This was an unusual spot to capture photos of the Berlin panorama. I had a meeting with a fellow photographer, when it started pouring down with rain and after just a few moments of hesitation, we finally decided to try and take some photos to see what would happen. We made an appointment at Storkower Straße from which you can see the skyline of Berlin; with the TV Tower majestically prevailing the line of the horizon.
I find tilt-shift photography especially efficient on photo images as this one because it lets your eyes lay on the background, recognizing the City Hall, the Cathedral, the TV Tower in Berlin and also the Park Inn by Radisson Hotel on the right. In other words, it gives you the essence of the city, captured in one picture.
First, I photographed the background – I captured the sun just before it went down and at the same time when the clouds were amazingly illuminated from the below. Then, half an hour later, I photographed the foreground, by shooting 7 – 8 images. At the end I used the Time Blend effect to combine images of the Storkower Straße in Berlin, taken at a different time, into a single picture.
This picture is among the very few ones that really show unusual perspective on Berlin center. Actually, the trick I used for this image was to intentionally brake all the two-thirds or golden ratio rule of photography, and choose to put the TV Tower of Berlin right in the middle. I did that because I really liked the way it stands out of the entire composition.
The Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom): To date, I have not met anyone who didn’t find it very aesthetic. By the way, this largest church of Berlin is a protestant, not catholic one. This fact comes as a surprise for most, but to me the age is more astonishing: Built from 1894 to 1905 the cathedral is just a little over 100 years old – pretty young for such kind of church.
The S-Bahn and Berlin. More of a love-hate relationship than anything else. And if one metro scene is really typical for Berlin, then it’s the trains meandering through the city center. Just as you can see them in this image; approaching the center from the eastern part of the city.
It was a wise decision of the Park Inn Hotel at Berlin Alexanderplatz, when they built a viewing platform on the roof a few years ago. You can enjoy one of the best views over Berlin from up there – including a premium view on the television tower. I can recommend this hotel to everyone who comes to visit – even though, I as a Berliner never had a room there. But be careful that you book the room on the right side of the building.
As you might expect, the photo is a mix of planning and luck. While the scene in itself is pretty much as I planned it, the taxi in the photo is quite random. The Rosenthaler Platz in the centre of Berlin is a very busy traffic hub connecting 5 or 6 streets and some tram rails.