A Tale of Patience and Luck: Berlin, April 2023

Street photography is often described as a hunt, but for me, it's more of a stakeout. During a visit to the Neues Museum in Berlin April 2023, I found myself caught between two very different shots that perfectly encapsulated the two pillars of the craft: the grueling patience of the setup and the lightening-strike luck of the moment.

The Geometry of Waiting 

The first shot was all about the monolithic stairwell. If you've been to the Neues Museum, you know the architecture is a minimalist dream. I was obsessed with the geometry, the way the leading lines of the walls almost hugging the steps pulled the eye and the rhythmic repetition of the steps.

The light was soft and subtle, but I was missing the 'soul' of the frame. I didn't just want a person; I wanted the right person. In my mind's eye, they needed a bag or an accessory to break the clean lines.

The wait: 30 minutes.

The near miss: At one point, the light completely vanished, leaving the stairwell flat. I almost packed up, but five minutes later, the sun broke through again.

The payoff: A woman walked into the frame holding papers. The way the white sheets caught the light was better than any bag I could have imagined.

It wasn't just a photo; it was a reward for staying put when the light turned its back on me.

A Fleeting Momento Mori

The second shot wasn't planned at all. I was looking at a glass cabinet containing a skull, positioned near a window covered by a blind. To be honest, it was a shot for my personal collection. Something about the texture appealed to me, but I didn't think it was "post-worthy".

Then, luck intervened.

A security guard was hovering nearby, doing his rounds. Suddenly, he stepped directly into a sharp square of light hitting the glass cabinet. For exactly one second, his silhouette aligned with the skill in the cabinet before he stepped back into the shadows.

The juxtaposition hit me instantly; Mortality and the fragility of life. The living guard and the ancient skull, briefly sharing the same light. You can't plan for that; you can only be fast enough to catch it. 

The Fine Art of the Street

Both of these experiences, the calculated 30-minute stakeout ad the one-second stroke of luck, show exactly what fine art street photography entails. It's the ability to see a composition and wait for it to breath, combined with the reflex to capture a philosophical moment before it disappears.

In Berlin, I learned that while you can't force luck, you can certainly be standing in the right place, with your settings ready, when it decides to show up.

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