13 Intimate Portraits of Berlin Nightlife
Nightlife is a notoriously difficult subject to capture. Poorly lit corners and flashing lights create havoc for those wielding a camera. Ephemeral highs and lows are damn hard to catch. And not to mention: Who wants to be left observing when everyone else is going crazy?
As a Berlin-based photographer, I try to get a taste of both — being part of the crowd and catching those special moments — with my Leica in one hand and a gin & tonic in the other. I can hardly believe my luck that Berlin has turned out to be the hub of this special hedonist, flamboyant, bohemian lifestyle over the last two decades.
Berlin decadence is not comparable to that of any other place in the world. Poor, but sexy. A reminiscence of the glorious 1920s coupled with a buzzing electronic music scene. In the absence of closing times, endless after-hour parties last from Thursday through to Tuesday. Carnivalesque elements merge into minimal electro parties — with confetti, glitter, soap bubbles, and fog machines all playing an important role. Countless open-air locations and festivals can be found, as if Berlin sat thousands of miles to the south. It’s all very “un-German” — there are almost no regulations, besides the unwritten rules dictated by the party scene. And, of course, there’s the best club in the world: Berghain, the famous, weird, and unchallenged apex eclipsing all the rest!
Berlin right now is sex, drugs, and — well — electro. But come and see for yourself.