Pascal Folly: An American in Berlin

As promised, I now have the full feature on Pascal online and ready to share!

Check out the original post on Pascal for background information.

And click here to see the SoundSlide I created as part of my photojournalism course in Berlin!

Plus, if you want to see profiles on other Berliners created by my classmates, click here! Stay tuned for some more of our photography of the city and a video of our trip by our TA and award winning photographer, Daron Dean.

Comment below with your thoughts!



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American Expat Finds Artistic Challenge in Berlin

As part of my class requirements for this photojournalism course here in Berlin, I am required to find a Berliner and profile them. We want to learn where they came from, what they do, what makes Berlin special in their eyes. We follow them around for a bit to collect photos, interview them, and make a Soundslide project. Eventually, those Soundslides will appear on a website and our work also appears in a published book that our professor puts together.

I've mentioned Pascal to you before. Pascal is my subject. I met Pascal when our group visited Dr. Pongs, a sort of simplistic, underground bar that has a ping pong table. Pascal bar tends part time at Pongs. We hung out a couple different times, sampled cappacinos and espressos together from a variety of cafes around Berlin. He also took me to his studio where I got to see a sampling of his work. Here's my little narrative on him. Soon, I'll post the Soundslide version as well:


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By day, American expatriate Pascal Folly paints, teaches English, takes walks, drinks coffee at his favorite cafes and volunteers with the homeless. By night, he bar tends, dances, parties and enjoys the vibrant techno-infused nightlife of Berlin. After living abroad in Brazil and Japan, Folly returned home to Washington, D.C. where he and his artwork felt stagnant. 

“I had no lady, no sword, no shield and no quest,” said Folly. After hearing many positive things about the city, Folly decided to just pick up and go. He ventured to Berlin in 2012 for the first time to challenge himself and his artistic approach in a brand new environment. He didn’t know anyone in Berlin and didn’t speak the language. For the first time, Folly felt failure. But he also experienced a city that was open and full of potential. Folly was newly inspired to develop his paintings in his shared studio space, experimenting with abstract circles and lines. He also admires the sense of community he found in the city. “In Berlin, people respect what you assign value to,” Folly said. “So, if you want to be an artist, you be one.”

Berlin is for Lovers and I Feel Creepy

I never thought I would be "creeping" on people as much as I have these past few days.
Peering at the world from behind a camera lens alters your perspective of the things around you. 

I find myself examining moments that I would look past as a tourist.

A couple shares a moment together in the Berliner Dom.

I look at people when they think they aren't being watched, and I try to capture that moment. Instead of focusing much on the buildings and monuments, which are definitely worth capturing, I'm instead looking at the people around me. Other tourists, Germans, my classmates, etc.
It can get awkward, I'll be honest. Sometimes you have to fake another photo at something in the distance behind your subject and hope for the best.

A couple stops for a selfie at Alexanderplatz.

But doing that allows you to examine people in a different way. You become aware of acute differences between people. But more importantly, you become aware of the similarities.

My favorite moments are moments shared with strangers. A smile, a chuckle over their cute kid, or even discontent and an audible "Scheiße" as the tram stops because of technical difficulties and makes you walk. 

 I'm enjoying having the excuse, or rather, the opportunity to do this, to be "creepy", in a foreign city. And I am very excited to really begin work with my subject Pascal today. I'll be traveling to his art studio to take pictures of him working and also interview him about his experience in Berlin.

Berlin is for writers, artists, tourists, history buffs, mechanics, students, teachers, lovers and everything in between.
And I love being creepy.

Another pair pauses to embrace in the cool afternoon in Berlin's Tiergarten.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of public transportation,
this couple hugged before saying goodbye at a platform in Alexanderplatz.

A man looks at a woman on a boat trip across the lake in Wannsee.

A father and son watch ducks swim by at a pond in the Tiergarten.

Berlin: Poor but Sexy

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Willkommen to Berlin!
This blog post is long overdue.
I'm supposed to be blogging while I'm here in Germany, as part of a Photojournalism study abroad trip I am doing with my college.
But each time I tried to sit down and write about this city and my ongoing experience in it, I got stuck.
I have found Berlin really challenging to describe. It truly is unlike any other major city I've been to, and it hasn't at all aligned with my expectations.

Shayla, me and Amanda stop for a selfie at the Wall.
You can follow Shayla's adventures here.

Not only do you have a Berlin that was once separated, now converged, but you have a Berlin that is constantly changing.

Professor Freeman, the photojournalism teacher leading our trip, says each year he comes, he seems buildings and stores come and go.

I'm liking the city so far though, I have to say.
I compared Berlin to someone who you "meet" for the first time on Facebook. You think you've got them figured out. Then you meet them in "real life" and the impression totally changes. You know at least one of those people, right? Yeah. That's Berlin.

We've done walking tours, biking tours, spent decent chunks of time on public transportation, and still this city was throwing me for a loop.
It wasn't until I separated from my group, and met up with my subject, Pascal, that I felt like I was getting to know Berlin on a more personal basis, from a different point of view.

While we're in the city, our project is to meet someone who lives in Berlin and do a profile on them. I ran into Pascal, an artist who bartends at Dr. Pongs and teaches English in his free time. I'll introduce you to him later.

For now, you can check out my photos here, and my album on Facebook.
Auf Wiedersehen!

A woman meditating near a memorial by the Berlin Wall.

A stop for ais or ice cream under a pretty
Berlin sky.

An example of "Old" Berlin and how some parts of the city
haven't changed in some time.

Prater Biergarten. You can order a beverage and complete
your meal with a bratwurst and potato salad.