Berlin project: DONE

Today is my last day in Berlin, and everyone has completed and turned in their projects, including me.

Using Soundslides, I compiled pictures and audio of my subject to tell a story, or at least try to tell a story.  Here's the two-paragraph blurb that goes along with my project:

            Dani Cunningham came to Berlin in December of 2009 in search of art.  And that’s exactly what he found.  The 36-year-old musician, actor and all-around creative guy became involved in several projects upon his arrival.  He played in a successful local band, had a job, was working on a movie and had a special girl in his life, however, the bliss for this entertainer didn’t last.  The last two months have proved to be trying times for this struggling artist.

            Cunningham recently lost his job, his girlfriend and funding for the film he was starring in. Despite these unfortunate events, this London-born dreamer believes he can pull through in a vibrant city such as Berlin.   What he says is most important at this stage in his life is coming back to earth and getting grounded again. What will that take?  He’s just not sure yet, but he says he’s willing to find out.

Here are some shots from my project:

The Web site for all the projects will be finished soon, so keep checking back for updates.

How to keep entertained in boring museums

Today there was free entry to state museums in the city, so in the afternoon a group of us went to two different museums downtown.

Before that, I met with my subject and shot a few photos of him.  I'm meeting with him again tomorrow to get some "interaction" photos of him socializing with other people.  We both decided on a title for my project.  He shall be known as "the opportunist."  He's the kind of guy who goes with the flow and seizes opportunities as they approach him.  I'll be posting photos of him

Anyway, back to the museums.  Here are some things we passed on our way there:

The first museum had really old stuff:  Egyptian sculptures, old Greek statues, tapestries, etc.

I was so restless walking through corridor after corridor of old stuff.  I decided to mess around with the shutter speed and zoom on my camera as an attempt to keep me awake/occupied.  Here's the weird stuff I came up with:

The second place we went was actually a gallery, but I was still bored.  So I kept going with the funky shutter speeds and zooming in and out.

It's fun to just mess around sometimes.  And that's exactly what I did today.

Hasta luego.

Bike tour!

Today the group went on a five-hour bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours.  We started and ended at Alexanderplatz, riding through the liberal, hip parts of the city in between.

Here's where breakfast and mid-day snacks have been coming from:

The guide for our bike tour was Carissa, an American who came from Oklahoma to study in Berlin and has lived in the city for four years.

We stopped by the remains of the Berlin Wall.  A massive reconstruction of all the artwork on the wall was done last year.  All different types of murals and paintings covered the historical monument.

My brain had a hard time understanding this metaphor, but I liked it anyway:

I tried to be all artsy and take a picture of the reflection of the Wall in the window of this car:

This guy was pretty cool:

And then Marissa jumped in and whispered something in his ear.

Then we traveled over to Kreuzberg, a liberal, hip neighborhood.

"Neo Punk:"

A lot of crazy graffitti.

Anti-capitalism:

Caught in action:

A couple embraces:

A boat passing by the "Molecule Men," a monument representing the connection of three different districts in Berlin:

We rode through a nearby park that was filled with hippy-types and people relaxing.

This is a really famous "squat."  The idea behind it is people inhabit abandoned buildings and make homes for themselves until the government kicks them out.

And, finally, the TV Tower by Alexanderplatz.