Broken Blessing
By Timothy Martin
2 May 2008
Sometimes it takes a disaster to teach a meaningful lesson in life. During a trip to Europe in January 2008 my digital SLR succumbed to the effects of condensation and died an unrepairable death. Having planned this trip months in advance I was broken inside. All of the beautiful buildings, the street scenes and distinct cultural photographic possibilities were gone.
Having taken heed of my professors advice, I did bring along a backup camera for the trip. An old Mamiya C330 tlr with a couple rolls of black and white 120 film.
With six days of the trip left in Prague, Berlin and Szczecin I kept my camera in the bag until the last night, deciding to keep my fingers wrapped around a hot mug of mulled wine instead of the shutter release. I was in Europe; it was time to stop worrying about taking photos.
It turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made. The remainder of the trip was incredible. Instead of arriving at a Gothic cathedral and wondering which angles to photograph it from I read the names on gravestones embedded in the floor and began to appreciate things more. I wandered aimlessly through the cities with travelers I met along the way and enjoyed the cultural experiences instead of photographing them.
On the last afternoon of the trip, in Berlin, I took the Mamiya out and photographed what I had felt over the last few days. The first photograph is of the Reichstag Dome, a viewing platform designed by Norman Foster. The second photograph, with the buildings lit up at night is a view of Potsdamer Platz as seen from the south. The third photograph is from underneath the roof of the Sony Centre. During the entire trip it was dark, cold and wet and I feel that these photos portray that.
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