I just took my camera and went for a walk. It was a dull day, but I got some bright shots.

It’s tough when the weather changes. It might rain, it might turn chilly and damp. Nothing beats summer heat, and the feeling of a vibrant city on the go.

I’ve been writing everyday, morning till night, I don’t quit till 2 am. That’s the way it is.

Today I decided I have to get out, and take my camera with me. To enjoy using my brain for something other than formulating sentences.

I headed out into Berlin Mitte on the train, then exited close to the Reichstag.

There was a lot of action on the street, people protesting about Putin, then about Corona, then complaints about the Government. I’m sure I missed a few groups who were complaining and protesting, but I was looking for groups of everyday people.

People being people; walking, strutting, leaning, hanging out and looking, people doing people stuff. Gawping at tourist attraction type people.

People waiting at a red light, wanting to cross the street are often impatient people. I waited till the light turned green for them, hoping that maybe, one or two of them would be in a hurry. They stepped out sedately, and walked, turned, carried on.

I did notice that the light hit the woman’s hair quite strongly, and it was set off in composition by the taller woman’s hair bun. The flow in the clothing, the legs and feet marching out help a little in creating a sense of tension.

Everything in life is full of potential, sometimes potential is just a little step, a little energy, and a group of people.

If you take enough photos on the street, you start to feel settled into a rhythm of thought. You look for certain compositions, or something that offers an odd composition that you’ve never really thought of — that’s always good.

At first, the gold coloured baggage holder in the foreground got in my way, I couldn’t get the same composition from another angle, I had to think quickly, so I decided that the baggage holder must fit the composition. It does, it adds a ‘thought’ to the photo, and isn’t distracting.

The above photo is of the doormen at the Hotel Adlon, dressed elegantly in 17th century clothing, top hat and manners to match.

The rich are infamous for being incompetent when it comes to driving cars, and opening doors, so these people in cloaks and top hats are paid to help the poor blighters get out of the car. They then help them make their way towards the hotel door. Astonishingly, rich people who stay in this hotel pay thousands a night for a room, but can’t find the front door.

I love the above shot. Two men dancing to music on their mobile phone. They were fully into their dance, very synced in with each other, and didn’t give a damn about who was watching. They looked like happy men on a Sunday afternoon. (it was long shot across the river, therefore tough to cut out the “noise” in the image after having to crop it into a decent frame.)

I’ve been watching these tour boats pass along the river for sometime. It’s easy to look at them with a jaded eye, and immediately write them off as nothing but touristic.

I tried my best, and believe that I got something out of this scene. The boat had just turned into a forked part of the river, and left a strong foamy wake behind it. The light was fading on an already dull and overcast day, so it was risky as I took the shot with a narrow F stop, maybe around F16, and a fast shutter speed, which meant I had to wind up the ISO to a point beyond my responsibility. It could have all turned into a blown out mash up of black and white mess.

I like it, it works, and I hope you like it too.

That’s it. A walk, a camera, and some enjoyable photos of a dull Sunday afternoon in Berlin.