Photographer’s Note
This photo was taken on an extremely windy day at the top of the Bundestag building (same location as last photo). And now for the explanation of the title (which I admit, some may find too personal):
A few years ago I could not speak a word of German. One day, I ranomly decided to begin learning. Learning German just felt like the right thing to do for some reason, without me really knowing why. I picked up the textbook for the course and the first thing I saw was the cover, which had a beautiful picture of this dome on it.
Now pause, and fast forward two years: I am going to university in Germany, and what was on my textbook cover is standing plainly in front of my face.
And on that blustery day two years later at the top of the Bundestag, I realized that many of the defining moments of my life consisted of nothing but me following random whims. The clouds and leaves being blown every which way in the wind that day were in many ways a reflection of my own life, yet I had not been blown away by the breezes of an October sky, but rather by the breath of some god or goddess who had plans for me that I could at the time never know.
We like to think that we can build glass domes like this to enclose our lives with order, stability and structure for the rest of our lives. But as I learned that day, the winds around you may have a different idea of where you need to go. If the winds feel right, maybe you should follow them. The decision could be life-changing.
ophelcia, dtsarpalis, ciakgiak, crhieatt, pablominto has marked this note useful
Critiques | Translate
dtsarpalis
(398) 2009-06-13 14:46
A classic Berlin photo.
I think that your white balance is slightly shifted to the cold side.
ciakgiak
(11602) 2009-06-13 17:21
Hello Jordan,
great architecture and perfect POV.
This is a really interesting buildind.
I also like colours and sharpness.
Regards.
Giorgio
Buin
(38600) 2009-06-13 23:35
Hallo Jordan!
I think I may answer in German ;-))
Ich habe selten ein so stimmungsvolles Foto der Reichstagskuppel gesehen. Dieser blau-graue Himmel, der sich in der Kuppel spiegelt, erzeugt eine ganz besondere Farbstimmung. Die beiden Besucher lassen die Größe der Kuppel gut erkennen. Ein Foto ohne grün, gelb, rot ... interessant! Ein eindrucksvolles Foto! Klasse Kommentar!
Grüße aus Westfalen - und einen schönen Sonntag!
Frank
ophelcia
(5504) 2009-06-14 1:44
Hi:)
I saw it yesterday and here I am...
I like the shape of the building, I love modern architecture, people are showing how big the construction is:)
G.
crhieatt
(5145) 2009-06-14 5:19
Jordan,
To my mind the note is more interesting than the photo in this instance - but that's fine - TE certainly allows space for both approaches. Well, IMO it does anyway, and sometimes the balance swings one way and sometimes the other.
As I'm about to head off to Basel I might easily wish that the random impulse to learn German had befallen me some years ago too but, alas, it didn't! :-)
Cheers
Colin
pablominto
(41690) 2009-06-15 2:39
Hello Jordan,
Bold framing of this piece of modern architecture!
The blue tones fit the subject well, and the human factor sort of softens the impression...
Sharp fine details, and the contrast between man and man-made adds impact!
Greetings,
Pablo -
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Jordan Bemmels (jbemmels)
(327) - Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2008-10-17
- Categories: Decisive Moment
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Date Submitted: 2009-06-13 13:31








