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Berlin is where I live most of the year; however, I usually don’t carry my polaroid camera with me. I often feel there’s nothing new to see, and somehow, daily life leaves no space for photography. But, on the other hand, it is a pity not to photograph a city with so much to offer. That’s how I came up with the idea of sharing the Polaroid Diaries: Berlin 1 -and I’m adding the “1” because I plan to share even more polaroids from Berlin.
Moreover, the city celebrated at the beginning of November the 30 years of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The so-called 30 Jahre Mauerfall events took place all over the city. The Berliners seemed keen to participate, even though the weather was gloomy. During the days of the celebrations, I also had friends of mine visiting me in Berlin. We took long walks together, and I thought of having my polaroid camera with me to shoot some portraits. It was actually during one of these walks that I decided to write the Polaroid Diaries: Berlin 1 post.
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What you’ll see in the Polaroid Diaries: Berlin 1
While I tried to capture some portraits with my Polaroid OneStep+, I also tried to include images from Berlin itself. Some are relevant to the celebrations and the atmosphere, while others are more generic. That said, I preferred to give you an impression of the city and not to focus entirely on the Berlin Wall events. Together with the upcoming installments of the Polaroid Diaries from Berlin, I think that you will start having a better overview of the city.
Since many people keep asking me about it, I’d like to add that I shot two rolls of Polaroid film. I know that shooting polaroids sounds like an expensive hobby, and the truth is that it can kill your budget. However, as I said from the first day I started running this side-project, polaroids should make us thoughtful. Therefore, I don’t take polaroids as often as I shoot photos with my smartphone or my Ricoh GR ii. On the contrary, if I don’t see something that looks good for an instant photo, I skip it.
That said, being out with friends and walking all day long around a city can result in an excessive amount of photos. Of course, shooting a hundred pictures daily on your smartphone is free. But if you shoot 100 polaroids, that’s actually twelve and a half packs! If you keep in mind that a pack of I-Type Polaroid film costs approximately 15 euros, you’ll have to spend more than 180 euros on it.
So, as I already wrote, for the Polaroid Diaries: Berlin 1, I used two packs of polaroid film. However, you won’t see sixteen photos here. The reason is -as it’s always the case with polaroids- that some of them were either overexposed or underexposed. I don’t want to present bad polaroids here; I’d rather show the good ones, i.e., those that prove what the camera can do.
So, let’s start.
Polaroid Diaries: Berlin 1 (OneStep+)
One of the first photos I took these days was a portrait of my friend Marinela. Behind her, you can see one of the most iconic landmarks of Berlin, the Oberbaumbrücke. The Oberbaum Bridge crosses the River Spree and connects two neighborhoods, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. During the years of the Berlin Wall, the two boroughs were divided. If you are a fan of German cinema, then you probably remember the Oberbaumbrücke from Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run movie.
The next polaroid photo was taken shortly afterward at the iconic East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is an open-air gallery consisting of murals painted directly on a remnant of the Berlin Wall. There are almost one and a half kilometers left from the Berlin Wall, and despite the controversy its presence brings, it’s one of the most historical places of the 20th century. So here you can see Marianna, Barbara, Christos, Marinela, and Spyros; behind them is the Berlin Wall.
I also thought of taking a photo of Marianna in front of the Berlin Wall. Many people visit the East Side Gallery daily; therefore, it’s not always easy to find an empty spot. But we were lucky enough to find a timeframe (of seconds) and shoot a polaroid in front of the Berlin Wall.
Since it was the 30 Jahre Mauerfall celebrations, we spent lots of time strolling around the areas where you can still see remnants of the Cold War. One of them is close to Bernauer Strasse, which is also an open-air museum. There you can see several installations and a big photo of Conrad Schumman. Hans Konrad Schumman (his full name in German) was an East German border guard who defected to West Germany during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. On the side street, there’s also a small statue presenting the moment he runs away. Conrad Schumman committed suicide in 1998.
One of the mornings, Berlin enjoyed some sunshine (unlikely for November). I was walking with Barbara, and we were on our way to meet our friends. The light seemed ideal for a polaroid in this corner.
Walking around Berlin with friends during the weekends also translates into “making stops for coffee and brunch.” One Sunday morning, we ended up at Tante Emma at Kreuzberg. The light in the interior was not optimal, so I thought of trying to take a photo with the manual settings. As you might remember from my review, the Polaroid OneStep+ can connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth. That’s actually how you can use manual settings. I took a photo of Christos in the cafe.
Further down the road, close again to the East Side Gallery, and on the way to Ostbahnhof, Berlin enjoyed another two minutes of November sunshine. I asked Marinela again to pose for a portrait. There was a pink background, and I was curious to see what it would look like in a polaroid photo.
Quite often, when you walk the Paul-Linke-Ufer, you can see swans. One of the last afternoons, there were a few in the river. So I thought of trying to get a quick shot. It turned out nicely, even though a bit bluish.
Shooting polaroids at night can be fun, even though you need at least some light. Otherwise, you will probably get a totally black image. However, there was a red sign, and I thought of trying my luck. I had the OneStep lens filter set with me, so I thought of using the red filter to maximize the color’s vibrancy.
And here’s the last polaroid of the Polaroid Diaries: Berlin 1 set. This one is taken on a somewhat foggy morning close to Rosa-Luxemburg Platz. Since this post was about iconic places in Berlin, here is another one: the Fernsehturm or TV-Tower in English. Located in the heart of Alexanderplatz, the most famous square of the former East Berlin, the TV Tower is the tallest building in Berlin (368 meters) and the second tallest in the European Union. It can be visible from several kilometers away.
So, these were the photos from the Polaroid Diaries: Berlin 1. Check here the second edition of polaroids from Berlin. If you would like to receive polaroid photography tips and occasional updates from my blog, make sure to subscribe below.
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Last Updated on November 12, 2022 by George Pavlopoulos