Here’s a shot of the rather amazing bar on the ground level of the Ritz-Carlton in Berlin. It’s based on different fragrances, and this is the scene you see as you walk in. My little tip for shooting places like these are to get in there about half an hour before they open so you can get all the photos you want… I try not to take pictures of guests, as that can be kind of a touchy subject.

The Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Berlin

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-09-30 22:59:15
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time6
• Aperture7.1
• ISO200
• Focal Length13.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-0.7

I was so surprised to walk into this cathedral at night and see this! They were showing images from deep space and playing all this crazy minimalist music… something like Phillip Glass. I sat in here for about half an hour just kind of staring at this giant movie screen. It’s definitely one of my best church experiences! 🙂

Inside the Cologne Cathedral

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-09-24 04:53:53
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture
• ISO12800
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias-0.7

Haha… I usually don’t take photos like this… it’s quite hyper-sexualized, if you didn’t notice. I’m actually friends with her and I took photos of her and Hans Zimmer and the rest of the band at two of their concerts. I wasn’t so sure about sharing THIS particular photo. I liked it a lot… but, well you know how people can be super-judgy. I didn’t care about them – mostly Tina. Well, it turned out that she LOVED it and re-shared it on her account. So, that made me feel a lot better and a bit silly about having so much self-doubt!

Tina Guo on Stage

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-06-09 22:26:41
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/320
• Aperture6.3
• ISO1600
• Focal Length141.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I was lucky enough to see my friend Hans perform twice in Europe. Once was in Hungary and the other time was in Germany. Both concerts had a lot of similarities, but I was surprised how much Hans ad-libbed a lot of the stuff he was saying between each song. He was especially popular in his hometown of Frankfurt where the fans went absolutely nuts.

I ended up with about 50 (or so) good photos of the two concerts and made a special book just for him and his crew.

Hans Zimmer in Concert!

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-06-09 21:36:36
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/250
• Aperture3.5
• ISO1000
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

When I heard about this place near Berlin, I knew we had to go! And yes, it even looks like a giant penis; I wonder if they did that on purpose. Anyway, now it’s filled with all kinds of cool graffiti and street art. It’s a bit dangerous maybe, with broken staircases, no guard rails, broken windows, and this sort of thing. I believe I had to buy a ticket to get inside, but it was totally worth it.

Cold War Listening Station Near Berlin

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-23 21:05:29
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/30
• Aperture2.8
• ISO250
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

This Wolfsburg is quite a place! I could never quite put my finger on it, but it was entirely unique. It was amazing for photography; there’s no doubt about that. Maybe if I spend more time here, I can figure out more about what makes this place tick. It’s largely there for the VW factory and the unique vehicle delivery area (see the category for the giant car-robot). But throughout the grounds are unique artistic things, like this rotating tunnel of fragrant flowers. What a fun idea!

The Fragrant Tunnel

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-22 12:39:51
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/320
• Aperture10
• ISO200
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1.3

How cool is this abandoned place? I had never heard of it until our most recent trip to Berlin. There’s a hill here that rises up about 80 meters. There’s also an abandoned Nazi military-technical college. I bet that was gonna be quite the party school. Anyway, on the very top is this listening station. Now it’s been taken over by graffiti artists and there’s all kinds of crazy stuff happening inside. It’s right out of Fallout. There are creepy people milling about, strange shut-ins, etc – the whole thing is wonderfully post-apocalyptic. You can buy a ticket to get in, but they make you leave (quite forcefully) after sunset.

Tuefelsberg, the Devil’s Mountain, the cold-war listening station

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-23 21:10:03
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/30
• Aperture2.8
• ISO250
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

While in Berlin, I went to this weekly festival in a park there. It was kind of like a mini-Burning Man. You know these types of mini-festivals. They seem to be getting more and more popular. And they’re always great for photos. This was taken in a big karaoke area where people would organically get on the stage and sing, dance, and perform. You can see the audience in the back, just as this performer was walking off the stage.

Strange Bokeh in the Park

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-21 19:04:27
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/2000
• Aperture
• ISO100
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

This is a crazy little scene, eh? Yeah, this is the view from the pool at the Ritz-Carlton in Wolfsburg, Germany. I didn’t have enough time to stay at the hotel, but I did run around this whole area and take a bunch of photos. For true Volkswagen aficionado, this is kind of a mecca. New owners come here from all over the world to pick up their new cars (from the photo above) and drive them back home.

The Volkswagen Plant in Wolfsburg, Germany

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-22 11:49:09
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/800
• Aperture6.3
• ISO200
• Focal Length12.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+0.3

How’s this for a unique place?!? While in Germany, we made a day-trip to visit the Ritz-Carlton in Wolfsburg. It’s an entirely unique location because it’s embedded right in the middle of Volkswagen heaven. Germans love their cars (if you didn’t know), and many people make a pilgrimage to come here to pick up their new cars. Volkswagen has these two huge towers where new cars are delivered every day to their owners. A tremendous robot goes shoots up the central cavity to pick up and deliver different cars as if in some tremendous vending machine.

The Giant Car Robot

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-22 14:31:18
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time0.5
• Aperture13
• ISO50
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias