I heart film.

A little over a year ago I bought a Canon Ae-1 and last week I found the first roll of film I shot on it and finally had it processed (Its been a crazy year ok, in the middle of being pregnant, giving birth and raising a baby I sort of misplaced a lot of things).  But honestly, this highlighted for me why I love film so much and why I have been missing it for the instant-gratification take-as-many-frames as you want digital format.

Film slows me down.  I shoot methodically, carefully and deliberately.  I think about what I am looking at, I study the light, I think about the consequences of different exposures.  I study the frame and am more aware of composition.  And then, when a roll is finished...I wait.  I am removed from the moment, the scene, my thought process and when I get the processed results I see it with fresh eyes.

I love the whole process (even more so when I can get in the darkroom and process and print myself).  Digital has done great things for photography but for me, the art form is so intrinsically linked to film.  The different images you can create with different cameras and types of film is, to me, impossible to replicate digitally (don't even get me started on the difference between a silver oxide  print and an ink one).

(these images were taken in Poland last September).

A Sunday Morning Walk

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Berlin?  Taking a walk at sunrise in Autumn and its like falling in love with this city all over again. 

Abandoned

Last week I got to go explore an abandoned Amusement Park. It was a place I had been dying to get into ever since I moved to Berlin, and wish I could go back to many times (unfortunately you have to pay the security guards to get in). It was awesome to explore, but also a bit sad. Like a quickly abandoned childhood, overgrown with the dust and weeds of adult troubles. The whole place just seemed like a picture of lost innocence. It seemed almost like a metaphor for Berlin itself.

Word has it the place shut down because the owners were using the rides to smuggle cocaine (they would get 'repaired' in Peru and come back full of it), though I think it was already bankrupt at that point. Now they are sitting in jail and their security staff is charging photographers and film makers to use the place. While we were there they were setting up to film the next day - some vampire movie. I think its the perfect location for it.

You can see more photos on my Flickr page or on my Facebook Page

Roman Holiday

Rome is such a beautifully photogenic place...full of bright colored buildings with shuttered windows and flower boxes, winding cobblestone streets, lively Plazas with stunning fountains, and architecture, art, and ancient ruins everywhere you look. The city feels more alive then anywhere I think I have ever visited.







I could have spent the entire time photographing the Tiber river that runs through the center of the city. The bridges spanning it are all adorned with sculptures, adorable light posts, and bricked arches that match the ancient architecture of the city.







The ancient sites and architecture are truly spectacular. It is so amazing to learn about the ancient history and civilization as you walk through the sites themselves. Cory loved seeing the buildings up close that he had studied and used for reference so often.







And of course, the art at the Vatican. Gazing up at Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel, seeing the enormous collection of marble sculpture, and the giant frescoes by Raphael was a special experience. I actually wasn't even that excited about visiting the Vatican beforehand - but the art there just absolutely takes your breath away (even if it is sometimes hard to see amidst the massive crowds that are shuffling through the narrow corridors).







No trip to Rome could possibly be complete without visiting a few of its staggering amount of cathedrals and crypts. The sheer size of St.Peters, the intricacy of some of the alters, the mind-blowing age of some of the buildings - and of course some of the totally bizarre and disturbing crypts (the last picture is of one in particular where they bury - and display - monks).







Of course the highlight for me was the food and Gelato. I have been cooking nothing but Italian food since I left! The best ice cream I have ever had in my life is the last photo - from a place near the Trevi Fountain called San Crispino. Try the Meringue.

May Day

Wow. May Day in Berlin is CRAZY! I mean, everyone warned us its a little nuts, but really it exceeded my expectations.

The night before is a huge holiday in Germany as well - Walpurgisnacht. Boxhaganer Platz, just a few blocks from our house, was the sight of some of the major protests/parties here in Berlin and it got pretty crazy. At one point we counted 9 huge Police Vans go down the street, and I didn't get much sleep what with people breaking bottles on my window sill all night.

The next day we headed to Kreuzberg were the big festival was happening for May Day - and it was probably the biggest party just out in the streets I have ever seen. It was a blast!

I can't just choose one photo - here is a slideshow of the whole thing (yeah because after like 2 years of using it I just figured out you can do this with Flickr!):

An Autumn Walk

Take a Little Trip with Me...

I have been a little (lot) longwinded lately. So, here is a photo essay of Friedrichshain, beginning with my front door and ending with the last remaining part of the Berlin Wall, now the East Side Gallery:


(sorry if the pictures appear on your screen a little jumbled. I wish I knew how to manipulate layout a bit better on here....)
1. My Front Door & My Ubahn (subway) Station
2. &3. Some of my neighbors
4. Some recycling bins, these are all over
5. Boxhanger Platz, where they have the flea market on Sundays
6. Our pal Jorg and his dog Spock
7. Some tables outside at Simon Dach, the main drag
8&9.. A bike and a Scooter - the primary modes of transport other than walking
10&11.. Some examples of the local street art
12. Pretty much sums up Friedrichshain
13.Warschauer Strasse Train Station
14. Warschauer Strasse Ubahn Station - with a local punk/squatter counting his change he has collected
15. Oberbaumbrucke(bridge) - was one of the main checkpoints between east & west Berlin
16. A few shots of the East Side Gallery (Berlin Wall).