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At the end of the year there comes the moment of truth: any good pictures taken during the last 12 months? Any pictures that will last? Especially when you shoot in public places really good results are quite rare. These are three of my personal favourites of 2010.

1.

This was taken on the Gay Lesbian City Festival in Schöneberg, Berlin. Usually I go there every year but this year I was a bit late. The main party was over and some of the booths were already removed when I saw this scene on a street corner. Fortunately I had a flash on the camera for this one.

2.

I live in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg. In the 90s this used to be the place to be for any artists and alternative way of living. Now everybody has grown older, the old buildings are reconstructed, more and more richer people moved in and everybody goes shopping at organic supermarkets. I pass this cow several times a week. It’s funny that those organic supermarkets try to attract people exactly with the same methods as any American Fast Food Restaurant on Route66: with a life-sized cow. Comined with this little child behaving as if it would drink from the udder this picture is a symbol for Prenzlauer Berg in 2010 to me.

3.

The Haus- und Heimtiermesse (pet fair) is a crazy event where you can buy anything you don’t need for a happier life of your pet. I like how the lady on the left looks at the other lady who’s face is as visible as the face of the poodle. Although this is often considered as a funny picture it also seems very melancholic and touching to me.

Every year I produce a small edition of calendars to give them to friends and customers as a christmas gift. This year it features parts of the Londoners series and there are some copies left. So why not give them to you? Here comes the big blog61 Xmas Competition: Win 1 of 10 calendars for 2011!

All you have to do is send your complete postal address to win@blog61.com. Deadline is December, 31th. I’ll cast lots within the fist days of the new year. Good Luck!

PS: Feel free to share the link to this competition on any social network or blog.
PPS: Of course your address will NOT be used for anything except for the competition.

UPDATE 2011-01-03: The winners have been allotted. I won’t publish any names here – just check your mailbox for it. The calendars go to Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands and Spain. Thanks to all participants. Happy 2011!

Marc Thümmler’s extraordinary photo movie “Radfahrer” that combines Harald Hauswald’s photographs from the GDR with Stasi transcripts about him is now available on DVD for only € 7,-. Subtitles in English, Spanish and French plus a 30 Minutes interview. Highly recommended. The interview is also online on vimeo.

Berlin Charlottenburg 2010

Currently at FENSTER61: Susanne Wehr’s Kennzeichen B from the artist’s vast archive of private slides volks-bild.com

Berlin Prenzlauer Berg 2010

Kickstart for the weekend: tomorrow at Contributed in Berlin: Opening of the Street Photography Now exhibition and book presentation. See you!

If you don’t know the book yet check this.

I feel honoured that Seconds2Real asked me to join their co-operative. We have some exciting plans for 2011 – a common book release about Street Photography in Austria and Germany as well as exhibitions in Vienna and in Berlin.

Check the Seconds2Real website for an ALEX selection with some pictures from the book that haven’t been published on the web so far. My other gallery on the Seconds2Real websites features photographs from Urban B’Sides and new photographs taken in Berlin this year.

…and of course be shure to check all those other fine galleries by my new buddies.

Frank Schirrmeister has a new series on his website called Sonntags in Berlin (Sundays in Berlin). I knew his reportage and architecture work but didn’t know his street photography pictures so far. His series explores Berlin on the fringe, the town beyond the cool downtown districts. By diving into the deeper layers of the metropolis, he discovers parallel worlds. For some years now, he has been exploring the leisure activities of ordinary Berliners, consequently avoiding the big fuss in order to find the unspectacular “real” (?) Berlin. I really like that work so we have just arranged an exhibition of Sundays in Berlin at FENSTER61 for 2011.

There’s an interview on slow travel berlin where he talks about his earlier series Plain City, which was exhibited at FENSTER61 in 2007, and Sundays in Berlin.

Update: the complete series on the OSTKREUZ pages.

Brussels 2010

Brussels 2010

Brussels 2010