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Uma Thurman graced the red carpet with presence at the opening of the controversial film Nymphomaniac. This shot caught the flash of another photographer directly behind her head, giving a perfect halo.

Berlinale 2014: Hollywood Invasion

I spent the better part of this month photographing Berlinale, one of the country’s biggest and most important film festivals.  The big winner this year was “Black Coal, Thin Ice”, hailing from China, claiming both best actor and best film. Though plenty of German stars are to be expected on the red carpet, the presence of Hollywood has become somewhat overwhelming. Photos from a festival like this fly around the wire within minutes, but the most interesting photos are rarely even picked up by an agency let alone sold to a magazine. This is a selection of some of my favorite shots of mine from two weeks in Potsdamer Platz. These are about light, about character, about something happening.

Edward Norton and BIll Murray were around for opening night, part of The Grand Budapest Hotel and the Monuments Men teams. They enjoyed the red carpet. Mr. Murray posed for us while Mr. Norton mocked us.

Edward Norton and BIll Murray were around for opening night, part of The Grand Budapest Hotel and the Monuments Men teams. They enjoyed the red carpet. Mr. Murray posed for us while Mr. Norton mocked us.

Fans sleeping in the mall in Potsdamer Platz to get tickets for the public, which go on sale early in the morning.

Fans sleeping in the mall in Potsdamer Platz to get tickets for the public, which go on sale early in the morning.

Uma Thurman graced the red carpet with presence at the opening of the controversial film Nymphomaniac. This shot caught the flash of another photographer directly behind her head, giving a perfect halo.

Uma Thurman graced the red carpet with presence at the opening of the controversial film Nymphomaniac. This shot caught the flash of another photographer directly behind her head, giving a perfect halo.

Bill Murray chats with a TV crew on the red carpet at the premiere of Monuments Men. Changing his hat every time and always having fun, Murray was certainly a media favorite this time around.

Bill Murray chats with a TV crew on the red carpet at the premiere of Monuments Men. Changing his hat every time and always having fun, Murray was certainly a media favorite this time around. A “Natural Light” shot.

Nothing but love at the photo call for In Order of Disappearance: Hans Petter Moland, Bruno Ganz, and Stellan Skarsgard. Sure. they are actors. But this one shows some emotion, hard to snag at a festival.

Nothing but love at the photo call for In Order of Disappearance: Hans Petter Moland, Bruno Ganz, and Stellan Skarsgard. Sure. they are actors. But this one shows some emotion, hard to snag at a festival.

Diane Kruger poses for a selfie with a fan after the press conference for The Better Angels. Overhead shot with a Fuji X100.

Diane Kruger poses for a selfie with a fan after the press conference for The Better Angels. Overhead shot with a Fuji X100. I love that she is holding a camera but using her cell phone for the selfie.

Edward Norton at the Photo Call for Grand Budapest Hotel. My flash did not fire but I caught someone else's hard light from the side. Intense.

Edward Norton at the Photo Call for Grand Budapest Hotel. My flash did not fire but I caught someone else’s hard light from the side. Intense.

Martin Scorsese showed up to a screening of an unfinished work of his at Berlinale. I wanted to take my Rolleiflex with me that morning but knew I wouldn't have the time to shoot with an extra camera. But I could crop this shot down to a square, my favorite for portraits.

Martin Scorsese showed up to a screening of an unfinished work of his at Berlinale. I wanted to take my Rolleiflex with me that morning but knew I wouldn’t have the time to shoot with an extra camera. But I could crop this shot down to a square, my favorite for portraits.

Shia Laboef at the premiere of Nymphomaniac from Lars von Trier. After keeping his head down in the photo call and leaving the press conference after a couple of minutes, he decided to brown bag the red carpet. Potentially the most exciting thing that happened during Berlinale.

Shia Laboef at the premiere of Nymphomaniac from Lars von Trier. After keeping his head down in the photo call and leaving the press conference after a couple of minutes, he decided to brown bag the red carpet. Potentially the most exciting thing that happened during Berlinale. He strikes me as a bit off.

 

Berlinale's director Dieter Kosslick takes a pause to read the news at the food carts, a gourmet addition to the scene - but still less pricey than the junk in Potsdamer Platz.

Berlinale’s director Dieter Kosslick takes a pause to read the news at the food carts, a gourmet addition to the scene – but still less pricey than the junk in Potsdamer Platz.

Lio Fan wins the best dressed award as well as best actor for his work in Black Coal Thin Ice, which also took home the Golden Bear for best film. Fan cracks a smile during the winner's press conference. His silver bear pokes into the frame at the left.

Lio Fan wins the best dressed award as well as best actor for his work in Black Coal Thin Ice, which also took home the Golden Bear for best film. Fan cracks a smile during the winner’s press conference. His silver bear pokes into the frame at the left.

The Monuments Men brought a wave of Hollywood to Berlin. This crew came in singing and conga-lined out of there. Bill Murray, John Goodman, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, Matt Damon. Most fun photo call ever.

The Monuments Men brought a wave of Hollywood to Berlin. This crew came in singing and conga-lined out of there. Bill Murray, John Goodman, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, Matt Damon. Most fun photo call ever.

Shia Laboef at the premiere of Nymphomaniac from Lars von Trier. After keeping his head down in the photo call and leaving the press conference after a couple of minutes, he decided to brown bag the red carpet. Potentially the most exciting thing that happened during Berlinale.

Shia Laboef at the premiere of Nymphomaniac from Lars von Trier. After keeping his head down in the photo call and leaving the press conference after a couple of minutes, he decided to brown bag the red carpet. Potentially the most exciting thing that happened during Berlinale. He strikes me as a bit off.

The table in the press conference room is wiped down  just before the winners come in.

The table in the press conference room is wiped down just before the winners come in.  

That’s it for the kind of interesting shots from the festival which won’t get picked up for publication. A group of young photographers took part in the project Close Up! and got to roam around Berlinale half playing the game of a press photographer and half taking a step back to observe and view the festival in its entirety as a subject. These projects are excellent, artistic, and a lot of fun. If you are in Berlin, swing by C/O’s new digs at the Amerika Haus to see more interesting, refreshing perspectives on Berlinale. 

Shot at 50, developed in Moersch Tanol (staining developer). Still contrasty, but getting there.

New Film: Adox CHS 100 ii

It isn’t every day that a new film comes along in this millennium. So when one does, those of us who shoot film get excited. I think we owe it the people at  Adox, who actually went through the trouble of developing a new black and white negative film, to give it a shot. I shoot a lot of film. I attempt art with it, and I teach people how to work with black and white film. And I do bring film cameras along to press shoots, which I often use for portraits if there is a quiet thirty seconds.

The neatest thing about the Adox CHS 100 ii film, other than being new, is the film’s spectral sensitization: it is close to flat, and goes up towards the blues. This could be great for photographing with an open blue sky on a sunny day. Here’s the tech sheet. If you are antsy to get to the punchline of the review, here’s the simple version: the film is promising, interesting, and will take some getting used to. Like any new film, really. If you are looking for a film for your first foray into into film photography then I wouldn’t suggest starting with this film – mostly because it will require experimenting, and the amount of information out there is relatively small by comparison to more established films like Tri-X or HP5.

I can give the film general high production marks It seems to be physically well made. I was working with 4×5 sheet film, so I can’t comment on the grain. My gut feeling is that it is fine but not extraordinary on the grain front, closer to an old-style grain than to new (which are both, incidentally, standards in my cameras).  

Just one comment on price, because this is most of what you get if you search for info on this film in English. The price at FotoImpex makes it the least expensive sheet film you can get your hands on on in Germany. I know this isn’t the story at Freestyle, but I think it is worth mentioning – a lot of people in the U.S. won’t have a reason to try the film at its price there. Understandable, but I still think it is worth it to investigate when a new film comes around – we have no idea what will be available in a few years.

Let the games begin.

Exposure, Development and Shadow Detail

The take-home point of my experience spending a few days with the Adox CHS 100 ii is that the 100 part of the name may be a bit exaggerated. I tend towards low contrast, high range negatives, and I found that the shadow detail was difficult to retain at 100. I am getting results that are better for me by rating it at 50.

This testing was done of Christmas and New Years, mostly in Berlin – not exactly a Sunny 16 situation. The light has been excellent these days though, with a low hanging northern european sun hitting the streets just right, and a deep blue sky. Closer to Sunny 11, though. Even still, rating the film at 100 gave me little shadow detail. I was happier around 50.

Adox CHS 100 ii with Rodinal

The film reeked of Rodinal/Adonal – By Adox, made in Germany, Fine Art in the name. Plus for sheet film, grain isn’t usually a consideration. No matter what I did with CHS 100 ii and Adonal, the shadows were pushed down. I didn’t get the results I was looking for but I suppose that someone who has been using Rodinal for longer than I’ve been alive could get this right pretty quickly.

 

 

Overcast day in Coburg, shot at ISO 100. Adonal 1+50 tray development for 10 minutes.

Overcast day in Coburg, shot at ISO 100. Adonal 1+50 tray development for 10 minutes. The shadows aren’t playing along.

 

The shot above was my first attempt, shot at ISO 100, souped in Adonal 1+50 at 20C for 10 minutes in trays, agitating once a minute. This shot was on a cloudy, indeed drizzly day. The negatives came back at the upper limit of contrasty for me – the sky, which was indeed white, has little texture and the lampposts get lost. This time is closer to a N+1 (increased contrast) development. 

Note that these are scans of fiber prints, not of negatives. I’ve done a rough brightness adjustment to get the scan to have similar tones to the print in my hands. This overdramatizes the issue of the shadows, but it is still quite present in the prints.

The upper scan was almost a straight print, I dodged the small lamppost at the end of the street by 1/3 stop to get some separation. The right hand side of the image, though, really suffered. I reprinted, dodging the shadowy right hand side of the image for a half stop. Here’s a detail scan.

Same negative as a above, 1/2 stop dodge on that shadowy right hand side.

Same negative as a above, 1/2 stop dodge on that shadowy right hand side.

The negative has some information there, but the tonal falloff is strong.

The Adox tech sheet claims 9 minutes for standard time, more like 8 minutes for sheet film due to being produced with one less layer. This is looking consistent so far: 8 minutes for N, 10 minutes for N+1. Great, except that the shadows were already disappearing, and that on a rainy day.

Standard Contrast Development with Rodinal

Looking better:  Similar weather, same rating of ISO 100. Increased time and less agitation giving better shadow development.

Looking better: Similar weather, same rating of ISO 100. Increased time and less agitation giving better shadow development.

The next round was on a similarly overcast, rainy day. I shot again as metered (ISO 100), but this time I developed in Adonal 1+50 for 12 minutes in a tank with less agitation, more like every 2 minutes. The result is much, much better. It helps that those stairs are almost exactly that shade in real life, a tinge brighter than middle gray. But I still have the feeling that the shadows run away.

Shooting a Sunny Day

After that, the sun came out, so I would need to move towards N-1, maybe N-2. The standard zone method would be to shave off time, but truth be told, I do not want to be doing sheet development in trays in the range of 5-6 minutes. I am just not that accurate. Instead I decide to reduce agitation and increase the time again, a combination that leans towards stand development with Rodinal. So I shot at ISO 50 and souped 1+50, 20C, 14 minutes, with only a gentle sway of the tray, closer to every two minutes. 

The results were useable but imperfect. For the sake of comparisons, I took the identical shot on HP5 and I gave it my standard N development (ISO 400, ID-11 1+1 11 minutes with constant inversions).  The negatives are both dense and the contrast is a bit high for my taste, but the information is there on the negative. Not the easiest thing in the world to work with, but the information is recorded. The shadows, though, still run away. They were about a stop darker than the HP5.

Staining Adox CHS 100 ii with Tanol

I wanted to try one more thing: a staining developer like Tanol. Pyro is nearly impossible to come by on this continent, but Moersch does a great job locally on all kinds of funny chemistry. I used to shoot Agfa APX with PMK Pyro from the Formulary. I find the results of Tanol to be qualitatively similar to Pyro, with high accutance, large tonal range and little grain – and what is there, I find rather elegant. 

Lacking much information, I jumped in, mixing Tanol at 1+1+100, souping for 14 minutes at 20C in trays. Truth be told, I took this as a total shot in the dark – it is a rough average of all the times Moersch lists for Tanol. Seemed like a good place to start, and indeed, it think it was.

Shot at 50, developed in Moersch Tanol (staining developer). Still contrasty, but getting there.

Shot at 100, developed in Moersch Tanol (staining developer) 1+1+100 for 14 minutes at 20C. Still contrasty, but getting there.

The setting is a half-abandoned sports center on the corner by my lab in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Not every building has graffiti on the windows and not just the walls. I rated it to ISO 100 again, expecting trouble in the shadows. It was bright and sunny that morning. What I got was subtle, high accutance and a large range. The contrast is still too high though: this was printed with a filter 1, and some shadow detail is still missing here. Presumably shooting at ISO 50 and developing with a staining developer would get the job done if the sun is shining.

Thoughts on Adox CHS 100 ii

After a few days of testing, my conclusion is that the Adox CHS 100 ii film is highly capable, especially in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. I imagine that my best use for the film would be in a studio, but everyone has different tastes. Using the sheet film, I’ll be rating it at ISO 50. The best results I got were Rodinal 1+50 12 min at 20C agitating every two minutes and Moersch Tanol 1+1+100 14 min at 20C agitating every minute.

Note again that Adox says times for the sheet film are 10% reduced with respect to roll – especially important if you are going to use my  Adonal times with agitation every minute as a guideline.

I’ll publish an update when I’ve gotten results that I’m a bit more satisfied with – it is likely to be some time, but I wanted to get this out there right away.

 

 

Martin Freeman (Bilbo Beutlin). Note the dragon's eye staring down at him.

European Premiere of The Hobbit and the Nikon 300mm f/4 Lens

Berlin gets really excited when Hollywood comes to town. Almost as if someone forgot to tell Berliners that their city is back on the A-list for, well, just about everything ranging from startups to tourism to art, miniscule galleries and world-class film premieres included. Pardon my cynicism at this degree of fandom, but I suppose I am revealing myself as a native New Yorker. So Potsdamer Platz was stuffed to the brim on Monday with fans of Lord of the Rings for the European Premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, now the fifth movie in the trilogy.

Fans dressed as Orcs, clearly happy to be strolling down the red carpet.

Fans dressed as Orcs, clearly happy to be strolling down the red carpet.

It was my first red carpet since getting back from Thanksgiving in New York last week. Which meant I finally got to test my new gear. I’ve been hunting around for some of the long Nikon lenses, for those moments where, well, I am crushed in behind two photographers taller than me, getting shots of people fifty feet away. Like Monday. The lenses have been damn tough to find in Berlin. I know, I know, Poor But Sexy. But still, the only 300mm lens I’ve found in the whole city was for rent. I even went to visit the Nikon reps at Calumet during a show, but they just had one of those odd 80-400 superzooms for tons of money and a questionable quality, but none of the fixies. So I swung through Adorama in New York, as I always do, and managed to score a wild deal on a 300mm f/4 AF-S lens for a meagre sum, as I am want to do.

Good on me, too. The red carpet was ginormous. I mean, huge. How big? Here’s the surprise guest of the night, beauty Orlando Bloom, waving to the press. This apparently wide angle shot is on a standard portrait lens – a 50mm shot Dx, so about 85mm.

Guest star of the night Orlando Bloom (Legolas), waving to the press.

Guest star of the night Orlando Bloom (Legolas), waving to the press.

So I shot with an effective 85ish mm lens, and a 300mm lens on my other body. I had my effective 35mm Fuji X100 in my pocket, in case I wanted a shot with other photographers’ gear in the way. I didn’t.

To further set the scale, they built a dragon. Smaug, to precise. Here we have Benedict Cumberbatch, who played the dragon, in front of the dragon. I’d guess the model (the dragon, not the guy) was about 4m tall and 15m long. For those of you who aren’t comfortable thinking in metric, that converts to really big.

For Scale: Benedict Cumberbatch standing in front of the Smaug model. It's really, really big.

For Scale: Benedict Cumberbatch standing in front of the Smaug model. It’s really, really big.

To catch the difference between the lenses, well, that shot was at 85mmish. This one is at 300mm – neither he nor I had moved. He’s just pointing to his dragon, now.

Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Smaug the Dragon, thumbing towards him

Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Smaug the Dragon, thumbing towards him

This lens is gorgeous. It does everything a lens should and nothing it shouldn’t. Skip this paragraph and the next if you don’t care about the lens. It eschews VR – useless for moving subjects – which makes it light, cheaper, and probably last longer since there are less moving parts. It takes a 77mm filter thread – big standard for Nikon. It is AF-S (quick) SWM (quiet), IF (no external moving parts) and D (backwards compatible to pre-automatic cameras) and ED (fancy glass). What it “lacks” is G – which would kill the aperture ring on-lens and compatibility along with it and the nano crystal coating, which I would would have liked. Because it is not a zoom lens, it is way lighter than other similar looking lenses, and it has a minimum focusing distance of 1.45 meter – the same as the 70-200 f/2.8 VRII. But this is a 300mm lens, making it effectively much closer. Yay! It also means there is almost no distortion. I hardly see a difference in straight lines using Adobe’s default correction. Big score, especially for using it with film. The f/4 makes it one stop less sensitive, and slightly worse at subject separation in some situations. Looking at these photos, no complaints there. It would be great to have an extra stop, but not for 6 times the price and weight. For the extra 5 grand I could have bough a D4 instead, which gets plenty of extra stops over most cameras.

For the record, the main reason I didn’t go for the 70-200 VR II. (other than price and a variety of other gripes) is that at 70mm, you can’t focus close enough for a crop shot of a person’s face. I lost a couple of shots due to that. Red Flag.

Back to the Hobbit. Some people are tough to recognize in real life. While that is probably great for the privacy of actors and actresses, it makes it tough to properly caption your pictures, or to try to get someone’s attention. Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo, was easily recongizable. One point for the press.

Martin Freeman (Bilbo Beutlin). Note the dragon's eye staring down at him.

Martin Freeman (Bilbo Beutlin). Note the dragon’s eye staring down at him.

There were some blunders of the night. Early on, this couple came by, and were, well, mistaken by a number of the photographers as being Peter Jackson and his wife. Evidently he was part of the production team. Whether or not he heard the photographers calling out to him as Peter, well, he and his wife played along. That happens.

The Not Real Peter Jackson with his wife.

The Not Real Peter Jackson with his wife.

Gusts of wind happen, too. Which is how I caught this hair moment of the Real Peter Jackson, left, with his daughter, Katie. Note that the dragon is the background on most of these shots.

The Real Peter Jackson and his Real Daughter, Katie Jackson, and a gust of wind.

The Real Peter Jackson and his Real Daughter, Katie Jackson, and a gust of wind.

Looking at those shots, this lens is doing its job. Contrasty, sweet subjects with a perfect separation to the dragon. These tele shots run around f/8 to f/11 – so the subjects are perfectly sharp, front to back, while the background has become abstract. If you check out the Orcs, you can count the blades on the aperture ring. If only I shot Canon, I could attach my beloved Dresden-built lenses with more aperture blades than you can count. Literally. But I don’t, and it doesn’t seem like we can expect production lines to return to that kind of extraordinary quality openings anytime soon, where we could count off the abbreviations of modern lenses and get 22 blades. 

Here’s a picture of some pretty people to finish this off, since you have made it to the end.

Just look at all those cheekbones. Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel, Elf) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas), posing for our lenses

Just look at all those cheekbones. Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel, Elf) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas), posing for our lenses 

 

 

Art is not completely dead in New York. This lasted at least two minutes before a cop came to sweep it away.

Out and About in New York and Paris

I’ve been out of town and haven’t had the chance to post lately, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been shooting. I left my press equipment behind and hit the road with film cameras and my Fuji X100 – the later of which was used for these shots here.

Shocking as it may be, the weather was perfect. Two weeks in NY had only a day or two of clouds, and that perfect autumnal light seemed to strike wherever we went.

The weather even played along for a twelve hour layover in Paris. I’ve never seen such blue skies there.

Enjoy. 

The light is just right: sunshine hits a building in East Midtown

The light is just right: sunshine hits a building in East Midtown

A late autumn stroll through Prospect Park

A late autumn stroll through Prospect Park, just for good measure.

Inside a 5th avenue museum, where the buildings themselves are a part of the art.

Inside a 5th ave museum, where the buildings themselves are a part of the art.

That classic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

That classic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge, plus a little construction. The Manhattan Bridge is off in the corner, too.

A view of the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn as the sun is going down on Thanksgiving.

A view of the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn as the sun is going down on Thanksgiving.

Art is not completely dead in New York. This lasted at least two minutes before a cop came to sweep it away.

Art is not completely dead in New York. This lasted at least two minutes before a cop came to sweep it away.

Refrigerador - er, em, Bike Lane in Soho.

Refrigerador – er, em, Bike Lane in Soho.

And then onto Paris, perhaps the only city in the world where you have to try even harder than in New York to avoid taking cliché photographs and photographic clichés.

Bicycles and Shoes, Paris.

Bicycles and Shoes, Paris.

Construction cranes soar above Les Halles

Construction cranes soar above Les Halles

The Centre Georges Pompidou, or at least the escalator on its side.

The Centre Georges Pompidou, or at least the escalator on its side.

The death of a rock organ.

The death of a rock organ.

One more bridge for the collection, but only because the light was just right.

One more bridge for the collection, but only because the light was just right.

That’s it for this collection of street photography- next time, coming to you Live From Berlin again.

 

 

 

 

 

The demonstration arrived on Oranienburgerstraße as the sun was setting. The New Synagogue can be seen in the background.

Remembering Kristallnacht: The 75th Anniversary of The November Pogrom

“It is anything but obvious that leaders of the Jewish community would want to address us today”, explained one Church leader, to the thousand-strong group who had gathered at Berlin’s City Hall to commemorate Kristallnacht, perpetrated 75 years ago this past Saturday. The mayor of Berlin, the Catholic Archbishop of Berlin and the Protestant Bishop of Berlin and surroundings led the group in a silent march, stopping at memorials along the way, to Oranienburgerstraße – a street which is again home to a Jewish community  – where the demonstration was addressed by two Rabbis, as soon as Shabbat ended. “It is sign of hope that shabbat is again being celebrated on Oranienburgerstraße”, he explained.

"Remeber. Commemorate. March." reads the banner held by the Mayor, Protestant Bishop and Catholic Archbishop of Berlin along with other leaders.

“Remeber. Commemorate. March.” reads the banner held by the Mayor, Protestant Bishop and Catholic Archbishop of Berlin along with other leaders.

The speeches given by the Mayor, Bishop and Archbishop are also not to be taken for granted. The Mayor discussed the complete lack of organized resistance by the Churches. He pointed out individual acts – for instance, the police commissioner who prevented S.S. men from burning the New Synagogue (pictured above) on Kristallnacht – and cited them as evidence that resistance would not have been futile, had there truly been any here in Germany. The church leaders, for their part, spoke shamefully of the lack of courage of their predecessors. The Protestant Bishop Markus Dröge called on the state to be open open to asylum seekers escaping contemporary persecution, a hot topic at the moment.

Germany is not in danger of forgetting. On the contrary, the process of remembrance is a living aspect German society today. Berlin chose “Diversity Destroyed” (Zerstörte Vielfalt) as the theme for 2013, putting faces and names to many people from the city who fled or were murdered during Nazi rule. The activities surrounding the theme culminated with this weekend’s events.

The Neue Synagoge Berlin (New Synagogue) on Oranienburgerstraße, which was protected from the S.S. by a police chief on Kristallnacht.

The Neue Synagoge Berlin (New Synagogue) on Oranienburgerstraße, which was protected from the S.S. by a police chief on Kristallnacht.

On Friday, the President of Germany visited the workshop of Otto Weidt, a man who saved many Jews’ lives. But unlike in most of Europe, the Legend of the Resistance is far from the dominant discussion in Germany. Here, it is still very much one of guilt and accepting responsibility. Indeed, throughout Europe, one rarely hears tales of French, Italian or Polish culpability – nor of German resistance.

This weekend, the tone followed suit. Shops around the legendary Kurfürstendamm – an area where many shops were owned by Jewish families before the Holocaust – put decals up, showing their windows as if they were shattered. Kids were asked to make short films in responses to questions like “What would you do if the most important thing in your life was taken away” – which produced shorts ranging from a boy taking away his little sister’s iPhone to two teenagers of the same sex holding hands in the schoolyard, before getting bullied and separated. The films, amongst other things, were projected onto the Brandenburg Gate on Sunday night in a evening called “Diversity is Freedom” (Vielhalt ist Freiheit).

A nun who marched wearing her habit and a bag which reads "Vielfalt ist Freiheit" - Diversity is Freedom.

A nun who marched wearing her habit and a bag which reads “Vielfalt ist Freiheit” – Diversity is Freedom.

On Saturday, the main event was the Silent March through Berlin. It wound its way from Alexanderplatz past Museum Island and onto Unter Den Linden, where the first stop was at the Berliner Dom, an enormous protestant church in Mitte. A group of students from a protestant church group read aloud stories of lives destroyed on Kristallnacht, as they were doing all day.

The Mayor (center) and Bishops in front of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) while students read aloud stories of lives destroyed on Kristallnacht.

The Mayor (center) and Bishops in front of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) while students read aloud stories of lives destroyed on Kristallnacht.

The March continued, moving to the Book Burning Memorial in front of Humboldt University’s Law Department. An enormous book burning was held here on May 10, 1933, in which professors and students of the University brought books out of the library and burned them, accompanied by orchestras of the S.A. and S.S. An underground memorial houses empty bookshelves in commemoration.  As the demonstration arrived, a catholic choir stood on the steps of the department, singing Shalom Alecheim, traditionally sung as Shabbat begins.  Here is a dreadfully unprofessional video I shot of them, but it’s the audio that counts: Cathloic choir singing Shalom Alecheim at the Book Burning Memorial in Berlin

 

The Denkmal zur Erinnerung an die Bücherverbrennung (Book Burning Memorial) in Bebelplatz, Berlin, shown on May 10 2013, on the 80th anniversary of a major book burning at Humboldt University.

The Denkmal zur Erinnerung an die Bücherverbrennung (Book Burning Memorial) in Bebelplatz, Berlin, shown on May 10 2013, on the 80th anniversary of a major book burning at Humboldt University.

And on Oranienburgerstraße, we stopped in front of a parking lot. Not at the recognizeable “New Synagogue” from 1866, which was spared on Kristallnacht but ruined by allied bombings, then partially razed and rebuilt in East Berlin, but at the site of another synagogue which was burnt down on Kristallnacht. The demonstration arrived before shabbat ended, at which point the crowd –  by now, larger than when it had begun – respectfully waited for the two Rabbis who would be addressing the group to come. The group stood in the street, looking for the first stars, arguing, Talmudically, whether the first star that was spotted was indeed a star or was a planet.

The demonstration arrived on Oranienburgerstraße as the sun was setting. The New Synagogue can be seen in the background.

The demonstration arrived on Oranienburgerstraße as the sun was setting. The New Synagogue can be seen in the background.

The group was addressed by Andreas Nachama, a Rabbi and Professor who is involved in many walks of Berlin life, and by Gesa Ederberg, Rabbi at the Synagogue on Oranienburgerstraße. They traded off at the podium, Rabbi Nachama discussing the current day situation. He discussed the fact that all over the world, there are Jews, Christians and Muslims who are persecuted for their beliefs, and the desire of the Jewish Community to rebuild a reform synagogue on that empty parking lot, before which we stood.

Rabbi Andreas Nachama addresses the demonstrators on Oranienburgerstraße once Shabbat had ended.

Rabbi Andreas Nachama addressed the demonstrators on Oranienburgerstraße once Shabbat had ended.

Rabbi Ederberg discussing Kristallnacht, emphasizing not just the S.S. men who burned synagogues to the ground that night but the men in suits and ties who walked by, not wanting to see what was going on. And she told a tearful audience of the studying and laughter, humor and knowledge, which were lost along with the lives taken in the Holocaust. 

 

One of the protestors at the Bradenburg Gate.

Portraits of The Refugees Striking at the Brandenburg Gate

A few days ago, I posted a series of photos of the refugees who are hunger-striking at the Brandenburg Gate in protest of their living conditions. I took those photographs on Wednesday. In the brief moments that I was there, I found a member of parliment speaking with the protestors and watched an ambulance take away one of the protestors who had fainted. I photographed one man who was lying, huddled, the last image in this post. Rain was coming and going.

Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate

A protesting refugee is brought to the hospital after several days without food or water (Wednesday).

I returned Friday morning to find a situation, sombre if less dramatic. By then, there were more helpers – many of them students in Berlin – than protestors. These supporters are organizing blankets, umbrellas and first aid, and handling the constant flow politicians, press, supporters and tourists.

Two of the helpers survey the encampment as a group of striking refugees sit and talk.

Two of the helpers survey the encampment as a group of striking refugees sit and talk.

The protestors who are still there have an extraordinary strength to them. They have gone without water for days, food for more than a week. Everyone is speaking in soft voices, nobody has the energy for more than that. I asked about half of the people who are still there if I could take their portrait. Two men told me they were too weak, maybe later. Those who said yes did so in the hopes that their faces reach beyond their encampment in Pariser Platz.

One of the protestors at the Bradenburg Gate.

 

One of the protestors at the Bradenburg Gate.

One of the protestors at the Bradenburg Gate. Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate

Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate

Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate, in Photos

A group of refugees have come to the Brandenburg Gate in protest of their dire living conditions, explaining it to the world with a hunger strike. The demonstration began about a week ago on 9 October and shifted to exclude water on Tuesday. The extremity of the strike reflects the dreadful conditions which these people are facing. In many cases, a visa was issued on humanitarian grounds – but one which excludes the right to work, leaving the person with few choices. By the night of 16 October, a large number of the protestors had been taken to the hospital. I’ll leave the rest to the photos.

Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate

The group on the first night of the strike, with the Brandenburg Gate lit up for the Festival of Lights behind them.

Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate

A request to not enter the encampment’ a no-water area

Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate

Green Party member of the Bundestag Hans-Christian Ströbele visits the refugees at the Brandenburg Gate.

Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate

A banner behind the group reads “No Person Is Illegal, We Are All Staying”.

 

The Brandenburg Gate on the night the hunger strike began, lit up for the Festival of Lights.

The Brandenburg Gate on the night the hunger strike began, lit up for the Festival of Lights.

Refugee Hunger Strike at the Brandenburg Gate

A striking refugees on day 8 without food, day 2 without water.