I just revisited these photos I took a few years ago of the Big Cathedral in Berlin. I liked the changes I made and thought they would be a good to post on Christmas.

I wish all of my pals here at the FM Black 'n White Forum a most wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with health, happiness, and lots of lovely photos!

Endre

love #1. super composition with great water reflection and nice sky contrast.
a wee comment - the white flowers (?) on the right bush sparkle distract a bit and might fit better if the contrast here is cut back a wee bit.

nice detail in #2 - really tells us about the architecture of the time.

have great holidays - tom

Thanks, tom! I appreciate your kind words and the great feedback. Those trees were blooming chestnuts and they were quite spectacular. I did take your good advice, though, and bring them down a little. It's always good to have a second set of eyes to point out such things.

Have a wonderful New Year!

All best wishes,

Endre

tomandmarj wrote:
love #1. super composition with great water reflection and nice sky contrast.
a wee comment - the white flowers (?) on the right bush sparkle distract a bit and might fit better if the contrast here is cut back a wee bit.

nice detail in #2 - really tells us about the architecture of the time.

have great holidays - tom

Endre, both images look really nice to me.
All the best to you and yours too.
Chris

Thank you, Chris! I'm glad you enjoy them.

Have a great New Year!

Endre

CDaescher wrote:
Endre, both images look really nice to me.
All the best to you and yours too.
Chris

What a magnificent building, kind of reminds me of another one in Dresden.
That one is a museum or some type of an art building, cannot remember all that well
Great photography, keep them coming.
Happy New Year Endre !

Thanks, Lazlo, my dear friend! Your kind comments are always so much appreciated. I'm so happy that you like the shot.

You are thinking of the cathedral in Dresden, which has been painstakingly restored after its total destruction during the War. I shot this photo if it when we were there. The black bricks are the original stones that were burned in the firebombing so all the rest had to be made anew. The inside has also been absolutely magnificently restored and it is definitely not an art building but a real church. By the way, all of it was put back together AFTER the Communists finally left. Until then, all the rubble just sat around. Typical rotten Communists.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Warm regards,

Endre

lazlo369 wrote:
What a magnificent building, kind of reminds me of another one in Dresden.
That one is a museum or some type of an art building, cannot remember all that well
Great photography, keep them coming.
Happy New Year Endre !

That is the one Endre.
Looks magnificent now.
I saw it in 1969, looked pretty bad then.

I'm glad you got to see the difference. As long as we are doing a travelogue, here is a shot of the restored altar inside. Of course, they are very unhappy with anyone taking photos inside (so they can sell more postcards) but, as you know, such restrictions never stop a determined photographer. I hope you enjoy seeing this!

Warm regards,

Endre


lazlo369 wrote:
That is the one Endre.
Looks magnificent now.
I saw it in 1969, looked pretty bad then.

Hi -
Isn;t it a shame - In this country, it would have to be torn down - You know - Lead Paint - Asbestos - Or, can't afford taxes-

Great, pictures as always -
Paul

WOW ! That is some beauty.
Happy that you took the picture Endre.
I bet that organ sounds like the music is coming at you right straight from heaven.

Beautiful shots of the Berliner Dom. I attended a concert there a few years ago. I also visited the area during the early 1980s but could not enter the church because it was under restoration. I got the impression that the East German government faced chronic funding shortfalls owing to its currency and its inept economic system.

Thanks for the comment, Paul. Yes, overregulation has made it supremely difficult to get anything accomplished. On the other hand, everything was far worse under the crushing evil of Communism so we have to count our blessings.

I'm so glad you like the shot!

Happy New Year!

All the best,

Endre

plsand wrote:
Hi -
Isn;t it a shame - In this country, it would have to be torn down - You know - Lead Paint - Asbestos - Or, can't afford taxes-

Great, pictures as always -
Paul

I'm glad I took the shot, too, and so glad you like it, Lazlo, my friend! Unfortunately, my autofocus wasn't working on the entire trip or I could have gotten off a number of other shots without arousing the suspicions of those tasked with monitoring that photographers don't get any good captures.

Have a wonderful New Year and may 2013 bring you every blessing!

Warm regards,

Endre



lazlo369 wrote:
WOW ! That is some beauty.
Happy that you took the picture Endre.
I bet that organ sounds like the music is coming at you right straight from heaven.

Great images, lovely contrast Endre.

Alan

I'm happy you like the shot, Karl. I'm surprised to hear that there was any attempt at reconstruction under the Communists at all. Such things don't tend to interest evil leaders and their aparatchiks. I wouldn't trust the solidity of any construction undertaken under a Communist regime either, so I hope that the bulk of the restoration project was done after the Wall fell.

Have a wonderful New Year!

All best wishes,

Endre


Karlchen wrote:
Beautiful shots of the Berliner Dom. I attended a concert there a few years ago. I also visited the area during the early 1980s but could not enter the church because it was under restoration. I got the impression that the East German government faced chronic funding shortfalls owing to its currency and its inept economic system.

Thank you so much, Alan! I'm delighted that you like them.

Have a wonderful New Year!

All best wishes,

Endre

Alan Young wrote:
Great images, lovely contrast Endre.

Alan

Thanks for your comments Strad. The East German government wanted to make E.-Berlin a showcase city, so working on the Berlin Cathedral would seem to be a high priority, since it was in the tourist area. I think their buildings were structurally sound, note the TV tower and some office buildings in Berlin-Mitte, built in the Soviet era, which are still in use. But they did do things on the cheap where possible. The federal legislature, across from the cathedral, was torn down after unification because of asbestos, and a lot of the postwar apartments also appear to have been removed. They had been thrown up after W.W. II to alleviate a serious housing shortage and little attention was paid to aesthetics or details. Many historic buildings and infrastructure away from the tourist areas, however, were neglected, probably because of funding shortages. Since unification, the Federal Republic of Germany has invested huge amounts of money to correct this longstanding problem, and most of the land between the two walls surrounding the former West-Berlin has become prime real estate with impressive architectural contributions. I think, in this case, it is more about money than ideology.
I am not a big fan of the Communist era, by the way, but the really big problems were mostly invisible to the casual tourist.

The sky and the detail in the third shot is outstanding Endre.

Cheers Ray

Endre,
These are spectacular. Fantastic architecture, great clarity and detail in the processing.
I am with Tom on the flowers in the shrubs. Not sure how much is contrast versus over-sharpening. Of course the for web version likely pales against the full sized images.


Scott