Berlin over the weekend, 4 days - what to bring?

[Florian1234]

I'll go to Berlin for 4 days over the weekend in about two weeks from now.

I will take my Leica M4 and most probably both, Jupiter-12 (35mm) and Jupiter-8 (50mm) lenses. Can't decide yet which I like better.

But I'm not sure what film. I think about 3 rolls each of XP2 and APX100 plus one Kodak Elitechrome 100 for colour slides, because this is what I have as stock at home now.

Any other suggestions of where to put emphasis on (maybe only ISO400 for black&white?) ?

edit: what interests me most to do is street photography. that's my main aim.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I found Berlin hard to figure out... photographically speaking. If you want street shots, I think the Unter den Linden Boulevard has been considered a nice area, but I don't know why. However, there are small areas, like the Gendarmenmarkt and the buildings around it, that may lend themselves to something. I liked a very small platz (with a name that starts with Vogel) near the Gendarmenmarkt. I'll see if I can find the name in my notes.

Take the time to see the Brandemburg Tor and the Reichstag at night. And, of course, Potsdammerplatz, with the Sony Center building and the large covered space where four or five restaurants converge around a nice fountain. You may find some interesting people shots in there.

Don't miss the traffic light in Potsdammerplatz; it's a replica of one of the first installed in the city.

Now that I recall... Kurfürsterdamm, the main shopping area, may have potential for street. Again, I'm talking about the things I'd photograph if I had a chance to return.

BTW, there's a long stretch of the wall towards the southeast of the city. Again, I must look into my notes and get back to you.

Don't miss having a Rote oder Grune Berliner Weiss either. I'm sure you know what they are: two different versions of the same drink, which is wheat beer and raspberry or mint syrup. While it may sound disgusting to a purist, I can assure you that they are quite refreshing. As for currywurst... I'll leave it to you to decide.

Take care and enjoy! 🙂

 

[Graham Line]

My 22-year-old was there for a bit last year and found the east side cafes, galleries etc much more stimulating than the west side. Too bad you can't be there New Year's Eve. Don't go out of your way for the currywurst.
As far as gear, travel light and use your imagination.

 

[retnull]

If you like to photograph "interesting people", try Kreuzberg for aging hipsters, Turks, and Kurds; Prenslauerberg and Freidrichshain for young hipsters; Mitte for arts scene.

 

[pfoto]

Kreuzberg is great. Go to the U-bahn stop for Gorlitzer Park and the park and the streets around the station are very lively. I think its Wienerstrasse that is full of cafe life and the graffiti is really great! Below is the wall of a fire-station on Wienerstrasse I think.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Wait a sec! He's asking what to take with, not where to go. I replied after a willful misreading of the question.

Here's what you should have:

Two bodies, each with a fast wide-angle lens. Load one with B&W, and the other with color. Take assorted speeds, from 100 to 1600 (you'll appreciate having that one if you go out at night; there are splendid photo ops after dark), in both, B&W and color. When I was there, the weather was sunny and dry. It was hot too... so I ended up using my Ektachrome 100 more than my K-chrome 200 or my Provia 400. I did use the latter, though, when I exposed it at 1600 to shoot Brandemburg, Potsdammerplatz and the Reichstag.

Let's hope this helps! 🙂

 

[Florian1234]

Thank you all for the hints.

Apart from my initial question of what to bring, the question where to go is also well answered and made some nice additions to my list.

On my list of where to go so far are:

fleamarket, Hackesche Höfe,photography-exhibition of works of Man Ray (Martin-Gropius-Building), Literaturehouse, checkpoint charly/wall-museum, Museums'island, old nationalgalerie, Karl-Marx-Allee (architecture), ship tour on one of the rivers, cathedrals, Gendarmenmarkt, Alexanderplatz and Ku'damm,

Nikolaiviertel, Friedrichstrasse.
And of course Brandenburger Gate.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

The very small Hausvogteiplatz, a couple of blocks off the Gendarmenmarkt, offers a nice fountain and my have cute photo ops (depending on the day). As for the rest of your itinerary...

Fleamarket: there's one that meets weekly in the Museum Inseln. Ask about it.
Hackesche Höfe: neat place to photograph people. Bring a wide-angle lens.
Checkpoint Charlie: a bit of a tourist trap. If you take a bus tour, sit on the top. You may be able to photograph the very small guard hut but gotta focus fast.
Karl-Marx Allee: I wanted to go... missed it. Should be interesting.
Alexanderplatz: big, noisy, disorganized. I liked Potsdammerplatz at night better, but try Alexanderplatz too.

Ku'dam: I wish I had spent a little more time there.
Nikolaiviertel: kinda cute, but on the contrived side.
Brandenburg Gate: it's on Pariserplatz (I believe), not far from a very nice luxury hotel, the Aldon, I believe. Try having a cup of coffee there. It may be expensive, but the view is very nice. Also, when you walk under the BG, if you turn to the right, you'll be able to go to the Reichstag. If you turn left, you'll hit the Holocaust Memorial: a very strange looking complex of boxes that look like coffins, in a fairly vast area in front of a neighborhood with nice stores and restaurants. I believe the museum is free... and it offers quite an experience without resorting to exaggeration or cheap shots.

I was telling my wife not long ago that Berlin deserves another chance... Let me know how your experience goes and don't forget to shoot the little coffee and snacks shack in the Postdammerplatz metro station! 🙂

 

[morgan]

Went to Berlin last year and fell in love with it. What a creative, energetic city. I never wanted to leave. If you're into edgy street art, check out Tascheles on Orainenburger str, it's a giant old building filled with galleries and work spaces. Also has a cafe and a rear outside area where movies are projected onto walls and tons of cool huge pieces of sculpture (http://super.tacheles.de/cms/).

I'd take a wide lens if you've got one...

 

[tunznath]

kettwurst at schonhauserallee
looks like you covered the film and lenses yourself -
east was more exciting for me. and for street the Ubahn+ street nightlife the east around 2 stops before schonhauser allee - come to think of it anywhere actually