now and then. For example, I didn't take any pictures of the hotel where we stayed in Berlin. My mother was disappointed by that; and, well, I'm indifferent. It was a place to sleep—it wasn't an important part of the experience to me. I do see her point, though, and now I'm starting to wish that I had a few simple shots of the places we stayed and spent time in. Oh well, lesson learned.
In any case, I'm sure at least one of my classmates has a picture of each thing I didn't take the time to capture. That's the beauty of the photography community—everyone sees something different. For everything I've uploaded so far, and everything that's going to come for the next few weeks (you'd better believe I'm not done uploading pics from the trip yet!): This is my trip. This is how I saw Berlin. This is everything that was beautiful, interesting, and important to me.
This is the last photo I took on the trip. I snapped this one, walked back to the hotel, and packed the camera back into my suitcase. I had already been packing up some clothes, books, and papers, but only when I closed my camera bag did it feel like the trip was really over.
I will be going back someday. I don't know how soon, or for how long, but the city itself and people of Berlin left an impression on me that's feeling incomplete until I return. In the meantime, I'm gonna sit back and figure out what I've learned and how I've changed. Off the top of my head, I think there's something about not procrastinating anymore. And, yeah, not being a pretentious twat :)
Oh, and PS: If I know you in real life and you're wondering where I've been since I got back Sunday night... Well, after living with the same thirteen people for three months, I needed a just few days to myself. That's all. I'll talk to you shortly!