It's 2009 and finally I am earning real money. Not that student loan money wasn't real but it was borrowed. Financial prudence wasn't my thing back then. So real money means uninhibited materialism, and a new lens had to be bought. Also, I heard about something called "image stabilization" I had to have it. So after doing some research, I bought the Canon EF 28-135 mm IS USM lens.
Like the Canon 50 mm F1.8 this lens was not made for the EOS 20Ds smaller sensor. There was a dedicated lens but it was more expensive and optically worse. But I now had the weird equivalent focal range of 45–216 mm. A bit strange for city and street photography. But I was still able to work with it, and I did enjoy the image stabilizer a lot. So much so, that this feature was a must-have for all future cameras.
I did not use this lens for long. It was big, heavy and lacked any option for wide angles. Additionally, the first mirrorless cameras were introduced and, naturally, I had to buy something new. "Gear Acquisition Syndrome" got me. I used this lens and camera from 2009 to 2011 and took (kept) 163 photos. It is not a lot.
In 2011, I sold the Canon EOS 20D with all its lenses. It became somewhat dated and I really hated carrying this thing around with me. I wanted to take photos during my commute from and to work, and this camera was just too big. Newer and smaller cameras were available. But I will always fondly remember my first "proper" camera. It was with me from 2004 to 2011 and I still have about 1600 images made with it.
One of the many new houses in Berlin. Probably built on an empty lot destroyed during the war. Those "gaps" were often neglected in East Germany, as the socialist state preferred large scale developments instead of urban revitalization. Beginning in the 2000s many empty lots were built on, I remember them more as adventure playgrounds. Today, those gaps are gone. At least the architect tried to enhance this boring office building with flashy orange sunscreens. You can find this building around the station of Nordbahnhof. Don't visit on weekends because it feels a bit dead when the workers are all gone.This station used to be part of my daily commute. A stop within an industrial area. Berlin does have some industry left. In this case, a port and power plant. Years ago, I had the opportunity to get an actual tour through the power plant itself. These are the brick, mortar, and chimney cathedrals of industrialization. Although this one lost its charm after modernization. Some people like to believe that there is no future in such plants, solar panels and wind farms ought to be the future. But I think there will still be a place for such a place in the future. We should keep it in mind what these plants represented in the past: Modernity itself.Buildings like this one can be found throughout the former GDR. They are concrete prefab buildings used mostly as daycare centers or small primary schools. They are not very attractive buildings, being particularly hot in summer. It is a concrete box, after all. But despite being in one of the densest parts of Berlin, this daycare facility had a large outdoor area with nicely made play sets. This old socialist Kindergarten is much better than many of the smaller daycare units, which really are just remodeled stores without a garden or playground.This building belonged to the East German secret police. The Stasi. It was used to secure, intercept, and monitor phone and wireless communications. It was partly reinforced to withstand aerial bombardment. The basement was full of small "channels" filled with cables. Those channels were pressurized, so the agents would know immediately when someone was trying to wiretap any line. But they also used this facility to spy on their own citizens. Next door is the StasiMuseum, which I highly recommend. Much better than the kitschy horror that is the "DDR Museum" next to the Spree.